Diary of a Burn Notice Virgin – Burn Notice is no Life

(Season 1, Episodes 8-10)

Burn Notice is similar to Life in that it stars a guy with weird eating habits (Charlie Crews is obsessed with fruit, Michael Westen with yogurt), who is trying to do a daily job while searching for the person or persons who set them up. So far, as I’m nearing the end of Season 1 of Burn Notice, I am coming to the conclusion that it is no Life.

The problem is, Burn Notice‘s episodes are just a little bit too interchangeable. There’s not enough action nor consequences for the main characters. I understand that BN is supposed to be a lighter show than Life, but I would still like it to have a little substance. Either that, or just go over to the comedy side. Right now it’s in the middle and it’s not working for me.

1×08 “Wanted Man”

In this episode, I like how Michael got a little closer to finding out who burned him, but I kind of don’t care yet. He seems to be living a perfectly acceptable life in Miami right now — the writers haven’t set up the urgency here. I don’t feel like it matters one way or the other if he finds out this information. His life doesn’t appear to be in danger, and he seems to be having fun with his motley crew.

There was also a little too much time devoted to his and Fiona’s relationship, my dislike of which I have talked about extensively already. In this episode, she’s testing the relationship waters by flirting with the guy whose name they’re trying to clear. Michael is understandably weirded out by this, especially when they start having romantic dinners at his place, but his face could easily be misread as mild disgust at watching her trying to be sexy. It’s kind of awkward and uncomfortable.

1×09 “Hard Bargain”

So, Burn Notice. Do you think you could stop ending every episode with an awkward attempt at Michael/Fiona romance? That would be great, thanks. It’s so awkward, like watching an ostrich trying to mate with a dog. Sure, that doesn’t make any sense, but neither does this relationship.

Anyway, the case of the week was pretty basic: the gang saves a girl who has been kidnapped from a bunch of bad Colombians. The story was solid enough, but nothing too terribly exciting. What was interesting is what happened in Michael’s quest to find out who burned him.

He hooks up with a bureaucrat who claims to have the juice to get Michael off of the black list and wants to set up  a meeting. Michael spends the entire episode jerking him around, canceling meetings, changing locations, and I’m not really sure why. At first it just seemed as though Michael wanted to fuck with a pencil pusher, but then I realized he was just being his normal cautious self. Of course, he did end up meeting with the guy, and he totally almost got murdered!

I’m very unclear about the whole “burn notice” thing and why Michael finds himself in this position. I figured it was more of an administrative decision, not an “I’m going to have someone impersonate a boring bureaucrat and then try to murder you in your kitchen” kind of decision. I must say, this is much more compelling, and now I’m looking forward to unraveling this mystery further.

1×10 “False Flag”

I must say, I was kind of disappointed that Lucy Lawless was not sent to kill Michael, as I had originally thought. I really liked the idea of just random people trying to assassinate him every episode. Not that she didn’t try to kill him of course, he just wasn’t her primary goal.

Actually, as far as action goes, the shootout between Michael and Evelyn was kind of disappointing. She disabled his gun, leaving her the only one with a working weapon. Yet instead of either a) shooting through the paper-thin walls of the cabin, hitting Michael and Doug on the ground where they were obviously taking cover, or b) just storming in and shooting them both in the face, she stood outside and ineffectually shot through the window, as if either of them would be stupid enough to just be standing around.

Even though Evelyn wasn’t sent to assassinate Michael, it does look as though the guy who burned him is still coming after him. Michael spent the entire episode trying to get some ID so he could go up to DC in search of this dude, only to have Sam tell him that he’s already in Miami to see Michael. We’re going into the finale now, so while I don’t think Michael will necessarily find anything out at the end of the first season, I’m hoping for a decent showdown.

Clacked by Kona Gallagher
on Jun 25, 2009 @ 15:00 EST5EDT