Top 5 CHUCK Episodes

The Season 3 premiere of Chuck is just around the corner, and I'm giddy with anticipation.  In order to celebrate the big day, I've decided to dedicate a Top 5 to my all-time favorite Chuck episodes.

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.

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.

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!

4. "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!).

5. "Chuck vs. the Suburbs": I love Chuck's mythology, and I love the Chuck/Sarah moments, and "Suburbs" gives us a little bit of everything.  We get Fulcrum, we get the Intersect, we get Chuck and Sarah playing house, and we get Jenny McCarthy playing a desperate housewife/evil Fulcrum agent.

So there you have it, my top five favorite episodes of Chuck.  Let's hope we get some more kickass eps this season, so I can add to my list.  Come to think of it, I'm pretty confident that we will.