Death to Zucker!

Poor little NBC.

Can you imagine what it must be like to be an executive with that station? To have once had all that power, all that sway, and now to be reduced to—what? Being sold off to Comcast? 30 Rock and The Office are the only two shows on that network that garner any sort of notice, any sort of acclaim, and they're...fine, I guess.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for Tina Fey. The woman is my absolute, end-all, be-all role model. If there was some sort of Wiccan spell that would allow me to become her, to drink her essence and to radiate the brilliance that is Tina Fey, then I would do it without the slightest hesitation. I would sacrifice my own grandmother to the god Thor if it meant that I could have the opportunity to lick her shoes...

But I don't want to get too weird. Maybe I'll just stick to buying a pair of sexy librarian-glasses.

Anyways. My point is that there are so many shows on NBC that the network just isn't giving a chance! In NBC's defense, I will say that it's not as bad as FOX, axing programs before they have a chance to spread their wings (*cough* Firefly *cough*). They just don't have the ability to sponsor programs that are—maybe a little wacky? A little daring?—because their ratings already suck so damn hard.

Why am I writing about this? Chuck came back on the air on Sunday, and damn me if the premiere didn't remind me how good a show it was! I mean, first episode, what do we have? Buster Bluth saying the word “pussy” on national television (I am hardly a prude, but I have to admit that kind of surprised me) and then getting shot in the face. Spy-antics, heartbreak, the always-fantastic Adam Baldwin, and of course, Zachary Levi just stealing my heart away from right under my nose (but he's done that before, so I'm not too worried).

I'm going to echo the cry of fans of ratings-endangered shows everywhere and say “WHY THE HELL IS NO ONE WATCHING THIS SHOW?!?” Is it jumping to conclusions if I blame reality TV? I think we've passed that stage. Reality TV is some sort of unstoppable juggernaut and I'm afraid that if I blame anything on that genre, then some mysterious TV executives will come to my dorm and break my internet. And then my face. I don't know if I'd be able to function after that.

I could blame the competing networks—CBS for their juggernaut of a lineup and top-notch branding (CBS in my mind stands for Crime Broadcasting and Sitcoms), and FOX because it's kind of hard to compete with House. But it would be hypocritical of me to wish demise to other scripted shows, when it's what I'm hoping won't be wished on Chuck.

I could blame Jeff Zucker. I do blame Jeff Zucker, and so does pretty much everyone, but after all is said and done, blaming Jeff Zucker is a sort of light recrecreational entertainment, like bowling. Everyone gets a go, and it's not that hard, and you don't really have to know how to play all that well to participate and have a good time. I personally enjoy blaming Jeff Zucker because I am a sophomore RTVF major in college with no real idea of how the television industry works, and this way, I can feel like I'm important and part of something.

But that's just me.