Burn Notice

[pete]

I came upon Patton Oswalt's blog yesterday and he was talking about this show as the best show on broadcast TV (though it's on the USA Network).  He also said The Wire was the best show over all, so I took his recommendation seriously and sought out this show.
It's a really simple show with a simple premise - a spy has been "blacklisted" by his agency and can no longer work.  He lays low in Miami, where he takes on odd private investigator jobs, using his extraordinary spy skills to succeed.  Bruce Campbell is also in this.  The show has that MacGuyver-esque quality where the main character is always utilizing his spy knowledge to improvise his way out of any situation - but they range from con artistry to heist to hand-to-hand combat and all sorts of other stuff.  It's very light-hearted and charming.
Anyone else a fan?

[edison]

Dvd info

I have always liked Donovan, but I never got the chance to check this one out. So I'll get this one come release time. The set I am really dying for is Touching Evil. Please release this one!

[Pas]

premise is cool I'll try and download some of it and let you know...

unrelated ps, pete : I love the Wire now ! I'm at season 4 and it kicks my ass. Can't believe I doubted

[Gold Trumpet]

I don't know if anyone has been following the second season of this show. If you watch USA at all you at least can't escape the constant advertisements, but I fell in love with this show during this season and the second season just wrapped up tonight.

It was an amazing episode. The great premise of a spy who chooses to combat his enemy with smarts over just fighting and killing everyone was pushed to the limit in this episode. There seemed to be almost no down time between the action sequences and with every good action sequence comes an awesome idea of how to approach the enemy. For the first time ever I understood the logic of shooting at the pavement below a car when in a car chase. Ricocheting the bullet up into the driver seat is smart because the underneath of a car isn't protected. In the episode Michael Westen was being chased and doing this. He didn't kill the driver (which would have seemed to cheesy), but he did get the driver to panic and crash.

That is what the show is about. Inside tactics to defeating an armed enemy without resorting to the conventional. The show has that MacGuyver element to it where the hero relies on his craftiness, but Burn Notice is more because it deals with a man coming to terms with his past. The spy lifestyle is ingrained into his psyche and the shows is about the lack of interpersonal communication he has with loved ones. The show isn't defiant and ambitious the way HBO shows are, but it is the best thing going on basic cable. The second season was better than the first and if this season finale is any indication then the third season will be even better.

Like I've said before, I've bought into the Jason Bourne type of character. He's cartoonish, but whatever? A lot of people like super heroes and believe into unbelievable premises when they are adapted to films. I do it with these characters. I just feel very conscious about their shortcomings, but it still doesn't keep me from wholeheartedly enjoying them. The irony is that Burn Notice is the most comic adaptation of the Bourne premise, but he is the most realistic. His character never tries to take on four men at once in a fight like Jason Bourne and he never tries to use his skill of outrunning bullets all the time like other action heroes. Often in the show he is outmatched in some way so willingly retreats. The human aspect of the show is much more apparent so I recommend anyone who's still slightly interested to check it out. It's become my favorite show on TV.

[pete]

I don't understand how can a show keep going with that much wit and knowledge.  It has an "anti-action film" element to it, where it runs a constant commentary on what happens in an action film and why it doesn't work, AND what a more clever approach would be, though still relies on the conventions for the heroes to get away.  I wonder if it'll ever get outlandish or lazy like the latter macguyver episodes, but for now it's a ton of fun.  Most of the drama is very predictable, but the actors pulled off two or three overplayed scenes with a lot of heart last night.  If only movies could be like this.  I'm so deathly curious about the show's supermysterious consultant.

[Gold Trumpet]

I'm so deathly curious about the show's supermysterious consultant.

Jeffrey Donovan says he has never met him and the producers of the show consult with him through email. Matt Nix, the creator of the show, knew him before the show and the selling point of the show to USA was that he was on board and had all the infornation he does. I guess when the producers go to him with ideas, he always sends back long messages of similar things he has done in the field himself. They try to base everything in reality with what is technically possible.

Yea, I'm worried about how long they can sustain this show too. Nix says he is already deep into season 3 and sees the show getting better, but Donovan revealed he's signed through 8 seasons of the show. The only question is whether USA will stay on board that long, but Donovan says there is no end in the sight.

