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Manager
Big Mike
Michael "Big Mike" Tucker
Portrayed by Mark Christopher Lawrence
"Mornings are for reflection and pastry."
Manager of the Burbank Buy More and Morgan's stepfather, he rules his store with an iron fist...or pretends he does. There's a reason why it has amassed its particular collection of freaks. He enjoys fishing, and taking down thieves.
- Badass Normal: He knocks the hell out of Leader when Casey was cornered. He later also takes down Hugo Panzer with a stun baton.
- Bald of Authority: He's big, he's black, he's bald, and everyone in the Buy More knows he's the boss.
- Batter Up!: Keeps an aluminium baseball bat in a violin case that he refers to as his "Fiddle."
- Benevolent Boss: The Burbank Buy More has 3-hour lunches. The only reason the store has accumulated as many freaks at it has is because of his benevolence.
- Berserk Button:
- You do NOT mess with this man's Buy More. See Badass Normal for the consequences.
- Nor do you mess with Norman his mounted Marlin. In the Season 1 finale he ends up muscling in on police interrogations of the Buy More employees to find out who stole his fish.
- Big Eater: The man loves his donuts.Emmett: "We nearly lost our dear leader today, and to what? One tiny, little, carb-filled donut."
Morgan: "Please. We lost Big Mike to donuts years ago." - I Banged Your Mom: When he first started dating Morgan's mom, Morgan was not thrilled. Eventually Morgan came to terms with it and they became quite close.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's a bit of an ass who only thinks about himself and the store, but he always looks out for his employees. Except for Jeff and Lester.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Big Mike is pretty much the only character to never find out about Chuck's spy life. Ironically, he's possibly kicked more bad guy ass than the other non in-the-loop characters combined.
- Jeff and Lester do actually tell him about in the Grand Finale...he doesn't believe any of it.
- Mr. Vice Guy: Is a pretty greedy businessman and somewhat lazy, but ultimately a good guy.
- My Greatest Failure: His first store was the "Husky Lad Big and Tall: For the More-Than-Average Man". It was robbed on Thanksgiving in 1988 and the store closed before the end of the year. This helps explain why he can get quite overprotective about the Buy More.
- Parental Substitute: After he begins sleeping with Morgan's mother, he views Morgan as his surrogate son and takes him under his wing. He even asks Morgan to call him "dad."
- The Pete Best: For a short time in 1988 was part of "Earth, Wind & Fire" as "Rain" and passes on his stage costume to Lester.
- Product Placement: After Subway became the show’s biggest sponsor, Big Mike was often the character they relied on to sing its praises.
- Trademark Favorite Food: At first it was donuts, but once Subway helped the show stay afloat, he'll do anything for a foot-long sub.
Assistant Manager
Harry Tang
Harold Tiberius Tang
Portrayed by C.S. Lee
"Chuck. Hiding from work again?"''
A loud, short-tempered salesman at the Buy More during Season 1. He is Chuck's main rival for the position of assistant manager, which Chuck loses due to his duties as a spy. Harry and Chuck strongly dislike each other and when Harry becomes assistant manager, he does whatever he can to make Chuck's job harder.
After he accidentally finds out that Chuck, Casey, and Sarah are spies, he and his wife are relocated to Oahu, Hawaii where he is made into the manager of a pineapple plant and appears to be quite happy. However, he believes that Casey has recruited him as a spy and that his new job is just a cover.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Nobody likes Harry and the only one who doesn't realize this is Harry himself. Even the evaluator from HR who has a single brief meeting with the man expresses pity for the workers who'll have to work under him.
- Jerkass: His defining character trait.
- Mistaken for Cheating: Harry gets a tape of his wife asking Morgan to help her pick out a gift for her husband and mistakenly believes that she is having an affair. He intends to catch them in the act, only to walk into a meeting between Team Chuck and General Beckman and Director Graham. Funnily enough, his wife IS cheating on him, but with Big Mike.
