Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Chuck: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie Review

A strong sophomore season is hindered by a spotty release...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown January 8, 2010

If I suddenly found myself thrust into the middle of a high-tech spy war, blessed with superhuman acuity and two gun-toting government handlers, I would tell everyone. No secrecy, no attempts to hide the truth from my family and friends, no soul searching or inner-turmoil. The CIA would probably have to devote an agent to deleting announcements from my Facebook page, if it were even worth covering up at that point. But then again, I'm not Chuck Bartowski (emerging talent Zachary Levi): dutiful brother and all around loyal pal, mild-mannered Buy More employee, and reluctant superspy extraordinaire. When a national security database is accidentally uploaded into his brain, Chuck becomes an invaluable source of agency intelligence -- enough to warrant a pair of assigned agents, Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) and John Casey (Adam Baldwin) -- as well as the target of a sinister organization known as FULCRUM. In case you haven't guessed it, NBC's Chuck isn't a serious dramatic thriller, it's an action comedy and a fine one at that. After its first season earned the show a respectable fanbase, its cast and crew returned with a tighter, funnier, more engaging series of episodes that upped the ante in every conceivable way.

One of the most consistent comedies on television turns out to be a tongue-in-cheek spy lark...

Having nearly ruined his sister Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) and soon-to-be brother-in-law Devon's (Ryan McPartlin) engagement, narrowly avoiding enemy agents and landing himself in a CIA holding cell, Chuck finds himself in even more dangerous circumstances come season two. He not only has to prove his worth to the agency's bigwigs, he has to help prevent a new Intersect from being activated and learn the various arts of his newly chosen trade (from guest stars like John Larroquette no less). Before long, he also has to come to terms with his budding feelings for Sarah, deal with an ex (Jordana Brewster) who breezes into town, convince his absentee father (Scott Bakula) to attend Ellie's wedding, and confront a devious adversary (Chevy Chase) who's more than he appears to be. Elsewhere, everyone's favorite Buy More employees -- Chuck's best friend Morgan (Joshua Gomez), bumbling duo Jeff (Scott Krinsky) and Lester (Vik Sahay), hefty manager Big Mike (Mark Christopher Lawrence) and Morgan's girlfriend Anna (Julia Ling) -- are forced to contend with a corporate efficiency expert (Arrested Development's Tony Hale), a development that leads to more laughs than their usual in-store shenanigans. Once again, the Buy More staff are as integral to the series as Chuck's international exploits, granting each episode comic potency and regular breaks from what could have been a potentially forgettable spy-vs-spy actioner.

Frankly, Chuck shouldn't be as effective or infectious as it is. So much of its charm relies on an impossibly precise balance of sharp wit, over-the-top action, syrupy heart strings and cheeky intrigue that I'm amazed how readily its creators make each passing episode better than the one that preceds it. Levi and his castmates have really come into their own, taking ample cues from gruff-n-grumbly action-comedy veterans like Baldwin and the series' endless parade of guest stars. Scenes in the Buy More frequently trump the show's exaggerated espionage -- a testament to Gomez, Sahay, Krinsky, Lawrence, Ling, and Hale's talent and timing, not to mention Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak's writing chops -- and the day-to-day minutiae of Chuck's personal life is often as much fun as the gun battles that inevitably erupt around him. Schwartz and Fedak have truly re-tuned the entire machine, preserving everything that worked about their first season and ejecting most everything that caused their earliest episodes to stall. Granted, plot holes and contrived character connections are as abundant as ever (Chase and Bakula's import to the story can be spotted a hundred yards out), but Chuck has so much going for it that it's easy to overlook its less subtle qualities.

If anything, Chuck sometimes takes itself too seriously. Though the Bartowski clan's family drama is quite moving, necessary even, it unfortunately tends to dominate episodes that feature some of the season's best material. An inspired Godfather II parody is rife with side-splitting brilliance, but also awkwardly intercut with scenes that require heavy emotional lifting. Separately, both play well. Paired together, both suffer. Still, when a series manages to juggle so many seemingly disconnected components as effortlessly as Chuck, shrugging off such mishaps is a cinch. It's just a shame Schwartz and Fedak are still having problems cultivating a sizable audience. Season two has genuine momentum from start to finish -- its endgame alone will leave faithful fans furiously programming their TiVos in anticipation of its third season -- and enough clever comedy and game-changing developments to vault it into a very prosperous future. So long as ratings don't continue to decline, of course. It's difficult to invest in a show in today's cup-em-and-cut-em climate. I've lost count of the series I've fallen for, only to have my viewership suddenly and unexpectedly terminated by premature cancellation. Considering how much I've enjoyed its second season, I hope I don't have to add Chuck to that list anytime soon.

