Procedurals with Pedigree: Burn Notice

Regardless of how consistent a show stays creatively, its always nice when the creators are still able to end it properly. One of the earliest shows in the "Characters Welcome" light-hearted drama rebrand of USA, Burn Notice is one such show that has kind of lost itself in recent years, but is now only a couple episodes away from wrapping up its seventh and final season on its own terms. In fact, although Burn Notice was one of the shows that pioneered the USA-procedural model, it has now become a heavier more serious serialized story, critically altering the fun spirit that made it so uniquely enjoyable in the first place. However, seasons 1-4 (and some of 5) are generally the perfect mix of wry humor, intense action, and intriguing storylines that make for an excellent procedural.

The basics of the plot is CIA operative Michael Weston (Jeffrey Donovan) is suddenly "burned" (aka blacklisted for suspicious activity etc.) during an op and then wakes up in his hometown of Miami after talking us through his tactics as he escaped. Yes a key part of the shows formula is that Michael narrates for the viewer, explaining the strategies in effect and providing recipes for various make-shift explosives, as something is blown up in pretty much every singe episode. This is one of the shows key charms, as it provides insight into the mind of a field operative, while demonstrating interesting how-to-be-a-spy tips using everyday objects, as Michael ends up working sort of as a spy-for-hire. Which brings us to one of the shows other key charms: the wonderful Bruce Campbell as ex-Navy SEAL Sam Axe, an old acquaintance of Michael's who sets him up with his "new job" helping everyday people and quickly becomes his loyal best friend (Sam is such a favorite, he even has his own special movie, a prequel revealing how he ended up in Miami himself). He also provides much of the comic relief, in addition to other recurring acquaintances and some of the criminals too, with his deep appreciation for a good drink and generous woman, as well as his strong moral conviction. Rounding out the core crew is Michael's Irish ex-girlfriend (she drops the accent in the second episode for a more plain one however) Fiona Glenanne (Gabrielle Anwar), who he originally met while undercover and is the driving force behind the majority of the series' explosions. Michael's mother also provides a regular dose of comedy in the earlier seasons (a particularly grim storyline late in the series ruins that a little though), however Maddie (Sharon Gless) can certainly hold her own as she often ends up fulfilling some hands-on role in an operation. The team is eventually joined by former counter-intelligence officer Jesse Porter (Coby Bell), who gets involved in the conspiracy surrounding Michael and of course serves to add some fresh blood to the show when he joins in its 4th season as well (somewhat successfully).

Like any quality procedural, Burn Notice also has a serialized element, centering on Michael's search of answers surrounding his burn notice. Michael is known rather infamously across the globe, a true expert in his craft who did some very violent things all in service of his country, a cause he is beyond loyal to. So upon his arrival to Miami, where he is also trapped for the first few seasons (another part of the initial premise, keeping a spy in one place, that was unfortunately all but abandoned in later seasons), he begins following various trails to find the people responsible. It starts small by exploiting his FBI tails, but eventually he is contacted by the organization involved who want him to work for them, and he infiltrates them long enough to figure out the extent of their reach, finally getting back in with the CIA. Now after the show does that, things go all over the place in tone as the real mastermind arises and is then messily handled, resulting in a full serialized second enemy-making of the CIA leading into the current and final season, following one mission that will finally clear him with the company once and for all. But to go back to the positive elements of the show that make it worth your time, Burn Notice does a great job with recurring characters and villains. Be it the aforementioned FBI tales that show up later on for help, or the various employees of the mysterious organization behind his blacklisting, Burn Notice casts phenomenal actors for these arcs. Helpful characters like Barry the money launderer and Sugar the drug dealer are often further sources for great comic relief, while returning villains like Brennen the arms dealer (Jay Karnes) and Michael's sadistic mentor Larry.

The real joy of watching Burn Notice is really just watching the weekly cases however, as we get to see Michael and the team put on different personas and accents to con criminals and help out the little guy. It works perfectly as great entertainment you don't have to think too hard about, like Magnum P.I. meets MacGyver meets James Bond, but not mindless either. Its was a great demonstration of how a hardened spy can come around to make a difference in everyday people's lives, and reconnect with the people he left behind (his mom, his brother, his true love) when he honorably volunteered to service his country as one of the best. And although Burn Notice often fell into a formula which each case involving a plan A that became a plan B and then a in-the-moment plan C, it was still great to watch it all unfold each week, as even similar cases offered plenty of surprise. As long as you enjoy it for what it is, and don't get too bogged down in its mythology, Burn Notice is a lot of fun and a true testament to the success of USA's model (despite eventually being outdone by White Collar and the previously posted on Suits).