Mania Grade: C+
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Info:
- TV Series: Burn Notice
- Episode: Rough Seas
- Starring: Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell
- Written By: Alfredo Barrios Jr.
- Directed By: Jeremiah Chechik
- Network: USA
BURN NOTICE: Rough Seas
By
Stephen Lackey
August 22, 2008
Michael Gets Asked for Help again on BURN NOTICE: Rough Seas(2008).
© USA Network
This week’s episode could be re-titled “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”. Fortunately the good is good enough to still make the episode an entertaining watch but some of the formulas of this series are getting just a little tired. Each week, Michael starts off his day hoping to follow up on some very thin lead he has for the investigation into who burned him and along the way he picks up a new helpless client to interrupt his plans. So, the episodes all get broken into two parts – one part the burn investigation, and the second part helping the client. The larger part is always the client stuff relegating the burn investigation to a few minutes at the beginning and a few more at the end of the episode.
The burn investigation has to be stretched out because it’s the heart of the series but the week to week formula could use a shake up to keep viewers guessing what’s going to happen from week to week. There could easily be an entire episode focused just on a client or one just focused on the burn investigation. That would be cool for a break here or there. Also, Michael needs a more realistic way to find his clients than has been happening this season. It just so happens that Sam knows someone that needs help, or even though Michael is supposed to be under cover a random guy shows up at his place looking for help, then an old friend needs help and so on. The creators are trying to make the clients feel organic but more often than not they are based on a series of coincidences and that idea needs freshening up. In this week’s episode, a previously introduced character returns seeking help. Virgil was a character that wasn’t well executed before and he isn’t any better in this episode. The spark between him and Michael’s mother also doesn’t play on screen. It feels forced and comes off annoying. Virgil needs Michael to help retrieve a delivery of stolen meds that was meant for a clinic.
Complaints aside, this episode was good fun like every other episode of the series so far. Michael crafts his most entertaining cover so far. Seeing him play this anxiety ridden chemist offered several humorous scenes. Hopefully, the creators don’t start putting Michael under cover every week after this one because it was just so good. Unfortunately, Sam and Fe had less to do in this episode than normal but they are great in the few scenes they get. Bruce Campbell is always excellent – when he gets a good script – but Gabrielle Anwar is a real surprise. She doesn’t appear at first glance to be more than an attractive woman for the series but she brings a lot of personality to her role so when she is given less to do, it’s definitely noticeable.
This episode isn’t action packed but there’s some really good humor and it introduces a new character that will hopefully be reoccurring. It’s good to see actors from The Unit and Prison Break getting more work. The Good equals Michael’s cover, the Bad equals the over-baked formula, and the Ugly is Virgil and his relationship with Michael’s mother. The show at its worst is still better than it should be so the episode is worth a watch. There’s some good entertainment here. Hopefully in three weeks when this series comes back, the creators will do something to surprise us and turn the show up on its ear, at least for an episode or two.
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