Chuck: The Complete First Season (BD)

This fun spy comedy was full of action, and the characters were well developed and realistic even though the whole premise and various situations were not. It deserves its high ratings!

Chuck was a series that ran from 2007 to 2012. The basic premise was that a guy named Chuck (played by Zachary Levi) who works at a fictional equivalent of the Geek Squad (called the Nerd Herd) in a fictional version of Best Buy (called Buy More) had a supercomputer called the Intersect (basically a database with all the CIA and NSA secrets) beamed into his brain by his old college roommate who happens to be a CIA agent. He ends up with a CIA handler named Sarah (played by Yvonne Strahovski) and an NSA handler named John Casey. The theme of the show is basically a case of the week procedural in which Chuck has to use the information in his head to stop some evil plot. Much of the comedy is brought in by the fact that Chuck cannot access the information at will, and it comes to him in flashes, usually at some inopportune time.The show definitely lives up to the hype that its die-hard fans give it. Unfortunately, the year it premiered the Bionic Woman reboot series got all of NBC's promotional budget and Chuck was hardly mentioned at all. For a lot of people, the allure to the show was the commercial that featured Yvonne Strahovski in lingerie (which she was in a lot during the series), but it was really a well-written and well-acted show that should have gotten a bit longer run than it did. Levi and Strahovski are great as leads playing fake boyfriend and girlfriend. They have great chemistry, and of course, the show teases the "will they or won't they" get together all season. All of the actors, including the group of rather pathetic Buy More ancillary characters, are great. Whatever you may think of Adam Baldwin in real-life, he does a great Job as Casey, a guy with no people skills forced to work in a store interacting with customers. Joshua Gomez steals nearly every scene he is in as Chuck's best friend, Morgan.For those who get the Blu-Ray set, it looks and sounds great in the HD format. The extras include deleted scenes, a 27 minute "Chuck on Chuck" feature that has Levi and Gomez discussing the show, a gag reel, and clips from various actors casting sessions. All in all, a decent amount of material.Overall, the show is great. It is old enough now that most people reading this likely know a lot about it, but if you are one of the few just trying to figure out if you should watch it, it lives up to the hype that die-hard fans give it. If you are a fan of 80s pop culture you will see a lot of references, especially as the season goes on. While the first season is short, just 13 episodes, it sets up the characters and the story well, and really makes you care about all of the main characters. The acting and writing are top-notch, especially the romance angle between Chuck and Sarah, and Chuck trying to keep his "regular" life and his spy life separate. I highly recommend it.

Chuck is great fun. That's all, just great fun. Zachary Levi is a delight as the title character. He's the supervisor of the Nerd Herd - a Geek Squad ripoff team of computer repair gurus - who are attached to the Buy More where Chuck works.Starting at the beginning of the back-story: Chuck was a brilliant student at Stanford, who was betrayed by his roommate and best friend, Bryce Larkin. Bryce was a BMOC who stole Chuck's girl and accused him of cheating on an exam. Chuck is the ultimate nice guy with integrity that won't quit, so he's very bitter (in his Chuck way) about the loss of his education, career and love life.Fast-forward to the present: With no future to speak of, he works at the Buy More and makes about $11.00/hr and loves the work. He's very good at it and the only person at the Buy More who really knows what's going on.One day Bryce (who isn't an accountant as Chuck surmises) breaks into a covert government facility and steals all the secrets. He then emails them to Chuck, because he trusts Chuck. Chuck opens the email and WHAM! All of the secrets are loaded directly into his brain. They are now all locked into Chuck's gray matter. They begin to surface one by one (known as "flashes") when Chuck sees an image or reads something that connects to a secret.Chuck is the proverbial adorable geek everyone loves, but who can't get a break. The new life of a spy-who-isn't-a-spy is very hard for him to handle and he constantly wishes for it all to go away. His personal innocence and honesty interferes with his ability to function in that world. We often catch him quaking in his boots, or even "screaming like a girl" when the situations become intense. It's obvious that Chuck has the heart, if not the stones, of a hero. He dives in when he's needed to save the day, despite his trepidations.Chuck's new girlfriend - Sarah Walker - is a CIA agent using the relationship as a cover. She's assigned to protect him and she's very good at it. (Chuck and Sarah are badly crushing on each other, but can't act on it because of the nature of their daily lives.) Yvonne Strahovsky is excellent as Sara - she plays both the strong woman and her softer sides very well together.Chuck's new "buddy" at work is John Casey, who is an NSA agent, also assigned to protect Chuck. Casey is one of those guys who trusts no one and would love to blow them away to prevent being betrayed by them. He protects Chuck because it's his assignment, but would happily murder him if given the order to do so. Adam Baldwin is at his rip-roaring best as Casey. Remember Jayne on Firefly? Adam Baldwin was great there, too.There is one protector from each of the two agencies (CIA & NSA) because they both have secrets invested in the "intersect" (the info in Chuck's brain) and the dispute of jurisdiction could not be settled.Chuck's friends at the Buy More are all work-avoiding ne're-do-wells who are very entertaining to watch (sometimes in the train-wreck sense). His best friend Morgan (Joshua Gomez) is a slacker who has a crush on Chuck's wonderful sister. Morgan works at the Buy More as a sales associate. The show often breaks (from the spy-vs-spy world Chuck is trying to handle) to check in on Morgan and the Buy More wackos.Chuck's sister, Ellie, is a terrific lady who wants to arrange for Chuck to meet a girl and be happy (which comes to a skreeching halt when she meets Sarah). Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) has a live-in boyfriend, Devon (Ryan McPartlin), who is really a great guy. He says "awesome!" a lot, so Chuck calls him Captain Awesome, or just Awesome. Ellie and Awesome are both doctors. Chuck lives with them, and they care about him and are very supportive.Roll all this together with some supposedly real life spy stories, and you have a hilarious, fun, action-filled romp with unexpected turns in almost every episode!Check out CHUCK if you can. It's really worth it!P.S. Check out the second and third seasons, too! Chuck's life changes a little each year!