- Put on a Bus: Harry was written off due to C.S. Lee's commitments with Dexter.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: With Morgan, and - whilst they're both trying to become assistant manager - Chuck
- Small Name, Big Ego: Acts like he's the king of an entire kingdom when really he's only an assistant manager of an electronics store. He does his utmost to reign supreme over all employees and make their lives miserable. However, whenever actual danger appears he's smart enough to realise how little power he actually has and to try to keep his head down. Which is more than can be said for his replacement, Emmett Milbarge. Casey gets Harry to go along with being reassigned to Hawaii by convincing him that Chuck was only a "small potato" to bring in Harry, who is actually the "big potato."
- Smug Snake: He really enjoys rubbing salt into Chuck's wounds whenever his spy life interferes with his work and makes him look flakier than he really is. He also never passes up a chance to torment and humiliate Morgan.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Harry isn't excatly ugly but his wife is way out of his league. Harry seems to be aware of this and it leads to him becoming paranoid that she's cheating on him with Morgan. Of course, she isn't, she's cheating on him with Big Mike instead.
- Unfortunate Names: Of the Double Entendre variety.Harry: I'm not going anywhere, Chuck. When you go to sleep at night, all you gonna see is Tang in your face.
Emmett Milbarge
Emmett Milbarge
Portrayed by Tony Hale
"Do all your friends give your mother urinary tract infections?"''
An efficiency expert sent from Buy More corporate, Emmett was quickly promoted to Big Mike's assistant manager. His massive douchebaggery shined through as he used Morgan to get Big Mike demoted to a simple green-shirt.
Six months after his promotion, he was shot and killed by Javier Cruz.
- And There Was Much Rejoicing: Everybody is overjoyed to have seen the back of him when he "takes a job with Large Mart in Anchorage, Alaska."
- Asshole Victim: Emmett was never a pleasant man to be around, but his six months spent ruling over the Buy More inflated his ego and caused his delusions of authority to make him abandon any illusion of decency he had previously upheld. He aggressively taunts and torments those he views as inferior and takes glee in (seemingly) giving Chuck a panic attack. So, when he gets murdered by an assassin that he provoked with his insults it's very hard to feel too bad about it.
- Boisterous Weakling: In Season 3, he begins to grows especially aggressive in his taunting, such as telling Chuck that he'd kick his ass and calling a random dangerous stranger in the parking lot a "pussy."
- Camp Straight: Big Mike has some serious doubts over what Emmett's "affliation" is, although, Emmett has always claimed from his first appearance to have a girlfriend called Henrietta from Buy More Ontario's internal corporate branch.
- Crazy-Prepared: Apparently stockpiled cans of mace in case the Russians attacked "Red Dawn-style", which proves to come in handy when the Ring infiltrates Castle.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Chuck is sometimes tardy to work or has to leave to save the world. Despite this, everyone that isn't in-the-loop about his espionage life - including his actual boss, Big Mike - is willing to let it go because Chuck is indisputably the most competent employee at the Buy More. Emmett, however, takes personal offense at the thought Chuck would ever consider anything more important than his dead-end job and so makes it his personal mission to make Chuck's life miserable.
- Effeminate Misogynistic Guy: Despite some effeminate traits, he shows a generally low opinion of women.
- In "Chuck Versus Tom Sawyer", he assumes Anna is a prostitute when she tries to flirt with him.
- In "Chuck Versus the Fat Lady", Emmett calls Sarah a "bimbo" and refers to Jill as "it" despite never having actually spoken to either of them.
- When he learns that Morgan's mother is sleeping with Big Mike he takes delight in taunting Morgan with some very graphic verbal descriptions of what might be going on.
- Enemy Mine: He works together with Jeff, Lester, and Morgan to "help" Big Mike after his wife divorces him in "Chuck Versus the Suburbs".
- Fatal Flaw: His delusions of authority.
- Jerkass: By far one of the most unpleasant characters of the series.
- Killed Off for Real: He's killed by an assassin after he calls him a pussy.
- Manipulative Bastard: He manipulated Morgan on the promise of being promoted out of Buy More, only to be promoted to Big Mike's position and knocking Big Mike down to a green shirt.
