LR's THE BLU ROOM: Review of BURN NOTICE Season 2 on BluRay plus SAVING GRACE Season 2 DVD
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By Ron Henriques on
July 01, 2009
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BURN NOTICE Season Two (Blu-Ray)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
2008/Not Rated/684 mins/
Now Available – List Price $59.98
'Burn Notice' is the story of former spy Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) who when we first meet him has just got word from his handler that he's been burned. He's blacklisted, damaged goods and unreliable. A burn notice has been issued and he's no longer considered an asset to the intelligence community. The thing is, Michael is in the middle of a covert sting operation in Nigeria when he hears this with his intended targets literally looking him in the face. Barely escaping with his life, Michael ends up half-dead in his hometown of Miami, under the care of ex-IRA operative and ex-girlfriend Fiona Glenanne (Gabrielle Anwar), who's not very sympathetic because he ran out on her years earlier, but is willing to help him get back on his feet. Being burned also means abandonment by all normal intelligence contacts, having your personal assets frozen and virtually no identity, but Michael does have the ability to improvise as well as the training that comes with being an operative. Enlisting the aid of old friend and former Navy SEAL Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell), Michael sets up shop in a loft above a Miami club and begins a crusade to track down the faceless nemesis who burned him. He's likely to get killed in the process, but Michael would rather be under enemy fire than call upon the help of his nagging, estranged, hypochondriac chain-smoking mother Madeline (Sharon Gless). Just when he thinks he's found a lead, he or she turns out to be a small part of a much larger machine at work.
Season one ended with Michael discovering just how loyal his friends were with him and Fiona having to rescue Sam from a group of brutal mercenaries. All three friends proved they were willing to sacrifice their lives for the other and in the finale, Michael found himself driving an SUV into the back of a semi-trailer and being sealed off in total darkness. Season two begins with Michael still in that trailer under the orders of a mysterious organization known only as “Management”, who has bigger plans for him whether he likes it or not. The sultry and unidentifiable voice over the phone Michael has been dealing with, is revealed to be Carla (Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer) an operative who proposed the idea of bringing him into their circle. Carla sends Michael on seemingly small assignments, well aware that he tells her what she wants to hear with his playful banter and feeling that she is the one in control. She knows he's only biding his time to find out who really burned him, but she and her bosses make the mistake of continually underestimating a man who can be unpredictable.
Series creator Matt Nix continues with the winning formula he developed and even managed to survive last year's writer's strike, which delayed the season's June premiere by a month. The season was ultimately cut in two and after a Fall hiatus, returned for its second half in January. The mid-season cliffhanger featured Michael nearly getting blown to bits by an explosive device left at his front door. He spent the next several episodes not only dodging Carla's inquiries, but trying to figure out who exactly was trying to kill him. That led to the enigmatic Victor (Michael Shanks of Stargate SG-1) a disgruntled operative of Carla's who claimed to have evidence that could cause “Management” to retire her. 'Burn Notice' can be pretty humorous, but just when you think it's getting a little too cute for its own good, something exciting happens and it usually involves explosions or gun play. There's also surprising elements of drama within the stories like hints at Michael suffering abuse as a child at the hands of his father, an episode where he fears that Fiona may have been killed in a fire trap or the gruesome end of his relationship with Victor. For an action oriented summer series this show has more entertainment value and depth than most of the current movies in theaters.
Video: There's been some controversy concerning the appearance of 'Burn Notice' on blu-ray. In high definition, the episodes have a surprising level of washed out skin tones on the actors, oversaturated colors and a heavy amount of grain. It's probably a stylistic choice on the part of the producers to set the tone of the show's Miami setting and must look great on film. In an AVC 1080p HD transfer it's a different story. Personally I have no problem with it since I already watch the show on the USA network in HD. This presentation is only a slight step above the 1080i broadcast quality I'm familiar with.
