Burn Notice (season 4)
Encyclopedia
The fourth season of the American television spy drama Burn Notice
premiered on June 3, 2010 on the cable television
channel USA Network
. Coby Bell
joined the main cast as Jesse Porter, a counter-intelligence agent Michael unwittingly burns.
). Vaughn attempts to lure Michael into the organization by attempting to befriend him, and tells Michael the organization is now on the hunt for a terrorist mastermind. Michael agrees to work with Vaughn on the condition Vaughn does not interfere or question his methods. Vaughn agrees, but as they begin their search, Michael is duped into burning another domestic spy, a counter-intelligence agent named Jesse Porter (Coby Bell
). Jesse, unaware of who burned him, seeks out Michael for assistance. Michael brings Jesse into his team in an effort to restore Jesse to his previous position, but soon learns Jesse plans to kill whoever burned him.
The trail of the terrorist mastermind leads back to Simon (Garret Dillahunt), who informs Michael that a powerful international telecommunications businessman, John Barrett (Robert Patrick
), has what Michael needs to dismantle the organization. Simon gives Michael a tape proving Vaughn helped burn him, and a Bible that can be used to decode an as yet unknown document. Using the Bible as bait, Michael lures Barrett to Miami to discuss what it decodes. At the same time Barrett arrives in Miami, Jesse learns it was Michael who burned him. Michael goes ahead with the meeting, unsure of Jesse's willingness to come to his aid.
In the mid-season finale, Barrett reveals that the Bible decodes a Non-official cover (NOC)
list naming the members of the organization. Vaughn, however, spoils Michael's plan by showing up with guns blazing at the meeting. Thanks to some timely but painful assistance from Jesse (shooting Michael through the shoulder to free him from a chokehold), Michael and Barrett flee the scene and crash, and Michael is seen bleeding out as someone wearing military boots takes the briefcase containing the Bible. Barrett is killed in the crash.
As it turns out, the mystery man was ID'd by Fiona and Sam to be one of Barrett's men named Sweeney. Apparently, Sweeney had a hidden agenda and attempted to use an outside source to decode the bible. However, Jesse and Michael find Sweeney dead and Sweeney's partner/killer on the run. The four track him through to the Dominican Republic and take back the list, which is stored on a thumb drive and already decoded by Sweeney's partner. Afterward, they ponder the possibilities on how to properly flush out those whose names are in the bible.
After much consideration, Michael decides to hand the list to Marv (Richard Kind
), Jesse's old handler whom Jesse trusts fully. Despite much difficulty in convincing Marv, they finally meet to hand over the list, but the plan unravels when Michael's old nemesis Tyler Brennen (Jay Karnes
) hears of the transaction, and holds Marv's wife hostage. The meet ends with Brennen in possession of the list and Marv dead. Threatening to send Vaughn the audio recordings of Michael's conversations with Marv, Brennen blackmails Michael into identifying and killing people on the list, hiring Larry Sizemore (Tim Matheson
) to assist and monitor Michael. Instead, after Michael learns the location of the list, Larry double-crosses and kills Brennen in hopes of retrieving the list himself. But Larry finds that Fiona, Sam and Jesse had already recovered it, and he is forced to wait for the police to arrest him after Sam trains a laser-sighted rifle at him.
After Vaughn learns of Michael's betrayal and possession of the list, he mobilizes a large force to kill Michael and retrieve it. He uses the organization's "bought off" agents in government and law enforcement to deny Michael, Fiona and Jesse any help. While this is going on, Sam and Madeline contact a United States Congressman (John Doman
), whom they had met in a previous episode, for help. While he is initially skeptical, given their history, he is eventually convinced and sends a military team to save Michael and Fiona. The season ends with Michael being whisked away to Washington, D.C. to meet an unnamed acquaintance (Dylan Baker
), who tells him, "Welcome back."
returned as Michael Westen
, Gabrielle Anwar
as Fiona Glenanne
, Bruce Campbell
as Sam Axe
, and Sharon Gless
as Madeline Westen
. Coby Bell
joined the cast as a counter-intelligence expert, Jesse Porter, whom Michael unwittingly burns.
