After the miserable failure of just about everything else currently airing on NBC Mondays, the network has finally decided when to put on-air something that does work: the third-year dramedy, Chuck, will return to NBC’s beleaguered schedule on Sunday, January 10 with a two-hour movie-length special, and then will settle back into its old home on Mondays at 7 PM Central (8 PM Eastern).

This should be the cause of much rejoicing for Chuck fans, who saw the series’ initial order for this season expand from 13 episodes to 18, long before even a single episode has aired; while NBC’s miserable status since dropping out of the “major network” race by turning its third prime-time hour into a Jay Leno talk-show slot five nights a week, some help from Chuck may equate to help for the network at large, at least on Mondays.

Once Chuck moves to 7 PM Mondays in January, Heroes will move back to its more-familiar 8 PM time slot, which may improve that show’s fortunes. One can only hope. Seriously, if it were not for NBC’s comedy block on Thursday nights, which is consistently good with Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office and 30 Rock, there’s not a single complete night of programming on NBC that is solid front-to-back. It’s enough to make a person who likes the few remaining good shows on the network turn to electronic cigarettes.

Still, long-term, the best chance for NBC as a whole is for Comcast to take over ownership, fire all the idiots currently in charge, and turn NBC back into a three prime-time hours of real programming network once again, instead of this bargain-basement approach taken by GE.