The Show
In his Second Season, Chuck Bartowski (Zach Levi) continues to wrestle with the possibilities and the inherent dangers of his special "gift." He's the unwitting recipient of the collected data of the federal government, the sole bearer of these valuable secrets, even if he doesn't know quite what to do with it all. But after repeatedly proving himself to be a formidable good guy despite years of blatant nerdhood, his confidence is slowly building. It begins with a first date with one of his handlers (the gorgeous one, played by Yvonne Strahovski) and he picks up lots more field experience week after week, so perhaps he might be ready to become a full-fledged spy. Or does he just want a normal life after all?
Chuck's balance of action and humor--with more geek movie references than anyone except a total geek would be able to keep track of--help make it one of the most entertaining shows on network television. NBC cancelled it at the end of Season Two, but eventually relented. I for one can't wait to catch up.
The Picture
Shot in a combination of 16 and 35mm film formats, Chuck is disappointingly soft and noisy on Blu-ray, one of those "a-notch-above-DVD" type releases. Blacks within the 1.78:1 frame are about average, while out-of-focus backgrounds don't look particularly good. Disc Four carries the "ColorCode 3-D" version of the post-Super Bowl episode, "Chuck Versus the Third Dimension" with two pairs of blue/amber anaglyph specs included, and the experience is successful, and quite fun given the limits of the technology.
The Sound
This is a Warner disc and it defaults to Dolby Digital 5.1, but it turns out that there is no higher-resolution option, just a Spanish 2.0 track. Even so, the mix is rather interesting, with discrete surround usage for off-camera voices, front-to-back whoosh as the camera makes dynamic moves; we hear elevator doors closing behind us, the resonance of a scream for dramatic effect, and the always-welcome sound of 360-degree gunfire and broken glass. The levels within the mix can be a little iffy, is in a couple of scenes where the dialogue was at risk of being buried under the music, but in general this is not bad at all for weekly TV audio.
The Extras
"Declassified Scenes" are served up disc-by-disc for most episodes, 37 minutes total. Disc Four is where most of the extras reside however, beginning with "Chuck: A Real-Life Captain Awesome Tip for Being Awesome" in-character advice on four topics from Chuck's sister's super-swell fiancé (three minutes total). The two-part "Truth, Spies and Regular Guys: Exploring the Mythology of Chuck" (about 20 minutes) makes a handy primer for the series.
"John Casey Presents: So You Want to Be a Deadly Spy?" is another in-character clip, this time riffing on old military training films (about three minutes). "Dude in Distress" focuses on the many new and improved stunt sequences from Season Two (about 18 minutes). "Chuck Versus the Chuckles" is a slight seven-and-a-half-minute gag reel, while "Chuck Versus the Webisodes" collects five fun videos themed around Buy More, the store where Chuck works, ten minutes total. All of these extras are in HD, although the quality is not stellar.
Final Thoughts
The fate of Chuck is symbolized by the life of Chuck: No respect. Incredibly, so little love from a disbelieving NBC (while lesser shows which shall remain nameless receive far too much) and now a somewhat lackluster Blu-ray. Mr. Bartowski works at a consumer electronics haven, so where's our high-res audio, sparkling picture, and next-gen extras? Perhaps the answer is classified.
Product Details
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