Burn Notice Archives - Page 3 of 3

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Reptile Boy

This is such a fun, classic Buffy episode – laughable monsters, corny moments, plenty of puns, and a solid moral ending:

Buffy: I told one lie, I had one drink.
Giles: Yes, and you were very nearly devoured by a giant demon snake. The words ‘let that be a lesson’ are a tad redundant at this juncture.

I love the beginning of the episode where Buffy, Xander, and Willow are trying to decipher the plot of an Indian movie (sans subtitles). That’s one of my favorite parts of the show – the three of them hanging out together.

Xander: Hmm. And we thought just because we didn’t have any money or anyplace to go this would be a lackluster evening.
Willow: I know! We could go to the Bronze and sneak in our own tea bags and ask for hot water.
Xander: Hop off the outlaw train, Will, before you land us all in jail.

This episode’s monster puts a Buffy twist on the typical “secret fraternal society.” Burn Notice’s Coby Bell (Jesse) shows up for a brief minute as a new initiate.

A few things stretched credibility – like how Willow finding the exact right missing girls when other Hellmouth activity would be the cause of many more. But I love how Willow gave both Giles and Angel a talking-to. And how Willow and Xander react to Buffy fibbing:

Buffy: Well, say it.
Xander: I’m not gonna say it.
Willow: You lied to Giles.
Xander: ‘Cause she will.

For all the epicness of Buffy and Angel’s relationship, they’re not actually together all that much of season two. In this episode, they’re still in that awkward stage of never saying the right thing to each other. Buffy doesn’t want to be just friends any longer, and Angel knows dating will bring complications (though he can’t imagine the twist things will take).

Angel: This isn’t some fairy tale. When I kiss you, you don’t wake up from a deep sleep and live happily ever after.
Buffy: No. When you kiss me I wanna die.

And that’s a fitting intro to one of my favorite Buffyverse music videos (though I’m pretty surprised this quote didn’t make it into the video). It’s the first time I’m trying a video embed on this site. Like? Dislike? Let me know in the comments! And yes, there are plenty of spoilers in this video, so skip if you haven’t seen all of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel yet.

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Leverage – Modern Robin Hoods

This show arrived at the perfect time. I was looking for something new to watch in December 2008, and most shows were on hiatus. While other networks filled the month with repeats and Christmas specials, TNT made the bold move of debuting Leverage.

The pilot, “The Nigerian Job,” sets up the premise for the show (spoilers for the episode follow). Nathan Ford, a former insurance investigator whose life is in shambles, is hired to oversee three crooks while they retrieve stolen property. Alec Hardison (a gifted hacker), Eliot Spencer (an expert fighter), and Parker (a master thief) have one MO – they always work alone. But since the money’s good, they agree to do this one job. Nate is able to combine their skills and keep them on track to complete the mission.

When the man who hired them double-crosses them, they decide to work together and take him down. To do so, they’ll need a fresh face, so Nate brings in Sophie Devereaux, a grifter he pursued as an investigator for years. They manage to take down the bad guy, and even though the payoff is huge none of them want to retire. They work exceptionally well as a team, so the four crooks ask Nate to lead them.

Sophie: You pick the jobs.
Nate: My job is helping people. I help find bad guys.
Sophie: Then go find some bad guys. Bad guys have money.

The rest is history.

What really makes this show work is the chemistry between the team members. Despite all their differences, they work so well together that I was rooting for them to stay together from the start. The show doesn’t sugarcoat the rough patches as the criminals begin to focus on helping people instead the money and Nate grows more comfortable with coloring outside the lines. All of them are dysfunctional in some way (except possibly for Hardison, who seems to be the most normal of the bunch) and they all have secrets. They bicker and fight but always come through for each other.

The only main cast member I was familiar with was Christian Kane (Eliot), who played Lindsey McDonald on Angel (I’d watched the first season that fall), but I don’t remember that as being something that pushed me toward watching Leverage. I read something online about it, thought it sounded intriguing, and watched the pilot. From then on, I was hooked. I even bought the first season through Amazon Video on Demand so I could share the show with my family.

If you like con artist/caper movies like Ocean’s 11 and The Italian Job, you’ll love this show. While it’s a little more altruistic than, say, Burn Notice, the sentimental moments don’t overpower the smart dialogue and fun cons.

What is one of your favorite cons from this show (or another caper show/movie)?

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Supernatural – Pilot

It was only recently that I’d even heard of the show Supernatural. It popped up a few times on TV blogs and articles, and I gathered that it had a strong fan base. Without probing too deeply (trying to avoid spoilers!), I learned that two brothers, trained by their dad after the death of their mom, hunt all sorts of supernatural baddies.