I remember going home on the bus after work and seeing these adverts advertising this new TV show called "CHUCK". I didn't really take much notice of it and never thought that I would get that into it. However 4 seasons later I still love the show. Chuck season 1 consists of 13 episodes. The reason there is only 13 episodes is due to the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike, cutting the first season short.So, all those many years ago I decided to watch the first episode of Chuck and thought that it was actually quite good. The main premise of the show is an "ordinary-computer-geek-next-door" gets all of the CIA, NSA, FBI and all other major American institutions secrets downloaded into his brain by an old college friend via an e-mail on his birthday.So overnight Chuck (Zachary Levi) has to go from dealing with his annoying co-workers from the Buy More, living with his sister and her awesome boyfriend, and not having had a proper girlfriend for the last five years to helping his CIA handler Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) and NSA tough guy John Casey (Adam Baldwin) disarm bombs, foil terrorist plots, dodge RPG's, land helicopters and generally save the day.The casting was spot on with the three main stars. Levi plays the geek-turned-most-important-intelligent-asset-ever really well. Baldwin was apparently hand picked to play the gruff and emotionally closed off Casey and I can see why, and Strahovski switches between hard as nails CIA agent and Chucks' cover girlfriend really well.Throughout the season Chuck and Sarah pretend to be boyfriend and girlfriend to protect their cover. It's a will-they-won't-they to see if it would ever become a real relationship. In some episodes its Chuck pining for Sarah and in others it's Sarah letting her real emotions shows for Chuck. The chemistry between Levi and Strahovski is particularly good and you are always hoping that they will get together in the end.Some of the best episodes in my opinion are Chuck vs. The Sandworm, Chuck vs. The Truth and Chuck vs. The Imported Hard Salami. The only down side to this season is the last episode. Chuck vs. the Marlin. It's not that it is a bad episode; it's just not the best way that they could have ended the season. Even thought season one had a full 22 episodes commissioned by NBC, apparently Josh Schwartz decided to end it on this episode as this was the last episode written by the time of the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike.All in all a very good season with some genuine laugh out loud moments, some cringe worthy moments and some decent action scenes. There are lots of sci-fi, fantasy and other TV reference throughout the show. I would highly recommend this DVD.

I think I caught part of one episode of the first season back when it aired on cable and it didn't impress me much so I didn't bother with it. Yet I kept seeing rave reviews from time to time, enough to make me wonder if I should give it another chance. So, when the price of the first season on DVD came down to something quite affordable I gave it a shot. And as soon as I finish this review I'll start watching Season 2 DVD.But one thing in particular struck me about it; that, like Castle (with Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic), it's steeped in unrelieved sexual tension. Setup: an old college friend turned enemy downloads a computer program full of secrets and transfers it into Chuck's brain (this is the simplified version), then destroys the computer it came from. Thus Chuck (Zachary Levi), our intelligent good-looking computer-geek who works for something like Dixons, becomes a national security resource who is guarded/used by CIA agent Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) and her NSA counterpart/rival Casey (Adam Baldwin). No surprise that Chuck falls for the hard-shelled but vulnerable Sarah, who pretends to be his girlfriend as a cover, and not really much of a surprise that she rather likes him: but she can never show it. This is the continuing undercurrent to a rather likeable comedy-thriller.I mentioned Castle, but this also reminds me a little of The Big Bang Theory in that Chuck/Sarah reminds me of the Leonard/Penny dynamic. However, in TBBT the writers had the sense to get them together in the third season even if they did cruelly break them up towards the end. I'm hoping the production team have the sense to get Chuck and Sarah together before audiences get sick of the constantly delayed climax (sexual pun intended).Like Castle, Chuck works well because of a good cast playing good supporting roles. In this case, for me, the standout part is Adam Baldwin who has corned the market in playing the seriously heavy heavy with a cruel sense of humour. He was good in Angel, he was brilliant in Firefly and he's great in this. I could live without some of the other cast, particularly Chuck's workmates, though I like the Chinese girl. But it does balance the humour and the thriller aspects of it very nicely. It's certainly a lot more interesting than Castle which, though enjoyable enough, is very one-note, while this has secrets within secrets within...etc. Halfway through the season, a character you believed dead turns out not be and not everything you believe about past events is true.

