Chuck: The Complete First Season
Blu-ray edition
Starring Zachary Levi, Adam Baldwin, Yvonne Strahovski
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Release Date: November 11, 2008

Chuck is the classic Boy meets Girl, Boy falls for Girl, Girl turns out to be a secret agent who is coveting the super government computer stuck in Boy’s head type of story. Interested yet?

Co-created by Josh Schwartz, a former executive producer of the show The OC, the story follows the life of one Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi), a computer technician for the large electronic retailer Buy More. On Chuck’s birthday, he receives an e-mail from an old college friend, Bryce, that uploaded million seemingly random pictures into his brain. Turns out Bryce is a government agent on the run and the pictures in question are actually encoded with highly classified government secrets. Along with a drop dead gorgeous CIA agent (Yvonne Strahovski) and a NSA killing machine (Adam Baldwin) by his side, Chuck is thrusted into the life of a secret agent,whether he likes it or not.

What I like about Chuck is that is real simple premise. Amidst all the fighting, gunplay, pratfalls, and low/high brow comedy lies a simple story about a geeky boy who falls for the perfect woman. Zachary Levi, who plays Chuck, adds just the right amount of geekiness and sweetness to his character to make him lovable. Levy is a good looking fella but compounds it with enough social awkwardness to make his role as the geek seemingly plausible. Strahovski, who plays CIA agent Sarah Walker, is the object of Chuck’s affection and for good reason. She is quite easy on the eyes and can kick plenty of ass, in the Jennifer Gardner type of way. Both actors pull off their roles considerably well and have plenty of chemistry, a necessary ingredient when trying to pull off the “Will they get together or not?” scenarios. I also enjoy how they interact with Adam Baldwin’s character John Casey. Baldwin seems to have a lot of fun playing the NSA agent with a soft spot for Ronald Regan and it shows. Whether he is beating down bad guys or simply putting down Chuck, his deadpan delivery steals every scene he is in.

While the leads of the show carry it just fine, special attention needs to be paid to the show’s great supporting players. From Chuck’s creepy but lovable best friend Morgan, to “Captain Awesome,” Chuck’s sister’s boyfriend, rarely does a show have so many interesting and likable supporting characters. They alone cannot carry the show, but you instantly miss their presence if you do not see them in an episode.

Having watch this season on both standard and Blu-Ray editions, the winner is clear. Blu-Ray is by far the better of the two. The sound is crisper and the video is just amazing to look at. Fans of the show really should pick up this edition if they have a Blu-ray player. If not, don’t fret: Other than better picture and sound quality, the two editions are virtually the same. Both have the same special features, ranging from Character Bios, Deleted Scenes, and Bloopers. There is also an extra featurette where the cast of Chuck and the producers each pick out their favorite scenes from the first season. Fans of the show would definitely be interested in this.

Chuck Season One is a DVD worth having. Its likable characters, fast-paced action, and comedic storylines are just what the doctor ordered. Fans of the show should consider buying the Blu-ray edition for quality purposes but if they do not have a Blu-Ray player, the regular edition will do. Do yourself a favor and take a look at it. You will be glad you did.