When a hapless Nerd Herd employee gets a special email he finds his life changed in many ways. Is he going to get money from a Nigerian prince? Nope, he’s just subliminally downloaded a top secret CIA database into his brain and now all sorts of folks are after him.
Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi) works at the Nerd Herd at the Buy More store (read: Geek Squad at Best Buy) with his best friend, Morgan Grimes (Joshua Gomez). Chuck’s sister Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) is trying to find Chuck a girlfriend. One night Chuck gets an email from his old college roommate Bryce Larkin (Matthew Bomer). The email contains a long series of images.
What Chuck doesn’t know is that the images have embedded a top secret government database subliminally into his mind. Since Chuck’s brain contains the only copy of the database, the government sends in Agent Lisa Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) and Major John Casey (Adam Baldwin) undercover.
Lisa poses as Sarah Chuck’s new girlfriend (lucky bastard) and John gets a job at Buy More. Now when Chuck sees something it can trigger the database hidden in his noggin and the spy adventures begin. Chuck, Chuck Bartowski.
Chuck is another fine show from the 2007-2008 season cut short by the writer’s strike - which struck a cord with both viewers and critics. Even with the writer’s strike, the series was able to get picked up for a second season.
The hapless Chuck really doesn’t have much going for him until he’s unknowingly carrying a plethora of national secrets in his skull. He then picks up a hot girlfriend who just happens to be a secret CIA minder.
Zachary Levi is a great comedic leading “everyman” and is aptly supported by Joshua Gomez. Yvonne Strahovski is a gorgeous bit of eye candy, but she can also act. Adam Baldwin brings with him some genre cred and also is fantastic.
Not only does the show cover the spy doings, but also has some good bits with Chuck’s everyday interactions with those around him. It all makes for a fine comedic series that also has some heart.
Chuck is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) and enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include 9 minutes of “declassified scenes” aka deleted scenes spread over the four discs.
Disc three has the 27-minute “Chuck on Chuck” has Zachary Levi, Joshua Gomez, and show creator’s Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak talking about their favorite scenes from the season.
Disc four has the 26-minute “Chuck’s World” which is about the character development and features casting sessions. The 7 minute “Chuck versus the Chuckles” is a gag reel and Chuck’s Online World is a collection of items from the show’s website.
Chuck is an excellent new series that was a bright spot of last year’s television season. You’d do well to visit your local Buy More location and pick up a copy of this first season set.
Just beware when opening emails lest you might end up with a head full of spy secrets, find a nice Canadian pharmacy, or have the opportunity to import billions from Nigeria. All could lead you to trouble, just stick with watching this great DVD set.
Chuck - The Complete First Season is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK . Visit the DVD database for more information. Click Here to read M&C's interview with Zach Levi and Josh Gomez.
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