Bring it on, Burn Notice

The USA Network’s hit series Burn Notice begins airing its 5^th season June 23^rd and if you have yet to see this show, you should consider tuning in.

The premise is a perfect set-up for some MacGyver-style action: Michael Westen is a spy who wakes up to find that he’s lost his job (burned), and the CIA doesn’t exactly give references. He’s stranded in Miami with only family, friends, and his CIA experience as resources. He makes it his mission to get his job back while encountering people in need of the kind of help he is uniquely qualified to provide.

The show is extremely clever and at times educational, in that it explains to you how stealing yogurt can make a break-in look like an innocent misunderstanding. The show is funny, has explosions, and the Miami setting provides a convenient excuse for some bikini shots. Basically, the show has everything an action fan would want.

The show has a bit of a premise problem that it has been very successful in dealing with. Michael is always trying to get his old job back, and if he ever did, the show as we know it would end. They satisfy this by having him get a little bit closer to the truth of his burn notice each season, without him actually fulfilling his objective. The show gets to continue with the formula that’s working while still nominally making progress on the main plot.

Michael’s entourage includes his mother, his former IRA ex-girlfriend and his former Navy Seal Buddy, Sam Axe, played by none other than b-movie superstar Bruce Campbell. This spring USA aired a prequel movie Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, which was entertaining even as a stand-alone and fleshed out the character for the fans. 

On the whole, the show can be enjoyed by just about everyone. There’s lost going on, and despite being formulaic, every episode feels unique. The show is well worth watching.