Fox Home Entertainment
Release date: June 17th, 2008
SRP: $49.98
Stars: Jeffrey Donovan ,Bruce Campbell, Gabrielle Anwar, Sharon Gless.
Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) is a government agent that is kicked ot the curb (given his burn notice) by the government. With no idea as to how this came about, Michael tries to figure out just what happened. In the meantime, he uses his skills to assist others (and make some extra money).
Hanging with Michael is his buddy Sam (delightfully played by B film icon Bruce Campbell), a semi-retired intelligence agent that spends most of his time drinking and leering at young ladies, and his ex-girlfriend Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar) a former IRA agent turned gun runner.
Michael also has to deal with nagging from his mother (Sharon Gless). The show reminds me a bit of The Rockford Files, with a nice mix of action and humor with just enough emotion to prevent us from seeing Michael as a cartoon character (or worse, MacGuyver).
Extras:
We get one rather nice bonus: There are a handful of scenes, per episode, that you can watch with commentary from the cast and creator. These are nice in that each is short and can be watched in a relatively short period of time. Full-length commentary tracks can drag, with the speaker losing focus over time. Each of these is clear and concise…not to mention fairly fun. It is clear the cast enjoys each other’s company.
There is also audition footage of Anwar (Fiona) and Donovan (Weston) that is decent. Nothing extraordinary, but I enjoyed watching the actors initial impression of their characters.
Other than that, nothing here is really worth mentioning. We get a couple of montages that are pretty much a waste of time.
Burn Notice is an absolute hoot. Jeffery Donovan (Michael), Bruce Campbell (Sam) and Gabrielle Anwar (Fiona) have more chemistry than many casts that have been together for years. That they managed to jell in just one cable season is a testament to the skills and personalities involved.
It is also one of the reasons that everyone should have cable television, Burn Notice would likely not survive the soulless wastelands of network TV.
First time around, I enjoyed the series and thought it was worth watching. But after a second time through, it is one of my favs. Do yourself a favor and pick up season one, you won’t regret it.
Order Burn Notice from Amazon.
Jeremy Lynch
For more reviews from myself, and the rest of the Crimespree crew, check out the index of reviews.
