'Chuck' Returns

One of my favorite freshman shows of the season returns tonight for what will hopefully NOT be the final two first-run episodes of the season (pending the strike).

"Chuck," the show about a mild-mannered computer repairman who has the entire U.S. intelligence database downloaded into his brain, returns with new episodes on NBC at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., sandwiching a new "Celebrity Apprentice."

"Chuck" deftly mixes comedy and action as the reluctant hero (Zachary Levi) tries to balance his normal life while dealing with his two secret agent handlers (Adam Baldwin, Yvonne Strahovski). Levi brings a terrific, everyman appeal in a starmaking turn. It's a very easy show to catch on with, so tonight might be a good chance to check it out.

Speaking of "Celebrity Apprentice," as critical as I've been of the show the past few seasons, I have to admit that few things will ever compare to the bizarreness of last week's boardroom, as Donald Trump finally encountered a man in Gene Simmons whose ego dwarfed his own.

My guess is that Simmons had gotten sick of appearing on the show and wanted to leave, and this was his best shot. How else to possibly explain his bizarre decision not to bring back TV exec Nely Galan to the boardroom, when Trump was practically begging to fire her and spare Simmons?

Hopefully, the acerbic brit Piers Morgan will stick around a while longer and Omorosa will go sooner rather than later.

THURSDAY'S BEST BETS: "Ugly Betty" (ABC, 8 p.m.) is all-new as our heroine (America Ferrera) tries to pick between her two suitors. The afformentioned Gene Simmons and Gabrielle Union guest star. Following a "Grey's Anatomy" rerun, what is hopefully the last-ever "Big Shots" airs at 10 p.m.