Almost painted at times like a slapstick seventies comedy, Zachary Levi is sympathetic as the well meaning Chuck, a man settling for a job at his local Buy More who is attached to his big sister (the excellent Sarah Lancaster). And how can you not love the hysterical supporting performance from Joshua Gomez as Chuck’s intrusive friend Morgan Grimes? Levi aces physical comedy opting for gags that involve him coming face to face with deadly agents and a disgruntled FBI agent John Casey played with his usual degree of entertaining anger by Adam Baldwin; Casey is the foil and questionable nemesis to Chuck’s antics who takes a job at Buy More to watch him. Yvonne Strahovski also gives a breakthrough performance as the sultry agent Walker assigned to protect Chuck and battles her feelings for him as they come close to death in nearly every episode. “Chuck” is not a complete bout of excellence but relies on the respective performances and smart writing from the cast along with some interesting highlights of the first season including the hilarious re-assigning of Chuck’s militant boss mid-season, and Baldwin’s incessant greeting of Chuck’s friends with physical violence. Plus, I enjoyed how they took a potentially forgettable character like “Captain Awesome” and turned him in to a genuinely entertaining irreplaceable part of the cast. Surely, it’s a series I’ll be following when it comes back to NBC.

As for the extras, we’re given a twenty six minute perspective “Chuck on Chuck” where the show’s creators, Levi, and Gomez sit to watch their chosen favorite scenes from the first season and reveal some interesting tidbits about what happened on set. Spoiler: In “Chuck vs. The Undercover Lover” Levi is actually hanging from the balcony. It’s just a shame Levi is so energetic it’s kind of annoying. “Chuck vs. The Chuckles” is a seven minute gag reel that’s both disgusting and funny. “Declassified Scenes” is a two minute look at cut scenes from the series. “Chuck’s Online World” garners four featurettes from the NBC website with the cast indulging in interesting and sometimes funny antics. We also get an interesting look in to the character of Morgan. There’s also “Chuck’s World” two minute looks in to the characters of the series from how they cast the actors, and why they click in the series.

I saw the entire first season when it first ran on NBC and it was fun re-watching the season uninterrupted. Though it’s still about the helpless man and the strong heroine, “Chuck” is a great series and this is a great DVD set. It’s the perfect purchase (or rental) for experimenting consumers.