Post by phantomdroid on Mar 11, 2008 22:50:57 GMT 10
Burn Notice is an American television comedy-drama series created for the USA Network.
The title refers to the burn notices issued by intelligence agencies to discredit or announce the dismissal of agents or sources who are considered to have become unreliable. The television series is a first-person narrative (including frequent stream of consciousness voice-overs providing nuggets of esoteric exposition) from the viewpoint of covert-operations agent Michael Westen.
After fleeing a Nigerian operation blown apart by the sudden and unexplained non-cooperation of his U.S. contact, Westen finds himself in his hometown of Miami, Florida, attended to by his ex-girlfriend but abandoned by all his normal intelligence contacts, under continuous surveillance, and his personal assets frozen. Extraordinary efforts to reach his U.S. government handler eventually yield only a grudging admission that someone powerful wants him "on ice" in Miami; if he leaves the city he will "heat up fast", i.e., he will be hunted down and taken into custody, whereas by staying there he can remain relatively free. Consumed by the desire to find out why he's been burned, and by whom, he goes to work as an unlicensed private investigator and freelance spy for anyone in town who can pay him any money in order to fund his personal investigation into his own situation as a blacklisted agent.
Jeffrey Donovan plays Michael Westen, the central character. He is a covert operative who has been "burned," i.e., tagged as an unreliable/dangerous agent. He has two black belts (or as he put it in one episode "thirty years of karate") and is "rated with anything that fires a bullet or holds an edge". He frequently improvises electronic devices from commonly available commercial equipment such as radios and cell phones.
Gabrielle Anwar plays Fiona Glenanne, a former IRA operative and Westen's ex-girlfriend. In the pilot episode, she spoke with a pronounced Irish accent, which is missing in later episodes. This was explained with a throw-away line about wanting to fit in, since it appeared she would be staying in Miami for a while. Series creator Matt Nix has said about their relationship:
“ The thing about the relationship with Fiona is…They are two people who really don't have anybody else that they can be with. Anybody else is going to be afraid of what Michael does, and it sort of turns her on, and anybody else for Michael is going to be uninteresting. He is attracted to her, but part of what we explore over the first season is that they really are attracted with each other, and yet there is a reason they broke up. She is an incredibly chaotic person who just thrives on disorder…Violence is foreplay for her. ”
Bruce Campbell plays Sam Axe, an aging semi-retired Navy SEAL. He spends most of his time sleeping with rich, older Miami women in exchange for food and shelter. Sam and Westen are old buddies; Sam is also Westen's last, tenuous contact in the official spy community. Sam presents himself as "the guy who knows a guy." It is revealed in the pilot that he is also an FBI informant, reporting on Westen under duress. Knowing this, Westen is able to pass false information to the FBI through Sam, who is glad to become Michael's double agent.
Sharon Gless plays Madeline Westen, Michael's mother. She is a chain-smoking hypochondriac. Until recently, she has had only infrequent communication with her adult son, who does not relish her company; he believes that his unhappy childhood helped make him into a natural covert operative, but he is not grateful for it.
Burn Notice has been renewed for a second season comprising 13 episodes, due to air in the summer of 2008. This order could be upgraded to 16 episodes like fellow USA Network series Monk and Psych. The rationale being that more episodes would create more profit to offset losses due to the Writer's Strike.
Here's a video...
Burn Notice on youtube
If you haven't seen this show yet then do yourself a favour. Burn Notice is exceptional television!
The title refers to the burn notices issued by intelligence agencies to discredit or announce the dismissal of agents or sources who are considered to have become unreliable. The television series is a first-person narrative (including frequent stream of consciousness voice-overs providing nuggets of esoteric exposition) from the viewpoint of covert-operations agent Michael Westen.
After fleeing a Nigerian operation blown apart by the sudden and unexplained non-cooperation of his U.S. contact, Westen finds himself in his hometown of Miami, Florida, attended to by his ex-girlfriend but abandoned by all his normal intelligence contacts, under continuous surveillance, and his personal assets frozen. Extraordinary efforts to reach his U.S. government handler eventually yield only a grudging admission that someone powerful wants him "on ice" in Miami; if he leaves the city he will "heat up fast", i.e., he will be hunted down and taken into custody, whereas by staying there he can remain relatively free. Consumed by the desire to find out why he's been burned, and by whom, he goes to work as an unlicensed private investigator and freelance spy for anyone in town who can pay him any money in order to fund his personal investigation into his own situation as a blacklisted agent.
Jeffrey Donovan plays Michael Westen, the central character. He is a covert operative who has been "burned," i.e., tagged as an unreliable/dangerous agent. He has two black belts (or as he put it in one episode "thirty years of karate") and is "rated with anything that fires a bullet or holds an edge". He frequently improvises electronic devices from commonly available commercial equipment such as radios and cell phones.
Gabrielle Anwar plays Fiona Glenanne, a former IRA operative and Westen's ex-girlfriend. In the pilot episode, she spoke with a pronounced Irish accent, which is missing in later episodes. This was explained with a throw-away line about wanting to fit in, since it appeared she would be staying in Miami for a while. Series creator Matt Nix has said about their relationship:
“ The thing about the relationship with Fiona is…They are two people who really don't have anybody else that they can be with. Anybody else is going to be afraid of what Michael does, and it sort of turns her on, and anybody else for Michael is going to be uninteresting. He is attracted to her, but part of what we explore over the first season is that they really are attracted with each other, and yet there is a reason they broke up. She is an incredibly chaotic person who just thrives on disorder…Violence is foreplay for her. ”
Bruce Campbell plays Sam Axe, an aging semi-retired Navy SEAL. He spends most of his time sleeping with rich, older Miami women in exchange for food and shelter. Sam and Westen are old buddies; Sam is also Westen's last, tenuous contact in the official spy community. Sam presents himself as "the guy who knows a guy." It is revealed in the pilot that he is also an FBI informant, reporting on Westen under duress. Knowing this, Westen is able to pass false information to the FBI through Sam, who is glad to become Michael's double agent.
Sharon Gless plays Madeline Westen, Michael's mother. She is a chain-smoking hypochondriac. Until recently, she has had only infrequent communication with her adult son, who does not relish her company; he believes that his unhappy childhood helped make him into a natural covert operative, but he is not grateful for it.
Burn Notice has been renewed for a second season comprising 13 episodes, due to air in the summer of 2008. This order could be upgraded to 16 episodes like fellow USA Network series Monk and Psych. The rationale being that more episodes would create more profit to offset losses due to the Writer's Strike.
Here's a video...
Burn Notice on youtube
If you haven't seen this show yet then do yourself a favour. Burn Notice is exceptional television!