Are you as excited about the November 11 return of Burn Notice as I am? Well, there are some new promotional and behind the scenes photos to tide you over.

SPOILER & SPECULATION ALERT.

The return episode, "Eyes Open," wisely continues from where the midseason finale "Guilty as Charged" left off. Here's the official synopsis released by USA:

When a vengeful lawyer hires a paranoid bombmaker to kill off members of a local gang, Michael (Jeffrey Donovan) is forced to intervene before innocent lives are lost in the mayhem. Meanwhile, Michael and Jesse (Coby Bell) must work together to track down a stolen document containing highly classified government secrets. Guest starring Daniel Pino and Robert Wisdom.

From that synopsis, we know that we haven't seen the last of defense attorney Scott (Pino), whom many fans thought would be back. Sounds like he's out to make some people pay for what happened in the previous episode. Likewise, we haven't seen the last of the smarmy Vaughn (Wisdom), who was last seen ruining Michael's plan to take down John Barrett (Robert Patrick). It's good to see that Michael and Jesse are back on the same side, but I'm sure they're not copacetic just yet.

USA's press release regarding the return provides some vague details about what's in store for the rest of the season:

"We will see Michael and Jesse work together to track down a stolen document containing highly classified government secrets; we’ll watch as Michael meets with Jesse's old handler one last time; see Michael escape a tactical assault team threatening his life and those around him; and even see Michael forced to work side by side with his enemy…all while the team is trying to stay one step ahead and get one step closer to figuring out the mystery behind Michael’s burn notice.  Upcoming guest stars include Dylan Baker, Jay Karnes, Tim Matheson, Raphael Sbarge, Leo Fitzpatrick, Alexi Gilmore, Michael Jace, Callie Thorne and Daniel Pino."

It's certainly rife with possibilities. We knew that crazy Larry (Matheson) and the villainous Brennan (Karnes) would be back, but it's still great to see that acknowledged since they're two fan favorites.

We're also uploading a gallery of promotional and behind-the-scenes photos from "Eyes Open" that will provide food for thought for hardcore Burners. Although, why in the heck is Scott pointing a gun at Michael? You know that can't end well.

Let the speculation commence! Burn Notice returns on November 11 at 10 PM ET/PT on USA.

First Look At The Return of "Burn Notice"

The first half of Burn Notice's third season has been funny, gripping, action-packed...can I just say its been awesome and call it good?  Its amazing how this series seems to get better and better every season, and I'm not the only one who thinks so.  This summer Burn Notice has been breaking USA Network's ratings records left and right, and has been out performing network television shows in certain demographics as well, a feat that should never be taken lightly for a cable television series.  Tonight, the first half of season three comes to a close, and we'll be forced to wait until the spring before we see Michael, Fiona, and Sam again.  TVOvermind got an opportunity to talk with both Bruce Campbell and Sharon Gless on a recent conference call where they discussed fake blood, how long they'd be willing to stick around on this show, and just what we might be seeing tonight on the mid-season finale.

When asked how their character's would react if Michael did manage to rejoin the company as a spy, Bruce said,

"Sam was in the same boat, and I think he’d be happy for Mike to get back in, even though it looks like it’s borderline not worth it based on what he has to go through and I think Sam is a little bit of a canary in the coal mine.  He doesn’t like it when Mike puts himself into very dangerous situations with really sleazy people in order to try and do this and in the episode we’re shooting right now that comes to a head where Sam refuses to help him because he’s doing stuff that is too questionable.  So Michael’s going to get in pretty deep.  We’ll see how deep he gets in.  And if he winds up going back in, I think Sam would miss him because I think Sam has enjoyed getting back to work instead of just drinking and hanging out with rich Miami women.  I think he’s enjoyed tailing people and pulling up some of the old skills again.  It kind of gets the cobwebs out, gives him a reason to get out of bed."

Michael and Sam's friendship has certainly evolved since the first season of the show, when Sam informed for the FBI behind Michael's back for a short time.  I think its safe to say that Sam would never do something like  that again, at this point, without Michael's knowledge beforehand.

