Chuck: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray]
Chuck: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray]
Chuck Bartowski, ace computer geek at the BuyMore, is not in his right mind. That’s a good thing. Ever since he unwittingly downloaded stolen government secrets into his brain, action, excitement and a cool secret- agent girlfriend have entered his life. It’s a bad thing, too. Because now Chuck is in danger 24/7.
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars Where is the Main Title Sequence?
There is definitely something lacking with this set. I have only made it part way through disk1, but I am livid. Ok, I had to come back and update this review. Near the end of Disk 1 they finally started showing the opening sequence. Still rather odd though.
I still can’t believe Warners can’t do better than this. This is Not their first DVD. They should be embarrassed and ashamed. We ALL know how this is “Supposed” to work, they bring up a splash screen that plays snippets of the theme song in the background, on the menu you have options like “Episodes” and “Extras” and “Commentary”. I am not sure why they designed the disk this way, but after it forced me to watch all of the episodes, it finally came up with a main menu. Very very strange. Up to that point I had to use the the pop-up menu, puh-lease :(. I hope this is not what I should expect from new BluRay releases anytime soon. Obviously, we all absolutely love the show and pity this travesty of transfer to video, that is why it hurts so very very much.
Other than that I have to say something else (positive) that other people seem to have missed…
So I just want to say, “Adam Baldwin”. I was not a fan. His performance always felt forced in FireFly. I never saw him before that. So, I was not pleased to see him on the roster for this show.
But here, in this show, his stiffness Really Really works for the character! I have seen many actors pushed on the agonized public in roles that did not fit…until they finally found a vehicle that was tailor-made for the actor. Well, this IS the vehicle for Adam Baldwin! All of his idiosyncrasies just fit perfectly with this character…his facial contortions, his rage…its just AWESOME. HaHa! He completes a strong ensemble cast, the type of thing that made Seinfeld the instant classic that it is (not that I am comparing). I am glad to say now that I can be a fan of yet another one of those Baldwins (whether or not he’s related and whether or not I share their political views).
In addition, this show actually has, sort of, a Dual-layered ensemble cast, in that the Buy More characters are also strong and worth watching in their own right. They could almost have their own show!
Unfortunately, I have to grade this product on the DVD transfer since I Think most people already know how great the show is. I would not want anyone to get the impression that they should buy the BluRay over the DVD version. I just can’t say that, with the poor menuing, the lack of opening theme and the lack of HD quality this product is a definite misfire. Having watched all the DVDs now, I did notice that the HD quality gets better as the series progresses.
Still, My experience has been, that with an upscaled DVD you would get more consistent looking results throughout which I think would be a bonus. I had the same experience with Battlestar Galactica 4.5. I really really wish I had just bought that on DVD too. TV shows may just not be completely ready for HD yet. SO…Buyer Beware.
4 Stars Chuck First Season Blue-Ray
The series is great with good stories and mostly great acting. Always fun to watch Sarah! The Blu-Ray transfer is a little soft on some episodes, but still nice to watch.
5 Stars I LOVE Chuck, but the Blue-Ray quality does suck on this.
I couldn’t bear to put a bad rating on this, just because people might think I don’t love Chuck S1, but I give Chuck season 1 itself 5 stars. The quality of the Blue-Ray is pretty bad though. I’ll just echo what all the other reviewers said … it’s just really grainy, especially in scenes where the background is a bright/light color. Such as scenes shot outside during the daytime, or scenes shot against a white wall in the background. I wish I could see what the non-Blue-Ray version looked like, if it’s any better than this. I hope the quality of season 2 is much better.
1 Stars Grainy Grainy Grainy
I really like this show, so this 1 star review is not for the content, but rather the quality of the blu-ray. I very rarely write reviews but the quality of this transfer is SO BAD that it is distracting. It is so grainy, it looks worse than standard definition TV. I’m not using low end equipment either - I have an OPPO Blu-Ray with a top of the line Panasonic plasma (V10 series). Really the only part that’s watchable is the opening credits (somehow those animated images look like glass) - but the actual show is horrible quality - really the only way to describe it is “grainy to the point of distracting”.
One comment though - I’ve read some reviews where people say they can’t choose the individual episodes to watch - that is somewhat true for me insofar as there is no “top menu”. However with my blu-ray I have an option on my remote for a “pop-up menu” and if I go there I can then select the episode to watch (hint: the order of the episodes go from left to right, not top to bottom).
So I’m not saying not to get this show, but do not expect high-def quality from the blu-ray, because it isn’t.
Enjoy.
-Nick
5 Stars A nerds ultimate fantasy.
This show at first looked a bit laughable to me, but I assure you this is a well concieved series. All the actors have been chosen with great care, and they interact with one another as though they had been working with eachother their entire lives. They have great chemistry in every scene, it’s like they’re best friends in real life. The show has alot of comedy which is only broken up by action and dramatic story telling. What I love about the show is it’s many referances to movies, television, and video games. Chuck is not James Bond, not even close in fact. It is hilarious watching him try to fit into the world of espionage. He does have two bodyguards Sarah and Casey to protect him. Sarah the beautiful young blonde that is sent to be his boyfriend (lucky guy), and Casey is the heavy artillary side of the team. It’s really fun to see Chucks and Sarah’s relationship grow throughout the season. They clearly have great chemistry and that leads to some romantic moments. It’s sorta like on LOST with Jack and Kate you know they want to be with eachother but the plot dictates otherwise just teasing you here and there. Chuck also has a best friend Morgan who is responsible for most of the laughs as we watch his pathetic life, and the way he clings to Chuck’s every move. Chuck and his family really keep the show grounded and really relatable to the every day guy. This show began well and only got better in season 2.
The picture quality is another thing all together. It has grain in almost every frame. I advise you watch it in the worst definition available in order to hide the grain somewhat. I reccommend that you buy the DVD, it still is grainy but atleast the grain isn’t in high def which makes it worse. Chuck surpasses the picture quality with it’s amazing characters and stories. The extras are decent with some deleted scenes, a gag reel, and audition footage. The series is a mix of Alias, Mission Impossible, and Get Smart. It is the ultimate comedy hour mixed with great action.
Filed under: Blu Ray Movie Reviews