Bruce Campbell is ready to kick ass on the new season of Burn Notice.
© USA Network
Mania Grade: B-
TV Series: Burn Notice
Episode: Breaking and Entering
Starring: Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell
Written By: Matt Nix
Directed By: Paul Holahan
TV Series: Burn Notice
Episode: Breaking and Entering
Starring: Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell
Written By: Matt Nix
Directed By: Paul Holahan
BURN NOTICE: Breaking and Entering
By: Stephen LackeyReview Date: Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Burn Notice is a series that feels like it’s on the cusp of being forgettable but that one thing, keeps it from fading into oblivion. The series at first blush appears to be extremely derivative. Much of what you see in episodes of this series is obviously leeched from CSI Miami and even old school Miami Vice. The running dialogue from the main character is a bit over baked too. You may find yourself thinking – “What if MacGyver was a spy?” So the show starts off with tons of quick pans of the Florida coastline and the city and some clever voiceover from Michael (Donovan) that along with the previews does a good job of catching viewers up on the story. Michael was a spy until he was burned. When a spy is burned it’s sort of an extreme version of getting fired, which usually culminates with the death of said spy. Michael is in hiding though, trying to find out who burned him and why. The show premise is good but what may keep you coming back are the side characters. Gabriel Anwar and Bruce Campbell are both excellent supporting characters that desperately need some character development.
This week Michael thought he was close to finding the answers he has been so desperate for. Instead what happens basically is that Michael gets a new handler - a cold female not afraid to use threats on children to get what she wants. She makes a deal with Michael to meet him if he does a job for her. The job is to work with a computer nerd to steal important data from a bunch of mercenaries. The computer nerd is trapped into this job because the handler and her cohorts have his family held hostage and are threatening to kill them if he doesn’t retrieve the data. So Michael is forced to do this job, not just to get the answers he wants but to also save this family.
This is a series that features a bit of serialized storytelling but is mostly a job of the week kind of show – similar to Supernatural. If this new handler is connected directly to Michael’s burn and throughout the season we do get closer and closer to the answers this show could get a new layer of story that makes it a must watch. Hopefully the series doesn’t go the way of Smallville where a character almost gets an answer but is suddenly knocked out at just the right time over and over again throughout the season. Lois Lane should have brain damage, but that’s another show…
In the end the things that are derivative are still derivative but as I said the secondary characters are a lot of fun and the entire cast seems to have good chemistry which makes the series a good watch. Not all is perfect is supporting cast land though. While Sharon Glass does a good enough job playing Michael’s mom her scenes come across extremely unnatural and wedged into the show. When things are at their craziest Michael gets a call and he has to stop everything to go visit her. It’s supposed to be funny but often it just kills the pace of the episode. Problems aside Burn Notice is still a fun and intriguing show that had a solid start to this season.
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Just watched this show for the first time last week. Saw three episodes and then watched then new one for this season. I think it's a great show.