Michael Weston is back with more tough as nails spy drama as Michael tries to figure out why he was burned and helps the only man who knows who is pulling the strings in Michaels life.
Film making 22/25
Cinematography 23/25
Audio 23/25
Bonus Features 20/25
Total 88/100
Burn Notice stars Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Weston, a burned spy who is trying to make ends meet while he also tries to find out why he was burned. A spy is not fired, he’s burned, left with no contacts he once had and no one willing to put themselves at risk for him.
At least that’s the idea behind Burn Notice where Michael Weston is burned by someone and he’s just trying to find out who and why. Michael must now work on odd jobs to earn a little money as he tries to find out why he was burned and do something about it.
Michael was on a regular mission, as regular as these can be for spies, when he is informed on the phone that he was burned. The first season of Burn Notice takes Michael through a series of exploits where he tries to find out why he was burned and was a good introduction to the story and characters.
When the people who burned him let him know he will be working for them he takes on small jobs to earn a little cash and to help others. Small jobs like finding a scammer who stole money from a friend of Michael’s mother Madeline Weston played by Sharon Gless.
Michael’s little side jobs are ones any mother would be proud of, helping the little guy get back hard earned money stolen from them or getting justice the cops and even FBI could not deal out. This is one side of the Burn Notice story with the other being Michael’s getting information about his job situation.
Burn Notice is a great show with every episode being a two sided coin that are both interesting and not necessarily needed from episode to episode. Of course viewing each episode in turn helps in the overall picture but each episode is a fun romp through the world of spies and worldwide espionage.
Throughout every episode Jeffrey Donovan gives helpful advice for any would be spy such as the best way to confront someone waiting inside a door with a gun about to jump you. Each time he does a voice over giving simple advice as if he was a knowledgeable spy that is also quite intelligent and makes a lot of sense.
Of course some of this advice may not be quite true but a lot of it is and when pointed out by the hero of the show does make a lot of sense. Also throughout the show his character does one thing that makes him the good guy again and again, he always looks out for the little guy who cannot protect themselves.
Several other things make the show a great success like his fellow actors and professionals in the business Fiona Glenanne played by Gabrielle Anwar and Sam Axe played by Bruce Campbell. Gabrielle is Michael’s sometime lover and full time friend as well as an ex-IRA talent who lets her skills with guns do her talking.
Sam is an ex-Navy man who did all kinds of covert operations and is now working as a part time helper for Michael in his capers. Both Fiona and Sam are fiercely loyal to Michael and will do anything to help him and his family including putting themselves in front of a bullet.
Other characters pop in and out of episodes like Nate Weston played by Seth Peterson who is Michael’s troublesome brother. Nate always seems to be trying to gain a quick buck and Michael is usually the one telling him not to and then getting him out of trouble.
The show has plenty of great actors and season 2 continues the fun of the series with some new characters that also repeat their roles throughout the season. Carla is one such character who is a lower level boss of the mysterious organization who had Michael burned and is making his life miserable.
During Season 2 the main theme that plays throughout the series is Michael finding out who is responsible for his being burned and getting to those people. Of course they are usually several people deep in the chain of command so the first few people Michael finds are expendable and the organization behind them quickly gets rid of them.
Michael Shanks, from Star Gate fame, also plays a recurring role in several of the episodes as Victor, a fellow spy who was also burned by Carla and her organization. Victor has stayed one step ahead of Carla for five years and finally ends the running to help Michael.
Several fun things occur during the series in season 2 that also made season 1 and the show in general a hit and they continue the fun throughout the series. The show has a lot of good action and well acted parts but the spy theme and all they do with that adds a lot of excitement to the series.
During the show they label people with their names and their chosen profession or what they do such as “Michael Westen Spy”. Sometimes they play games with this little labeling by changing the labels in mid viewing like when Fiona says the guy they are talking about is not a gangster but a pervert and the label of Gangster under his name moves off screen to be replaced by the word pervert.
It’s just this sort of joking with the show and characters that adds a real humor in what would otherwise be a serious and rather dull show. The little dialogue added by Jeffrey Donovan about various skills of being a spy also adds a lot of fun to the show that makes it an overall success as a drama.
Season 2 of Burn Notice continues the fun and drama of Michael Weston and adds that much more to his character and commitment to getting his name cleared. Burn Notice is a great show and really worth owning on Blu-ray with the high definition you would expect as well as the great audio.
The season 2 transfer to Blu-ray was very good with plenty of detail, great skin tone and other colors and just overall very good video. The audio is also well done and includes English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and subtitles in English, Spanish and French.
The audio is great and about what you would expect from a series with lossless Dolby Master sound and great music throughout the series episodes. The voices and action sounds and effects work well and sound very realistic with great surround sound in a lot of scenes.
I found both the audio and video very good and well transferred for no problems and very good quality on Blu-ray so there was no problem with that. The show looks great and just about all the action and effects worked out very well for a great 16 episode series for season 2.
The bonus content on the Blu-ray edition is also well done with some commentary tracks and deleted scenes on several episodes but not all of them. The bonus commentary tracks are only on what I would consider the better episodes and makes for a great addition to the main series.
The second disc contains a feature called NIXin It Up with series creator Matt Nix on one of the episodes and how he does his work to create a great show. Matt Nix gives a lot of insight not only into the one episode but into the whole show, characters and the direction the show is taking.
Disc three contains a 10 minute gag reel, a feature called Boom Notice and the deleted scenes with a couple of trailers for other movies. The extra content follows along the serious theme of the commentary and how they make the series or the funny gag reel and Boom Notice feature.
Boom Notice is an eight minute show created with the crew, mainly a boom man and sound mixer, as well as several others who put in their own appearances. This little gem is great as a chance for the crew to show they can be funny and show off their “talent” in acting for a great extra episode.
The bonus content is a great collection of features that add some to the series and really make the Blu-ray edition worthwhile. Burn Notice Season 2 continues the great story of a burned spy who is now working on finding out more about who he is and why he wants to be a spy.
