I’ll be the first to say that I do not watch primetime serial shows on regular cable. Nothing has ever really grabbed my attention…until your illustrious host and I started watching Burn Notice on USA. (Characters welcome, indeed.) Now, I salivate at the thought of another hour of spy-goodness on my television (and also secretly wish to be a covert-op).
Created by Matt Nix, Burn Notice stars Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen our hero spy who has been “burned”, Gabrielle Anwar as Michael’s ex-girlfriend and explosives fanatic Fiona Glenanne, Bruce Campbell as semi-retired intelligence operative and former Navy SEAL Sam Axe and Sharon Gless as Michael’s mother, Madeline Westen.
About to premiere its fourth season, the show centers around Michael and his need to find out who burned him and to get back into the spy game. With a “burn notice”, a spy is wiped off the grid, without access to anything – a burned spy also has no prior work history, no money, no contacts – no identity.
In between trying to find out why he was burned, Michael, accompanied by Fiona and Sam, sets out helping hometown residents with problems only a spy can handle. (Michael was left by in the Miami, Florida when he was burned – which provides a great backdrop for the show), He becomes sort of a private investigator/spy –for-hire for anyone who needs it, getting in and out of trouble along the way.
This show provides excellent writing filled with wit and sarcasm, which I love in all my shows. Westen could not have been better cast – Jeffrey Donovan delivers lines with perfect timing, and you grow to wish you had him in your contact list. The chemistry between Michael and Fiona is palpable, and you will really love them as a on-again-off-again couple. Sam – or shall I call him by his fake name Chuck Finley, provides fantastic humor and is the needed corner to this super-spy trifecta.
If you do not have Burn Notice on your To-Watch List, get on it fast – Season 4 begins this Thursday, June 3rd at 9PM EST. If not, now is the perfect time to catch up on this great series –Get the first three seasons on DVD and check it out – I highly recommend it. USA has already renewed the show for both a fifth and a sixth season.
“Covert intelligence involves a lot of waiting around. You know what it’s like being a spy? Like sitting in your dentist’s reception area 24 hours a day. You read magazines, sip coffee, and every so often someone tries to kill you.” – Michael Westen
I fell behind, but I am gonna record season 4 as I catch up on back eps. Love this show.