Upcoming Spy DVDs: Chuck: The Complete Second SeasonI've been waiting for this announcement for a long time! Since NBC's spy comedy Chuck isn't coming back for a third go-round until mid-season this year, that, of course, means delayed DVDs of Season 2. I really don't understand the studios' need to release DVD seasons to coincide with new season premieres. Wouldn't it make more sense to make the DVDs available shortly after the end of the season in question, like Fox did with 24: Season 7, so that potential new viewers have lots of time to catch up and then tune in for increased ratings power when the new season does begin? Whatever. I digress. The news at hand (via TVShowsOnDVD) is that Warner Home Video has at last announced Chuck: The Complete Second Season on DVD and Blu-Ray on January 5, 2010. And check out that awesome, For Your Eyes Only-inspired cover! It's in keeping with the show's nerdy pedigree (and greatly to its credit!)that star Zachary Levi manages to duplicate Roger Moore's kind of weird stance from the Bond movie's teaser poster almost exactly. Besides the season's twenty-two episodes, the six-disc set will also include extras like webisodes, deleted scenes, a gag reel and four featurettes: "Truth, Spies and Regular Guys: Exploring the Mythology of Chuck," "Dude in Distress: Explore Some of the Season's Best Action Sequences," "Chuck: A Real-Life Captain Awesome's Tips For Being Awesome" and "John Casey Presents: So You Want to Be a Deadly Spy?" I like the sound of that last one! (Adam Baldwin's deadly-serious Agent Casey remains the highlight of the series.) Additionally, "for a limited time" (according to the press release), the set will include two pairs of 3D glasses and the 3D version of the episode "Chuck Versus the Third Dimension." (I tried watching it in 3D on my old-fashioned TV when it aired with no luck; apparently you need one of those newfangled TVs with the flat screens like all the kids have to make it work.)
Meanwhile, NBC has upped its third season Chuck episode order from 13 episodes to 19, according to Variety. That's great news for a show that was on the verge of cancellation last spring! Low ratings or not, Chuck is at least a proven commodity, which is more than can be said of the network's recently-cancelled Southland (which looks to be moving to cable) or probably soon-to-be-cancelled Trauma. Those shows' bad luck may be Chuck's good luck. While the network wasn't planning to bring the series back until after the winter Olympics, the trade reports that we may now see new Chucks as early as January. Tying in (coincidentally, I'm sure) with that January 5 DVD date...
Roger was facing in the other direction.
ReplyDeleteYeah, and (obviously) right handed rather than left. That's why I said almost. I still think it's amazing that someone was keeping track enough to use that weird sideways stance instead of the classic gunbarrel pose!
ReplyDeleteTrue.
ReplyDeleteHave you reviewed any more CHUCK episodes/seasons? Or have I missed the reviews? Also, are you planning to review the CHUCK mini-series, conveniently in trade paperback form from Wildstorm (DC)? Would love to read your thought on both.
ReplyDeleteTodd Fox
I haven't reviewed any Chuck DVDs yet. And I read the comics in individual issues and meant to get a review up when the trade came out, but I missed that deadline. Hopefully I'll still get around to writing about the comic sometime though!
ReplyDeleteI don't generally review TV as it's on (I try to wait for DVD), but I did actually review the Chuck pilot twice: I liked it much better on my second viewing than my first. Then I checked in again a few episodes later.
But that was a while ago! You're right; I definitely need to cover Chuck a bit more as it's one of the few spy series currently on Network TV. I'll try to get some more reviews up!