- Moe Greene Special: He is fatally shot through the eye by Javier Cruz.
- Mugging the Monster:
- Threatening one of the most dangerous, pissed-off assassins in the world with mace and calling him a pussy usually doesn't end well...
- Before that, he harassed a depressed Chuck to the point Chuck had a 2.0 flash (which generally happens when Chuck is in danger), then taunts and threatens him after Chuck has what looks like a panic attack as he tries to suppress the urge to kick his ass. He's lucky that it was the armed assassin who snapped and not Chuck, given what Chuck could have done to him.
- Professional Butt-Kisser: He buys Big Mike donuts and generally tries to suck up to him, all the while plotting to take his job.
- Secret Chaser: In his efforts to destroy Chuck, he grows suspicious of why Chuck goes on so many service calls and interrogates Lester, Jeff, and Morgan to gain any information he can use against Bartowski.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: A beat for beat replacement for Harry Tang. That said, unlike Harry, Emmett is a genuine thorn for both Morgan and Chuck.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Running the Buy More for six months elevates Emmett's ego to an insane degree.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: Shot while "Hold On" by Wilson Phillips plays in the background.
- The Sociopath: His egotistical demeanor, enjoyment of making people feel as horrible and humiliated as he can make them (especially his treatment of Big Mike, even though Mike actually liked him), willingness to emotionally manipulate people who trust him, general disregard for other human beings, and his lack of care for the safety of the people in the Buy More during a hostage situation, all point to him having some serious sociopathic leanings.
- The Starscream: Manipulates Morgan all in an effort to betray Big Mike and snatch the manager's position.
- Smug Snake: Even though he made himself the manager of Buy More, his delusions of authority and petty nature almost constantly threaten to undo his position. His death was a natural conclusion of his inabilities to not twist the knife along with keeping his mouth shut.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: For Harry Tang. Both are tyrannical Smug Snake assistant managers who take pleasure in making all their employees miserable. However, they aren't identical. Harry's rivalry was always mainly with Morgan due to their contrasting personalities and only bothered Chuck when they were competing for the same job position. Emmett, meanwhile, wants to end Chuck's career because he's so beloved by the other employees and will go after Morgan just because Chuck isn't around. Also, Harry Tang always knew when to swallow his pride and keep his head down when he met anyone remotely dangerous. Emmett meanwhile...
- Too Dumb to Live: One really wonders what was going on in his head when he decided to call the intimidating man who threatens him a “pussy”. Even if the guy isn’t an assassin it was still a fundamentally idiotic decision.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: The majority of the Season 2 story arc revolves around his pathetic machinations. Eventually he does succeed in taking over the managerial position at the Buy More, ousting Big Mike.
- Tragic Mistake: Don't pick fights with shady looking guys behind the Buy More!
- We Can Rule Together: When he takes over the Buy More he forces Morgan into being his assistant manager so he can boss him around and call him "Ass Man."
Morgan Grimes
Morgan Grimes
Portrayed by Joshua Gomez
Morgan is promoted to the role of Assistant Manager after the tyrannical reign of Emmett Milbarge comes to an end and proves to be the most relaxed and mentally stable assistant manage the Buy More ever had.
- See Team Bartowski for tropes relating to him.
Nerd Herd
Lester Patel
Lester Patel
Portrayed by Vik Sahay
"Repulsion is our business..."
Fellow Nerd-Herder from the Buy More, Lester works under Chuck, and with his best friend Jeff. He is the lead-singer of their band, Jeffster!, is a specialist in Apple products, and is proud of his talent as a professional stalker.
- Abhorrent Admirer: A variation. While he's nowhere near that ugly, he's terrifyingly creepy towards all of his stalkees. When Jeff is brought up to normal by Awesome, Lester tries to Murder the Hypotenuse of Jeff's brain!.
- Brainwashing for the Greater Good: Lester ignores that Morgan as the assistant manager of the Buy More is a Benevolent Boss and makes it his mission to destroy Morgan's career - just as Morgan has done previously with Harry Tang and Emmett Milbarge - because that's what they've always done in the past. When it becomes clear that Lester absolutely will not back down, Casey kidnaps and subjects the man to government brainwashing to accept the new status quo.
