Have you heard about Pushing Daisies? It's a whimsical comedy about a pie maker who can bring the dead back to life with one touch. I've been telling people that it's the best new TV show of the season. My friend Tiffy disagrees though. Apparently, she hates Chuck, the lead female character, for being stupid.

As much as I love the show, I have to admit that the Chuck character does get on my nerves. She's the kind of person that I would avoid in real life. She never sticks to the plan and gets all emotional at the most inappropriate times. I think the writers are just trying to make her quirky, but there's a thin line between quirky and annoying, and she crosses that line a little too often.

Still, I'm not the kind of person who would waste time ranting about a stupid TV character. So why this blog entry? Because I noticed that two other new TV shows also happen to have stupid lead characters named Chuck. Hmm.

Kelsey Grammer, who is best known for Frasier, plays news anchor Chuck Darling on the mediocre new sitcom Back to You. The Chuck Darling character is basically Fraiser Crane with half the IQ--Kelsey Grammer is such a one-dimensional actor. This Chuck says and does stupid things, the live studio audience laughs at him, and... that's about it.

Then there's the title character from Chuck, an entertaining action comedy about a slacker who has government secrets stuck in his head. You know how most Hollywood action movies have that one annoying goofy sidekick who always gets into trouble? Now imagine making that guy the lead character. That's Chuck Bartowski for you. And then they gave him his own annoying goofy sidekick too, which just doubles the irritation. One running gag on the show has Chuck regularly disregarding his CIA and NSA handlers' stern orders to stay in the car during dangerous situations... not very smart.

So there you go... three stupid Chucks on three different new TV shows. Is it just a coincidence, or does the name "Chuck" somehow invoke the image of a bumbling moron? I think this is an important scientific question that demands an answer. So if any of you know any Chucks in real life, please shed some light on this matter. Thanks.