Burn Notice: Season 2

If you like romance, car crashes, things that blow up, car, chases, and other outrageous delights, then you will love this series!

Content-wise, this was an incredible season. I thought that it was a very good show in Season 1 that I would recommend to people with the caveat that it's not the best show on television, but it's a lot of fun to watch. With the second season, amidst the other shows on television this spring, it was clearly one of the top 5 shows on television, in my opinion. It went from just being a methodical, serialized spy show to really digging in deeper into the characters it revolves around and a more concrete driving plot towards the main character's main goal.It follows burned (fired) spy Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) as he works for the people who burned him while trying to get his freedom back from them and figure out exactly who issued the burn notice and why. All the while, he's moonlighting in really fun situations. The writing got better this season, and the acting was as solid as ever from Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar (Fiona), and Bruce Campbell (Sam Axe). Donovan really shines, but everyone holds their own. To sweeten the pot, the season finale was one of the best season finales I've ever seen. I've never seen a season come to such a satisfying end while leaving me wanting more. For example, the last season of Lost left me wanting more, but I was pissed because it's sole purpose was almost to cheat me into watching next season by not wrapping barely anything up. Anyway, I highly recommend watching this show. Season 1 is a great season, don't get me wrong, but this season was like having your cake and eating it, too. It never ceases to amaze me how creative this show gets - it's not your standard formulaic cop show like every other cable television show out there, it really does make you think and you learn some pretty neat things.As far as the Blu-ray set: it's as unimpressive as Fox's television DVD sets normally are. There's commentary and deleted scenes on a handful of episodes, a blooper reel, and a short behind-the-scenes featurette. What I found very tacky, though it's a common practice nowadays, is that it starts out each disk with an advertisement for this very set as well as the upcoming season. This is a touch better than advertising other shows, but I feel like I should get back some of the money I paid for having to watch their advertising. By the way, the advertising is in sub-standard definition - it's terrible quality. The behind-the-scenes featurette and blooper reel were pretty neat, and some of the commentary was alright but I didn't listen to all of it. The deleted scenes were in pretty terrible quality, but they're just nice to have on there. The actual episodes had pretty decent sound quality and really spotty video quality.A lot of people have been bashing the video quality, but I think they're being HD brats (I'm usually an HD brat, myself). I'm sorry, but this isn't Lost or Heroes. The Burn Notice folks don't get big budgets to put on stunning visuals. I'll admit that it's overpriced as a Blu-ray to not have near-perfect colors and sharpness and such, but it's definitely not that bad. I felt that it was plenty sharp and some scenes had really beautiful colors. Several scenes tended to have a lot of grain - typically in the background though. The people usually looked pretty good, but sometimes a black background would be speckled with white. This wouldn't bother anyone except for people like me who walk to the television to look for imperfections like that for reviews like these or people who watch way too much high definition content. I'm used to watching Burn Notice in standard definition, so I can vouch for this being significantly better than that, and whether or not it's better than what you see on USA HD is debatable because I didn't see Season 2 in HD but Season 3 doesn't seem to look a whole lot better than what I see on my Blu-ray. It is, however, much prettier than Season 1 on DVD. The graininess thing is really not that bad though - there were plenty of scenes that really do look good. My TV is fairly top-of-the-line (Samsung Series 7 LCD), also, so maybe that's why I'm not seeing it as bad some others are. I do think it lives up to being a Blu-ray disc, just on the lower end. We have the same issue with DVDs: the best looking DVDs look a lot better than the terrible ones, and that's just how it is. You're going to have that with any high definition format, the point is that it's still a lot better thant he previous generation.Should you get this season? Absolutely. This show bears watching again and again. Should you get it on Blu-ray? That's a judgement call. I think the DVDs for Season 1 looked bad enough to spring for Blu-ray for Season 2 (especially with the excerpts of Miami scenery), but if you only want Blu-rays that look in line with Planet Earth then you should stick with the DVD.