- Casanova Wannabe: Although he's cute, his tactics for seducing women ensure that he couldn't get laid in a monkey whorehouse with a sack full of bananas.
- Clingy Jealous Dude: He has serious co-dependency issues with Jeff. He even tries to be best friends with Morgan to make him jealous in "Chuck vs. Tom Sawyer".
- Forceful Kiss: Plants one on Anna when she's nice to him after he charges the criminal holding the store hostage in "Chuck Versus Santa Claus". She is disgusted.
- Handsome Lech: Though not handsome in show he's a creepy, creepy guy.
- Jerkass: Treats Jeff like crap, and is overall just a toxic nuisance for the Buy More.
- Jerkass Woobie: As big of a jerk as he is, sometimes it can be hard to see him fall when he genuinely tries to be sincere, and the show reminds us just how lonely and pathetic he actually is. Particularly his attempt to woo an arranged marriage he first intended to derail, then reversed when she discovered she was not only hot, but they actually had some chemistry. He first fails by playing up their shared heritage (Canadian "Hinjews") which turns her off because she decides he's too "traditional." However he succeeds in getting her to agree to give him a second chance to show the real him (she did find him, and his effort once she learned what he was doing, cute). Unfortunately, his attempt to serenade her with his band only weirds her out entirely, and she storms off in a huff. Lester was genuinely hurt and it showed.
- Mistaken for Gay: Was mistaken for a gay woman at one point, though he didn't hear it so we don't know what his reaction would have been.
- Small Name, Big Ego. Oh, dear GOD.Lester: The words "Hero", "Savior"... "God" are thrown around. We deserve them.
- The Sociopath: He pretty much checks off every category, but typically, sociopaths are also manipulative and intelligent. Lester is a complete moron.
- Those Two Guys: With Jeff.
- Toxic Friend Influence: Of the incredibly dickish variety. He's pretty much the "brains" behind all their pathetic schemes. He's also absurdly dependent on his one only friendship with Jeff, that he's willing to poison him (along with Big Mike) when Awesome fixes him up.
- Twofer Token Minority: He's a Hinjew. This actually becomes a plot point in Season 5 when his assholeness just a bit too far and he's locked up in prison. He claims that Jeff will never move on and find another talented Hinjew singer.
Jeffrey Barnes
Jeffrey Barnes
Portrayed by Scott Krinsky
"...And business is good."
Fellow Nerd-Herder from the Buy More, Jeff works under Chuck, and with his best friend Lester. He plays the instruments and edits the videos for their band, Jeffster! He's also an Apple specialist, and quite possibly the creepiest guy in the world.
In Season 5 it turns out, he's actually a very intelligent, sensitive and sweet guy. His peculiar behavior was the result of constant carbon monoxide poisoning and Lester's toxic influence.
- Abhorrent Admirer: Admires and wants to stalk Chuck of all people... All women, especially overweight housewives shopping for Beastmasters and pregnant women, should also beware...
- Abusive Parents"I like pineapples. My Dad used to throw them at me."
- Accidental Hero: Saves Casey from a Ring agent thanks to him using chlorophyll to get high.
- The Alcoholic: And how. He can chug two entire six-packs in under a minute."I am... Spartacus!"
- Casanova Wannabe: He's Lester minus the cuteness, so needless to say his luck with the ladies is even worse. That being said, he still gets kissed by a woman (completely willingly) before Lester. This woman? ELLIE.
- Cloudcuckoolander: A very, very creepy variant.
- The Cuckoo Lander Was Right: Whenever he puts forth some kind of idea or theory, it will get rejected despite him being 100% right. Example: When told to write down who has Ellie's missing laptop purely from his memory banks, he writes down CIA. Despite the fact that the CIA HAS the laptop, Lester tosses it aside.