Sam is a very upbeat, humorous, ex-military man who loves to have a few drinks, at almost anytime of day.  This goes against some of the dark stereotypes we're used to seeing in shows like this, where the ex-military guy is usually more straight-faced and uptight, for lack of a better word.  When asked why Sam is such a fun-loving guy, going against this stereotype Bruce had this to say,

"I think my character is actually more accurate.  I think I run into some of these guys.  My first wife remarried a police officer, and I’ll tell you these guys like having a good time when they’re not working.  They don’t sit around mopey dope, they sit around and crack gallows humor, lots of gallows humor, dark humor.  Frankly, I think they’re happy that they’re alive most of these guys after going through all of this and they have a good joie de vivre that the average executive might not have.  So I should think Sam is very indicative of the real guys, you know guys who are my age who have mustered out in their 50’s.  Believe me, most of them are drinking beer and sitting around a pool cracking jokes about the old days."

Sharon Gless, who plays Michael's mother, Madeline, added, "these guys who see so much really do have a very macabre sense of humor.  And I do think that’s how they stay sane."

Bruce was also asked about the fighting styles used on the show.  About how they differ and whether or not the technical advisers use any specific martial arts.

"I can say that Artie Malesci is mostly responsible because he’s the stunt coordinator who has just been nominated by the way for an Emmy.  Basically Artie and Jeffrey Donovan are very involved in any of their fights.  Jeffrey is equally as involved in his fights, because he does have training, he does have background in martial arts.  So those guys will work out something and they knew it was not going to be the John Wayne punch, punch break a chair over somebody’s head, which is much more like a Sam Axe.  And my job has been to differentiate between old school fighting and new school.  Sam Axe would break things.  He would use things as props and weapons.  He’d be a little more old school.  Michael and Sam got into a fight and I think Michael went easy on him.  So we try to make the martial arts different because as a spy you are going to use more advanced techniques.  He’s had to fight Russian guys who knew a certain type of technique.  So I think that’s the best I can explain it.  We are actually trying to be slightly different, using cool quick moves, not the standard fight scenes."

Sharon Gless is most known for her seven seasons on Cagney and Lacey, which began in 1982.  In tonight's episode Gless is reunited with her Cagney and Lacey partner, and friend Tyne Daly.  Gless was asked if the reunion, of sorts, was a good experience or not.

"It was wonderful.  And I’m not just saying that.  Tyne Daly is one of the finest actresses I’ve ever met or ever had the pleasure of working with.  It was just like old times.   I mean they were different characters, but we know each other now and her mother had a great expression.  Okay, her mom said, “Sweat makes a great cement.”  And she and I sweat together for six years and we just know each other’s timing, we know, and we love, we love to rehearse, we love to work, and it was a real treat for me and I think for all of us to have her on the show."

Bruce Campbell also confirmed that the experience was fantastic to watch for himself and the rest of the cast and crew.  Gless also said that she'd love to see Tyne Daly return again, and that Tyne definitely wanted to return as a bad guy on the show.

But that brings to mind, just how long does Daly have to reappear on the show?  Burn Notice was recently picked up for a forth season that will begin next summer, but how many more years can we expect to enjoy this fantastic series, and will the stars be around for the whole ride?

Sharon responded first saying,

"I don’t know.  I mean the show – it used to be in the old days when you signed a contract, it was for seven years.  But in this day and age, I don’t know.  I do think it has some longevity."

Bruce pushed her to give a number and she finally went with seven seasons.  Bruce went with eight saying,

"The reason I say that is because Monk went eight and we’re outpacing Monk in the ratings.  And so we’re kind of the new tent pole for USA, and I think we’re going to be around for the long haul and mentally, I have to say, I’m not looking over my shoulder.  I’m fully prepared to ride this show to the bitter end because it’s – why, what am I looking for?  Actors always seem like they’re looking for a better gig.  This time I can’t, there is no better gig.  This is a good gig, and I’m happy to ride it until it ends."

Sharon finally agreed and added,

"Yes, right.  So I’m just playing myself and I hope they let me stay the whole time."

And naturally, no interview with Bruce Campbell would be complete without some kind of horror related question, and this one was no different.  In one episode this season Sam gets to help make some fake blood for a mission, and with all the personal experience Bruce has with making homemade blood, the question came up to whether this was done on purpose, and if, in fact, the recipe used during the episode was the ultra-super-secret Evil Dead recipe.  While Bruce wouldn't divulge his recipe, he did give us all one of our very own to try out.

"I don’t know if that was assigned to me. It just sort of fell in.  Every week we make stuff, so we have different things where you hold this and someone does this.  It made sense that I made the blood, certainly.  It wasn’t the exact Evil Dead recipe since I wouldn’t want to give it all away.  It’s far too secret, just like military secrets, ... this shows you how in this show you really can make an incredible amount of different things in your kitchen and fake blood is certainly one of them.  It’s one of the cheapest, for anyone making a horror film, it’s probably the cheapest prop you can get.  It’s mostly Karo syrup, red food coloring, a little bit of cremora, and a drop of blue to make it not get too pink, you know, too bright."

