Chuck Versus the Bulldog!

NBC's Chuck is one of those shows I just started watching and couldn't stop. It seems to be on at just the right time - soon after dinner and right before Heroes on Monday night, and really helps bide the painstaking time between Battlestar seasons. Chuck keeps pulling out the awesomess. First, we now know that we'll see Tricia Helfer guest star as a helping-hand special agent on the show in 2009. Tonight, Chuck and BSG fans are treated to another special guest who plays one of my favorite yet most underappreciated characters on BSG - Senior Lieutenant Daniel "Bulldog" Novacek.

Carl Lumbly was last seen on BSG as Bulldog in episode 8 of season 3, "Hero". Bulldog mysteriously incorporated himself into the Fleet after being presented a Colonial Officer's uniform by Adama. He seemed like such a loaded character that we would have seen at least intermittently in the series, especially since a whole episode was based primarily on him, yet we never saw him again.

In Chuck's episode 9 of season 2, "Chuck Versus the Sensei", Carl Lumbly plays Bennett, the former sensei to Agent John Casey, played by Adam Baldwin (Triple whammy for Chuck, BSG, and Firefly fans, and quadruple if you are also a fan of Alias in which Lumbly co-starred). Lumbly's Sensei Bennett is a stone-cold ass-kicker, and is surprisingly clean-cut these days. If you've seen the documentaries in the season 3 DVDs, you might remember the discussion around Lumbly's (the son of Jamaican immigrants) dreadlocks which the actor did not want to change for the role. It made perfect sense though, since his character was holed up in a Cylon prison cell for a pretty long time.

It's always a thrill to see Carl Lumbly's powerful presence, which is why I always hoped to see him again on BSG since both are pretty intense. If you missed tonight's episode of Chuck, don't despair - it should be available to view online at NBC.com (see Chuck link at top of page) and Hulu as soon as tomorrow!

* While we're on the subject of BSG stars and NBC, don't forget to tune in to NBC on Wednesday December 3rd to see Katee Sackhoff's guest appearance on Law & Order at 10pm/9pm Central.