- After he's prescribed a good night sleep in season 5, he stops being this, and more of a normal person, much to Lester's shock. It's implied that his... eccentricity was caused by the fact that he didn't get any REM sleep, due to living in his van. With it running while he slept, implying carbon monoxide poisoning
- Connected All Along: In the most surreal way possible, Jeff turns out to have quite the connection to Chuck's spy life. During The '80s, Jeff won a Missile Command championship and to this day it remains his one accomplishment. It turns out the creator of the game commanded actual missiles and hid nuclear launch codes in the game's Kill Screen. Present-day, a dangerous and infamous middle-eastern terrorist has set his eyes on those launch codes and proceeds to barge into the Buy More and flat out asks where Jeffrey Barnes is. Flat "What" indeed.
- A Day in the Limelight: "Chuck vs. Tom Sawyer". Jeff is the only supporting Buy More character that got his own episode.
- Hidden Depths: Amazingly so. Jeff is one of the first characters to really remark on how Sarah is Chuck's true love when he's briefly dating Hannah, even though the rest of the cast thinks Chuck really "has it going." When Lester makes a total mess of Chuck and Sarah's wedding video he not only fixes it, but produces an incredibly sweet and romantic tribute. Ellie is so astonished that she even kisses him. It's eventually revealed that much of Jeff's creepy behavior is the result of probable Carbon Monoxide poisoning from sleeping in his van while it's running, so it's implied that Jeff is actually a very intelligent and sensitive guy.
- I Am Spartacus: Literally says this after he chugs 12 cans of beer... at once!
- No-Sell: When Casey shoots him with a tranq dart, his only reaction is "I think my water just broke." He ends up needing six darts for him to fully pass out.
- Only Sane Man: Quickly assumes the role with practically any situation when Awesome figures out exactly what's wrong with him, and properly fixes him up.
- Running Gag: Jeff has an unhealthy obsession with burning down the Buy More and suggests it whenever it seems like the Buy More will be taken over or shut down. In "Chuck Versus the Ring: Part 2" he gets his wish even though it's not by his own hand.
- Stalker with a Crush: He is one for Anna. He even made a music video compilation of all the pictures he's taken of her without her permission. Anna is aware of Jeff's creepy affection for her and disgusted by it, but no more than she and everyone else is disgusted by everything else Jeff does and says.
- Suddenly Always Knew That: His past as a video game champion is very important in one episode. Subverted when Chuck needs to take his place after he passes out from being too nervous.
- Those Two Guys: With Lester.
- We Want Our Idiot Back!: In Season 5, Jeff turns out to have been suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning for years due to sleeping in his van, and after he's freed from its effects, becomes an intelligent and sensitive guy who gets on much better with everyone. This does not sit well with his "best friend" (read: controlling Jerkass who lets Jeff hang out with him in return for getting to treat him like crap), Lester, who doesn't appreciate Jeff breaking out of his subordinate role and tries to return him to the way he was by pumping monoxide fumes into the room he's in. Fortunately, however, Jeff escapes and later has Lester arrested; however, being the Nice Guy he is, he eventually drops the charges on the proviso that Lester promises never to poison him again.
Anna Wu
Anna Wu
Portrayed by Julia Ling
"Morgan's so awesome! He can eat anything..."
Another Nerd-Herder from the Buy-More, Anna Wu is Morgan's girlfriend until she cheats on him. She gives off a very promiscuous vibe, and has a rather colorful relationship history.
- Action Girl: She got her own spot in the limelight when she kicked Mitt's ass with a pair of camera tripods. Casey even recommended her for field duty.
- Asian and Nerdy: Subverted. Whilst she is Asian and a member of the Nerd Herd she is the least stereotypically "nerdy" member of the group. Her nerdiness really only extending to her being knowledgable about repairing electronic appliances.
- But Not Too Bi: She's bi but still seems to prefer guys, if Morgan is an indicator.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: She was very insecure of Morgan's attraction to Ellie.
- Lethal Chef: After learning that Morgan loves Ellie's cooking she attempts to cook for Thanksgiving to win him over. Her efforts do more to give him food poisoning than enamour him to her, although, she considers his reaction to her cooking more a Secret Test of Character than anything else.
