Customer Reviews

Chuck: The Complete Second Season

5 star:		(134)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

In its superb second season, NBC's "Chuck" offers a more fully developed and unique blend of comedy, action, and romance. Chuck Bartkowski continues his double life: slacker computer nerd at an LA big box electronics store by day and inept government agent by night, thanks to the secret government database called the Intersect emplanted in his brain. Beautiful CIA agent Sarah Walker is Chuck's handler and bodyguard, with a cover as his girlfriend. Hardnosed NSA assassin Major John Casey teams with Walker to track Chuck's safety 24 hours a day and to pursue the bad guys the Intersect enables Chuck to identify.

This second season advances several themes over the course of the year. The impromptu team of Walker, Casey, and Bartkowski get increasingly difficult assignments to stop various villains and foil their nefarious plots, in which the untrained Chuck begins to demonstrate, often hilariously, the potential to muddle through as an agent.

A second theme is the approaching wedding of Chuck's sister Ellie and her fiance "Captain Awesome." Chuck has rashly promised Ellie to track down their missing father for the wedding, a promise that will have a dramatic impact on the last episodes of the season.

A third theme is the rogue organization FULCRUM's pursuit of the Intersect. Chuck is in weekly danger of having his cover blown and either being kidnapped by FULCRUM or being sequestered for his own safety by the government in an underground bunker away from family and friends.

The fourth and perhaps most important theme is the slowly blossoming romance between Chuck and Sarah, as their affection for each other begins to strain Sarah's professionalism and Chuck's willingness to live under a cover story.

Chuck's best buddy Morgan and the slacker crew at the BuyMore continue to offer comic relief, whether avoiding work, staging insane stockroom competitions, or trying to hijack "Awesome's" bachelor party. Special guests during the season include Sarah's professional con-man father, the suitably awesome parents of Ellie's fiance, and Chuck's ex-college roommate and girlfriend, neither of whom are what they seem.

"Chuck: The Complete Second Season" on DVD is very highly recommended to fans of the series. This reviewer hopes "Chuck" gets renewed for a third season.

For me watching CHUCK at the beginning of each week increasingly became one of the high points of my TV watching week. If you can get past the rather silly premise for the show (and if you can, you have a real treat in store), that someone was able to have the entire contents of the CIA mainframe downloaded in his brain, you will discover one of the most entertaining and likable casts on TV. If you don't know CHUCK but are familiar with Josh Schwartz's previous series THE O.C., CHUCK is what that show would have been if you had isolated the Seth/Summer part of the show and made Seth a spy (I've read that Adam Brody, who played Seth, was originally asked to play Chuck, and Summer herself made an appearance in Season One as a potential love interest for our hero). Schwartz saved the Ryan/Marissa/Taylor part for GOSSIP GIRL. If the latter is all about the cool and hip, CHUCK is all about nerds and their universe. If the girls on wear their Jimmy Choos, Chuck wears Chuck T's.

But if you haven't seen the show, here is the main thing you need to know: all the spy stuff is secondary. The real reason to watch CHUCK is the comedy and the romance. The comedy comes from all directions: Chuck, his friend Morgan, the outrageous group of nuts who work at the Buy More store where Chuck has his day job, his NSA handler Casey, and, of course, Mr. Awesome. (I have a theory about Awesome. From various Season One episodes I think the original idea was for Chuck's sister Ellie (played by the gorgeous Sarah Lancaster) and her fiancé Devon aka Captain Awesome, played by the incredible Ryan McPartlin, to break up, creating some possible romantic tension between Ellie and Morgan. But I believe that they realized that Awesome was not, as they initially supposed, a disposable character. And Adam Baldwin as Casey is just a marvel. In the Season One extra features the creators Schwartz and Fedak reveal that Baldwin was invited to be on the show largely out of fandom (possible of his role of Jayne Cobb on FIREFLY?). I love the way that Baldwin (no relation to Alec, as many suppose) can flip from action tough guy to comic foil at the drop of a hat. Trust me, the show is funny and delightful from beginning to end.

But it also has romance! The tortured attraction between Chuck and his beautiful CIA handler Sarah (played by the marvelous Aussie actress Yvonne Strahovski) is one of the best on TV. One might imagine that it would be tough to buy the idea of a complete nerd and a knife-wielding glamorous spy could fall in love, but Zachary Levi and Strahovski easily pull it off. Yvonne Strahovski especially is great at making you feel that Sarah cares more for Chuck than any handler ought to and a lot of the enjoyment of the show focuses on their inability, for professional and other reasons, to act on their feelings. And all of this is wonderfully complicated by the fake relationship that they have to present to Chuck's friends, since her cover is that she is his girlfriend.


