Check out their sweet guns. Related: these are interesting examples of marketing tv shows that I'd rather not delve into.

There is, of course, a catch. Both shows will undergo budget cuts and possible short seasons. TV Squad conjured that one of the Chuck cast members might have to go. While budget concessions could really effect both shows, especially the futuristic-esq Dollhouse, a renewal is a very good thing.

While re-watching a few episodes of Firefly earlier today I realized that the final moments of both Dollhouse and Chuck are equivalent to when River Tam kills a number of security guards and proclaims “no power in the verse can stop me.” I like game changing moments in TV. TV, unlike movies, allow many hours of learning about a character and getting to like them. Then when something completely contrary to what you know happens, it’s really great and completely unexpected. While River’s full potential wasn’t realized on the small screen, I’m glad that Dollhouse and Chuck will at least have the opportunity.

For two years I’ve watched as Chuck Bartowski bumbled his way through his dual career as Nerd Herder and CIA Intersect. Along the way he’s tried to maintain his secret identity while pretty openly falling in love with his handler, Sarah. It all changed when Chuck, determined to finally be the hero everyone already thinks he is, uploaded the new version of the Intersect into his brain and actually turned into a super spy. He knows kung fu. It was just like when Keanu Reeves uploads in The Matrix but way better and far more surprising. Then the screen cuts to a simple “To be continued…” title screen leaving me, and I assume all the other Chuck fans, speechless.

The problem is that Chuck is on the cancelation bubble for the last few weeks. I don’t know anything about ratings or ad sales or whatever the idiotic TV executives look at when they determine what gets canned and what gets renewed, but I tell you one thing, if Jeff Zucker cancels Chuck in favor of some stupid reality show or to make room for Leno’s soon to be epic failure then he’s making a huge mistake. Some people think the writing is already on the wall, but I’m going to hold on to hope that Chuck won’t end with such an epic cliffhanger.

Remember, there are still plenty of ways that you can try to save Chuck so join the Nerd Herd and go buy a Five Dollar Footlong just like Zachary Levi recently did:

And just remember NBC, if you cancel Chuck, I will end you.

Save the nerdiest show on TV!

If you haven’t seen Chuck, you’re really missing out, it’s about an average guy who ends up turning into a top secret government spy who falls in love with his CIA handler. He’s got to juggle his real life while maintaing his agency cover. It was created by McG, the guy who did the Charlie’s Angels movies but don’t hold that against the show. It’s actually very entertaining.

If you want to help save the show, watch next week’s finale live and on the air. If you DVR it, that’s good too but live viewing count for me. If you feel like going above and beyond, then check out Give Me My Remote’s Join the Herd campaign. They’ve got addresses you can send letters to, postcards you can print out, and fancy Twitter backgrounds you can use — if you’re into that sort of thing.

When it comes down to it, Chuck is a great show and worth keeping. So, you know, at the very least watch it next week.

Best Olympic Moment Not Involving Michael Phelps

The Olympics were two of the greatest weeks of 2008 and there were dozens of amazing moments ranging from the incredible Opening Ceremonies to the unforgettable I Love Beijing theme song. There were so many great moments this year it’s hard to choose just one that stands out. Ok, that’s a lie. There’s one moment that was far better than any other and is, quite frankly, the greatest moment in aquatic sports history. The Justie for the Best Olympic Moment Not Involving Michael Phelps goes to Jason Lezak’s amazing comeback in the 4×100 relay which won the USA a gold and created one hell of a story. There has never been a comeback quite like that nor has there been an instance of shear determination. Way to go Lezak, way to go.

Greatest Thing on TV

All in all, it’s been a pretty crappy year for TV. The Writers Strike cut a lot of seasons short and seemed to affect the quality of TV for this season as well. So the pool to draw from here is obviously pretty slim. But there were some stand outs. The Office and 30 Rock have been stellar and new shows Fringe and Life on Mars have been entertaining. But one show has been better than the rest, so the Justie for Greatest Thing on TV goes to Chuck. Chuck is consistently entertaining and just quirky enough to be endearing but it was “Chuck Verses Tom Sawyer” that pulled it in. Twin Galaxies, arcade games and Rush? Can’t get much better than that.

Best Unintentional Use of Keywords to Drive in Search Engine Traffic

People search for funny things on the internet. Some people spend tons of money and time trying to figure out the best combination of Julianne Hough, Will Smith, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Tom Cruise, the Jonas Brothers and Wil Wheaton to get their search engine ranking high enough for people to notice. Around here I do things a little different. I write things and then see how people find them. If a Miley Cyrus mention gets slipped in, well, so be it. It was earlier this year while perusing my site logs that I came across this category’s winner. The Justie for Best Unintentional Use of Keywords to Drive in Search Engine Traffic goes to this post about Chinese food and Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno. I’ll let you figure out what people were searching for.

Crappiest Thing to Happen to Someone Other Than Me

A lot of crappy things happened in 2008 including hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, fires and a new Rambo movie. I jumped off a cliff and blacked out in the water, but I’m exempt from this category for obvious reasons. No, there was one crappy thing that unfortunately deserves this Justie; the Crappiest Thing to Happen to Someone Other Than Me Justie goes to the economy. Sure, I’m affected indirectly, but whatever. The economy pretty much sucked this year and have put hundreds of thousands out of work. Unfortunately it looks like it may get worse before it gets better but one thing is for certain, it will get better. Here’s to hoping that the economy earns the 2009 Justie for the Greatest Thing to Happen to Someone Other Than Me.

Most Addicting Social Media Outlet

Hello my name is Justin and I’m a social media addict. This year there were plenty of social media sites begging to earn an addiction: Facebook, Shelfari, Strands, and Last.fm just to name a few. But there was one that stood out far above the rest — possibly combined. The Justie for the Most Addicting Social Media Outlet goes to Twitter. I wasn’t the only one addicted either. Not only did twitt rank as one of the years ‘buzzwords’, but now CNN even takes comments — and in some cases breaking news — from Twitter.

Strangest Nuance in a City I’ve Traveled To

This one is a tough one to call. I’ve been a number of places this year including Seattle, The Bahamas, New Orleans, Key West, North Carolina, Georgia and Utah. In those various places I’ve seen a fair share of strange things, like the odd traffic lights on the highway in Seattle, but by far the Strangest Nuance in a City I’ve Traveled To goes to Utah. Why Utah? Their numbering of streets is absolutely ridiculous. Everything is laid out in a grid, which makes sense, but that grid is far too large. For instance, we had to turn from S 700 E onto E 10600 S. Does that make any sense? Then, thrown into the middle of that was State St which does make sense. I don’t get it. Way to earn that Justie, Utah.

Coolest Thing of the Year

Despite all the crappy things that happened, 2008 had it’s share of some pretty cool things. Myron Rolle won a Rhodes Scholarship and I read Snow Crash, both pretty cool. The Dark Knight made a ton of money while the Devil Rays won the American League without any. Tiger Woods had the comeback of his career and Bill Gates ended his. All of these things are pretty cool, but only one can win the Award. The 2008 Justie for the Coolest Thing of the Year goes to The Olympics.

It was going to be pretty hard to beat the summer games. They began with the coolest Opening Ceremony ever performed (no video links available, stupid NBC) and included some unforgettable moments, a lot of which occurred in the pool. Michael Phelps won a record setting 8 gold medals, which will probably never happen again. Countless records were broken, smaller countries shined and for a few weeks in August the world actually came together and enjoyed each others company. You can’t really get much cooler than that.

All the Justies have been handed out and I’ve got nothing left for 2008. The ball will soon drop and bring in 2009. Let’s see what happens.