The onset of Summer also means the return of my Five Questions series, in which I take a look back at the most recent seasons of some favorite TV shows and pose some hypothetical questions about their future. Today's questions are for Chuck, which will start its second season in the Fall.

1. Is Chuck a show people will have missed? You know when Chuck was last on TV? January 25. It's been almost six months — eight by the time the new season starts in September — since the last time we hung out with the Buy More crew. Will absence make viewers' hearts grow fonder for Chuck — or will they forget the show even existed?
2. Is Chuck in any serious peril? At the end of the season's final episode, we were reminded that Chuck can't stay in his secret agent role forever. So, what will become of him? Will Sarah and Casey rally to his defense? Will Chuck make himself indispensable in an effort to stay alive? And what did Zachary Levi mean when he told a reporter that Chuck dies twice?

Three more questions, so read more.

3. Who is Sarah? We know she's living a cover life, but what more can we learn about her in the second season? News that at least one early episode will find her going to a high school reunion is intriguing. I'm curious to find out how much of her cover story is true — and how what we learn about her will affect how Chuck feels.
4. Will the stunt casting work? Nicole Richie recently filmed a guest spot on the show, playing an old arch-nemesis of Sarah's in that high school reunion episode. Britney's appearance on How I Met Your Mother did its part to boost that show's ratings in the Spring; can the same be done for Chuck? Personally, I'm more excited to see Tony Hale step into a management spot at the Buy More; it seems like he should fit right in.
5. How long can the show stay fresh? Like Pushing Daisies —and, in fact, like a lot of shows from last Fall — Chuck has what seems like a limited premise. Eventually, the new government intersect must get back online and knock Chuck out of relevance (if not off the face of the earth entirely). So how long can the show put that off, keeping Chuck on missions even while the CIA and NSA desperately want to put him out of work?

Photo courtesy of NBC