Review: Burn Notice [TV Series]

If you think it’s difficult to find a good movie, try finding a good television series among the many broadcasted by over 500 TV channels in the US. The effort is worth it, though, as your reward upon finding one is a veritable gold mine that will keep you entertained for a long time. One such recent find for me has been a lesser-known series called ‘Burn Notice’.

Created by Matt Nix, Burn Notice is based on the premise that spies don't get fired, they get ‘burned’ or terminated. Set in sunny Miami, the protagonist Michael Westen (played by Jeffery Donovan) is a spy burned in the middle of a covert operation for reasons unknown, and forcefully deported to Miami. With all his assets and bank accounts frozen, he is forced to reconcile with people who will still accept him: an ex-girl friend and field operative Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar); an old friend and former navy seal Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell, famous as Evil Dead 3’s chainsaw-toting Ashley J. Williams); and a dysfunctional family led by his mother Madeleine (Sharon Gless).

The series follows Michael’s transition from ex-spy to your average Joe’s knight in shining armour, while trying to find the reason why he was burned and black listed by his own agency.

Every episode is a complete story in itself, while a common thread runs across all in the background. This makes the show perfect for the flirting viewer, who can miss a few episodes and still come to par after watching the next few ones.

Burn Notice: (L to R) Madeleine, Sam, Michael and Fiona

Usually, detective/action series are based on a tried and tested formula: A heinous crime in the opening act followed by solving it with clues or forensic evidence unearthed during investigation. And with so many shows adapting that (Life, Dexter, The Mentalist), the only difference between two shows is treatment and characters.

Burn Notice, thankfully, doesn't follow the thumb rule. It’s an all-out action series and the treatment is where it excels. Matt Nix has combined stylish execution with light whimsical humour, thrown in small portions of serious drama, and added insights from the world of espionage to create a refreshing change from the norm.

What we get is James Bond, without his fancy gadgets, performing covert operations while the protagonist’s voiceover doles out funny excerpts from ‘Espionage for Dummies 101’. Take this one for instance:

To build a listening device, you need a crappy phone with a mike that picks up everything. But you want the battery power and circuits of a better phone. It's a trick you learn when the purchasing office won't spring for a bug.

Michael shows useful ways to make spy gadgets on a budget

Successful TV shows also have good characters which the viewer creates an emotional bond with. This is one aspect where Burn Notice is slow to catch on. It’s a case where the creators try to do too much of everything, as meticulous perfection in every episode often does not give enough room for character development.

In season 1, this was slightly disappointing as I would have liked to see a softer, emotional side to Michael’s otherwise spy-like demeanour. However, towards the end of season 1 and start of season 2, the series sees some major efforts in this direction.

In season 2, new dimensions have been added to Michael’s personality depicting a certain kind of vulnerability for the people he cares for. For example, he consciously distances himself from his ex-girlfriend Fiona as he believes his growing emotional dependence on her is distracting him from getting to the bottom of his burn notice. While the interactions that follow add depth to the character, it also makes for some funny scenes.

Fiona the ex-girl friend who is quite the tactical situation expert

Even some serious mother-son bonding moments are shown in a very humorous tone, thus helping maintain a light feel to this charming series, which could easily have been heavy-handed if handled by someone else. My only complaint, as such, is the lack of screen time given to Sam, and I hope that gets fixed in the coming seasons.

Sam (Bruce Campbell) known for his role in Evil Dead franchise

All in all, Burn Notice is a cool action series and is perfect for those evenings where you don’t have time or inclination to watch a full movie, and would prefer something light and engaging.

Rating: 8.0/10