Thanks Bruce, that'll certainly come in handy when making our next TVOvermind horror film.

Below is a preview gallery with a few promotional images from tonight's episode of Burn Notice.  The mid-season finale of Burn Notice airs tonight at 9pm EST on USA Network.

nup_134442_0036

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 7

[Show as slideshow]

Interview: Bruce Campbell & Sharon Gless of "Burn Notice"

USA network's Burn Notice has become one of the cable channel's biggest successes. Mixing elements of MacGuyver and I Spy, Burn Notice's writers and producers have crafted a story-engine that defies any sign of wear and mated it with a cast that meets the material with authenticity and equal amounts of innovation. The result is two seasons of programming that have elevated the Burn Notice skein from 'cult' appeal to hotly anticipated summer fare. Among that cast is Bruce Campbell as Sam Axe, a cold warrior who was long removed from the rough and tumble existence of clandestine spying. Campbell's signature swagger, machismo, and crackling wit make Sam an irreplaceable element in the Burn Notice design.

Bruce sat down with reporters to discuss his return to the show, as well as his humble beginnings. It seems that despite what he does, Bruce will always be most universally known as a horror icon. "You are guilty by association, so when my first movie was Evil Dead, which is now 30 years ago I suppose if I had made a romantic comedy when I was 21 and that did crazy, then I'd be the romantic comedy guy. It's kind of how Hollywood works. So, it's material that I'm sort of interested in, though, too, at the same time, so part of me perpetuates it in that I gravitate toward oddball stories, some genre stuff, not all horror. I like fantasy and sci-fi and that sort of stuff, too, but for me, I guess it's the combination of starting out in the genre and then being attracted to certain material that could also be considered genre."

As for the popularity of his current gig, Burn Notice, Campbell had some very enlightened ideas as to why the series was continuing to snare viewers. "I'd go with what distinguishes Burn Notice from the rest of the gang is that we have a sense of humor. Bourne Identity is very humorless, and 24 is completely humorless, so I think what we have there is a sense of humor to let people know that this is still entertainment. This is not reality, and we have no intention of going there."

"I think people are interested in spies because they represent a heightened aspect of their own lives. It's the same people who want to ride on a roller coaster, they want to get that second hand thrill. So you go see a spy because you know he's going to be shot at, you know he's going to get sexy ladies, you know he's going to be cool, and you know he's usually going to succeed by doing some really cool thing, so it's just a certain form of entertainment that is very extreme."

As for the status of the Evil Dead series, Bruce had some interesting news regarding the possibility of a sequel. "There's really no sequel for Evil Dead planned right now. We are going to forge ahead and do the remake; we are going to do that. There's nothing for me in the remake, though, do you know what I mean? That's a cast of young people. So I'll be on as the producer but I won't be in it other than playing the old guy at the bait store at the beginning."

Bruce Campbell Talks Burn Notice, Evil Dead 4 (or not)

Burn Notice fans, rejoice!  Not only are Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell, and Company back for season three, premiering Thursday, June 4th, in its new timeslot, at 9:00/8:00 Central; but Matt Nix, executive producer, writer, and creator of Burn Notice, and Kevin Harris, special effects coordinator, sat down to dish the details.

For those of you who don't know, Burn Notice is the USA Network's hit series which follows the life of a former CIA agent, Michael Westen, played by the fabulous Jeffrey Donovan.  When you are a spy, you don't get fired, you get Burned.  Burn Notice follows Michael Westen as he makes his way while in hiding in Miami; helping out people in need, while looking to find out who burned him using the only the basic skills at his disposal:  His wits, his charm, his special ops training, and his friends, Fiona (Anwar) and Sam (Campbell).  Oh, and it just so happens to be one of the greatest shows on television today.  Are you intrigued yet?  It just gets better with Matt Nix and Kevin Harris talking season three.  Up first, how can we expect this season to be different from the first two?  Matt Nix responds:

I think it’s better.  I think it’s going to be – this season has given us an opportunity to explore kind of the characters and the stories in a new way, because now that the format for the show has been pretty well established, like, we know kind of how a Burn Notice goes, it gives us a lot more freedom to explore ways of turning that on its head, or turning things around, or doing new kinds of episodes, because, I think that we’re at the point now where the audience is less likely to be disoriented by, you know, Michael going off and doing something in a different environment.  And I think that’s a process that started in season two, but we’ve been able to sort of push it further in season three.