Chuck: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Complete Second Season's 1080p/VC-1 transfer suffers from many of the same problems that made The Complete First Season such an underwhelming visual letdown. Noise and artifacts clutter the image, fine detail falters as searing contrast and rampant softness invades the proceedings, and skintones are frequently flushed and oversaturated. While each issue is a bit less pervasive than it is on the series' first season release -- the show's source seems to be at fault more often than Warner's technical encode this time around -- the subsequent picture is nevertheless a garish disappointment. Colors are exceedingly vibrant, blacks are deep and a number of scenes look quite nice, but contrast has been boosted to near-ludicrous levels. Likewise, detail proves itself to be satisfying here and there, particularly when comparing the Blu-ray edition to its standard DVD counterpart, but texture clarity and edge definition are fairly inconsistent from shot to shot. Worse still, compression anomalies swarm the bright skies above the Buy More (among other locales), aliasing and crush are constant distractions, delineation is mediocre at best (especially during nighttime shots), and macroblocking is apparent at various points in each episode. It's difficult to separate Chuck's unattractive aesthetics from what I suspect is a lackluster transfer, so I'll just go with my gut. Fan or newcomer, prepare yourself accordingly.

Chuck: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Why Warner insists on cursing the majority of their television releases with lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 surround tracks is beyond me, but I doubt anything, be it a TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio mix, could help The Complete Second Season's front-heavy, sometimes two-dimensional soundscape leave a more lasting impression. While each episode's dialogue is intelligible and well-prioritized, rear speaker activity is surprisingly restrained in all but the most action-oriented sequences (surges in the series' musical score being one of the lone exceptions). Immersion takes an obvious hit, as does pan transparency and directionality. A crowded banquet hall rarely sounds like a crowded banquet hall, but rather a mixer's approximation of one. The same applies to bustling dinner parties, chaotic shootouts, noisy underground bunkers, and car chases. LFE output is more aggressive -- granting gunfire and explosions notable oomph -- and dynamics inject some much-needed power into an otherwise average track. Ultimately, as much as I enjoy Chuck as a series, putting up with its AV shortcomings is a trying experience. Diehards will shrug off such nuisances after a handful of episodes, but everyone else will have to work to ignore its lesser qualities.

Chuck: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

While the Blu-ray edition of Chuck: The Complete Second Season offers a lengthy list of special features spread across four discs, the results are less than spectacular. Yes, a pair of production documentaries and a heap of deleted scenes add welcome value to the release, but without any audio commentaries or Picture-in-Picture tracks, there isn't a whole lot on tap to get excited about. It also doesn't help that the majority of the content is presented in standard definition.

• Truth, Spies and Regular Guys (HD, 21 minutes): Subtitled "Exploring the Mythos of Chuck," this rather extensive production documentary examines the story, characters, agencies and conflicts that populate the series.
• Dude in Distress (SD, 18 minutes): An equally informative look at the action choreography, special effects and stunts that drop Zachary Levi and his castmates into the thick of danger each week.
• Declassified Scenes (SD, 37 minutes): This generous collection of deleted scenes includes a number of standout cuts, the best of which involve the Buy More employees and their misguided misadventures.
• Real-Life Captain Awesome Tips for Being Awesome (SD, 3 minutes): Four mildly amusing, albeit brief PSA-style commercials starring Captain Awesome himself.
• So You Want to Be a Deadly Spy? (SD, 3 minutes): Sadly, this in-character "John Casey Presents" training film with Adam Baldwin is a bit of a misfire.
• Chuck Versus the Chuckles (SD, 8 minutes): A decent gag reel that trots out a standard assortment of line flubs and mild-mannered, curse-laden hilarity.
• Chuck Versus the Webisodes (SD, 10 minutes): Five entertaining Buy More promotional videos.

Chuck: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As funny, entertaining and charming as Chuck's second season is, the 4-disc Blu-ray edition is a bust. Its video transfer is a mess, offering noise and artifacts where high definition goodness should reside. Its Dolby Digital audio track isn't just a lossy drag, it's a bit of an uninvolving, front-heavy bore. Its supplemental package serves up a few choice features, but doesn't include any audio commentaries, Picture-in-Picture tracks, or other enticing BD-Java trimmings. Although devotees will get their money's worth -- despite its issues, the Blu-ray edition represents a solid visual upgrade from the standard DVD set -- casual fans and newcomers would be wise to wait for it to go on sale.