The fate of CHUCK is uncertain as I write this review. After a great Season Two finale, which has the potential to redefine the series. But there is a real chance that we won't get to see what happens next. CHUCK is one of several great series that is on the brink of cancellation. Despite a passionate fanbase - which includes several major TV critics - CHUCK's ratings have not been great. Worse, NBC has made one of the worst decisions in the history of television, deciding to gut five hours of scripted primetime television in order to give the extraordinary mediocrity that is Jay Leno the 10 EST/9 CST time slot Monday through Friday. What possessed the corporate nutjobs in charge of programming to come to this idiotic decision is a mystery we'll be debating for some time to come. But the decision not only does tremendous harm to television at large, but directly threatens CHUCK. But as things stand, this great show is in real danger of corporate murder. Along with two of my other favorite shows, DOLLHOUSE and TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, some really great television is in danger of disappearing. It is unthinkable that shows as good as these are in danger of cancellation while horrors like Jay Leno and AMERICAN IDLE clog up primetime television.

Will Chuck and Sarah finally find love? Will he now be a real spy instead of merely a CIA asset? Will we see Chuck's father again? Will Chuck go back to work at the Buy More? Will Morgan? Will Chuck continue to live with Ellie and Awesome? Have Casey and Chuck really bonded like it appeared at the end of Season Two? These are just a few of the questions we want to see answered. Let's just hope that NBC manages to get past its insanity to preserve one of its most delightful shows. But with fully one-third of its weeknight primetime schedule given to mediocrity, good television might be in trouble.

Oh, Season Two, in true nerd fashion, ends with a famous line borrowed from THE MATRIX.

Chuck is easily my favorite show on the air right now (and I love my television). Every episode leaves me desperate for more, and the second season has been especially excellent. They haven't been afraid of breaking the formula and actually letting things develop and change. That's one of the things that annoys me most about other shows -- writers show you what they want you to want and then draw that out for seasons and seasons on end. Bleh. But the writers of Chuck haven't and as such it is superb.

So, check it out. If you like comedy, romance, action, spies, great writing, and great acting, then you'll love Chuck.

Chuck is one of the most well written and entertaining shows on tv right now. It has action, drama, comedy, and romance packed into every hour. The cast is extremely likeable and you can tell they are enjoying what they are doing just as much as you enjoy watching them.
Chuck is great! Order this! Watch the show every week!! Let's get a third season for Chuck!!

This show is amazing... It's like "The Matrix" "Get Smart" "24" and "Friends" all put into a blender and mixed into the coolest, funniest, hippest Spy-Comedy-Action-Adventure show of all time. Actually has there ever been a show like it? I don't think so. It's not full of serious drama and heavy issues - it's not fine cuisine or a world class wine, but it's like having the best damn pizza & the best beer on tap you have ever had! "Chuck" is pure comfort - whatever crappy mood I am in I can always put a Chuck DVD in the player and instantly feel better.

Oh and the music is out of this world. Gnarls Barkley, Crooked Fingers, Bon Iver, et. all this show has a movie quality soundtrack!

You also get that feeling that either Zach Levi or Yvonne Strahovski are going break out in that major way eventually as movie stars or something else. Yvonne has got to be the most beautiful woman I have seen on television in two or three decades!

"Chuck" is destined to attain legendary status and it is fitting that it's NBC again, like 40 years ago with Trek they don't quite know what to do with a show that has a massive fan base but isn't quite exploding like it should. If NBC dumps it after 2 or 3 seasons, expect this to be looked back on in a decade or so as the 2nd biggest mistake in television history. :)

When I first decided to write this review, I thought it would be easy to do justice to Chuck. But as I sit here 5 minutes into the process, with not a word typed, it's becoming clear that this is anything but easy. At first glance, Chuck may seem like a lighthearted comedy, given its admittedly ridiculous premise. But once you suspend your disbelief, you will find one of the most entertaining shows on television.

Chuck is your run of the mill computer geek who works at the fictional Buy More (think Best Buy) as a computer technician in the Nerd Herd (read: Geek Squad, except more competent). Life is normal, albeit a bit boring, until one day when he has the entire contents of the CIA and NSA's mainframes downloaded into his brain. Chuck is now a walking, talking human crime fighting supercomputer. In the blink of an eye, he is catapulted into the world of danger, terrorism and espionage, completely unprepared. Indeed what does a screwdriver wielding, Halo playing geek know about disarming nuclear bombs, and neutralizing biological toxins? To help him survive, and thus keeping the only copy of the CIA and NSA's shared mainframe safe, are two undercover agents--Sarah Walker, played by the gorgeous Aussie actress Yvonne Strahovski, and John Casey, played by the brilliantly versatile Adam Baldwin. Their job is to help maintain Chuck's cover as your average geek, and to protect "The Asset" at all costs. And thus begins Chuck's double life. By day, Chuck works at the Buy More with Agent Casey as a fellow employee, and the Agent Walker as his cover (fake) girlfriend. By night, Chuck is dragged, sometimes unwillingly, on CIA sanctioned missions so that he could provide the necessary intelligence.

