If you’ve ever watched a James Bond flick or played a covert shoot-em-up video game you’ve probably fantasized about what it would be like to live the spy life. Often it’s glamorized with expensive cars and beautiful women broken up with brief bouts of action. It sounds like a pretty sweet package. Chuck, the series about an average geek who becomes a spy courtesy of a program imprinted into his brain, takes a lot of the romantic splendor out of the idea and replaces it with a wry smirk where lavish parties give way to life in retail and witty repartee with villainous baddies is replaced by overly self-conscious banter poking fun at some of the more overused spy vs. spy tropes that many film geeks have pointed out to their friends from the couch. At least, that’s how the series started: Chuck learning the ropes with his two handlers shooting down his perceptions of the trade as based on media representations. The series has, in its third season, become a victim of the very crime it was trying to combat in its first seasons. It drank the Kool-Aid.
Now that Chuck has access to the behavioral benefits of Intersect 2.0 and can “flash” on things like Kung Fu, Parkour, and many other skills as if he was Neo in the Matrix getting the info uploaded instantaneously, the format of the show has shifted from fish out of water on a weekly mission to spy-in-training proving his mettle to his still skeptical though increasingly impressed handlers. It’s a good thing for a show to evolve, but becoming the antithesis of its origins isn’t the best route to take, though some of the more diehard fans will rejoice in anything that means their once network-imperiled show will advance to another season (which it is). The season starts with Chuck (Zachary Levi) officially accepted as an agent trainee, having walked away from a relationship with former handler, Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski), only to flunk out of the program when his feelings for her interfere with his Intersect abilities. Dejected, Chuck returns home, grows a beard and subsists entirely on cheesy puffs; a man who has lost the two things he wanted most in life. With the coaxing of his sister (Sarah Lancaster) and best friend Morgan (Joshua Gomez) he gets his act back together, relearns control of the Intersect, and becomes a spy all over again. However, his return is overshadowed by the presence of super spy Daniel Shaw (Brandon Routher) whose expertise puts even Chuck’s Intersect abilities to shame at times. Combine that with his budding romance with Chuck’s now ex-girlfriend Sarah and Shaw becomes Chuck’s impromptu rival. Further complicating Chuck’s spy career is the addition of yet another outsider who knows what he really does for a living, the first being his sister’s husband (Ryan McPartlin).
The three main plots of the season involve Shaw’s discovery of the identity of the person who killed his wife all those years ago, taking down the leadership of The Ring, and the re-introduction of Chuck’s father (Scott Bakula) when his sister becomes the target of The Ring’s plot (the climax of which brings the season to its cliffhanger ending).
The show’s writing has become a bit tired over the three seasons as they’ve done little to freshen up the formula. Agent Casey (Adam Baldwin) is still gruff and sarcastic, Morgan is still hopelessly starry-eyed, Chuck stammers and fidgets awkwardly in the face of spy challenges, and Captain Awesome maintains his blissful mix of knowledge and ignorance. Famous faces pop up again and again, but their use is just as predictable and formulaic as any other episode, so they ultimately make no serious impact on their episode’s quality. Tony Hale makes a regrettably quick departure from the series in the very first episode, but that’s just the start of the series’ comedic diminishes. Is it funny that Morgan is still enamored with Chuck’s sister or still has a child-like exuberance for video games? Somewhat, but much less so than in the first season, and little has been done to make him seem relevant in the series, and the few efforts are incredibly transparent.
In terms of a Blu-ray transfer, the series doesn’t have too many instances where hi-def makes it essential, but on the right screen it can make the showmanship of Chuck shine. The audio by contrast is crystal clear, but few will have the systems to really take advantage of that.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
A gag reel and selection of deleted scenes are supplemented by two featurettes: one covering the training given to make Zachary Levi/Chuck a true spy and a mockumentary devoted to the unfortunate running gag of Jeffster, the two-man band of the Buy More. Neither is fantastic, and the diehard fans will wish there was more.
"Chuck: The Complete Third Season" is on sale September 7, 2010 and is not rated. Action, Adventure, Comedy. Directed by Allan Kroeker, Patrick R Norris. Written by Chris Fedak, Josh Schwartz, Allison Adler, Phil Klemmer, Matthew Miller. Starring Adam Baldwin, Brandon Routh, Joshua Gomez, Ryan McPartlin, Sarah Lancaster, Yvonne Strahovski, Zachary Levi.
