Chuck: The Complete Second Season

Season Grade: A

DVD Features Grade: A-

Overall Grade: A

People ate a lot of Subway sandwiches last spring, and those pesky $5 foot-long commercials had nothing to do with it. Nope. Instead, the surge in sandwich-eating was all Chuck‘s fault. To be more specific fans of the NBC spy action-comedy launched a campaign to keep Chuck on the air for another season. Their reasoning? Since Subway is an advertising sponsor of the show, get fans to go out and buy a $5 foot-long to show their support of Chuck. Sound crazy? Not so much. Thanks to things like Twitter and Facebook, the plan ended up not being so farfetched after all. NBC and Subway took notice and lo and behold – Chuck‘s back for Season 3, with a shiny new media blitz to boot. The network is promoting it like crazy and already upped its season order to 19 episodes.

I explained all that for the benefit of you non-watchers. Come on, aren’t you a little bit interested to see what all the fuss is about now? If all that wasn’t enough to pique your interest in the show (you’ve gotta admit, a Subway sandwich campaign is pretty unique), I’ll try to convince you with my glowing review of the Season 2 DVD set.

In Season One, computer geek Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi) becomes a reluctant spy when government secrets accidentally get downloaded into his brain. Two agents – one a sexy blonde named Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski), another a gruff gun-slinger named John Casey (Adam Baldwin) – are sent to protect him, being that he’s now a super-important government asset. They go on missions, Chuck flashes on clues, and all the while he must continue living his boring “normal” life that includes a dead-end job at the Buy More (think Best Buy).

Season Two finds Chuck getting even more ingrained into the spy life and even more eager to get himself out. Mainly, he wants a normal, real-life relationship with Sarah – who’s been posing as his “cover girlfriend.” But alas, a normal life is not to be. In addition to your everyday bad guys, Chuck’s got an ex (Jordana Brewster) to deal with who may or may not be working for the evil agency Fulcrum, an ex-nemesis (Matthew Bomer) to contend with who may or may not be back to steal Sarah away, and an eccentric father (Scott Bakula, totally perfect in the role) to find who may or may not be more than he seems.

Must-see episodes include Chuck vs. the Seduction, in which Chuck must take lessons on how to be a ladies’ man so he can seduce a dangerous femme fatale, Chuck vs. the DeLorean, which features someone from Sarah’s past and Chuck trying to pull off a very hilarious German accent, and Chuck vs. Colonel, in which Chuck and Sarah go

rogue, and get a little closer in the process. This season even had a 3-D episode, Chuck vs. the Third Dimension, and the DVD set comes with two sets of 3-D glasses! The season finale Chuck vs. the Ring is a total game-changer, and a brilliant way to end a season that hit its creative stride. On the downside, Chuck vs. the Predator is probably the weakest of the season.

The DVD set has some hearty extras, too. There’s Truth, Spies and Regular Guys: Exploring the Mythology of Chuck – which will catch anyone up to speed on the various character developments and plotlines. There’s also A Real-Life Captain Awesome’s Tips for Being Awesome, which has Chuck’s awesome bro-in-law Devon (Ryan McPartlin) spouting words of wisdom in the way that only a truly awesome person can, and John Casey Presents: So You Want to Be a Deadly Spy?, which features the tough agent growling tips on espionage. And as always, there are a bunch of deleted scenes and a fun gag reel entitled Chuck Versus the Chuckles.

Consistently funny, entertaining and action-packed – with a sprinkling of emotional gut-punches too – Chuck is well-worth your time. And it was well-worth saving by the network. Let’s shoot for a fourth season. Subway, watch out!

Season Grade: A

DVD Features Grade: A-

Overall Grade: A