When NBC aired Chuck's Christmas-themed episode early in December, people were wondering if the show had any other pre-strike episodes left. The good news was that there were two episodes left to air, but NBC wanted to hold on to them until the strike was settled and air them with the remaining season's order of episodes.Of course, it looks like that's a long way from happening. So NBC has shifted gears and decided to air both of the remaining episodes on a single night. But, according to SCI FI Wire, they won't air in the show's usual Monday night slot; they'll air on Thursday, January 24, at 8 and 10 PM. In between the Chuck episodes will be an episode of Celebrity Apprentice. Well, that makes perfect sense, because the two shows have very similar fan bases. What's that? They have completely opposite fan bases? Who knew?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-10-2008 @ 11:00AM
david said...
wow... what a horrible idea... i have not been watching chuck but have heard good things and heard that the show has a very strong fanbase. You'ld think that NBC may want to spread out the love rather than blowing their wad all in one shot. The decision to air it on a completely different night puzzles me even more.
Oh well i guess NBC is content with airing deal/no deal and similar poopoo programing 5 nights a week until this strike ends
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1-10-2008 @ 11:09AM
Oreo said...
What the hell is NBC thinking?
Oh wait, they must not be.
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1-10-2008 @ 11:37AM
sammg32 said...
I am completely confused now that 2008 started about which shows have any episodes left to air and when they will be showing them. It is like you have to check the listings every day in hopes to see any new episodes of your favorite shows. On another note.... THURSDAY!!! Really that is the day they choose to show BOTH of them. On the night where there is too many good shows that my dvr cant even record them all. Of course there might not be any new shows that night except for Trumps hair, some borrowing reality tv show, and some ridiculous stain on American Culture shown by FOX. So lets hope the DVR can record the fabulous Chuck being his Geeky self.
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1-10-2008 @ 11:20AM
sitruc said...
I gotta hand it to NBC. This could be one of the worse ideas they've had so far this year.
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1-10-2008 @ 11:21AM
Jimmy said...
Note to self: 1. Set DVR to record Chuck at 8 and 10 p.m. 2. Start watching Chuck on DVR at 9:40 p.m.
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1-10-2008 @ 11:27AM
Locke said...
Chuck and Celebrity Apprentice together? Does Not Compute.
The Writers Strike is causing some strange things indeed.
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1-10-2008 @ 11:29AM
C C said...
NBC cannot be more transparent-they really don't have much invested in Chuck's future.
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1-10-2008 @ 11:33AM
GigG said...
NBC really ought to just close the doors and turn off the lights. Either that or fire every last person that has anything to do programing.
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1-10-2008 @ 11:56AM
Scott Schrantz said...
Hey, I watch both! I must be where the Venn Diagram meets. The scheduling doesn't ruffle me much because I DVR everything and watch it 2-3 days later anyway. Probably on that Thursday I'll be finally getting around to watching Tuesday's Idol.
Chuck and the Apprentice on the same night? Hey, they should make it a crossover event! Could you imagine John Casey going up again Trump in the boardroom? Oh, the wacky hijinx! Actually, that's exactly the sort of stupid promo I can imagine NBC putting together. I hope I didn't just give them an idea.
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1-10-2008 @ 12:09PM
Scott said...
Sure, burn off both remaining original episodes of one of your most popular new shows on the same night. And that night? Not the one that the show normally airs on.
Seriously, what the hell happened to NBC? Have they lost their very last programmer with a brain?
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1-10-2008 @ 1:04PM
David said...
I thought it was pretty obvious what Ben Silverman was doing when he made this decision. He took a popular show, Chuck, and is airing it on a popular TV night, Thursday, and bookending it around a show he wants to be successful, Celebrity Apprentice.
Seems like a straightforward and smart move to me ...
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1-10-2008 @ 3:00PM
Scott said...
Even in a world where there's no writer's strike, this would be a dubious move. But there is a writer's strike! The odds are that there won't be any more "Chuck" episodes until September. Why burn away both originals you have left, in a non-sweeps month, too? If "Chuck" is a successful show, the strategy falls apart on that, even if it somehow encourages "Chuck" fans to hang around and watch Trump, and Trump fans to hang around and watch "Chuck", both of which are highly unlikely. If "Chuck" is not a big ratings-grabber, then why make it the bread of a Trump sandwich?
"Chuck" is not produced by NBC Studios/Universal (which is why it's still on iTunes). It's made by Warner. This move makes a lot more sense as a way to get rid of the last episodes on a night when no one will find them, so they can say "hey, the ratings aren't that good, we want to pay you a lower license fee, or we want to cancel it outright."
1-10-2008 @ 1:08PM
horsenbuggy said...
I would love to see Adam Baldwin go up against Trump, but you'd probably be surprised at how often they would agree.
I just don't get NBC. In my opinion, they had the best line-up this season. Yet, here they are, proving that they, in fact, don't know what to do with a good show when they've got one.
Also, networks in general have been complaining about DVR usage. So why do they continue to make programming changes like this that punish people who don't use DVRs? It's only those of us who have a DVR set up to record all new airings of the show that will be unaffected by this bone-headed move.
I kinda get the concept of wanting to capture the Earl/30 Rock audience if they haven't already been exposed to Chuck. But surely, Chuck's audience is bigger than ER's at this point? I can't see how there will be much crossover between the ER and Chuck audiences. I assume that they will heavily promote the 10:00 episode during the 8:00 episode. If new viewers are interested, they will probably either change the channel during Apprentice (assuming the Chuck and Apprentice audience isn't the same) and come back at 10, or they will set their DVR to record Chuck at 10 and go to bed.
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1-10-2008 @ 2:19PM
Europa said...
Well, I guess I'll be taking a nap in between. You'll be able to serve ice water in hell before I willingly watch Trump.
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1-10-2008 @ 5:05PM
Discosis said...
What's NBC doing?
Has Jack fallen asleep in his office?
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1-10-2008 @ 7:23PM
Jeff N. said...
Network suits gone Wild!
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