Project-Blu ‘Burn Notice: Season Two’ Review, by Nate Boss

Burn Notice: Season Two

By: Nate Boss, 6.28.2009

The Movie Itself:
  Intro Notice
If you've ever sat down and watched ANY programming on the USA Network the last two years, you'll know what Burn Notice is. You'll have seen a commercial for the show a few times an hour, easy. The only times you won't be bombarded with these spots is when a different show (ahem, Royal Pains) is getting focussed on to drive exposure to a show to get ratings.

Some shows don't need this kind of self advertisement, and I'd go so far as to say Burn Notice is one of them. The show would probably be a success even if it were on in the 2 am time slot, surrounded by hour long infomercials for household items with a twist: an AM radio!!!! You too can have a toilet paper dispenser or nail clipper that can bring all those rabid political whackjobs into your most mundane of tasks! Burn Notice is THAT good.

Beginners Notice
Yep, this is one of those reviews. You know, the ones by someone who had not sat down to the show ever before sitting down to the disc. So I was in the same spot many others would be, concerning this release. Would the show be coherent? Would it require viewing Season One to be enjoyable?

To be brief, yes, on both questions. The show doesn't require an extensive knowledge of the series to pick up and enjoy. The show takes on a continuing primary story that is evident in every episode (sometimes as the main plot, sometimes as a side plot), so one can learn about the show from the primary story line through each passing episode, learning about the intricacies of the characters through their subplots, while the story of the "burn" gets fleshed out more and more.

So...the question is, what's the show about?

Synopsis Notice
Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) is a spy...well, was a spy, until he got burned by the government he works for, becoming a freelance operative of sorts. While he works towards finding out who burned him, ruining his career and life, he takes on random jobs to help out others in need. A dark guardian angel, of sorts, the definition of an anti-hero. With his ex-girlfriend Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar) and an informant (Bruce Campbell) by his side to assist with his intricate schemes, Michael crafts intricate schemes, delving deep into complex problems head first, working everyone around him, while working towards the truth.

Praise Notice
Part Fletch, Part MacGyver, Michael Westen is quite possibly one of the coolest spies to grace the American audience in some time. Donovan is expert at throwing his voice, creating a multi-faceted chameleon, enabling him to gain access to various areas he would otherwise be shut out of. The key to the show, though, is the chemistry between Anwar, Donovan, and Campbell, and it is always SPOT on. The only problem is, with each week, a new face pops up, and these one timer guest spots, the men and women in need of help, never, EVER have good chemistry with the lead roles. They kind of bungle up the show, at times, with their weak chops and poor raport.

Bruce Campbell Notice
Bruce Campbell is best in two roles: the leading man, where his charisma, wit, brilliant timing, and wonderful facial expressions can drive a tale, or as a supporting man, where his charisma, wit, brilliant timing, and wonderful facial expressions can steal a show. In other words, the man is fucking golden in anything he touches, even the b-movie horror The Man With the Screaming Brain. He's a B-movie legend. He's even a great narrator, as he showed off in the Spider-Man video games.

Sex Appeal Notice
Gabrielle Anwar, where have you been all my life? According to the IMDb, you've been all over the place, but have been ignored your entire career. At 39, Anwar looks 25, with absolute rock solid, toned, perfectly tanned abs that have to be seen to be believed. Sadly, the show realizes that her sex appeal is a driving factor, so every episode, we see giant pokey Anwar nipples. I'm talking huge, poking through her tops like she were the late Farrah Fawcett. The thing is, you can see her bra beneath her outfit many times, making these points that could take a man's eye out (both from staring, or getting poked) a bit ridiculous. Subtlety would be advised in the future, as no matter how enjoyable she may be, this act wears thin fast.

Prison Break Notice
After sitting through one brilliant Season of Prison Break, and three horrific bastard step-child follow ups, I can't help but notice the many similarities between the poor seasons of Break, and this solid season of Burn. The entire "female agent who will kill everyone you've ever talked to if you cross her" bit is repeated, and is quite dull and worn out, honestly. The "Company" becomes the "Management," with so many similarities between shows that I am now fearful for future seasons of Burn Notice. Sure, Burn Notice did things right with the same elements that Prison Break did wrong, but it is scary to see the parallel, as this is one show I don't want to see going to Fox River to get executed.

Excessive Convenience Notice
As enjoyable as the show is, for a multitude of reasons, sometimes Burn Notice gets overly convenient. We, the audience, know that the crew will get themselves out of whatever scrape they get into; afterall, any drama from any episode lower than 14 out of a 16 episode season will naturally get resolved, as any major change usually takes place at the end of a season, to shock audiences. We know better than to expect a harmful resolution to each chapter, each new tale. The convenience isn't in the fact that we know the crew will survive and get the bad guy every time; rather, how they do it.

Michael Westen knows more tricks than a back alley pimp. No matter what position he's put into, he knows some trick to get out of it. He's been there, and done that, for nearly EVERYTHING. He's somewhat like the Slumdog Spy, where his past experiences always play out to help him in his current case, so he always comes out on top. After a while, this does get a bit old. Throw in the fact that the police in the show are as bumbling as any put on screen, where they are easy to lose in a car chase, extremely slow to show up, NEVER show up during gun fights, no matter how public the area the gunfire was. The only time we see police is when their presence furthers the story, much like how the brothers in Prison Break only get captured by police when it furthers a story/subplot. There is no real life tension to the show, and no matter what, Westen is always able to MacGyver a tool or trinket with anything nearby, and seems to have a warehouse full of secret spy weaponry, so it does start to wear thin. These points are the only reason this show does not get a perfect rating.
Rating: 9/10

The Presentation:
Burn Notice: Season 2 drops on Blu-ray on a three disc set (all 3 discs are BD50 dual layer, Region A locked), with a 1.78:1 framed AVC MPEG-4 encode. Having never seen the show on television, high OR low def, this was my first exposure to the aesthetic of the show. That said, I cannot say whether this release was authentic to the source.

