Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Chuck: The Complete Fifth and Final Season

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from season four, but no major giveaways from the final season.+++

The fifth season of Chuck is another partial season, that was basically given to wrap up the series and provide the fans with a proper ending. It starts out with a short time jump from the end of season four with Chuck and Sarah married and having used the billion-dollar gift to rebuild the base under the Buy More and start Carmichael Industries. Morgan has the new intersect and is brought along on missions, but left in the car, much to his disappointment. The overarching story arc throughout the season is that everything from season one on has been manipulated as part of a larger conspiracy that the team has to try and unravel. The supporting cast is not used as extensively this year as it was in prior seasons, likely due to budget cuts, but there are some great Jeffster moments, the highlight of which is Jeff getting clean and basically figuring everything out. There are a bunch of great guest stars this season including Mark Hamill, Brandon Routh, Carrie-Anne Moss, Angus Macfadyen, Linda Hamilton, and Bo Derek, playing herself in a great episode.

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the show looks and sounds great in HD, as it always has. The extras include commentary tracks on the final two episodes, a feature on making the final episode, a tribute to the fans of the show who were basically the reason it kept going as long as it did, a feature on the music of the show, and a few features on the beginning of the show, the evolution of the show, and predictions from the cast and crew about where the characters would end up in the future. There are also deleted scenes, a gag reel, and full versions of the Buy More commercials. So, a lot of extras for those who like them.

Overall, the season was bittersweet. It did give the fans a proper ending that the season four finale did not provide. It was not necessarily a happily ever after ending for the show and definitely left some things unresolved, but I think the show did a nice job taking a risk by not giving an ending that tied up every single thing and had all of the characters in a perfect place at the end. There were some very good episodes and some clunkers in the season, but like the series as a whole, the season was good overall and ended the series at the right time.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Chuck Season Four

 

+++Warning, this contains minor spoilers from the prior season, but no major season four giveaways +++

The fourth season of Chuck continues to reinvent the show through the large story arc, this time involving Chuck's mom, while still managing to continue the things (mainly the humor and the romance between Chuck and Sarah) that have made the show work. Morgan, having learned of Chuck's secret becomes a manager at the Buy More, and has to keep things running, which includes keeping the other Buy More employees out of the loop and out of the CIA's way. There is also a running gag with a rotating Buy More employee named Greta who is played throughout the season by Olivia Munn, Isaiah Mustafa, Stacy Keibler, and Summer Glau.

The show continues much in the same vein as it has the first few seasons. It is partly a case-of-the-week procedural show with a larger serial arc that spans through the season. It has a great mix of action and comedy, with some drama mixed in as well. There are a ton of pop culture references, and many great Guest Stars including Lauren Cohan, Robin Givens, Linda Hamilton, Ray Wise, Nicole Richie, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Dave Bautista, Lou Ferrigno, Timothy Daulton, Dolph Lundgren, and Eric Roberts.

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the A/V quality is great, as it has been with the prior releases. The extras include a video commentary track on the episode Chuck vs. The First Fight, a series of short webisodes featuring Lester and Jeff, an in-character interview with Joshua Gomez, and a feature on the episode that Zachary Levi directed during the season.

Overall, the show continues to be well written and very well acted. It was again on the brink of cancellation but still managed to get a full 24-episode season. If you have been a fan of the prior seasons then you will almost certainly like this one as it continues the formula that earned the show the cult following that it had without getting stale.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Chuck Season 3

 

+++Warning, this contains a minor season two spoiler, but no major season three giveaways +++

Season three of Chuck picks up with Chuck wanting to be a "real" spy and take down The Ring, but his relationship with Sarah is on the rocks because of his refusal to run off with her and leave the spy life for good. Of course, he ends up back at the Buy More, and things proceed from there. This season sees more guest stars including Brandon Routh, Kristen Kreuk, Angie Harmon, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Fred Willard, Swoosie Kurtz, Tony Sirico, and Louis Lombardi (the last two recognizable from The Sopranos). The season packs a lot into the 13 episodes shortened season. The focus is mainly on Chuck and Sarah's relationship, but the show does a good job incorporating the Buy More characters into the storylines giving all of them good material to work with.

For those who get the Blu-Ray set, the show looks and sounds great in HD. The extras include a 22-minute making-of feature, a mockumentary on "Jeffster", deleted scenes, and a gag reel. What was included was good, but definitely not as much as were included in the earlier season sets.

Overall, the series continued to be strong, despite being on the brink of cancellation from the second season forward. The acting and writing continued to be stellar, with a very good blend of drama and comedy (with a ton of pop culture references thrown in). The show did get a bit into "teen angst" territory with the Chuck and Sarah relationship this year, but, of course, getting the main characters together can be the death knell for a show (especially one already on the brink of cancellation) so they had to throw any kind of wrench into it that they could. I would say that this season has more drama than comedy, but there are still a lot of good funny moments throughout.

If you loved the first couple of seasons, you will likely enjoy this one. If you have not liked the first two seasons, this one is not likely to change your mind. If you have not seen the show yet are wondering whether to watch it, watch season one (you cannot really jump in partway and have it make a ton of sense) and enjoy. It lives up to all the hype that fans give it.

Blu-Ray Review: Chuck Season 2

 

The second season of Chuck is where the series really hit its stride. The beginning of the season involves a storyline of a second intersect and the possibility of Chuck getting his normal life back, which is a blessing and a curse for him given his feelings for Sarah, and not wanting her to leave. Of course, plans go awry, and (since the show went on), he does not end up getting out. The season also expands the role of Fulcrum and the evil organization trying to get their hands on the intersect. This season also involves more of the Buy More group of characters, with hilarious results. We also get a ton of pop culture references in the season, the best of which is a "Die Hard" themed Christmas episode, that included Reginald VelJohnson, and an episode with a bunch of Back to the Future references, including a DeLorean.