But to say this is just another spy action drama would be a mistake. All of the spy drama and action is just a backdrop to the romance, comedy and heart that makes the show one of a kind. Chuck, as the unlikely hero, is instantly relatable to geeks and non-geeks alike. He is hardly your stereotypical superspy. While agents Casey and Walker get their injuries from dodging bullets and surviving torture, Chuck gets his by tripping and falling on his face while climbing through a window. Yet, despite his endearing incompetence as a spy, his decision to constantly risk his life for his family, friends, and the innocent people around him has earned him the grudging respect of the hardnosed Agent Casey, the genuine love of his fake girlfriend, Agent Sarah Walker, and the admiration and loyalty of television viewers around the world.

Chuck's star crossed relationship with Sarah is tortuously good to watch. At first blush, it may seem entirely too farfetched that the beautiful, glamorous, and yet deadly super spy Sarah Walker could ever fall in love with Chuck, the geek next door. And yet Zack Levi and Yvonne Strahovski have managed to pull it off with aplomb. It seems entirely plausible that Chuck, through his naivety and the selfless acts of heroism, is able to win Sarah's affection. Their relationship is further complicated by the fact that to be an effective protector, Sarah is bound by her duty to not fall for Chuck. And as if the fates weren't cruel enough, they must maintain their cover and pretend to be boyfriend and girlfriend.

Just as entertaining as the romance and spy drama, are the antics Chuck and his bunch of cohorts get into away from the CIA. The entire supporting cast is just wonderful. First up is the versatile Adam Baldwin, who is able to play a merciless NSA agent in one scene, and then turn around and become a comedic foil for Chuck at the Buy More in the next. Imagine a battle hardened veteran who has survived in the battlefields of Iraq and endured two years of torture as a prisoner, being forced to wear a polo and sell electronics with a bunch of bumbling buffoons. Hilarity ensues! Then of course there are Chuck's best friend and fellow nerd Morgan Grimes (played by Joshua Gomez), and Chuck's sister Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) who really grounds Chuck's character and make him believable and gives him the genuine humanity that saves the character from becoming a two dimensional caricature.

All of these elements come together and find a balance that makes the show at once thrilling, comedic, and heartwarming. It faintly echos the best parts of Alias, another spy drama that has earned a special place on this reviewer's DVD shelf. This is undoubtedly one of the best show NBC has produced in years.

For me watching CHUCK at the beginning of each week increasingly became one of the high points of my TV watching week. If you can get past the rather silly premise for the show (and if you can, you have a real treat in store), that someone was able to have the entire contents of the CIA mainframe downloaded in his brain, you will discover one of the most entertaining and likable casts on TV. If you don't know CHUCK but are familiar with Josh Schwartz's previous series THE O.C., CHUCK is what that show would have been if you had isolated the Seth/Summer part of the show and made Seth a spy (I've read that Adam Brody, who played Seth, was originally asked to play Chuck, and Summer herself made an appearance in Season One as a potential love interest for our hero). Schwartz saved the Ryan/Marissa/Taylor part for GOSSIP GIRL. If the latter is all about the cool and hip, CHUCK is all about nerds and their universe. If the girls on wear their Jimmy Choos, Chuck wears Chuck T's.

But if you haven't seen the show, here is the main thing you need to know: all the spy stuff is secondary. The real reason to watch CHUCK is the comedy and the romance. The comedy comes from all directions: Chuck, his friend Morgan, the outrageous group of nuts who work at the Buy More store where Chuck has his day job, his NSA handler Casey, and, of course, Mr. Awesome. (I have a theory about Awesome. From various Season One episodes I think the original idea was for Chuck's sister Ellie (played by the gorgeous Sarah Lancaster) and her fiancé Devon aka Captain Awesome, played by the incredible Ryan McPartlin, to break up, creating some possible romantic tension between Ellie and Morgan. But I believe that they realized that Awesome was not, as they initially supposed, a disposable character. And Adam Baldwin as Casey is just a marvel. In the Season One extra features the creators Schwartz and Fedak reveal that Baldwin was invited to be on the show largely out of fandom (possible of his role of Jayne Cobb on FIREFLY?). I love the way that Baldwin (no relation to Alec, as many suppose) can flip from action tough guy to comic foil at the drop of a hat. Trust me, the show is funny and delightful from beginning to end.