Yowza! The first thing any mild mannered viewer will notice on this release is the aggressive grain level. When I say aggressive, I mean the grain will probably come to your home, knock down the door, and hold you hostage. This grain creates a very gritty feel for the show, which is neat, but it also deters finer detail, which is less than neat.

The grain level makes spotting artifacts near impossible, so they may be in there, under the sheen. I did spot artifacting/pixelation on the on screen text (the words that pop up, for cast credits, or to introduce a new character), around the letters, it was a bit obvious. There's blocking from time to time, color bleeding from time to time, aliasing in fences/curtains/repeated patterns pop up from time to time, as well as digital noise in the sky and water shots. Oh, lest we forget, edge enhancement is also a resident of this transfer, a frequent resident, an obvious, sometimes thick resident.

Contrast runs extremely hot, like the show were in Zimbabwe rather than Miami. This crafts a skin tone intonation that would make you think every Miami citizen is sun burnt, or tanned to leather like Hulk Hogan. The episodes themselves vary, with some having a bit less grain and a bit more detail, sharper colors, that sort of thing, so it is hard to judge this release. Super close ups do show solid detail, but midrange shots are somewhat lost in the grit.

I love grain, I really do, and would rather have a show with grain than without, to give a lifelike feel, so I know I'm not watching a cartoon. That said, every man has his limits. Burn Notice may reach your limits, as even I got a bit frustrated with the grain level at times. This release does showcase many visual issues, perhaps due to cramming 16 episodes on 3 discs, but who is to say that the picture quality suffered from this, or whether it was native to the show?

The audio mix for the show is presented in a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track (or series of tracks, whatever you'd wanna call it). Again, having not seen the show over the air, this being my first exposure, I cannot grade it against "intention."

Surround use is interesting. Score and soundtrack are constant visitors to every speaker in the soundscape, while localized effects and dialogue, motion, all of those fancy surround sound gizmos, they are, for the most part, not there (yes, in some better action sequences there is some good motion). Busy areas, restaurants, clubs, all are front heavy, so the show gets a somewhat inexpensive feel, unbecoming of the show.

The bass level is somewhat like the surround, used primarily for the soundtrack, while an occasional explosion will have a bit of a rumble, many will be flat. Some music in the show sounds neutered, easily overpowered and muted by the action, while others are too loud, eating up the rest of the show. Dialogue levels can spike and plummet as well, with some lines, especially those on the other end of a telephone conversation, barely registering. There is some audio distortion in voices at times, as well, where a character can sound part robotic. Holy shit, Westen is helping out a cyborg this week!!! Higher pitched sounds can have a bit of a background squeal, while gunshots (and there are many in the show) sometimes have a decent loud scream.
Rating: 5/10 ( 5/10- video, 6/10- audio)

The Extras:

Audio Commentaries
Audio Commentaries are available on the following episodes:
Bad Blood
Double Booked
Lesser Evil

Deleted Scenes (SD)
Deleted scenes are available for the following episodes. They are far from anything important or interesting.
Breaking and Entering
Trust Me
Comrades
Double Booked
Do no Harm
Truth and Reconciliation
Lesser Evil

Nixin' it up on Burn Notice (SD, 14 min) Matt Nix discusses directing an episode of the show. The entire process is shown, from scripting and storyboarding to scouting and filming. I enjoyed the time shown when they discuss locations, as this show has countless little sets, and the set design is always neat.

Gag Reel (SD, 10 min)
Flubs and screwarounds.

Trailers (HD)
Trailers for Pink Panther 2 and 12 Rounds.

Boom Notice (SD, 8 min)
Somewhat of an Easter Egg, which is selectable in the extras portion of the menu by selecting the pair of sunglasses. At least the show can have a sense of humor about itself. Boom Notice follows a boom operator (also known as one of the least glamorous of behind the camera jobs other than "fluffer") as he attempts to help a fellow sound man out of a precarious situation. There aren't laughs to be had, as this is about as bad as you'd expect from an eighth grader's home movie, but still, for fans, this may be a hoot.

Pre-menu trailers
Each disc contains a trailer/promo for the show, when the disc is loading. Yeah. The same trailer, on all three discs, for the show that is ON the disc. Perhaps this is a marketing idea, due to Season Three on television....
Rating: 4/10

Overall:
Existing Burn Notice fans and newcomers alike may find something to enjoy in this release, as the show works 100% of the time, 90% of the time. Think about that....Some great acting, fun (though occasionally ridiculous) stories, and some great chemistry between the lead roles create a solid show. This coming from the guy who thinks most TV shows out there are a total waste of wear and tear on the ol' eyeballs. This Blu-ray does not sport pristine audio and video, but the question on that one is open, are these little (sometimes not little) intricacies intentional or no? One question I do know the answer to, though: Is this show worth purchasing? With a low MSRP, and a fantastic sophomoric (read: second year) tale, the answer is a yes.
Rating: 6/10