End of the line for Chuck lurches, trips, then glides

What is it? Chuck, Season 5, 13 hour-long episodes on three discs from Warner Home Video When? Now How much? $39.98 Who is Chuck? Nerd. Brother. Friend. Husband. Uncle. Superspy. After a wild ride, this is the final season for Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi) and his friends and family. And for the fans. This show was perpetually on the bubble (translation: in danger of being canceled) and dedicated fan campaigns played a huge role in keeping the series going as long as it did.

What’s the story? Chuck Bartowski was just your runof-the-mill brilliant underachiever when an innocentlooking e-mail turned him into a walking government database. Suddenly, he was the government’s most important asset, protected by two top agents and saving the world on a regular basis.

Adventures, lots of secrets and an epic romance followed.

What’s up this season? Chuck, his loving-but-deadly wife, Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski), their gruff, even deadlier partner Casey (Adam Baldwin), and Chuck’s bumbling best pal Morgan (Joshua Gomez) are back. After a vengeful agent nearly killed Sarah, the team quit the CIA and they are now acting as freelance spies under the name Carmichael Industries.

Complicating things somewhat is the fact that Chuck no longer has the Intersect — the special brain enhancement that turned him into a superspy. The Intersect is now in Morgan’s head. And it’s causing problems.

The pesky Intersect continues to be a thorn in the team’s side throughout the season and right up through the finale.

How does it compare to seasons past? The season gets off to a rather shaky start, but halfway through, with the Christmas episode, the tide turns and it’s a (mostly) terrific push to the end.

That end is what you’d expect from Chuck: wild action, character-based comedy, unlikely heroics and lots of nostalgia. It’s an appropriately bittersweet coda.

Should I start here? Absolutely not. Start at the beginning. This will all mean nothing — and the final episode, in particular, will be totally lost to you — if you don’t know the whole story. See, it started with a guy who worked at the Buy More ...

Are there extras? Yes. More than we’ve gotten from past season sets. They include commentaries on the final two episodes, a gag reel, deleted scenes, faux commercials and an extended version of the finale. There’s also a gaggle of featurettes on: the shooting of the last episode, the music, the devoted fans and Chuck from the beginning to the future.

New this week: Freak Show, Complete Series; Hazel, Season 3; The Universe, Season 6; Victorious, Season 2.

Next week: The River, Season 1; Rizzoli & Isles, Season 2; Route 66, Complete Series; Teen Wolf, Season 1.