But it also has romance! The tortured attraction between Chuck and his beautiful CIA handler Sarah (played by the marvelous Aussie actress Yvonne Strahovski) is one of the best on TV. One might imagine that it would be tough to buy the idea of a complete nerd and a knife-wielding glamorous spy could fall in love, but Zachary Levi and Strahovski easily pull it off. Yvonne Strahovski especially is great at making you feel that Sarah cares more for Chuck than any handler ought to and a lot of the enjoyment of the show focuses on their inability, for professional and other reasons, to act on their feelings. And all of this is wonderfully complicated by the fake relationship that they have to present to Chuck's friends, since her cover is that she is his girlfriend.


The fate of CHUCK is uncertain as I write this review. After a great Season Two finale, which has the potential to redefine the series. But there is a real chance that we won't get to see what happens next. CHUCK is one of several great series that is on the brink of cancellation. Despite a passionate fanbase - which includes several major TV critics - CHUCK's ratings have not been great. Worse, NBC has made one of the worst decisions in the history of television, deciding to gut five hours of scripted primetime television in order to give the extraordinary mediocrity that is Jay Leno the 10 EST/9 CST time slot Monday through Friday. What possessed the corporate nutjobs in charge of programming to come to this idiotic decision is a mystery we'll be debating for some time to come. But the decision not only does tremendous harm to television at large, but directly threatens CHUCK. But as things stand, this great show is in real danger of corporate murder. Along with two of my other favorite shows, DOLLHOUSE and TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, some really great television is in danger of disappearing. It is unthinkable that shows as good as these are in danger of cancellation while horrors like Jay Leno and AMERICAN IDLE clog up primetime television.

Will Chuck and Sarah finally find love? Will he now be a real spy instead of merely a CIA asset? Will we see Chuck's father again? Will Chuck go back to work at the Buy More? Will Morgan? Will Chuck continue to live with Ellie and Awesome? Have Casey and Chuck really bonded like it appeared at the end of Season Two? These are just a few of the questions we want to see answered. Let's just hope that NBC manages to get past its insanity to preserve one of its most delightful shows. But with fully one-third of its weeknight primetime schedule given to mediocrity, good television might be in trouble.

Oh, Season Two, in true nerd fashion, ends with a famous line borrowed from THE MATRIX.

Chuck is awesome.

Really that's probably all that's needed in the review, Chuck is awesome.

For those of you not satisfied by that, I used to watch Chuck simply because it was on before Heroes, and during the first half of season one, it was a great comedy. It had some nice laughs, great dialogue, lots of little nerdy geek-only humor which really clicked with us cubical dwelling peons. However, in reality it was just a time filler to find out what mess Hiro from Heroes is getting into. Towards the end of season one of Chuck and throughout season two, Chuck firmly became the reason I watched NBC on Mondays. Heroes was DVR'd for later consumption whenever you felt like watching it, but Chuck *must* be watched live because you didn't want to wait any longer to see what happened next on the show. Season one is a must watch, but Season two took that to a whole new level that kept you waiting on baited breath every week for the next episode.

In many ways, Chuck is a simplistic plotline - guy gets thrown into a situation in a dangerous job and a girl he can never have. Add in a few useless sidekicks which add comedy relief. Chuck takes this combination, adds a little bit of Dilbert, a dash of the Matrix, some old-school BBC humor, and somehow mixes that all up into an amazingly funny show. You add in guest appearances like John Larroquette, Scott Bakula, and Michael Strahan and you end up wondering how on earth anyone could have considered ever canceling this show at any point in its career.

And for crying out loud, it has Adam Baldwin! Jayne! Chuck has Jayne!

This show is a refreshing island in the middle of a sea of mediocrity. It is well written, and funny like "The Office", but is in real danger of getting cancelled because of its hard time slot. I did not watch "The Office" until season 3, so this show is just hitting its prime.

For NBC, if you let Knight Rider get through a whole season, Chuck deserves 10.

I've been watching Chuck since the pilot and it is without a doubt one of the most entertaining shows I've ever seen! It has everything - romance, action (explosions and awesome hand-to-hand fight scenes), and a hefty dose of comedy.
The cast has terrific chemistry and the dialogue is witty and full of pop culture references. Zachary Levi plays Chuck,the nerdy every-man who happens to find himself in the middle of danger and intrigue after ending up with all the government's intel locked in his head. Adam Baldwin (John Casey) and Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah Walker) play his NSA and CIA handlers, assigned to both protect Chuck and use him. Together they save the world one villian at a time while trying to protect Chuck from himself as well as the bad guys. Meanwhile, everyone in Chuck's life thinks he's an underachieving computer geek who someone managed to land a really hot girlfriend (Sarah).

The second season only improved on the first, and it will be a tragedy if this show doesn't get renewed for a third season!