- Offscreen Breakup: Between Season 2 and 3. Morgan returns from their trip to Hawaii alone; Anna left him for the Benihana Chef he was training under.
- Ms. Fanservice: Anna wears plenty of outfits that show off skin. She even breaks the dress codes of the Buy More to make her usual Nerd Herder uniform as revealing as possible.
- In "Chuck Versus Tom Sawyer", she wears a hula girl outfit.
- In "Chuck Versus Santa Claus", she wears a raunchy Christmas-themed costume.
- Perky Goth: Has both the style and attitude.
- Put on a Bus: For season 3, due to budget cuts.
- The Bus Came Back: For "Chuck Versus the Tooth."
- The Smurfette Principle: She was the only female working in the Nerd Herd.
- Twofer Token Minority: Asian and female.
- Violently Protective Girlfriend: In "Chuck Versus the Break-Up", Mitt of the Mighty Jocks learns the hard way not to harm Morgan. However, she usually encourages Morgan to fight his own battles to build up his self confidence.
- Waif-Fu: Surprisingly tough in a cage match!
- Will They or Won't They?: Lampshaded. Her relationship with Morgan is an on-off arrangement depending on her mood that changes practically every week. In the end, however, they break up permanently after she cheats on him off-screen between Seasons 2 and 3. Even when she returns, Morgan's newfound maturity causes him to break things off with her permanently, decisively telling her that if it took leaving him to make her realize that he's who she really wanted, then she's not the woman Morgan wants to be with.
Hannah
Hannah
Portrayed by Kristin Kreuk
"Any idea what she's doing here, other than trying to make you jealous with that ridiculously good looking date of hers?"
A cute, spunky computer expert whom Chuck met on a plane to Paris. Being fired from her job, Chuck offered her to work with him at the Nerd Herd - an offer she accepted. But, with Chuck being a super-spy who has to lie about every little thing to her, their building romantic relationship was very short-lived.
- Brainy Brunette: She's a smart brunette, who's clearly overqualified for her job at a store like the Buy More.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: She's clearly not fond of Chuck being in contact with his ex while they're dating.
- Commonality Connection: She and Chuck quickly bond over the fact that they're both nerdy computer experts.
- Damsel in Distress: A Ring operative uses her to get back at Chuck and Shaw by trading her for a weaponized virus. Chuck manages to save her however.
- Glad-to-Be-Alive Sex: Her and Chuck sleep together shortly after he saved her life in "Chuck Versus the Mask".
- No Name Given: We really only learn her first name.
- Only Sane Employee: During her brief tenure as a Nerd Herder, she definitely gets the impression she's this. And her impression includes Chuck, who normally fits into the role but due to his spy life seems incredibly unreliable and flighty in comparison to her.
- The Masquerade Will Kill Your Dating Life: Throughout their entire relationship, his work as a spy keeps him from being a good boyfriend to her, having to often abandon her to deal with some crises. Chuck eventually realizes that there are parts of his life he will never be able to share with Hannah and decides to break up with her. She interprets this as him dumping her after sleeping with her. When he can't give her a straight answer as to why he's breaking up with her she assumes he was a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing, terminating their relationship on very unpleasant terms.
- Ms. Fanservice: She's very pretty and is often played for Fanservice, being one of the many characters to do a Supermodel Strut when entering the Buy More (although given she's just a normal civilian and not a Femme Fatale Spy, it's implied it was a case of Crush Filter).
- Naked First Impression: Downplayed, she has an awkward first meeting with Ellie, who catches her coming out of Chuck's shower dressed only a Modesty Towel.
- Oblivious to Love: Morgan has a huge crush on her, which she seems to be completely unaware of.
- Put on a Bus: Her story arc lasts for only a handful of episodes before Chuck realizes (again) that he really wants Sarah.
- Romantic False Lead: Was a Love Interest for Chuck for a couple of episodes. Sure, she's beautiful, but did you really expect her to get in the way of Chuck and Sarah permanently?
- The Smurfette Principle: After Anna Wu was Put on a Bus, Hannah became the token female Nerd Herder for a while.