The pilot introduces the Winchester brothers, Dean and Sam (played by Jared Padalecki, who I knew as Dean from Gilmore Girls, which made things a bit confusing). The entire episode was quite creepy, something I wasn’t expecting. Most of the speculative shows I watch involve vampires or superheroes, and fighting them means physical battles. As such, they tend to be more scary/suspenseful than creepy, but Supernatural’s pilot ranks right up there with the handful of episodes that were creepy (Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s “Hush” and Angel’s “Room w/a Vu” come to mind).

The pilot featured Life and Fairly Legal’s Sarah Shahi. The acting and effects were above par, and it contained enough of a hook to make me want to watch the second episode. The only thing that didn’t ring true was Dean’s comment to Sam that they made a great team. Their teamwork wasn’t impressive at all in this episode – they seemed to just stumble onto things individually. (A bunch of shows come to mind that have much better teamwork in the pilot episode that ultimately brings the characters together to form the show – Leverage, Bones, White Collar, Burn Notice . . .) But I’m guessing this improves with future episodes. I’m looking forward to what a regular episode will bring.

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Burn Notice – Explosive Summer Fun

I think somehow it’s hard-wired into the American brain that summer=explosions. (Personally, I blame Fourth of July fireworks.) Most of the summer movie blockbusters have explosive elements, and that reverberates on the small screen as well.

Summer is also for relaxing and escape, and summer TV shows reflect this. While there’s still some drama and serious moments, summer shows tend to lean more heavily on comedy and action than their regular season counterparts.

Burn Notice fits right in. With an average of more than one explosion per episode, car chases, and flying bullets, the show seems made for the season.

Jeffrey Donovan stars as Michael Westen, a burned spy who makes a living as a Robin-Hood-for-hire in Miami. Along with a brain full of MacGyver-like spy tricks (who knew basic supplies from a hardware store could be so useful – and deadly?), a close posse of friends and family, and incredible luck surviving near-fatal attacks, Michael hits bad guys hard while trying to figure out why he was burned.

In the season five premiere (spoilers ahead), Michael is working as a consultant for the CIA and tracking down everyone in the organization that burned him. As the episode starts, he’s down to the last two. Joining him on this quest is his new partner Max and his old boss, Reese (played by Dylan Baker, who I know best as William Cross on sadly-canceled Kings).

To catch the head of the organization, Michael brings in Sam and Fiona. It was fun to see the trio in action again, but as all three of them felt the constraints of working for the CIA, it puts the whole transition of burned spy to regular spy into doubt.

Even Jesse quit the CIA to get into private security. His brief appearance on this episode left his role this season rather vague. I’m guessing he may help out when needed, like Barry has in the past. I’ll be glad if his role is kept small, as I much preferred the original trio.

But most of where the show is going this season wasn’t revealed in the first episode, which felt like it belonged with the rest of season four despite the 6-month time gap. With most of the major plot threads of the show wrapped up, I’m excited to see where Burn Notice will go next.

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TV Trends – Online Fandom

This post about online TV show fandom caught my attention – mostly because of how many shows I love are on the list! A university student surveyed more than 3,000 people to determine which shows have the most ardent fans, as far as online activity goes. The survey was only for shows currently on the air (if they did ones that have been canceled, I’d wager Firefly as #1), and the results were:

1. Supernatural
2. Castle
3. Smallville
4. Community
5. Hawaii Five-0
6. Chuck
7. Bones
8. Leverage
9. The Vampire Diaries
10. Fringe
11. Burn Notice
12. Glee
13. Mad Men

I thought I’d take a look at each of them in turn.

1. Supernatural

I really don’t know much about this show at all, other than it stars Dean from Gilmore Girls, and I’m guessing it fits into the speculative genre. I’m kind of curious now.

2. Castle

One of my favorite shows ever – consistently good in every way. I love that it’s about a writer. I love that it stars Nathan Fillion and that Firefly references pop up all the time. I feel that if someone took all the TV shows I love and found one that encompassed them all, Castle would be it.

3. Smallville

I’ve always been more of a Spiderman rather than a Superman fan. I did enjoy the main character’s acting on movies I’ve seen him in, but I never had a chance to watch the show. However, after finishing watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, I watched a couple of James Marsters’ (Spike) Q&A sessions. He has a reoccurring role in Smallville and he talked about the story of Superman being a Christ story for an atheist world. That really interested me in watching it and with No Ordinary Family and The Cape being likely out of the picture for next fall, I’m looking for a good superhero show. I plan to start watching it soon.