For those who get the Blu-Ray set, there are a handful of short making-of and behind-the-scenes features, an 18-minute featurette on the stunt work, and a gag reel. Some sets have the 3D version of the episode Chuck vs. the Third-dimension and others have just the 2D version. There is also 10 minutes worth of webisodes. So, a nice amount of extras for those who like bonus features.

Overall, the season was great. The show continues to be well written and acted. This season also saw a ton of guest stars including, Melinda Clark (from the OC), Michael Clarke Duncan, Nicole Ritchie, Michael Strahan, Jordana Brewster, Morgan Fairchild, Bruce Boxleitner, Scott Bakula, Chevy Chase, Tricia Helfer, Jerome Bettis, and more. Matt Bomer also made an appearance as Bryce Larkin to throw a wrench not only into the intersect storyline but the Chuck-Sarah relationship. If you are one of the few people reading this who knows nothing about the show and are just trying to figure out if you want to watch it, I highly recommend it. It has a great blend of action, comedy, and drama (and having Yvonne Strahovski in lingerie on a regular basis does not hurt either). You definitely need to watch the first season in order for the second season to make sense because the show is much more of a serial storyline than a procedural one. And, if you liked or loved the first season, you will probably feel the same way about this one.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Chuck Season 1

 

Chuck was a series that ran from 2007 to 2012. The basic premise was that a guy named Chuck (played by Zachary Levi) who works at a fictional equivalent of the Geek Squad (called the Nerd Herd) in a fictional version of Best Buy (called Buy More) had a supercomputer called the Intersect (basically a database with all the CIA and NSA secrets) beamed into his brain by his old college roommate who happens to be a CIA agent. He ends up with a CIA handler named Sarah (played by Yvonne Strahovski) and an NSA handler named John Casey. The theme of the show is basically a case of the week procedural in which Chuck has to use the information in his head to stop some evil plot. Much of the comedy is brought in by the fact that Chuck cannot access the information at will, and it comes to him in flashes, usually at some inopportune time.

The show definitely lives up to the hype that its die-hard fans give it. Unfortunately, the year it premiered the Bionic Woman reboot series got all of NBC's promotional budget and Chuck was hardly mentioned at all. For a lot of people, the allure to the show was the commercial that featured Yvonne Strahovski in lingerie (which she was in a lot during the series), but it was really a well-written and well-acted show that should have gotten a bit longer run than it did. Levi and Strahovski are great as leads playing fake boyfriend and girlfriend. They have great chemistry, and of course, the show teases the "will they or won't they" get together all season. All of the actors, including the group of rather pathetic Buy More ancillary characters, are great. Whatever you may think of Adam Baldwin in real-life, he does a great Job as Casey, a guy with no people skills forced to work in a store interacting with customers. Joshua Gomez steals nearly every scene he is in as Chuck's best friend, Morgan.

For those who get the Blu-Ray set, it looks and sounds great in the HD format. The extras include deleted scenes, a 27 minute "Chuck on Chuck" feature that has Levi and Gomez discussing the show, a gag reel, and clips from various actors casting sessions. All in all, a decent amount of material.

Overall, the show is great. It is old enough now that most people reading this likely know a lot about it, but if you are one of the few just trying to figure out if you should watch it, it lives up to the hype that die-hard fans give it. If you are a fan of 80s pop culture you will see a lot of references, especially as the season goes on. While the first season is short, just 13 episodes, it sets up the characters and the story well, and really makes you care about all of the main characters. The acting and writing are top-notch, especially the romance angle between Chuck and Sarah, and Chuck trying to keep his "regular" life and his spy life separate. I highly recommend it.

Blu-Ray/TV Show Review: Chuck Seasons 1 - 5 (Spoiler Free)

 

Chuck was a series that ran from 2007 to 2012. The basic premise was that a guy named Chuck (played by Zachary Levi) who works at a fictional equivalent of the Geek Squad (called the Nerd Herd) in a fictional version of Best Buy (called Buy More) had a supercomputer called the Intersect (basically a database with all the CIA and NSA secrets) beamed into his brain by his old college roommate who happens to be a CIA agent. He ends up with a CIA handler named Sarah (played by Yvonne Strahovski) and an NSA handler named John Casey. The theme of the show is basically a case of the week procedural in which Chuck has to use the information in his head to stop some evil plot.

The show was always on the brink of cancelation but had a massive fan campaign that managed to keep it on the air for five seasons. It did not air for five full seasons in large part due to the writer's strike that ended one of the seasons early and then having just a partial final season. So, it ended up with 91 total episodes. It was part action/adventure series, part love story (with the typical will-they won't-they get together between Chuck and Sarah), and part comedy. There are a lot of nerdy pop-culture references throughout the series including nods to Star Wars, Back to the Future, and Die Hard. It had a great supporting cast made up of mostly unknown character actors and managed to land a lot of great guest stars.

The show definitely lives up to the hype that its die-hard fans give it. Unfortunately, the year it premiered the Bionic Woman reboot series got all of NBC's promotional budget and Chuck was hardly mentioned at all. For a lot of people, the allure to the show was the commercial that featured Yvonne Strahovski in lingerie (which she was in a lot during the series), but it was really a well-written and well-acted show that should have gotten a bit longer run than it did. As far as I can tell, the complete series blu-ray set has the same extras that the individual season releases did, which, because the show was around before physical media really started to get scaled back, got a pretty good amount of extras. So, if you are looking for a unique comedy that is not a cookie-cutter sitcom, this is a good choice and holds up well even after fifteen years.