[pete]

amazing episode last night!

[Gold Trumpet]

Oh yeah, loved last night's episode and even the week before. So far, the season had been a little muddled because I've had little clue of where the overall story was going. Episodes have been just as good as season two, but not enough direction with the larger plot. The infusion of Strickler into the story is giving the season a nice emotional core to it. He challenges Michael's basic cores and also Fiona's relationship to Michael.

Last night's episode was great because it was a really good lead in to the summer finale next week. All the little things in the season will come to a head and Michael will have to make some grave decisions about what he really wants in life.

Smaller point, but important, I also love how Burn Notice isn't dumb conservative. The show is accurate on the debate of torture and refuses to give into the action as a cheap plot device. In the show, Michael is continually asked to use torture on his adversaries, but always refuses because he believes it is counter-productive. A show like 24 believes different, but its creator is a political conservative who has no military or intelligence experience. Matt Nix (creator of Burn Notice) is willing to demote the issue to his expert and that gives the show a sound thought process on some of the dramatic situations.

[pete]

spoilers for last night's episode



why would the lady, if she was the mole - send them to all those specific locations that enabled them to move forward and solve everything?  was it because she thought the amatuer was gonna kill them with the uzi?

[Pas]

this show would be the best thing if it wasn't for the ''adventure of the week'' formula. I have only watched season 1 and a bit of season 2 so far and this shit gets old. how many fucking friends of friends in trouble do these people have. It's always really silly and unintersting, I always end up telling myself : ''ok this episode furthered the story by 3 minutes''

I like it but I prefer 24 where every week (or almost) feels ''important''

[Gold Trumpet]

spoilers for last night's episode



why would the lady, if she was the mole - send them to all those specific locations that enabled them to move forward and solve everything?  was it because she thought the amatuer was gonna kill them with the uzi?

Yea, I think she considered the uzi idea her best way out. I think because she was a hostage she understood there were few options. Waiting around would do next to nothing so sending them into a trap was her best chance.


Also, considering Pas Rap's complaint, I understand the adventure of the week formula complaint. It's an old hat form of TV storytelling and a lot of shows are beyond it, but I've accepted the formula and almost prefer it. Most action shows that have continuous plots become absurd by the 2nd or 3rd season. They start out interesting because of a great platform idea, but after time, the good idea wears away and the shows always feel the need to amp the romantic and social relationships. Then the show becomes more about the little human dramas and less about the original action ideas. To give an example, I loved The Unit but the show peaked at season two because it drifted away too much from the original idea of what made it good.

Now these complaints have little to do with 24 but I hate the overkill of the action and cheap drama in the show. I also hate the bad philosophy of good and evil in the show, but those are things that made me dislike the show from the beginning. Overall the two shows are pretty incomparable, but an adventure of the week formula keeps Burn Notice grounded in the specifics about what makes it interesting. If it was like other shows with a continuing story, I could see the show getting silly after a couple seasons because it doesn't have the emotional or intellectual gist to be anything except what it is.

[MacGuffin]

Every time I watch the show, I find myself just staring at Gabrielle Anwar to figure out what happened. It's a face lift, right? Collagen injections maybe?

Scent of a Woman:


Burn Notice:

[SiliasRuby]

Lets say both.

[pete]

it was just the photo.  she looks her age (her TV age anyways) on the show.

re: thursday night's show.  I can kinda understand the logic of her sending them to his places, but still I think it's weak storytelling.  the episode was great when I watched it but thinking back that particular moment could've used some clarification.

anyways, that episode was great and the reverse interrogation episode was great.  I wonder if they'll have enough materials to last all 7 seasons.

but the 24 debate is a non-debate for me.  doesn't matter what format a show takes - it just has to be smart enough about it.  burn notice looks like miami vice meets macguyver but is way smarter than all those shows.  and it hooks the audience with its wit and intelligence.  a few tv shows do that - they like to drop some info, making the viewers feel smart, but this one claims to be smarter than those other tv shows, and movies.  which is cool.

[Pas]

it was just the photo.  she looks her age (her TV age anyways) on the show.

she definitely had at least a facial lift.