Burn Notice Season 4 DVD Review: Formulaic But Still Awesome

What better way to say summer than Burn Notice. Since it first premiered in 2007, we’ve eagerly anticipated the USA summer lineup. The Season 4 DVDs just hit shelves today, giving fans plenty of time to have a refresher course before Season 5 starts here in a few weeks.

I’ve always been a huge Burn Notice fan. I’ve interviewed the cast numerous times, visited the set, and seen every single episode. And I have to admit that towards the end of Season 2, I started to feel that the series was becoming a bit too formulaic for my taste. This pattern has proven successful for a number of series (*coughs* Law & Order *coughs*), but for me – I like a little bit more surprise and a little less mindless TV watching. I don’t want to know that it’s 30 minutes in – so I can expect to see this, this, and this happen so we can wrap up the case and thus the episode. Burn Notice isn’t Law & Order, but I would still put it in the category with the case-of-the-week type shows.

All of that being said, I still enjoy the series. We did get a couple newbies in Season 4 to stir things up a bit. Jessie Porter (played by Coby Bell) was introduced as a series regular – which did break a little bit of the formulaic pattern as viewers were challenged to figure out what Porter’s overall involvement was. Colby Bell did a good job at fitting in with the chemistry already established between the series’ vets, even though it was about mid-season before I felt that way.

Porter plays a CIA operative who was burned by Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) as Westen tried to clear his own name. Westen wasn’t bothered by this at first, but then later comes to Porter’s aid when he realizes that Porter is searching for the man who burned him. This is our series long arch that umbrellas our weekly cases that our favorite trio (which has now become a foursome) are embarking on. From biker gangs and drug dealers to a worldwide terrorist threat, our gang faces a little bit of everything in Season 4 – of course accompanied by the explosions the viewers have come to depend on. Will Porter discover that it’s Westen who burned him? And will he carry through with his promise to kill him? Well you obviously know that’s not going to happen or we wouldn’t have a Season 5, but for the rest of the details – you’ll have to check out the Season 4 DVDs!

There are some really awesome special features on this set worth mentioning, including: Deleted Scenes, Sam Axe’s Guide To Ladies And Libations, Burn Notice Roasts White Collar, Best-Laid Plans: The Stunts Of Burn Notice, Audio Commentary on Selected Episodes, and a Gag Reel.

Bottom line, if you’re a fan of Burn Notice, then you need this release for your collection. It’s a show that everyone enjoys despite your age or gender. Though it’s probably not something that you want to watch with your kids.

Grade: B+

Review By: Emma Loggins

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Disclaimer: FanBolt received a copy of Burn Notice Season 4 on DVD in order to complete this review.

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  1. Great review! I went ahead and got season 4 (gues I won’t be entering that contest haha). I agree that sometimes it can be formulaic but it makes the breakout episodes really awesome (which in my opinion are great because of characters that bring a great game). Two of my very favorites make an appearance in season 4; Brennan and Crazy Larry (who I would love to see get his own prequel movie!). And what finally happened between those 2 was a shock to me. From what I have seen season 5 really breaks the formula which I am really looking forward to seeing. And if you get a season 5 screener fell free to send it my way when you’re done, hahaha!

  2. haha I would if I could! They don’t let me share those 🙁 I haven’t gotten one yet for Season 5 though. I’m glad you liked the review! And I agree – that does make the breakout episodes more awesome. The prequel movie did pretty well I think – I hope they do another in the future, I’ll definitely ask them about it at Comic Con this year.

  3. Guess I can stop teasing/bugging you to send me various screeners I see you mentioning on twitter. Really looking forward to seeing BN roasts WC. 🙂