It seems that Chuck should have followed the Gifted Man‘s lead and sat the bench.

Facing stiff competition from Game 7 of the World Series — which appears on pace to improve on Game 6 by some 17 percent, final numbers due later — Chuck‘s fifth and final season premiere delivered 3.4 million total viewers and registered a mere 1.0 demo rating amongst the coveted 18-49 crowd.

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UPDATED: For comparison’s sake, Chuck‘s Season 4 opener drew 6 mil and a 2.1, NBC’s School Pride in the Friday lead-off spot last fall did 2.9 mil/0.9; and NBC’s comedy repeats a week ago averaged 1.8 mil/0.6.

In its time slot, Chuck placed fourth in viewers and tied the Gifted Man rerun and Extreme Makeover‘s first half for a distant, distant second in the demo (behind baseball).

 The Chuck premiere as well as the debut of NBC’s Grimm will repeat tonight at 8 and 9 pm, respectively.

Turning to NBC’s Grimm at 9 o’clock, it scared up 6.5 million total viewers and a 2.1 demo rating, building greatly on Chuck‘s lead-in. The supernatural newbie easily placed No. 2 in the demo (far, far behind baseball), but was edged out by the CSI: Miami repeat in total viewers.

Among the other fresh fare daring to air Friday, The CW’s Nikita (1.8 mil/0.6) drew a few more eyeballs while staying flat in the demo, while Supernatural (1.7 mil/0.7) dipped 10 percent opposite Grimm.