Yes, "Chuck" will be back, this time for real

Actually, the only other news I could find out there that's, well, not better, but at least insane, is that the "Jackass" crew may be back again in 2010 ... and this time in 3-D.

So far, Henry Selick's "Coraline" is the only flick that I thought really took true advantage of the 3-D technology as more than a gimmick to retain movie viewers, which it almost always is to me. Despite how much it annoys me by muddying all the colors of what should be very vibrant animated movies ("Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs," by the way, looks fantastic in glorious 2-D), I can guarantee I'll at least pop down the scratch for a matinee to watch Steve-O and Johnny Knoxville come flying at me in excruciating pain, which is indeed listed on Paramount's 2010 slate, though so far with no release date.

Beyond that here today, it's all about "Chuck," about which there's some actual good news this morning rather than the rumors that have been slowly floating out to tantalize fans like me.

After teasing us with word of a possible return by Halloween (which was, obviously, just a dastardly lie), the official word now is that the bumbling spy-in-the-making and his new Intersect 2.0 skills will return with a two-hour premiere from 9-11 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 10, and then a third episode at its regular time slot at 8 p.m. the next night. Three hours of "Chuck" in two days? Bring it on!

The only thing that could possibly worry me about all this is that the third season is already swollen with guest stars (Angie Harmon, Brandon Routh, Robert Patrick Armand Assante and even Vinnie Jones have already been announced) that may just distract from the overall fun. With NBC having already upped the season 3 order from 13 episodes to 19, however, I'd say it's all good.

As you can see from the preview below - which includes a scene from the new season - the Buy More will make a return, as well as at least Jeffster and Morgan. Enjoy, and have a great weekend. Peace out.

Does Chuck really know kung-fu? Well, sort of

It may seem awfully odd and - well - kinda pathetic to be commenting on what goes on at Comic-Con when I'm not even there, but I love reading this stuff and also passing on what I find.

And before I get into the mostly good news about "Chuck," there were two tidbits from yesterday that caught my eye, both in their own way rather sad.

Kevin Smith showed up to "promote" his buddy-cop movie "A Couple of Dicks," but without any footage and mainly with the news that the title will have to be changed. Not a huge deal, I guess, but the reason is just pathetic: You apparently can't say a certain word (and it's not couple) before 9 p.m. on TV and get your ads on the air. What in the world?

I can't say the signs are terribly good for this one, but I really enjoyed "Zach and Miri Make a Porno," and Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan should make a great comedic duo, so I guess I should keep hope alive.

Things were apparently - and by force - more grim at the "Futurama" panel, where I guess you have to give Matt Groening credit for facing the audience at all, especially since he couldn't bring any actors with him (in case you missed it, Twentieth Century Fox essentially fired them all after they wouldn't take pay cuts and is now recasting ALL the parts - as it stands, I won't be watching that.)

Groening used his sarcastic best to try and stay above the fray, but the bitterness clearly came through in this: "The core of my being is at peace... There are no mistakes," he said. "I embrace the universe. I send loving thoughts to all living beings, including the 'Futurama' cast and Fox executives."

Here's hoping against hope that they somehow get this resolved with Billy West, Katey Segal and everyone else coming back, but I don't really see it happening at this point.

But the big TV news in my book was all about "Chuck," and like I said, if you're a big fan of the show like me, it was all as good as we could expect.

First and foremost, according to the Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd and a few other reports I cobbled together, Chuck (Zachary Levi) will not be the next coming of Bruce Lee in every episode, which would, of course, eliminate the need for his handlers (and if you make the show with out Adam Baldwin or Yvonne Strahovski, I'm not gonna watch that either.)

According to Levi himself: "The Chuck-fu ... he can't just know kung fu all the time, otherwise his handlers are obsolete. So our very talented and wise creators, they've structured it so the powers have a window, a shelf life, there's a glitch in the system ... I have my powers, but they don't necessarily last -- that's the secret."

That can only be good news, because if at his core Chuck isn't still a pretty goofy guy, the show will lose a lot of its charm. I've included a picture of the art for season three, which would clearly make a really cool comic book cover.

As far as the panel itself went, the cast apparently entered the stage to Jeffster performing "Take Me Home Tonight," which must have just been a riot.

A few other interesting tidbits:

Per co-creator Josh Schwartz: "Something very emotional and traumatic will happen between Chuck and Sarah, but it will be really-really good."

Also: "Now that Awesome knows Chuck's secret, you'll see him pulled into a spy role as well, probably not as reluctantly as he should be." Awesome the spy? Bring it on!

And in a final tease to the fans, Schwartz made this vague claim about the premiere of the third season: "It could be sooner than was announced. We don't know."

I seriously doubt we'll see "Chuck" again until next February, after the next Winter Olympics, but it definitely seems that when it does make it back it will look a lot like the show I've grown to love. Peace out.