Audio: The same can be said for the DTS Master Audio 5.1 track which is rather lacking. You have to realize that this is a cable TV show working with budget and weekly time constraints, so even though the series is action oriented, it's not going to sound like the mix of a full blown Hollywood production. What we get is fine, with great front stage channel separation and the occasional surround effects. Lossless audio is a bit much and a standard Dolby or DTS 5.1 track would have been fine and takes up less disc space.
Extras: There are three Audio Commentaries available for the following episodes: "Bad Blood" features creator Matt Nix, writer Rashad Raisani, director Ben Watkins and a few guest stars like Bronwen Hughes, Rob Benedict, and Method Man. "Double Booked" features Nix, writer Jason Tracey, director Tim Matheson (yes, that Tim Matheson) and writer Craig O'Neill while on "Lesser Evil" Nix is accompanied by Bruce Campbell and Michael Shanks. While all the tracks are fun and informative, the commentary on "Lesser Evil" stands out the most because of one person, Bruce Campbell. Anyone who has listened to audio commentaries for the Evil Dead films knows what a fun guy Campbell is to listen to and many have said he should be on the commentary track for any movie.
Additional extras include NIXin' It Up (SD, 14 min) - where Matt Nix discuses the show and provides insight into the episode "Do No Harm", Deleted Scenes (SD, 11 min) which are actually interspersed throughout all three discs but add little to the show, Boom Notice (SD, 9 min), a parody of the series in where a boom-mike operator takes on Michael's role and the extremely pleasing Gag Reel (SD, 10 min) which is a highlight because as always Campbell gets the most laughs.
SAVING GRACE SEASON TWO
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
2008/Not Rated/601 mins
Now Available – List Price $49.98
'Saving Grace' has always been a series I've been interesting in catching up with, namely because I wanted to see what attracted an actress like Holly Hunter to a television series. The character of Grace Hanadarko, a chain smoking, hard drinking, Oklahoma City police detective who sleeps with her colleagues and just about anyone who catches her eye, must have been fascinating for Hunter to read on the page. I have no doubt that she not only does the character justice, but makes her seem like a flesh and blood individual on the small screen. I don't really know since I've never seen the show and only a DVD-R of disc four featuring just supplemental material was provided for review. I know, sucks, right? But now that the third season of the series is in full swing on TNT, I may seek out episodes despite the fact that it may be in the middle of storylines already in progress.
From what I know of the series, it began with Grace killing a pedestrian during a drunk driving accident and pleading for God's help. A mysterious scruffy man who calls himself Earl (Leon Rippy) appears to her and before she knows it, the victim and any trace of the accident have vanished. Is Earl an Angel or the side effects of an aneurism? When Grace asks her colleague to test the only bit of evidence from the accident, a drop of blood left on her blouse, the sample matches that of an inmate on death row (Bokeem Woodbine) claims to have regular visits from Earl as well.
Season two picks up from a cliffhanger where Grace not only located the priest (Rene Auberjonois) who raped her as a child, but abducted and held him against his will. Unfortunately, I'm told the storyline was wrapped up rather abruptly and the series began to follow the basic “crime of the week” format. Many of the stories sound like old hat and the episodes often chhose focus on Grace's personal issues more than they should. The only reason I'm told all of this works is because of Hunter's performance and ability to make a flawed and unstable character like Grace identifiable.
Video: Presented in standard definition, 'Saving Grace' has an anamorphically enhanced 1.78 to 1 transfer, but that's all I can tell you since I physically don't have the episode discs in front of me.
Audio: Ditto.
Extras: It's a little strange that even the bonus disc was sent out for review at all since it contains only two featurettes. Have a Little Faith: The Success of Saving Grace, features Hunter and creator/writer Nancy Miller discussing the show in basic EPK fashion, while The Wrap Party Red Carpet, Hosted by Dylan Minnette has the teen actor who plays Clay interviewing cast and crew members on the red carpet at the wrap party for the series second season. Kinda flat, but I have to admit, I loved this kid's enthusiasm.
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