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Over the years,
I’ve learned to avoid any and all
new shows when they first air. There are
two main reasons for this. First and foremost,
I hate… let me say that again…
HATE… the little pop-ups that advertise
other shows and events at the bottom of
the screen. As I’ve mentioned before,
the marketing guy who came up with that
little idea needs to be shot… then
brought back to life… then shot again.
The other reason revolves more around the
networks odd habit of cancelling great shows
before they have a chance to catch on. I’d
list some examples, but I’m sure most
of you can name a lot of the same ones.
So it was with much trepidation that I sat
down to watch the first episode of “Chuck”
when it aired at the end of 2007.
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The premise was too good to pass up. A computer
nerd working at a Buy More store gets an email
from his old high school buddy/nemesis who is
now a super spy. The email loads every bit of
intelligence that our government has ever collected
into his head. The original computer that housed
the information is destroyed, so our nerd hero
is now an important government asset and has to
be protected by agents. And it’s a comedy.
How could you ever go wrong with this combination?
Fortunately, “Chuck” not only didn’t
go wrong… but the network saw fit to bring
it back for a second season (and now a third),
eschewing its trend of cancelling great shows.
That said… is “Chuck” great?
While it might be the greatest show ever, it has
found a place high on my list of favorites. It’s
nearly great on so many levels that it’s
difficult to talk about them all. First, we have
Zachary Levi as Chuck. Levi perfectly balances
on the fence between computer nerd and leading
man. Good looking enough to be considered…
well… good looking, but still carrying that
bit of childish goofiness that makes him believable
as a member of Buy More’s ‘Nerd Herd.’
Like its lead actor, “Chuck” has two
sides. It is a perfect blend of campy comedy and
edge of your seat action. At any given time you’ll
get to see Buy More employees cheering on the
eating of ‘mystery food’ from the
refrigerator or super spies beating the crap out
of each other. On the Buy More side (which you
have to wonder how Best Buy feels about this),
you have Chuck’s co-workers. Morgan (Joshua
Gomez) is his lifelong compadre, having played
every videogame ever created together since they
were kids. Morgan is a perfect case of arrested
development, a 12 year old trapped in a man’s
body and he is hysterically funny every time he
opens his mouth. Jeff (Scott Krinsky) is the ultimate
in creepy nerd. Quiet in that bug-eyed, wild-haired
kind of way… and you know he is probably
having perverted sexual thoughts about everyone.
Lester (Vik Sahay) is the store’s token
East Indian (and Jeff’s best friend). He
is willing to get anyone else into trouble as
long as he gets clear… and watch out when
he gets an assistant manager’s position.
Everything that goes on in the store pokes fun
at the whole idea of computer nerds working at
a store like Best Buy. It often goes way over
the top, or so it may seem as I know several employees
for that place and they claim the show doesn’t
stray too far from the truth.
On the other side of the coin, we have Chuck’s
now secret life as the holder of the ‘Intersect’
in his brain. His government handlers, Sarah (Yvonne
Strahovski) and John Casey (Adam Baldwin) are
often at odds with each other as they come from
different departments. But along with trying to
protect Chuck, they are pulled into assignments
based on people or events that he recognizes.
More often than not this includes pulling Chuck
into the assignment and we see him grow throughout
the series from complete bumbler to a savvier
spy wannabe. Chuck is also in love with Sarah
and we come to realize that she may love him,
too, but fights it because of her need to be loyal
to her work. Casey, on the other hand, seems to
hate everyone and as portrayed by the awesome
Adam Baldwin is one of the best characters on
the show. His facial expressions, especially when
posing as an employee at the Buy More, are priceless.
We also get to see Chuck’s home life (which
I guess would be a third side…) as he lives
with his sister Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) and her
fiancé Devon “Captain Awesome”
Woodcomb (Ryan McPartlin). Ellie is a terrific
sister who wants nothing more than to see her
brother succeed at something and get out of the
Buy More. Devon is… well… he’s
awesome (you just have the see the show to understand.
Throughout the first and second seasons of the
show we see all of Chuck’s worlds begin
to ‘intersect’ more and more and it
becomes ever more difficult to keep his secret
a secret and his friends and family safe.
Speaking of the second season, my wife and I are
completely hooked on this series and enjoyed all
of the new twists and turns it took in the full
second season (the first season only had 13 episodes).
More and more pieces of the many character’s
histories started coming to light, and important
people out of Chuck’s past started crawling
out of the woodwork… many of whom have shadier
sides than he could have ever guessed. As we see
Chuck grow into his role (though he wants terribly
to get rid of the info in head and have a normal
life), we also see how his ‘nerd’
side makes him such a great agent. It’s
often as hilarious as it is endearing. Oh, and
I’ve also seen my very first fight in a
carnival Gravitron ride, and it is hands down
one of the funniest moments in TV history.
The third seaso, pulls out all of the stops as
Chuck uploads Intersect 2.0 and not only holds
every secret in his noggin, it seems he has acquired
all of the skills to become an actual super spy.
The season finale from season 2 was awesome in
its final moments as we got to see Chuck kick
some major butt. Heading into this new season,
we do learn that like the original programming,
this version has some side effects. As Chuck was
not psychologically prepared for this program,
he begins to have very vivid nightmares.
I was glad to see that while the series did begin
to focus even more on Chuck’s relationships
to Sarah and Casey, as well as new series regular
Daniel Shaw (Brandon Routh), the producers didn’t
stray too far from the gang at the “Buy
More.” The series continues to mix action
and comedy better than most and this third season
was every bit as satisfying as what came before.
Warners is releasing the third season on DVD
and Bluray this month, and along with the assortment
of episodes are a handful of nice special features.
Included are a very funny gag reel, a look at
some key scenes and how they were shot, and a
brief hysterical mockumentary about ‘Jeffster.’
(Don’t ask… just watch…). But
clearly the standout feature focuses on actor
Zachary Levi and the training he had to endure
in order to shoot the types of action sequences
that he didn’t have to in earlier seasons.
I cannot recommend “Chuck” enough.
It’s a terrific show that the network hasn’t
figured out is so terrific. Please don’t
tell them.
Episodes:
Chuck Versus the Pink Slip
Chuck Versus the Three Words
Chuck Versus the Angel de la Muerte
Chuck Versus Operation Awesome
Chuck Versus First Class
Chuck Versus the Nacho Sampler
Chuck Versus the Mask
Chuck Versus the Fake Name
Chuck Versus the Beard
Chuck Versus the Tic Tac
Chuck Versus the Final Exam
Chuck Versus the American Hero
Chuck Versus the Other Guy
Chuck Versus the Honeymooners
Chuck Versus the Role Models
Chuck Versus the Tooth
Chuck Versus the Living Dead
Chuck Versus the Subway
Chuck Versus the Ring, Part 2
Starring: Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Joshua
Gomez, Ryan McPartlin, Mark Christopher Lawarence,
Vik Sahay, Scott Krinsky, Adam Baldwin
Extras: Deleted Scenes; Chuck Fu… and Dim
Sum; The Jeffster Revolution; Gag Reel
Specification: Dolby Surround 5.1
Studio: Warner Brothers
Release Date: 9/7/2010
MPAA Rating: NR
http://www.wbtvondvd.com
We'll give Chuck: Season 3 (Bluray) an A.
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