BURN NOTICE: SEASON FIVE
(not rated)
MOVIE: *** (out of 5)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
While I still like “Burn Notice” as a series, and I’m obviously giving it a decent grade for its fifth season, I’m having some problems with it. I wouldn’t say the series is jumping the shark, but there are changes being made to its structure that shouldn’t have been made.
I am, of course, talking about the addition of the Jesse character back in the fourth season. I never saw the reason writers brought him into the show, and if you check the anger at him online, you’ll see I’m not the only one. I thought Michael, his mom, Fiona and Sam made the perfect team. Jesse just muddies the waters. I’d like to see him taken out by a sniper, but that doesn’t happen in this season, and it’s not likely to happen in the next.
Still, even with his addition into the series, “Burn Notice” is still a fun summer series to enjoy on USA Networks. The standard episode where Michael has to help someone still works. The overall story arc changes this a little bit as Michael is being set back into the CIA, less burned than before. His handler (Lauren Stamile) is a cutie, and we’ve seen her in several TV series so far. Michael’s nemesis this season is Anson (Jere Burns), the guy who actually burned him (or so they say). Burns plays him diabolically well, though I hope this is where the trail ends. Michael Westen chasing shadows is getting a little old.
The strength of this season is when they do a standard episode. The beginning and end, especially the finale which features some major wrangling with Anson, is far-fetched even for the “Burn Notice” universe. But when the show gets into stride, it’s perfectly enjoyable.
For the fifth season on DVD, there are still a nice selection of bonus features in this four-disc set. The episode “Army of One” gets an extended treatment while “Fail Safe” gets a commentary track. Other standard features include some deleted scenes and a gag reel. Finally, there’s a look at the bad guys of the series in “The Villains of Burn Notice” featurette.