Top 5 CHUCK Episodes Redux

I'm a big fan of Chuck, but even I was a little surprised that it was picked up for a fourth season. With the season premiere hitting the airwaves next week (Monday, September 20), I figured it'd be fitting to revisit my Top 5 Chuck episodes.

5. "Chuck vs. the Cougars": It's always fun to get a glimpse of Sarah and/or Casey's life before Chuck, and "Cougars" a prime example of that awesomness.  Not only do we get to learn a little bit more about our favorite CIA agent, Sarah Walker, but "Cougars" was chock full of 90s nostalgia like Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up", Ben Savage (Boy Meets World), a storyline that could have easily been a vehicle for a John Cusack movie (Gross Pointe Blank), and Chumbawamba.  Let's not forget the decent (and hot) girl fight in the locker room, and DJ Casey rocking out to Hanson's "Mmm Bop" (still one of the funniest moments EVER!).

4. "Chuck vs. the Subway": Part I of the two part Season 3 finale was some of the best work the Chuck crew put together. There was so much going on from Shaw coming back from the dead to Ellie finding out Chuck's secret to Orion's death to Team Bartowski being in disarray. "Subway" was able to combine action, tension, humor, and story flawlessly.

3. "Chuck vs. the Truth": The only thing better than Intersect mythology is watching the Chuck and Sarah relationship.  Usually, I'm not a fan of the whole "will they, won't they" dance that has become so cliché, but I actually care about Chuck and Sarah.  "Truth" was a big Chuck/Sarah episode because we get to see that Sarah might actually have feelings for our boy.  Another reason why "Truth" rocked: Rachel Bilson!

2. "Chuck vs. the Ring": The season 2 finale is the definition of a "game changer" because this is the episode where Chuck goes all "Neo" after uploading the Intersect 2.0, which of course puts season 3 into motion.  The best part of "Ring" isn't the spy stuff, but Ellie and Awesome's nuptials.  Their wedding on the beach ranks up there are one of the best TV weddings I've ever seen.  Oh yeah, plus we get more of Scott Bakula as Chuck's pops.

1. "Chuck vs. the Alma Mater": "Alma Mater" ranks as my all-time favorite episode of Chuck because it kicks off all of the the mythology goodness.  We figure out how Chuck got kicked out of Stanford, Bryce Larkin's role in Chuck's destiny and his true intentions, the CIA's college recruitment procedures (I still think the badass chick who kicked the baddie in the computer lab is going to pop up again), and so forth and so on.  "Alma Matter" is proof of how great Chuck and the potential it has.

So there you have it, my top five favorite episodes of Chuck to date. I wouldn't be surprised if a Season 4 episode makes its way on to the list (the series finale perhaps?), and I can't wait for the new episodes to start.