Chuck – The Complete Second Season DVD – Win Yours Here

Few are the shows that have managed to pull together a loyal fanbase as quickly as Chuck. The quirky pseudo-spy show is a mix of reluctant (and grossly unqualified) hero, curiously fun action, and problematic love story, and fans have been making their presence known since the first episodes. The second season threw a lot of twists into things, starting off with a game-changer just as season three will when it begins airing. The creators and writers are nothing if not brave, daring to throw caution to the wind and put out what they feel the show needs to retain its interest and excitement.

There are a lot of shows that might fall somewhere in the same category as Chuck that I wouldn't highly recommend the DVD release, even if I loved them. The truth is, even great shows are not necessarily the sort of thing you need to watch again. Somewhat to my surprise, I don't feel that way about Chuck. I could run through this one several times without getting tired of it.

This season, Chuck is in luck: The government’s new Intersect II is ready for espionage service. And that means the old Intersect (Chuck) can go back to his old life. But if Chuck goes, he’s gone: Casey has orders to off him. In this series, named one of Time’s 10 Best of 2008, Chuck survives to battle perilous plots, enemy agents and Buy More’s obnoxious new assistant manager, Emmett Milbarge (recurring guest star Tony Hale, Arrested Development), in the comedy- and action-packed Season Two. Here’s some of what’s up: Sarah’s past is revealed, Morgan almost becomes mature, and Captain Awesome and Ellie plan the Big Day.

Better still, this is a solid release as far as special features are concerned. It's loaded with goodies, and it's a release that knows what fans are going to appreciate, and doesn't pile on filler just to look like it has a lot of extras.

DVD SPECIAL FEATURES

• Truth, Spies and Regular Guys: Exploring the Mythology of Chuck
• Dude in Distress: Explore Some of This Season’s Best Action Sequences
• Chuck Versus the Webisodes: Web-Originated Minifeaturettes
• Chuck: A Real-Life Captain Awesome’s Tips for Being Awesome
• John Casey Presents: So You Want to Be a Deadly Spy?
• Declassified Scenes
• Gag Reel

For a limited time, the DVD and Blu-ray releases of Chuck: The Complete Second Season will also include the never-to-be-aired-again 3-D version of the episode “Chuck Versus the Third Dimension,” plus two pairs of 3-D glasses.

The gag reel and deleted scenes are the usual fare, but there are quite a lot of deleted scenes and they're spread over the set. That adds up to quite a bit on its own, and fans will appreciate getting a look at moments that didn't quite make it for one reason or another. In fact, a number of them really should have made it to air.

Be careful with Truth, Spies, and Regular Guys, because it looks at the entire show and isn't for the spoiler sensitive. It runs right around twenty minutes, and while there is more to it than simply recapping things, it isn't a whole lot more.

Dudes in Distress is not particularly long (around 17 minutes), but it's a fun behind-the-scenes look at the action, including stunt work, choreography, and all manner of other things that go into shooting the show. What stands out about this featurette is the way that a behind-the-scenes look, which might ordinarily come across rather dull, was still put out in a fun and interesting way. "Anatomy of a fight scene," is something we've probably all seen before, and probably don't especially need to see again unless there is really some special reason, but this is a very cool look at what goes on in the making of the show.

So You Want To Be a Deadly Spy and Captain Awesome's Tips are less than mind-blowing, and each runs only a few minutes, but they're pretty funny and do a good job of summing up the fun of the show.

Finally, the webisodes are great. It would be nice if there were a few more of them, but these goofy bits of fun are usually solid treats for fans, and it's nice to set them into DVD releases. Here, you get some employee training films.

The lack of any commentary stands out to a degree here - after all, who doesn't want to hear Chuck talk about Chuck? - but, overall this is a really nice release.

Own it on DVD and Blu-Ray today!

Leave a comment below and you are automatically entered to win your very own copy of the DVD set. U.S. only. Winner will be randomly selected January 31st.

Check out some great clips below!

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About Marc Eastman

Marc Eastman is the owner and operator of Are You Screening? and has been writing film reviews for over a decade, and several branches of the internet's film review world have seen his name. His reviews have brought him personal praise from the director of a major motion picture, and have been used as required reading in a course at a major University. These priceless rewards, along with just bags of cash, keep him from straying from freelance writing. He is also a member of The Broadcast Film Critics Association and The Broadcast Television Journalists Association.

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