CHUCK - Season 1`Chuck' is a spy comedy drama following the adventures of Zachery Levi who stars as the eponymous Chuck. Chuck Bartowski is clever but unambitious and working in a dead-end job as part of the `Nerd Herd' at the `Buy More' in Burbank, California. That is until he receives an encoded email from Bryce Larkin (Matt Bomer), an old college friend that turns his world upside down. For encoded in the email is the only copy of all of the USA's spy secrets (The Intersect) which are subliminally downloaded into Chuck's brain, instantly turning him into the most important `asset' in the whole of America.Due to the value and importance of the information in Chuck's head he is assigned two `handlers' to protect him, the beautiful but deadly Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski), and the ruthless and uncompromising John Casey (Adam Baldwin). During this first season the trio engage in espionage missions using the information in Chuck's head to thwart various enemies, whilst simultaneously attempting to keep Chuck's secret identity as the human intersect hidden. Moreover, Chuck's struggle to balance his spy life with his regular life is a recurring theme throughout the season.Though `Chuck' contains plenty of action it is the high quality of the comedic aspects that really make this series stand out. Indeed, it contains a mix of different kinds of comedy ranging from Call of Duty references to awkward situational comedy to slapstick pieces, all executed with panache by a talented clutch of actors. Certainly, much of the comic relief is based in and around the shows main set: the Burbank Buy More, where Chuck maintains his cover job. Populated by an eclectic assortment of characters the Buy More provides the perfect setting for the supporting cast members such as Morgan Grimes (Joshua Gomez), Jeff Barnes (Scott Krinsky), Lester Patel (Vik Sahay), Big Mike (Mark Christophe Lawrence), and Anna Wu (Julia Ling) to develop. In fact by the end of the season you want them to have even more screen time! Lastly, the cast is rounded off with Sarah Lancaster, and Ryan McPartlin, who play Chuck's sister and her boyfriend respectively. `Chuck' also features good direction, as well as sharp witty writing which are complemented by some great set design and production pieces.The main criticisms to be levied at this season are aimed at the repetitive action sequences. Though the action sequences are typically great throughout the season, toward the latter episodes they begin to feel similar and predictable. In addition though Chuck may get in trouble, such as being captured, he is never in danger.Nonetheless, this show feels refreshingly original and inventive with the concept and execution of the Buy More a stroke of brilliance. Moreover, Chuck season one is a great blend of action, comedy and heart. If you are looking for an upbeat comedy drama with plenty of action pieces, then this is well worth purchasing.9/10

I'm sorry for the pun but I hate coming up with titles!! Frankly Chuck shouldn't even need a review and I never normally write these but this really is such a good show that I decided to make the exception...Normally when you watch a series, even if you like it a lot, there are good episodes and just ok episodes, plus maybe if you're honest, some naff episodes. Chuck only seems to have good episodes. All of the characters, major and minor, whether they're believable or not (let's face it, you don't watch something like Chuck if you're into 100% believable anyway), are entertaining and you learn to become attached to them.Each episode will have a major, spy-related story, with a secondary 'real-life' story behind it, often for comic relief, sometimes the two will intersect (again, pardon the pun) but it's not always necessary to the progression of the episode.This series follows the mild-mannered and geeky Chuck, firmly entrenched in his own little rut, as he becomes stuck with the secrets of two of the US government's most violent and secretive agencies in his brain. The great thing about the series is seeing how, despite it going against his nature, Chuck gradually becomes increasingly accustomed to his important new role, proving himself heroic when needed. The early part of the season has a nice level of tension between Casey and Sarah, his NSA and CIA handlers/bodyguards, as they vie for his trust. Of course Sarah tends to win out, her far more personable nature and obvious charms (her on the dvd sleeve)easily outmatching Casey's monosyllabic grunts and occasional beatings. The minor, but still lovable characters include Chuck's best-friend Morgan and his sister's boyfriend Captain Awesome (because he really is... Awesome)....Do you know what, I could go on for ages about how great it is, but the best way to find out is to watch it... it's cheap at the moment and if you don't get into it pass it on to someone else. If you do... like pretty much everyone else I've introduce it to, then series 4 (probably the last) is coming on Living on the 14th October...It's entertaining, engaging, funny and just plain nice...

Chuck ou comment un geek se retrouve parachuté dans la CIA avec pour garde du corps une espionne canon !Série super !! a recommander d'urgence