Like the first three seasons, the fourth included several recurring guests. Robert Wisdom
made several appearances as Vaughn, Michael's point of contact with Management. Garret Dillahunt returned as Simon Escher, the man who committed the crimes used to burn Michael. Navi Rawat
portrayed Kendra, an assassin. Seth Peterson
reprised his role as Michael's brother, Nate, while Paul Tei returned as money-launderer Barry Burkowski. Arturo Fernandez returned for one episode as Sugar, Michael's former neighbor and a drug dealer. Marc Macaulay
and Brandon Morris returned for multiple appearances as Agents Harris and Lane. The character of John Barrett, played by Robert Patrick
, was introduced as a part of the conspiracy behind Michael's burn. Tim Matheson
and Jay Karnes
returned, in the same episode, as villains "Dead" Larry Sizemore and Tyler Brennen. Richard Kind
guest starred in three episodes as Marv, Jesse's old handler. John Doman
appeared as Congressman Bill Cowley in two episodes. Other notable one-time guests included Adam Clark, Alan Dale
, Benito Martinez
, Burt Reynolds
, Michael Rooker
, Callie Thorne
, and Frank Whaley
. Dylan Baker
can be seen in the last few moments of the final episode as Raines, the man who welcomes Michael back into the agency.
Burn notice
A burn notice is an official statement issued by one intelligence agency to other agencies. It states that an individual or a group is unreliable for one or more reasons...
premiered on June 3, 2010 on the cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
channel USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
. Coby Bell
Coby Bell
Coby Scott Bell is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his roles as NYPD officer Tyrone Davis, Jr. on the NBC drama Third Watch, and professional football player Jason Pitts on the CW/BET comedy-drama The Game...
joined the main cast as Jesse Porter, a counter-intelligence agent Michael unwittingly burns.
Season overview
As the fourth season opens, Michael sits alone in a well furnished room, where he meets his new handler, Vaughn (Robert WisdomRobert Wisdom
Robert Wisdom is an American actor. He is a graduate of Columbia University.-Biography:Wisdom was born in Washington, D.C. to Jamaican parents. He appeared in four of the five seasons of HBO program The Wire as Howard "Bunny" Colvin...
). Vaughn attempts to lure Michael into the organization by attempting to befriend him, and tells Michael the organization is now on the hunt for a terrorist mastermind. Michael agrees to work with Vaughn on the condition Vaughn does not interfere or question his methods. Vaughn agrees, but as they begin their search, Michael is duped into burning another domestic spy, a counter-intelligence agent named Jesse Porter (Coby Bell
Coby Bell
Coby Scott Bell is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his roles as NYPD officer Tyrone Davis, Jr. on the NBC drama Third Watch, and professional football player Jason Pitts on the CW/BET comedy-drama The Game...
). Jesse, unaware of who burned him, seeks out Michael for assistance. Michael brings Jesse into his team in an effort to restore Jesse to his previous position, but soon learns Jesse plans to kill whoever burned him.
The trail of the terrorist mastermind leads back to Simon (Garret Dillahunt), who informs Michael that a powerful international telecommunications businessman, John Barrett (Robert Patrick
Robert Patrick
Robert Hammond Patrick, Jr. is an American actor, known for his leading and supporting roles in a number of films and television shows....
), has what Michael needs to dismantle the organization. Simon gives Michael a tape proving Vaughn helped burn him, and a Bible that can be used to decode an as yet unknown document. Using the Bible as bait, Michael lures Barrett to Miami to discuss what it decodes. At the same time Barrett arrives in Miami, Jesse learns it was Michael who burned him. Michael goes ahead with the meeting, unsure of Jesse's willingness to come to his aid.
In the mid-season finale, Barrett reveals that the Bible decodes a Non-official cover (NOC)
Non-official cover
Non-official cover is a term used in espionage, particularly by national intelligence services, for agents or operatives who assume covert roles in organizations without ties to the government for which they work. Such agents or operatives are typically abbreviated in espionage lingo as a NOC...
list naming the members of the organization. Vaughn, however, spoils Michael's plan by showing up with guns blazing at the meeting. Thanks to some timely but painful assistance from Jesse (shooting Michael through the shoulder to free him from a chokehold), Michael and Barrett flee the scene and crash, and Michael is seen bleeding out as someone wearing military boots takes the briefcase containing the Bible. Barrett is killed in the crash.
As it turns out, the mystery man was ID'd by Fiona and Sam to be one of Barrett's men named Sweeney. Apparently, Sweeney had a hidden agenda and attempted to use an outside source to decode the bible. However, Jesse and Michael find Sweeney dead and Sweeney's partner/killer on the run. The four track him through to the Dominican Republic and take back the list, which is stored on a thumb drive and already decoded by Sweeney's partner. Afterward, they ponder the possibilities on how to properly flush out those whose names are in the bible.
After much consideration, Michael decides to hand the list to Marv (Richard Kind
Richard Kind
Richard John Kind is an American actor known for his roles in the sitcoms Mad About You and Spin City .- Early life :...
