“My name is Michael Westen. I used to be a spy until one day” We’ve got a burn notice on you, you’re blacklisted.”. That’s how every episode starts, and I’ve got to say that’s one hell of a way to introduce a show. Burn Notice premiered on the USA Network June 28, 2007, and ran joyfully until September 12, 2013, for 7 action-packed seasons. The premise is fairly simple wherein Michael is a spy with the CIA and one day during a mission is called and told he has been burned which means he’s basically fired. He escapes from the mission to a waiting plane which drops him back home in Florida. From there he now has to try to get to clear his name and get back into the CIA. While trying to clear his name, he takes up odd jobs helping people around Miami. He is aided by his ex-girlfriend Fiona and an old Navy buddy Sam and his mom Maddie.
Each season has an overarching story that usually has to deal with Michael trying to get back into the CIA with each episode seeing the gang help a client with a problem the police just can’t help them with. Micheal and his team use the skills the government gave them to help the clients that come to them. This show is almost like a mix between Magnum P.I. and MacGyver. Michael can make a surveillance bug out of a phone and some wires.
Jeffrey Donovan plays Michael Westen with this laid back chill that makes for a very likable character. He makes you think of a blue-collar James Bond, someone that makes for a badass spy but not so pretentious that you want to punch him in the face. Sometimes Michael is so focused on getting back into the CIA that he’s reluctant to help people which sometimes gets annoying but it’s a bit understandable since the CIA is what he’s really good at and enjoys.
Gabrielle Anwar plays Fiona Glenanne Michael’s ex-girlfriend who is an ex-IRA member. She helps MIchael out with the clients even though she really doesn’t want him to go back to the CIA. Fiona or Fi as she’s affectionately called is a bit of a hothead who would rather shoot or blow up a problem rather than talking it out or figuring out a non-lethal way to solve the issue. Fi isn’t the most supportive of Michael trying to get back into the CIA which is a bit of a bitchy thing I mean if the person you loved wanted to get back to what they really loved to do why to try to stop them from doing it. Fi also causes some friction and issues in later seasons due to her hot-headedness but overall she probably has one of the best character arcs in the show.
Bruce Campbell plays Sam Axe, a semi-retired Navy SEAL who’s an old friend of Michaels. I just have to say Bruce Campbell is the reason I started watching this show. I just love this guy. Sam spends his retirement sleeping with rich beautiful women all throughout Miami and drinking his day away. He’s the one who connects Michael to the government with what little connection Sam still has. Sam is like an older brother/father figure to Michael keeping him from going over the edge multiple times throughout the series.
This show is a great mixture of action, comedy, drama, and espionage all woven well so that in one episode you’ll be laughing at a comment Sam made only to be emotional at one of the time one of them is almost killed on a mission to save one of their clients. Each of the actors plays their characters so well that you just connect with them. The setting is another great character that is weird to say, but they use Miami and the surrounding areas so well that it truly feels like another character. The action is great loads of explosions and gunfights which is truly impressive considering that this was a show on the USA Network.
With 7 seasons each with less than 20 episodes, each, this is a relatively quick binge-watch and with the action and comedy I promise you’ll quickly binge through this show. I truly believe if this show was on a normal network or came out later more people would be talking about it and would have embraced it.
Cliff Edge Critics 