4. Community

This little half-hour show is just hands-down funny. I loved it from the first episode, and while I don’t think the second season is quite as strong as the first, Abed will keep me watching for many years to come.

5. Hawaii Five-0

The main reason I don’t watch this show is that I’m watching too many crime dramas already. Since it airs in the same time slot as Castle, there was little chance I’d watch it live, and since it’s on CBS it’s harder to catch up on old episodes (I’m a big Hulu fan, especially when it lets me watch the whole current season). I did watch one episode in the middle of the season when there wasn’t a new Castle – I thought it was good, but not great.

6. Chuck

Action, humor, romance – what more can you ask for? Oh, just Jayne from Firefly. I sometimes let to-be-watched episodes of this show pile up when I’m busy (usually in a lull between several cliffhanger episodes), but I always watch them eventually. I’m a bit surprised that a show this well-liked is consistently on the bubble for renewal.

7. Bones

Thanks to Netflix having all back seasons, once I recover from my Buffy/Angel David Bornanaz deluge I plan to check out this show. Despite it being yet another crime drama, I’ve heard good things about it.

8. Leverage

Another one of those rare shows that’s “practically perfect in every way” and that I’ve loved from episode one. The concept of modern-day Robin Hoods, the tight-knit team of great actors, engaging plot, witty dialog, and explosive action. If you’re not watching Leverage you’re really missing out.

9. The Vampire Diaries

I’ve only caught half an episode while waiting for another show to start, but I wasn’t impressed. If I start to go into vampire withdrawal I’m more likely to try out True Blood instead.

10. Fringe

This is another of those “waiting for a chance to try” shows. I’ve heard it’s good, but not much else.

11. Burn Notice

Love this show, for three reasons. 1. Michael. 2. Sam. 3. Fiona. Easily one of my favorite summer shows, and more consistently good than even Psych.

12. Glee

I’ve watched 10 or so episodes. Love the music, hate the soap opera.

13. Mad Men

I’ve heard it’s good, but I haven’t heard anything that compels me to watch it.

So, out of the shows I’m not watching yet but thinking about, which do you think I should watch?

Supernatural, Smallville, Bones, or Fringe?

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White Collar – Con Man vs. Lawman

I don’t remember what first perked my interest in the show White Collar. I likely heard something about it while watching another USA network show such as Psych or Burn Notice. And generally, if a show is on USA, I usually don’t need to hear anything else to try it out, or at least watch a few promos and uncover the premise.

If I wasn’t hooked already, the first five minutes of the pilot episode would have been enough to do so. It opens in a prison, where an inmate shaves his beard, changes into a guard’s uniform, swipes a forged key card, and proceeds to walk out the front door. That is our first introduction to Neal Caffrey, con artist extraordinaire.

FBI agent Peter Burke, the only man who’s ever been able to catch Caffrey, is called in. He deduces the reason Neal would escape with only a few months left on his four-year sentence, and brings him back in with four more years added to his sentence.

But con artists know how other con artists work, and Neal is able to strike a deal with the FBI – serve out the remaining years while working to catch other criminals for the FBI’s white collar crime division, under the supervision of Agent Burke.

Peter’s solidness and by-the-book methods contrast with Neal’s charm and out-of-the-box thinking, and the two gradually come to trust each other. Since the show focuses on white-collar crimes, it’s a refreshing change from most crime dramas’ “murder of the week” scenarios. It also keeps the show free from most gruesome images, sensual scenes, and crude language.

Neal is played by Matt Bomer, who had a reoccurring role in Chuck as Brice Larkin. And I can’t write about White Collar without mentioning Neal’s friend, Mozzie, an OCD conspiracy theorist who doesn’t trust Feds (or as he calls them, suits. Peter is the Suit, his wife Elizabeth is Mrs. Suit, and FBI agent Diana is Lady Suit).

White Collar just finished season two, ending a major plot arch and adding a final twist for the cliffhanger. I must admit, though, it wasn’t nearly as powerful of an ending as the previous 3 (season one ending and the two mid-season breaks). In a way, I’m grateful, as those 3 made me nearly go crazy waiting to find out what happened. This one has far less emotional ties.

I’m still ambivalent about White Collar adding Sara Ellis as a permanent member of the cast for season three. I didn’t feel much chemistry between her and Neal these last few episodes, though I think they had some earlier this season.

Even though the season didn’t end as strongly as I hoped, much of season two was excellent, particularly the third episode from the end, “Payback,” the mid-season finale “Point Blank,” and the retrospective “Forging Bonds.”

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