The Intersect!
Such a devious little device. Meant for a super spy but ended up in the brain of an underachieving genius working as a techie at an electronics store. And thus began the show named CHUCK.
How does it work? And how can Chuck have it in his head? How can he even utilize it at all? What makes him special? Or is he special? Can anyone have the Intersect? Are there side-effects? Can it be upgraded? What if it falls into the wrong hands?
All these questions, and likely more, were either posed or answered over the course of five seasons, 91-episodes. Throughout that time, Chuck not only got the Intersect, he also received updates, an enemy data version, a removal, a new version, a bug, a reboot, a suppression, a refresh, and another suppression of its use. Meanwhile, we saw other forms of the Intersect being utilized by others.
Chuck's dad had a version that could "flash" on old data only useful during one perfect moment at the end of season 2. Alexei Volkoff had another version that fried his brain. An enterprising young man named Manoosh had one built into glasses that was a per-use device that didn't require a download into the user's brain. Daniel Shaw, once friend and mentor to Chuck, turned evil, had an advanced version that afforded him data and abilities. Later, a couple of GRETA agents would be given the Intersect 2.0 (or later?) but fail in its use. And Chuck's bestest buddy, Morgan, would accidentally download the Intersect 2.0 (or later) and use it until it it caused him problems. And finally... oh, never mind.
Here are the different versions of the Intersect, who got them, and what they could do.
Intersect Test
Downloaded by Chuck Bartowski as a child. Apparently had no data but somehow gave Chuck the ability to later reboot the Intersect 2.0.
Intersect Prototype
Downloaded by Stephen Bartowski. Had some pre-90s data. No abilities.
Intersect Beta
Downloaded by Hartley Winterbottom. Never shown to have data or abilities but it caused a problem that changed Hartley's personality and made him believe he was Alexei Volkoff.
Intersect 1.0
Downloaded by Chuck Bartowski via an email sent to him by Bryce Larkin. Contained all of the government's important data that Chuck could "flash" on whenever he saw or heard some trigger element. Was also shown to have the ability to decipher or control electronic devices (only in episode 2.19, Chuck Versus the Dream Job).
Intersect by Fulcrum
Downloaded by Chuck Bartowski while on a mission. Added more updated data about Fulcrum agents within the CIA. Would flash red in Chuck's mind, indicating when it was different from his normal CIA data.
Intersect 2.0
Downloaded by Chuck Bartowski shortly after having the Intersect 1.0 removed. Added data and physical abilities. Eventually required a "governor" to prevent Chuck's mind from frying. Later, this story element was either dropped or a new version fixed this glitch, but the writers never addressed it. A version of this type of Intersect was also downloaded by Daniel Shaw (as a Ring agent), Captain Richard Noble (GRETA), Captain Victoria Dunwoody (GRETA), and Morgan Grimes. A version that worked by putting on glasses was created and used by Manoosh Depak.
Intersect 2.0 with Virus
Downloaded by Morgan Grimes but meant for Chuck Bartowski. Added data and physical abilities but also added a virus that slowly changed Morgan's personality and had to be removed/suppressed.
Intersect 3.0
Attempted download by Daniel Shaw but foiled by Chuck Bartowski who added corrupting data to it which also removed the ability to use the Intersect 2.0.
Intersect 3.1?
Hmmmm...
Which version was your favorite? Did you like Chuck with or without one? Data flash or abilities flash? How would you rank the people who had the Intersect?
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