The writing for the first season of Burn Notice was excellent, very tight with interesting characters and situations. However, towards the end, a lot of fans were worried. Some of the helpless clients of the week were starting to feel a touch repetitive.We needn't have worried.The second season just finished, and I can assure you that the writing is even better, the characters stronger, and many of the story lines more compelling, than in the first season. It's no wonder the show has doubled its viewing audience. I particularly like how the characters have evolved. Michael has dealt with some of his family issues, gotten closer to his brother, and understands that his mother really does care about him--even if that's easier to take when she's not blowing cigarette smoke (literally) in his face. The bad guys are organized and smart, which means he have to be even smarter. It's good story telling.However, even with all the other positives that made me pre-order the DVD set as soon as it was possible, there are several particular episodes that stand out from the rest, which alone are worth the price of the DVDs. One of these involves Michael Westin trapped inside a bank during a robbery with a government agent, Bly, whom he blackmailed the first season and who hates Michael's guts. Watching the respect build between the two, and the way they wind up working together -- not to mention Michael Westins way of dealing with the robbers -- is delightful. It's nothing you've ever seen before. It's not Die Hard and it's not like The Ransom of Red Chief (where a little boy makes kidnappers regret ever taking him to the point they wind up paying the parents to take him back). From start to finish, the robbers never figure out that they have a tiger by the tail. The only one with a clue how dangerous that Westin can be is Bly, who had read Westin's dossier in season 1 and has been dancing back and forth with him to see who can top whom. The ending is particularly satisfying. So, I really loved "Bad Breaks" and doubted (silly me) whether they could top this story line in the remaining episodes.They did.The season finale completed a fascinating story arc involving an ex-CIA agent, Victor, gone to the dark side. This 4 episode story arc alone makes this season is a must-have for fans. What can one say about this amazing character? Played by Michael Shanks in a recurring role, Victor took us through the gamut. We went from hating him and thinking he is a psychopath wavering on the edge of sanity (you were never quite sure how he was going to react to things), to realizing he was an incredibly tragic character and a cautionary tale of what Michael could have been in other circumstances. The emotional roller coaster we share with the characters on screen as we learn of Victor's back story (which comes out in the finale) and resulting changes in his relationship to Michael Westin is story telling at its best.I have not been a fan of Michael Shanks in the past. However, his acting here is truly inspired. It goes far beyond anything I've seen him do other than in "The Arc of Truth" in the prison scene when Shanks' character, Daniel Jackson, finally gives up hope. It is worthy of an Emmy. Moreover, even with the already great supporting cast of Bruce Campbell (always worth watching and allowed some great scenes in the 2nd season), Sharon Gless (as Michael's mother who smokes while exercising to Jack LaLanne--which you have to watch to realize how funny that is), and Gabrielle Anwar (as the explosive Fiona), there's something magical about the chemistry between Shanks and Donovan that seems to kick Donovan's acting--already extraordinary--up a notch to a level seldom seen on the small screen. And if the ending is shocking, the choices made surprising to the viewer, one cannot help but feel that the characters have been changed forever by this experience and nothing will be quite the same again. Perhaps best of all, it makes the viewer asks of season 3, what's next? Because if there's one thing the writers, actors, and producers have shown us, it's that they understand good story telling, and can be trusted to make choices that will keep us on the edge of our seats, coming back for more.I highly recommend this DVD set, especially if you haven't seen the show on TV. Although most of the story lines could work as stand-alones, there is an on-going story arc (of how and why Michael got burned and what he's doing to get his life back) that makes more sense if you watch them in order. The extras on the season 1 DVD set were excellent (including Donovan and Anwar's audition tapes), and I expect them to be equally good here. So far, I know of at least one extra that should be a lot of fun. Michael Shanks has reported recording a commentary track with Bruce Campbell and Matt Nix.I speak for many fans when I say I can hardly wait for June, and the start of season 3 on USA network! Thank goodness Donovan's contract has been extended for another 6 years (total 8 seasons)! I love this show!

This season went deeper on Michael's past and his relationships with those close to him, I thought it was a very fitting follow up from the first season. Excited to see what happens in season 3

良いですね！元CIAエージェントに危ない元かの、海軍での親友。3人のトリオでこれまた危険な敵の絡んだ事件を解決していきます。まあ、何も考えずにストレス解消！に最高です。