), Jesse's old handler whom Jesse trusts fully. Despite much difficulty in convincing Marv, they finally meet to hand over the list, but the plan unravels when Michael's old nemesis Tyler Brennen (Jay Karnes
Jay Karnes
Jay Karnes is an American actor, born in Omaha, Nebraska. He attended the University of Kansas . He is well known for his role as L.A.P.D. Det...
) hears of the transaction, and holds Marv's wife hostage. The meet ends with Brennen in possession of the list and Marv dead. Threatening to send Vaughn the audio recordings of Michael's conversations with Marv, Brennen blackmails Michael into identifying and killing people on the list, hiring Larry Sizemore (Tim Matheson
Tim Matheson
Tim Matheson is an American actor, director and producer. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the smooth-talking Eric 'Otter' Stratton in the 1978 comedy National Lampoon's Animal House and has had a variety of other well-known roles, including providing the voice of the lead character...
) to assist and monitor Michael. Instead, after Michael learns the location of the list, Larry double-crosses and kills Brennen in hopes of retrieving the list himself. But Larry finds that Fiona, Sam and Jesse had already recovered it, and he is forced to wait for the police to arrest him after Sam trains a laser-sighted rifle at him.
After Vaughn learns of Michael's betrayal and possession of the list, he mobilizes a large force to kill Michael and retrieve it. He uses the organization's "bought off" agents in government and law enforcement to deny Michael, Fiona and Jesse any help. While this is going on, Sam and Madeline contact a United States Congressman (John Doman
John Doman
John Doman is an American actor best known for playing Deputy Police Commissioner William Rawls on HBO series The Wire from 2002 to 2008 and Colonel Edward Galson on Oz in 2001....
), whom they had met in a previous episode, for help. While he is initially skeptical, given their history, he is eventually convinced and sends a military team to save Michael and Fiona. The season ends with Michael being whisked away to Washington, D.C. to meet an unnamed acquaintance (Dylan Baker
Dylan Baker
Dylan Baker is an American actor, known for playing supporting roles in both major studio and independent films.-Early life:...
), who tells him, "Welcome back."
Cast
The main cast from the previous three seasons returned, with one addition. Jeffrey DonovanJeffrey Donovan
Jeffrey Donovan is an American television, film and stage actor. He plays the lead Michael Westen on the American cable television series, Burn Notice. Notable starring roles in film include: Hitch, Believe in Me, Changeling, and Come Early Morning. He portrayed Robert F. Kennedy in Clint...
returned as Michael Westen
Michael Westen
Michael Westen is a fictional character played by Jeffrey Donovan in the television series Burn Notice. Michael, a spy, was abruptly blacklisted while on an assignment. Forced to go back to his hometown of Miami, Florida, he finds himself cut off from the United States Intelligence Community...
, Gabrielle Anwar
Gabrielle Anwar
Gabrielle Anwar is an English actress. She is known for her role as Margaret Tudor on The Tudors, for dancing the tango with Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman and for her current role as Fiona Glenanne on USA's Burn Notice.- Early life :...
as Fiona Glenanne
Fiona Glenanne
Fiona Glenanne is a fictional character in the television series Burn Notice, portrayed by Gabrielle Anwar. According to Fiona's biography from USA Network:...
, Bruce Campbell
Bruce Campbell
Bruce Lorne Campbell is an American film and television actor. As a cult movie actor, Campbell starred as Ashley J. "Ash" Williams in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series of films and he has starred in many low-budget cult films such as Crimewave, Maniac Cop, Bubba Ho-tep, Escape From L.A. and Sundown:...
as Sam Axe
Sam Axe
Commander Samuel "Sam" Axe, USN is a fictional character in the television series Burn Notice and TV movie Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, played by Bruce Campbell. He is the best friend of Michael Westen, the main character in Burn Notice.-Overview:Sam served several years as a U.S...
, and Sharon Gless
Sharon Gless
Sharon Marguerite Gless is an American character actress of stage, film and television, who is best known for her roles as Maggie Philbin on Switch , as Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama series Cagney & Lacey and as Debbie Novotny in the Showtime cable television series Queer...
as Madeline Westen
Madeline Westen
Madeline Westen is a fictional character in the television series Burn Notice portrayed by Sharon Gless. She is the main character Michael Westen's neurotic, chain-smoking, hypochondriac mother.-Overview:...
. Coby Bell
Coby Bell
Coby Scott Bell is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his roles as NYPD officer Tyrone Davis, Jr. on the NBC drama Third Watch, and professional football player Jason Pitts on the CW/BET comedy-drama The Game...
joined the cast as a counter-intelligence expert, Jesse Porter, whom Michael unwittingly burns.
