The second season finale seemed to promise a third that would see Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) dodging attacks from every side as his supposed protection from the CIA vanished after his declaration of autonomy in a helicopter over the ocean. Management (John Mahoney), as the white-haired honcho with a plan is called, warns Michael that by swearing off his protection, every enemy Michael every had would come looking for him, as we’re to believe that he’s been off the radar ever since his burn notice – though many different enemies showed up on his doorstep anyways. Either way, Management promised a season that would see Westen dodging bullets from every angle; instead the season goes back to business as usual and seems to take a different direction altogether: with a new law bully looking over his shoulder, a new conspiracy to foil, and lots and lots of people who need his help. It might not have delivered on Management’s promise, but Burn Notice definitely didn’t regress in quality which is a rare thing for television series these days.
If you watch two episodes of Burn Notice back to back, no one could blame you if, from that sample, you pronounced the show a procedural with little or no variation from one week to the next. That’s not an unfair statement. The voiceovers, the episodic structure, and the rather sparse interpolation of the series’ overarching plot makes for nearly identical week-to-week installments with little to recommend the series as a whole.
So why is it so great?
In spite of those shortcomings, the show’s writing remains quite sharp, the main acting trio has superb chemistry, and getting weekly spy stories makes it easier to bear the surprising lack of good spy films coming out these days. Sure, the Cold War is over, but spies are and will always be cool fodder for entertainment. Michael, Sam (Bruce Campbell), and Fi (Gabrielle Anwar) have the three essential parts of any crack team: the frontman to go undercover (Michael), the surveillance and heavy hitter (Sam), and the demolitionist with sex appeal (Fi). It’s the best of all the spy characters rolled into three leads tempered by a sort of A-Team mentality where the team takes on the problems of the everyman as they work out problems in the deeper, darker corners of the spy world.
The formula worked well for two seasons, the reason it falters in the third season is because they use the exact same stakes as in the previous season, the troublesome figure keeping tabs on Michael’s team from season two, played by Tricia Helfer, gets replaced by the less threatening Moon Bloodgood whose methods aren’t nearly as vindictive and who ultimately accepts Michael as a force for good. The Spy vs. Spy plot, which was also taken up by Helfer in the second season, never fully materializes until the final episodes of this season and even then they’re little more than a pretense to setup Michael’s potential rejoining of the fold. The evil spy of the third season comes in the form of Chris Vance who plays the British, sexually ambiguous Mason Gilroy and who runs Michael through the usual don’t ask, don’t tell missions where Michael undertakes seemingly unconnected missions towards some greater goal. Will he figure it out in time? Yes, yes he will. Because Michael Westen is awesome.
The cast’s chemistry makes Burn Notice what it is. Jeffrey Donovan, Bruce Campbell, and Gabrielle Anwar are hilarious in their quick-paced banter, and when Sharon Gless is added into the mix as Michael’s increasingly jaded mother – every episode has at least 5 solid comedic bits. Additionally, the series boasts occasional appearances by the likes of Paul Tei, Tim Matheson (who also directs a few episodes), and Jay Karnes (Dutchboy of The Shield).
The visual aesthetic of the show uses Miami’s perpetual sunshine to great effect and the show has retained its stunning look from its onset. This is one of those shows worth considering a purchase in Blu-ray, but since that release is a few months down the line, maybe you’ll snatch up the DVD and content yourself with the upscaling ability your HD player has.
DVD Bonus Features
The stunt team of Burn Notice serves up a featurette on the show’s weekly feats. Few shows offer as many stunts per episode as Burn Notice, so it really is interesting to how stunts are managed on a week by week basis. Finally, there is footage included from the Burn Notice cast’s appearance at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International. They have great chemistry, as I said, and it shows here – unscripted.
"Burn Notice: Season Three" is on sale June 1, 2010 and is not rated. Action, Comedy. Directed by Jeremiah Chechik, John Kretchmer, Tim Matheson. Written by Matt Nix, Michael Horowitz, Rashad Raisani. Starring Bruce Campbell, Gabrielle Anwar, Jeffrey Donovan, Sharon Gless, Paul Tei.
