“Sometimes the truth hurts in these situations… I recommend lying.”
You don’t know what it’s like to be burned until you’re a spy in the middle of a deal with a Russian mobster and the money transfer phone call is refused because you’ve been burned (or kicked out of the service). If you escape with your life then you’ll have to try and find out who used the flamethrower on you.
Michael Western (Jeffrey Donovan) is a covert spy in the middle of a deal with some Russian mafia types to make sure that nothing untoward happens in some Nigerian oil fields. They’ve agreed on the price and Michael calls up his contact to give them the account number to transfer the bribe.
Unfortunately he discovers that he’s been given a burn notice. This is when an agent is labeled persona-non-grata and dismissed and not allowed to have contact with the controlling agency. Michael barely escapes this tricky situation in Nigeria with his life, but ends up beaten, bruised, and penniless in Miami.
He still has his ex-girlfriend as his contact in his wallet, so he awakens from unconsciousness with Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar), who is also and ex-IRA operative, watching over him. He also contacts retired agent Sam Axe (the chin himself – Bruce Campbell) to try and help him figure out who “burned” him.
To make things matters even better, his estranged hypochondriac, chain-smoking mother Madeline (Sharon Gless) knows that he’s in Miami and Fiona has given her his cell phone number. So now Michael has to avoid the FBI who is watching him and also find a way to get some cash so that he can find who the mysterious forces are that issued his burn notice.
Fantastic would be the word to describe this excellent series. It would be easy to say that the series is equal parts a mixture of James Bond (well minus the fancy gadgets – just duct tape allowed), Rockford Files, MacGyver, and the Equalizer (minus the English accent for the main character – maybe Fi’s Irish one will count).
Michael, to make ends meet, takes up the cases of those in need. Michael narrates much of the episodes with little spy asides that add a certain charm to the episodes (“In a fight you have to be careful not to break the little bones in your hand.”) as well as text introductions for various characters on the show (“Mr. Pyne – the rich guy”).
This could seem rather silly if it were not for the charming and well acting characters that form the solid spine of this show. I’d watch Old Spice commercials that featured the chin, hey wait a minute… but he plays the elder, burnt out agent Sam to perfection and has many moments to shine.
Donovan is just excellent as Western and he charms his way into the audience’s hearts. Having to also charm his way into various schemes to help out his “clients” he gets to play smart, stupid, and a host of other emotions/personas to give his acting talents a workout and he’s well up to the task.
The chemistry between Anwar and him is palpable as they play well off of each other. She’s just a jewel in the role and both bounce off Campbell well, but Fiona bounces better as the two characters hate each other and this makes for some great “bits of business.”
Speaking of bits since this is set on Miami Beach you get to see a lot of bikini clad flesh on the show. An excellent show that I’m thrilled has been given a second season on the USA Network.
Burn Notice is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include commentaries by show creator Matt Nix, Donovan, Campbell, Anwar, and Gless. These are not full commentaries and only appear on certain scenes in the episode.
To avoid dead air you have the option to “get burned” and have isolated the specific scenes with a play all option. It’s a fun listen as they’re having a ball and I liked that they gathered all the scenes with commentary in one place. There’s also a gag reel (3 minutes), character montage (1 minute), a montage of all the hot gals in the Miami scenes (2 minutes), and audition footage from Donovan and Anwar (9 minutes).
A great show with a great cast only leaves you wanting more. This fine set presents this charming show with some wonderful commentaries that you’ll eat up. I can’t wait for season two.
Burn Notice – Season One is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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