Like the first three seasons, the fourth included several recurring guests. Robert Wisdom
Robert Wisdom
Robert Wisdom is an American actor. He is a graduate of Columbia University.-Biography:Wisdom was born in Washington, D.C. to Jamaican parents. He appeared in four of the five seasons of HBO program The Wire as Howard "Bunny" Colvin...
made several appearances as Vaughn, Michael's point of contact with Management. Garret Dillahunt returned as Simon Escher, the man who committed the crimes used to burn Michael. Navi Rawat
Navi Rawat
Navi Rawat is an American television actress, known for her roles as Theresa Diaz on the drama series The O.C. and math prodigy Amita Ramanujan on the drama series Numb3rs. She is the niece of Prem Rawat....
portrayed Kendra, an assassin. Seth Peterson
Seth Peterson
Seth Peterson is an American actor, best known for his role as Robbie Hansen from 1999 until 2002 on the television series Providence....
reprised his role as Michael's brother, Nate, while Paul Tei returned as money-launderer Barry Burkowski. Arturo Fernandez returned for one episode as Sugar, Michael's former neighbor and a drug dealer. Marc Macaulay
Marc Macaulay
Marc Macaulay is an American actor.He was born and raised in Millinocket, Maine. He graduated with a BFA in theater. He recently appeared in the new USA Network Series Burn Notice for five episodes as Agent Harris, and as "Blaine Bauer" in the horror film Thirteen Floors.Some of his most prominent...
and Brandon Morris returned for multiple appearances as Agents Harris and Lane. The character of John Barrett, played by Robert Patrick
Robert Patrick
Robert Hammond Patrick, Jr. is an American actor, known for his leading and supporting roles in a number of films and television shows....
, was introduced as a part of the conspiracy behind Michael's burn. Tim Matheson
Tim Matheson
Tim Matheson is an American actor, director and producer. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the smooth-talking Eric 'Otter' Stratton in the 1978 comedy National Lampoon's Animal House and has had a variety of other well-known roles, including providing the voice of the lead character...
and Jay Karnes
Jay Karnes
Jay Karnes is an American actor, born in Omaha, Nebraska. He attended the University of Kansas . He is well known for his role as L.A.P.D. Det...
returned, in the same episode, as villains "Dead" Larry Sizemore and Tyler Brennen. Richard Kind
Richard Kind
Richard John Kind is an American actor known for his roles in the sitcoms Mad About You and Spin City .- Early life :...
guest starred in three episodes as Marv, Jesse's old handler. John Doman
John Doman
John Doman is an American actor best known for playing Deputy Police Commissioner William Rawls on HBO series The Wire from 2002 to 2008 and Colonel Edward Galson on Oz in 2001....
appeared as Congressman Bill Cowley in two episodes. Other notable one-time guests included Adam Clark, Alan Dale
Alan Dale
Alan Hugh Dale is a New Zealand actor. As a child, Dale developed a love of theatre and also became a rugby player. After retiring from the sport he took on a number of professions to support his family, before deciding to become a professional actor at the age of 27. With work limited in New...
, Benito Martinez
Benito Martinez (actor)
Benito Martinez is an American actor most known for his role as police captain David Aceveda in FX Networks' acclaimed crime drama The Shield...
, Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
, Michael Rooker
Michael Rooker
Michael Rooker is an American actor.-Early life:Rooker, who has eight brothers and sisters, was born in Jasper, Alabama and studied at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago, where he moved with his mother and siblings at the age of thirteen, after his parents divorced.-Movie career:He made his...
, Callie Thorne
Callie Thorne
Calliope "Callie" Thorne is an American actress known for her current role as Dr. Dani Santino on the USA Network series Necessary Roughness...
, and Frank Whaley
Frank Whaley
Frank Joseph Whaley is an American film and television actor known for his roles in independent films.-Personal life:Whaley was born in Syracuse, New York, the son of Josephine and Robert W. Whaley, Sr. He is half-Irish and half-Sicilian and grew up in Syracuse. He has two sisters and an older...
. Dylan Baker
Dylan Baker
Dylan Baker is an American actor, known for playing supporting roles in both major studio and independent films.-Early life:...
can be seen in the last few moments of the final episode as Raines, the man who welcomes Michael back into the agency.
Episodes
In the following table, "U.S. viewers in millions" refers to the number of Americans who viewed the episode on the day of original broadcast.| Series # |
Season # |
Title | Directed by | Written by | U.S. Viewers (in millions) |
Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|