Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 06/17/2008 Run time: 530 minutes Rating: Nr

Burn Notice is a canny, clever comedy-thriller show about a covert operative with a heart of gold. Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) is in the middle of a top-secret mission when he discovers he's been "burned"--basically, fired without warning. After barely extricating himself from danger, he wakes up in Miami, where the government has abandoned him and locked him out of his own bank account. To make ends meet, he takes on private detective jobs (helping an old lady who's fallen victim to a con artist; rescuing a young girl who's being tricked into white slavery; helping a mother whose son has been kidnapped by the boy's father... only it turns out the father is the rightful parent and the "mom" is an assassin sent to kill him--a nice guest star appearance by Lucy Lawless, Xena: Warrior Princess), while trying to figure out who burned him and why. Westen tries to remain clinical in his approach to these problems, but he always ends up protecting the helpless with his sophisticated spy skills. Over the course of the first season, he gradually uncovers a mysterious conspiracy that plans to use his talents for their own nefarious ends. Burn Notice deftly mixes the old and the new. The old: Our hero has a hot ex-girlfriend (Gabrielle Anwar, Scent of a Woman), a goofy sidekick (cult hero Bruce Campbell of the Evil Dead movies), and a meddling mom (Sharon Gless, Cagney & Lacey) who help and hinder him in his investigations, as well as a MacGyver-esque skill for making deadly devices out of common household products. The new: A media-savvy way of deconstructing the tricks and techniques of spies and government agencies, often resulting in smart and highly entertaining plot twists. Donovan, handsome but cheeky, combines a light comic touch with a convincing secret agent cool, and the supporting cast fill their niches with aplomb. Their escapades are pretty breezy and occasionally skirt being glib, but most of the time the show finds an extremely entertaining balance between action, romance, and humor. The extras are few (some montages of characteristic moments from the series, including one of the many bikini-clad girls the Miami locale provides) and the commentaries, rather than covering entire episodes, just discuss a few select scenes from each show. Fortunately, the series itself holds up; imagine a cross between Magnum, P.I. and The Wild Wild West (the classic series, not the insulting Will Smith movie) and you're on the right track. --Bret Fetzer

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My mom mentioned Burn Notice to me one day, and my first thought was: please: not another show. I was flipping through the channels one day while bored at home and saw that Burn Notice was on. I started to watch it but because the episode was in the middle of season one, I was completely lost about what was going on. While I was on Christmas break, I noticed that my mom had bought the first season so one afternoon, I plugged the first disc into my computer.

I didn't realize what a surprise I was in for!

Burn Notice is full of wit, humor, and suspense. there was not one espisode that I didn't end up chuckling. This show is a breath of fresh air! Michael Weston is your modern day McGuyver. His girlfriend has got some spunk: always ready to take on a job that Weston asks her and his sidekick Sam is hilarious: always ready to lighten the mood in a dangerous situation. These three make a dynamic trio.

If you are impressed with Monk, Psych, or even NCIS, you will be even more impressed with Burn Notice. You'll find yourself addicted to this show even before you know it!

The best part of this show, in my opinion, is that the "Good Guy" is actually a good guy. He has ethics, and in doing the right thing avoids doing the wrong thing. Let me explain what I mean.

Pick an action hero, pretty much any will do, and they are the good guy, right? Well, sort of. If the "Bad Girl," the one who just killed some innocent person, throws herself at our hero, he'll do the honorable thing and have sex with her, and then turn her in. Wait, honorable?

Or our hero will engage in a high speed chase through city streets and residential neighborhoods, with no regard for the potential loss of innocent life. Hey guys, there is a reason the police don't do high speed chases, and it is an ethical one.

Or our hero, trying to get away from police who are chasing him, will execute some cool driving maneuver that results in half the police fleet crashing and flipping spectacularly and, often, in slow motion. Wait, what happens when the 911 calls go out tomorrow?

Or the hero is an ex-CIA man who wipes out a dozen agents because some nutball at the top wants him terminated and he wants to live. Hard to root for one of our guys killing, um, our guys.

And so on.

Burn Notice takes a different tack. The hero tries to do the right thing at all times, and, when he cant' he admits it and still does the most ethical thing he can. This is refreshing.

For example, the female lead throws herself at him, and he keeps throwing her back because she's a trigger happy bomber. Not many men, hero or otherwise, would through her back. At one point he has to get rid of a drug dealer who has pulled a gun on him before, so he shoots the guy in the leg, and gives him antiseptic and a bandage so he won't walk with a limp after it heals. He steals a car because he has no option, but the voice over says he he will have it back by 5 PM, and he keeps his mother from smoking in it and stinking it up because it isn't his car.

This may all seem trivial, but it sets the show and the hero apart from so many others. It gives the show character and depth, and adds to the fun.

Highly recommended.

I am more of a CSPAN or History Channel watcher than USA, but this show is something special. I remember "it Takes a Thief" and Michael Westin makes Alexander Munday look like an amateur in almost every way. He's always betting on both his instinct and intimate knowledge of how people act in stress situations.
I had a swimming coach who once said "In a stress situation, you revert to what you know best" This show illustrates what taking that understanding to the Nth degree produces.
Michael's background narrative is informative and humorous. You know why and how the deal is going down. This adds to the suspense. You're constantly wondering how the assumptions will play out.
I like that he's a little too much of a good guy, but finally takes a few stacks of 100's off a pallet of money he's being forced to deliver to help a client.
His ex-girlfriend Fiona is so hot and chaotic. His Mom and younger brother's inclusion in the series create an interesting profile of how Michael Westin was shaped.
His best friend Sam is incredibly entertaining. Lightly sarcastic, big dog friendly (special forces friendly) and always making the move. His female relationships are a part of the comedy of this show. OH did I mention, it's hilarious too! Best new show I've seen in... Heck, I don't even know.
Let me conclude by saying that I own season nothing of anything except "Burn Notice." I will be picking up season two the instant it is available.

Definitely one of the best shows that are around. Love the dry humor and the adaptability of all the heroes. Never saw Donovan before so he was a very pleasant surprise. Gabrielle Anwar is simply wonderful as Fiona - her cheerful bloodthirstiness has something rather innocent in it and thus adds to the general merriment. Sam, Mom and the little brother are also good (the brother is definitely better clean shaved).
It would be interesting to see where all the relationships go in the second season - and hope for more!

Entertaining, action-paced, if a bit low on credibility. The Miami landscape is a definite plus.