US spy Michael Weston suddenly finds himself 'burned'-discredited without any form of procedure. Since no one will really help him, he survives by doing impossible jobs for desperate people ... Read allUS spy Michael Weston suddenly finds himself 'burned'-discredited without any form of procedure. Since no one will really help him, he survives by doing impossible jobs for desperate people in Miami.US spy Michael Weston suddenly finds himself 'burned'-discredited without any form of procedure. Since no one will really help him, he survives by doing impossible jobs for desperate people in Miami.
- Nominated for 4 Primetime Emmys
- 6 wins & 17 nominations total
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe scar under Jeffrey Donovan's left eye is written into the show as something Michael's abusive father gave him "to remember him."
- GoofsDuring the opening montage, we see Michael boarding a tricycle-gear aircraft, but the aircraft seen flying out is a DC-3, a tail-dragger.
- Quotes
Michael Westen: [voice-over] My name is Michael Westen. I used to be a spy. Until...
voice on phone: [phone rings] We got a burn notice on you. You're blacklisted.
Michael Westen: [voice-over] When you're burned, you've got nothing: no cash, no credit, no job history. You're stuck in whatever city they decide to dump you in.
Michael Westen: Where am I?
Fiona Glenanne: Miami.
Michael Westen: [voice-over] You do whatever work comes your way. You rely on anyone who's still talking to you. A trigger-happy ex-girlfriend...
Fiona Glenanne: Shall we shoot them?
Michael Westen: [voice-over] An old friend who used to inform on you to the FBI...
Sam Axe: You know spies... bunch of bitchy little girls.
Michael Westen: [voice-over] Family too...
Sam Axe: [phone rings] Hey, is that your Mom again?
Michael Westen: [voice-over] ... if you're desperate.
Madeline Westen: Someone needs your help, Michael!
Michael Westen: [voice-over] Bottom line? Until you figure out who burned you... you're not going anywhere.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Burn Notice: Friends and Enemies (2010)
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.
- A_Different_Drummer
- Apr 23, 2015
Details
Contribute to this page
![Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell, and Jeffrey Donovan in Burn Notice (2007)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTczMzg4NjU1Ml5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwODc4NzY5Nw@@._V1_QL75_UY133_CR12,0,90,133_.jpg)