Chuck is no Reaper!
By fred | July 27, 2007
Two new shows, on different networks, and some similarities. This surely isn’t a brand new thing, but there’s been a few discussions about how The CW’s Reaper and NBC’s Chuck were “similar”.
Ok, when reading the main descriptions for those two, they don’t actually seem that similar. While Reaper is about a somewhat looser turning 21 and finding out his parents sold his soul to the Devil, for whom he must now work as “bounty hunter” for evil monsters who escaped from Hell, Chuck is about a computer nerd who somehow got all data from the only, and now gone, computer that held info from both CIA and NSA uploaded into his brain, and as such he must work with CIA & NSA agents.
Well yeah, there’s already a similarity here : both plots kinda suck. Although Chuck’s plot is by far way worst than anything else.
But the “problem” is that both can also be described as “dramedies” filled with with action scenes following a young twenty-something man working in a department store, and being suddenly invested with a “mission” to fight evil.
But I don’t really get it, because to me the two shows aren’t that similar. For starter in Reaper the guy has some “powers” now, and can count on his buddies to help him out. On Chuck on the other hand, no special powers and neither family nor friends should be aware of anything, he can get help for special agents instead.
See, that’s different already. Also, Reaper is a good show, funny and fun to watch, with a zest of subversion in it, as you know executive producer and pilot director Kevin Smith (Clerks) likes. Chuck is like the opposite, it is a bad show, not (really) funny, but with good-looking pictures and lovely editing, just like executive producer McG (Charlie’s Angels) likes.
Again, different. Very different. Simply put, as Mark Gordon (Reaper’s executive producer) said : “I’ve seen [Chuck]. Our show is better.”
Regarding Reaper, as far as “similarities” goes it should be done with Buffy, and - like Buffy - it airs on The CW, and might unfortunately not become huge in ratings. It’s a good show, but it probably won’t have the enormous fan base and “cult” state that Buffy had, and might stay under the radar.
Oddly enough, it’s produced by ABC Studios, so it could have landed on ABC, should they have been interested in it. Maybe they should have picked this one, and not, say, Cavemen. Unless they were looking for a show to cancel after a couple of episodes, then well done, morons!
And Chuck, however, might do well in ratings, sadly. Because it does look good, it’s on a big network, and it has girls in underwear for those who thought it didn’t look good enough….
To sum up: no, they’re not similar. And, Reaper is good, Chuck is not. Please don’t forget that, you stupid Nielsen householdings, whoever you are! (No really, who the hell are you??)
