Chuck – The Complete Second Season (Warner DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C Episodes: C*
*PLEASE NOTE: The 3-D version of the
episode Chuck In The Third Dimension is
actually contained as an extra in the sixth and final DVD of this set, is a
limited time offer and includes two pair of 3-D glasses. Oddly, this version does not include the 5.1
mix the regular 2-D edition offers on DVD 3.
In a show
popular enough to inspire a campaign to save it, Chuck has built a following slowly and of some size. It is the kind of audience network TV
executives seem baffled by the existence of, but they keep canceling shows and therefore
many potential hits simply because they expect them to open big like a wide
release feature film. That is some of the
worst thinking in TV history. You can
read more about the show in our coverage of the First Season in both formats as follows:
Blu-ray
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7925/Chuck:+The+Complete+First+Season
DVD
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7505/Chuck+%E2%80%93+The+Complete
I liked the First Season as well, but not as
much as my colleague. I also thought
this new Second Season is just sillier than it should be and why the shift to
too much humor seems a desperate attempt for commercial viability that was
unnecessary. This time, the title
character (Zackary Levi) has lost some of his enthusiasm for missions, but
keeps taking them on. All 22 hour-long
slotted shows are here on 6 DVDs and though there are some funny moments, this
is not the course I expected the show to take.
The send-up of the retail chain Chuck works at is
tired and the show does not have the overall wit of previous spy spoofs or even
Burn Notice, which can be blamed in part on co-producer McG (Charlie’s
Angels – Full Throttle, Terminator Salvation, the series Supernatural)
whose on and off hand involvement guarantees inevitable implosion of some
kind. It has not ruined this show yet,
but fans have saved it for a third season, so there is hope. However, the cast here (also including Yvonne
Strahovski, Joshua Gomez, Ryan McPartlin and Adam Baldwin among others) is not
bad and there is some chemistry here.
The original Get Smart and The Piglet Files it is not, but
you could do worse.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image was shot on 16mm film for all but the
3-D episode, with shots that have a grainy and somewhat degraded look. The 3-D show is all (or almost totally) shot
in HD video and has some motion blur, color weakness and detail issues. The 3-D does not work that well either and
the few attempts to liven it up fail. The
Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is too much towards the center channels, especially in
dialogue, with the music surrounds too enveloping versus the rest of the
sound. Extras include “Declassified
Scenes” for select shows, Gag Reel and four featurettes on the show.
- Nicholas Sheffo
