Original Air Date: September 29, 2008

The second-season premiere of Chuck is very bittersweet because although it initially seems our favorite nerd is finally going to get the chance to live a spy-free life, that isn’t meant to be. As a result, all of the plans that Chuck slowly musters the courage to develop — such as leaving Buy More and perhaps returning to college — are dashed.

And, the disappointment is all that big goon Colt’s (Michael Clarke Duncan) fault, for the most part. When Chuck, Sarah, and Casey manage to retrieve the stolen artificial brain of the new Intersect, code named Cipher, from the thief, the trio assume the new electronic intelligence means no more espionage work for Chuck in the near future.

Casey is the first to learn the situation isn’t that simple when he gets a message from General Beckman at home with the order to terminate poor Chuck at once. Since he’s no longer needed to provide critical information, Chuck’s existence poses a grave security risk. To Casey’s surprise, doing what he’s wanted to do from the very beginning, meaning kill Chuck, isn’t as easy as he would have expected not so long ago. Chuck has obviously rubbed off on him.

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I can barely believe the time has arrived. Tonight at 8pm EST, Chuck returns with the second-season premiere “Chuck Versus the First Date.”

Yeah, I know the episode was available online in advance of today. But, call me a traditionalist — the tube is where it’s at and where I prefer to watch stuff the first time.

So, check out a Season Two trailer below and then tune in at 8pm to check out Chuck’s season premiere, featuring way cool guest star Michael Clarke Duncan (The Green Mile) as a menacing operative named Colt. Can’t wait!

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There are so many talented actors and actresses scheduled to appear in the sophomore season of NBC’s deserving spy-dramedy hit Chuck I can barely keep up. Here’s who has been officially announced thus far:

Jordana Brewster

The 28-year-old As the World Turns and The Fast and the Furious actress comes onboard for at least three episodes to play Jill, Chuck’s infamous freshman-year girlfriend at Stanford who broke his heart when she dumped him to hook up with his roommate Bryce Larkin.

Melinda Clarke

A veteran of The O.C. and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, the 39-year-old actress plays a villainess who likes her men dead.

Michael Clarke Duncan

The imposing Mr. Clean dead-ringer and Academy Award nominee (for 1999’s big-screen adaptation of the Stephen King novel The Green Mile) plays a villain whom fans won’t forget quickly.

Tony Hale

A star of Arrested Development and Andy Richter’s short-lived Andy Barker, P.I., the 37-year-old actor joins the cast as the new assistant manager at geeky Buy More.

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Everybody loves Martin Lawrence, right?

Okay, maybe not everybody because the comedian has obviously had his share of highly publicized personal problems. But, I still do and have ever since his TV glory days on the Fox sitcom Martin, which lasted an impressive five years and 132 episodes, from 1992 until 1997. Back then in New York, I never missed my weekly double dose of Martin and Living Single when the series were at their prime. Those were the days…

Back in the present, two weeks from now, on Friday, February 8, Lawrence has a new feature film coming out, this one a PG-13 family comedy entitled Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins.

The movie stars Lawrence as RJ Stevens, a hugely popular talk-show host and self-help guru with humble origins in Dry Springs, Georgia. When his parents ask him to leave his flock of devoted followers to briefly return home for their 50th wedding anniversary, Stevens obliges, bringing along his ten-year-old son, new self-involved wife, and misconception that the old hometown folks will treat him like a big-city big shot now that he’s a media sensation. Ha! He’d better think again.

Cast members include living legend James Earl Jones (no work citations needed), ever lovely Margaret Avery (The Color Purple, Tyler Perry’s forthcoming Meet the Browns with Angela Bassett and Rick Fox), Michael Clarke Duncan (Sin City, The Green Mile), Joy Bryant (ER, Antwone Fisher), Cedric the Entertainer (Barbershop, The Steve Harvey Show), Mike Epps (Resident Evil: Extinction, Resident Evil: Apocalypse), Nicole Ari Parker (Second Time Around, Soul Food), and the one and only Mo’Nique (everything and everywhere).

Check out a few choice photos from Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins after the jump and visit the interactive official website to view the trailer and do a lot of other stuff, such as download desktop items and take a fun quiz. If the preview is any indication, Lawrence just might have another comedy hit on his hands.

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