Burn Notice

Which is a comment you will seldom find in my reviews.

First of all, the concept. The whole idea of a "burn notice" forcing a spy to take roots in a community is very clever. Really.

And the casting. I call this "Leprechaun Casting" because Donovan's career both before and even after the show was unspectacular. But in this part, in a successful series which ran for years, he was nothing less than brilliant. Almost as though elves pulled him out nowhere just for this role, and then disappeared into the forest with him after.

The setting is also clever, relying on an old Hollywood adage which says, to improve your odds, cast in a city that people wish they lived in. Check.

Even the voice-over works and works well. Voice-over seems like an easy thing to pull off, but in fact it isn't. Which is why it dropped out of favor in the 1940s and has been used very sparingly ever since.

Estrogen content? Check. Gabrielle Anwar, in a part which really is more a sidekick than a love interest, manages to "sashay" between scenes (yet another word I do not use often) and also manages to give the impression that she is on "slow simmer" even when all she is doing is mixing explosives or hot-wiring a car. (If you are a male reader, you will get that.)

Supporting cast? Bruce Campbell plays his role like he was already happily retired and the casting director begged him to come out of retirement just for this part, and then gave him permission to sit down and drink while delivering his lines. (Which may be the way it actually happened, I don't know).

I will confess it took about three episodes for me to get hooked. Like I said off the top, this is a one of a kind. But it is a fun ride.

By the end of the first show, the 1-1/2 hour premier, I was hooked. Donovan (remember him from The Pretender?) is charismatic and believable as the spy left out in the cold. I was pleasantly surprised to see Gabrielle Anwar. She starred in a friend's indie film and I wondered what happened to her. And Bruce Campbell.. well who doesn't like him? He adds good depth as Michael Western's grizzled friend. Great cast and sharp writing with Miami serving as a superb backdrop. This series has a load of potential so I'm hoping people will jump on board and start watching. I'm tempted to give it 10/10 as I didn't see anything that I didn't like. I'm looking forward to the new episode tomorrow (Thursday). This show is better than most movies coming out this summer. Great blend of action and humor.

Jeffrey Donovan is an engaging lead in an interesting program - which combines an interesting dramatic story line with a good balance of lightness and humor -- much like the outstanding "Monk," also a USA Network production.

The premise has been well-publicized; he's a crack covert operator, who's now been ostracized by his agency, and is seeking to learn why, as well as exist amidst the barriers they've erected in terms of his credit and finances, availability of former colleagues, and while he is under surveillance from multiple agency operatives.

During the course of this program, he also assists a man whose former boss - a powerful citizen - has placed both his livelihood and son in jeopardy.

Again, done with both serious drama and whimsy, this is a show which is a breath of proverbial "fresh air," especially among the lame quiz programs and reality shows impossible to avoid today.

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I entered this comment a year ago, upon seeing initial episode of the series. In continuing to watch, I've found Jeffrey Donovan's performances and character to remain interesting and engaging, the remaining cast excellent, and the episodes, overall, also interesting and well-written. Along with "Monk" and the recently-added "In Plain Sight," the USA Network is producing, in my opinion, better fare than the four networks.

I watched this show when it first came out and now i'm doing a full on binge-watch 14 years later.

If you like clever, well written, and spy stuff, you're probably gonna like this show a lot.

The narration style really gives Burn Notice that extra edge. So good.

This show has stylish, cheaply made and lots of fun. Donovan has a lot of charisma but Bruce Campbell and the other supporting cast really make this show pop. Miami is great location for this show. In the future it would be cool to see it move around season to season. The show is smartly written and avoids most of the spy standards. It would be nice if they reduced the amount of voice over. It tends to distract from the suspense, but it's not driving me nuts or anything.

I'll keep watching to see where this show goes, I think it has a lot of potential and is a great, light, fun summer watch.

USA appears to have a winner on its hands with this new summer show!