Burn Notice Season 3 DVD
Michael Westen is back and better than ever as he tries to get back into the spy business and helps just a few other people along the way with their troubles.
Film making 20/25
Video 18/25
Audio 19/25
Bonus Features 12/25
Total 69/100
Burn Notice Season 3 is out and contains all 16 episodes of Season 3 plus a couple of bonus features on the four disc DVD set starring Jeffrey Donovan. Jeff Donovan stars as Michael Westen, burned spy, with help from somewhat ex sometime girlfriend Fiona Glenanne played by Gabrielle Anwar and ex Navy SEAL Sam Axe played by Bruce Campbell.
Michael plays a burned spy who is trying to get back into his old job working for the United States government behind the scenes in the spy business. He wants to find out who burned him and why but in the meantime he has to content himself with taking odd jobs helping others.
Problems abound in the world of Michael Westen from people behind his current spy world predicament trying to make him do their bidding to old enemies getting even. When he is not dodging old enemies or taking time to work out his burned status he also helps out others in predicaments they cannot get themselves out of.
Season 3 has Michael dodging police detective Michelle Paxson who is trying to find out more about him and his odd past but this plot line faltered during the season due to the actress dropping out for health reasons. The season had to quickly pick up a new plot line and did so with more of Michael trying to get out of his burned status but mostly he just helps others.
The main plot of Michael trying to get back into the spy game working for "the agency" as they often put it is helped along by individual quests to help others. Michael often finds himself helping people who have been scammed, framed or robbed and cannot turn to the authorities or anyone else.
Michael and team use their worldly knowledge of the spy trade and other illegal activities to come up with ingenious plans to get the bad guys off the trail and into their own sort of trouble. Often Michael uses a few different plots to help those he is working with as the plan meets a snag or complication but he usually comes through.
The 16 episodes of season 3 are a bit of a mix of great and good episodes with the major plot or storyline also a mixed bag. I am not sure what happened but in previous seasons there was a good storyline through each full season which is definitely missing in season 3.
Aside from this there is the good and great episodes always with Michael, Fiona and Sam doing their part with occasional help from Michaels mother and brother. One episode of note brings Sharon Gless who plays Michael's mother reuniting with Cagney & Lacey co-star Tyne Daily.
Burn Notice is a great show and even without the good main story to tie in each episode to one main theme you do have a good story and some great characters with very good interpersonal relationships. Michael and Fiona are always testing and changing their status of dating or just friends with a constant almost there chemistry.
Sam of course is just Sam, always the trusted and trusting friend who is always looking for the next Mojito or beer and is always counted on in a fight or other tight situation. The show does a great job in explaining plenty of the stories particulars, spy terms and other interesting points with voice over narration by Jeffrey Donovan which has become a hallmark of the show.
Burn Notice Season 3 has pretty good video and audio with audio being just a bit better than video which is usual for DVD's and Blu-ray. The video for Burn Notice has usually been pretty good but for all three seasons I have noticed that it does have a bit more grain than I usually like.
Color contrast is also heavy with bright and almost vibrant colors when seeing the bright and colorful aspects of Miami but at times dark, shadows and night seem a bit off. Grain and contrast seem a bit at odds with each other to make the video quality a bit substandard for current series from cable TV.
Audio is great but also just lacking in an overall quality but the Dolby digital surround works well with nothing bad to note but also nothing that really stands out. Both audio and video were above average and pretty good but was just not up to the standards that DVD's are having to match to make it in this high tech world of series on DVD.
Bonus content for Season 3 is also disappointing and a bit more so for the lack of any kind of gag reels or additional content from the main characters of Jeffrey Donovan or Gabrielle Anwar. There is a stunt heavy making of feature called Smash, Crash Boom: Inside the Burn Notice Stunt Unit which is all about the stunts of season 3.
The other bonus feature is a round table feature from the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International convention with mostly smaller actors like Michaels brother. Matt Nix, creator and writer does have a spot at the table along with Sam Axe star Bruce Campbell but that is it for star quality on the bonus feature.
The round table discussion is good for a few laughs and a bit of insight into the show but nothing more than a one time visit to watch. The bonus content is good for a little extra content but it would have been nice to include something more, this theme of a less than stellar overall story line and lackluster overall quality makes for a less than fantastic overall DVD.
While I would not miss a season of Burn Notice I am disappointed by the show so far in quality of video, audio and extras but the story and characters more than make up for this. If you're a fan the DVD edition of Burn Notice Season 3 is more than a great buy as it does continue the great action of Michael Westen as he works toward getting his Burn Notice taken care of.