Burn Notice is the USA Netowrk's top-rated series. Under the tagline, "Characters wanted," USA has put together a lineup of shows that put oddball variations on classic characters [Burn Notice's Michael Westen is MacGyver as a spy] in interesting locales and/or situations.Westen has been "burned" - essentially, fired, and stuck in Miami, where his mother and brother live. Not his first choice.For the first season, Michael was working to figure out why he was burned and who burned him so that he could attempt to get back into field. He was aided by his off/on lover, Fiona, and Sam Axe, a former Navy Seal with whom he'd worked in the past. He also began helping people out with their problems [like being scammed, threatened, or blackmailed, just or exampes] as a sidelinem hopefully to make a few bucks.For season two, Michael was co-opted by a woman named Carla, whose timing frequently interfered with his helping others, but gave him someone to investigate in the hopes that her involvement woud lead him to the person[s] responsible for his burn notice - someone/thing she referred as Management.Bruce Campbell [Sam], Gabrielle Anwar [Fiona] and Sharon Gless [Madeline Westen] are all in top form as Michael's "associates" and mother. Jeffrey Donovan gives Michael the heart and the indomitable spirit that keeps him focused on getting his burn notice lifted, while helping others [sometimes one of Sam's friends, or Maddy's, or even Fiona's - but usually strangers].Throughout, Michael's highly entertaining voiceovers are a clinic in spycraft [though the instructions for creating his many improvised devices are, like MacGyver, again, missing a few essential details so the viewer won't blow himself up trying to build them at home].The DVD set collects the twelve episodes of the show's second season and combines them with a number special features: three audio commentaries [informative and entertaining - these guys, like Joss Whedon, know how to give commentaries], a host of deleted scenes, Nixin' It Up [a featurette on creator Matt Nix's first ep as director for Do No Harm], and a funnier than average Gag Reel.Grade: Season Two - AGrade: Features - A-Final Grade: A

Our family enjoys watching films together, but a great box set gives you a lot of viewing pleasure for not a lot of money.This is one of the very best, we all really love this. It is good looking, driven by great characters, full of exciting action scenes, with a witty voiceover full of spy hints and tricks. The main characters are likeable and amusing, while the peripheral characters are less annoying this time out. Onto the second series and it is still fresh, with not a single dud episode here.In each episode Michael Westen goes beyond the law to sort out someone's problems, generally besting the criminal or corrupt with considerable guile. His use of different personas to trick people is a real joy. There is also an overarching story arc where Michael attempts to find out who was responsible for the original burn notice and why. The danger with any series is that they settle into a familiar format and style which then becomes repetitive. The overarching story arc avoids this, as do the shifting dynamics of the key and peripheral characters. The story arc inevitably hots up considerably at the start and end of the series with friends and foes appearing again.There are a few extras, and the delight of a disc with former Cagney and Lacey star, Sharon Gless on it. Four discs are packed into a standard DVD size, handy if you don't want DVDs taking over your house.I've got the next series on pre-order and cannot wait for it to arrive. If you enjoy stuff like  N.C.I.S. - Naval Criminal Investigative Service - Series 1 - Complete [DVD ],  Sledge Hammer - Series 1 [DVD ] and  Leverage - Complete Season 1 [DVD] [2008 ] and you can get this then you are in for a treat. N.C.I.S. - Naval Criminal Investigative Service - Series 1 - Complete [DVDSledge Hammer - Series 1 [DVDLeverage - Complete Season 1 [DVD] [2008

BN2 picks up from where the first season ended .Westen is still stuck in Miami and subject to the orders of a nasty lady acting on behalf of a shadowy organisation.He has to obey or his family and friends face dire consequences.But even though he complies,he uses each occasion to find out as much as he can about those who have taken away his former life.Alongside these tasks,he continues to help out those innocents who have various problems through no fault of their own,with the help of his off again-on again girlfriend and ex-special forces sidekick who thinks spies are just a bunch of "bitchy girls" .There are lots of adventures,quick and witty writing and the supporting cast is very good.The baddies get their just desserts,and Westen makes real progress in climbing the chain back up to the senior people pulling his strings.The second season ends on a teaser leaving you wanting more.

.Have only just come across this series and we absolutely love it. It has everything - suspense, intrigue, humour, danger, sunshineand a great location.The top four recurring actors are new to us - apart from Sharon Gless - and they are, without exception, all fantastic.I can see us enjoying this series to the end of production - Season 7 - and it will make great winter watching for us alongwith Castle, Blue Bloods and Scandal.Bring on those cold dark dreary nights - we're ready for them..