Geekscape TV Review: Burn Notice Season 4
The USA show Burn Notice follows the exploits of spy Michael Westen (Jeffery Donovan) after he has been blacklisted and sent packing back to his hometown of Miami. In an effort to uncover who framed and burned him, Westen has been using the tactics he’s learned over the years to trace back the conspiracy to it’s source. All the while taking odd missions to help peoiple in need of his expertise in the city of Miami. Westen is joined by his former Navy SEAL friend Sam Axe (the eponymous Bruce Campbell) and arms dealer girlfriend Fiona Glenanne (Gabrielle Anwar) in his efforts as both an unlicensed private investigator and in his search to find who burned him.
At the outset of season 4 we know who has been pulling the strings of Michael’s burn notice, a black ops intelligence agency that supposedly has the nation’s defense in mind. Season 3 ended with a madman being released on Miami and season 4 launches Michael’s investigation into who freed him and why. The first stop on the case is to obtain a file held by a CIA operative named Jesse (Coby Bell). While obtaining the file, Michael inadvertently gets Jesse burned and not knowing Michael burned him, Jesse turns to Westen to help him track down who did it.
Burn Notice has the most well balanced mix of case of the week and overarching plot episode to episode than any other show on television. The missions the team takes on break up the draggy portions of the “big bad” plot Michael is trying to uncover, and the serialized aspects of the show make you feel like it is actually moving toward something.
The introduction of Jesse this season had mixed reactions from the people I know who watch Burn Notice. At first, I didn’t care for the character. There isn’t much to Jesse and his character seems redundant with Michael already serving as resident capable burnt spy. Around the halfway mark I found Jesse finally growing on me, especially when they started introducing his former handler Marv. He’ll never be Sam Axe, but it’s interesting to see Michael coaching through the same experiences he had to suffer through for three seasons.
This season had some of Burn Notice’s biggest guest stars to date, but none of them had anything on the brilliance that was Burt Reynolds in “Past and Future Tense”. Burt Reynolds as an aging spy on the run from Russians is the easiest sell I’ve ever seen. It was remarkable how smoothly he fit into the feel of the show, and seeing him act against Bruce Campbell is a nerd dream.
Some of the best episodes of the season include “Center of the Storm”, a post hurricane episode where Michael tries to protect a witness who has multiple hitmen after him. The episode isn’t big on flash, but has some really good character stuff going on. You also can’t miss “Blind Spot”, an episode that is almost exclusively written to let Bruce Campbell shine as Sam Axe. And lastly, make sure to check out “Brotherly Love”. Michael’s brother returns to help a friend recover a stolen car and we get to see Michael break out one of my favorite cover IDs, Johnny. And we get a little face time with Michael’s mom. Downside this season seems to be just not a lot going on for Michael’s mother, she gets in on a couple missions, but I was disappointed she didn’t refer anyone to Michael for help this go ’round.
The Season 4 dvd comes with your standard issue extras like commentary and deleted scenes. The gag reel onl has a couple gems on it, Bruce Campbell calling Coby Bell a “whore for dvd extras” being the one I laughed hardest at. There is a special feature that appeared on the White Collar DVD that shows up here two where the respective creators and writing staffs roast the others shows. The extra that the geeks will love is the Sam Axe Guide To Ladies and Libations. It’s a really good detailed look at Bruce Campbell and his character Sam Axe. It also has a couple good cocktail recipes. Burn Notice is also one of the most stunt heavy shows on television, and the presentation they filmed on the stunt work for a TV buyers event is a treat.
Burn Notice is a great combination of the A-Team and Macguyver and if you haven’t checked out yet, give it a chance. The season 4 dvd is available June 7 and the 5th season premieres on USA on Thursday June 23rd.