So I would say in terms of the A stories, you see that, and as far as the ongoing seasonal arc goes, we’re exploring more things from their past, and a different angle on Michael’s quest to get his old life back.  So, at the beginning of the season, we’re dealing with something that we haven’t dealt with before, which is Michael’s interactions with the police and how to get them off his back.  And then as the season progresses, you know, Michael sees this as an opportunity to be reengaged with the intelligence community, but that comes with a whole host of challenges and difficulties, especially with folks from his past coming back.

And as far as the relationships go, in some ways those just kind of get deeper and deeper for us, and we know more about the characters; and so this season is also about dealing with, you know, what does it mean for Michael’s family to know more about what he does, how does that change his relationships with them, and how does it affect his relationship with Fiona that he is trying to be engaged with the intelligence community, how does she feel what that means for their relationship?

Nix continues to expand on what we are going to learn about Michael, Fiona, and Sam, specifically, how far back we are going to go into their individual histories, adding:

We will be exploring some of the period where Michael was meeting later in the season.  And it’s a little bit difficult to put your finger on, because the idea is over the course of Michael’s career; he has had lots of interactions, some of which took place over several years.  And so to be perfectly honest, we try not to nail down a really specific time line in Michael’s career, because it’s not terribly interesting, and it also ends up kind of restricting the kinds of stories we can do once we start saying, "Michael, these three months in 1997, he was in Belarus."  Well, okay, but what if we need him to take a quick plane flight to Moscow during that period?  We don’t want to nail our feet to the floor with regard to that.

So we are going to see some of the folks from Fiona’s past, and learn more about their past together.  And we’re going to interact with some characters that Michael dealt with over the course of his career.  We’re not really – if your question is are we going to see a lot of characters from Michael’s childhood, the answer is not so far.  And I wouldn’t rule it out, but it’s just not something we’re doing.

Later in the interview, Nix expands further on the backstory coming up for Sam and Fiona, adding:

In the case of Sam, we’ve got some – I don’t want to give too much away.  We’ve got a couple of really fun characters who Sam is going to be interacting with from his own past.  Sam runs into some pretty serious tax problems this year.  It turns out it’s very difficult to do your taxes properly as a covert operative, very hard to categorize your deductions, and so he gets into some serious trouble there.  So that’s a character that he’s dealing with.  And learn a little bit more about his past through that inquiry.  Also, relationships that Sam had come back.

And then on Fiona’s side, especially towards the end of the winter season we’re going to be seeing – we’re going to be learning a lot more about Fiona’s family.  We spent two episodes referring to “angry, angry people back in Ireland,” who are interested in Fiona, and let’s just say we may be meeting some angry people.

As for Michael, Nix adds:

Why does he care so much about getting his job back?  It’s not because the pay is so great or because he loves the food in Afghanistan; it’s because he’s a guy who is driven to help people, and he believes that his job helps people.  And the stuff that he does in Miami is the fix that he can get of that, of what he needs in Miami; that’s what’s available to him.  And Fiona has the same thing.  And we kind of explore that in her character this year as well, like why does she do what she does.  It’s not normal for people to help desperate people that come to them and go to the lengths that these characters go to in order to do that, and so one of the things we’re exploring is why do they do that.  What things in their past, what things in their psychology compel them to do that?

Up next, what spy stories are they going to be able to work into the series after the game changing season two finale:  Nix answers:

We are always working on different kinds of spy stories.  And I guess I would just say that we end up setting ourselves little challenges and things that we want to do, and then we just kind of bang our heads against them until we can figure out a way to do them.  One of the things that we did this year that we’ve been trying to do for two seasons and just not able to crack until this year was reverse interrogation, which is the technique we used in the second episode of finding out the information from someone’s questions in an interrogation, rather than from asking them questions.  So that was a fun one for us.

And so now, I’m not done writing the season, so I don’t want to say that there’s anything that we haven’t been able to do, because we’re still trying.  But yes, so we have a whole kind of laundry list of different techniques.

One of the challenges for us is that a lot of spy techniques take a long time to do, so we’ve done aspects of certain spy techniques, and other aspects are harder for us because we’re usually dealing with problems that take about a week, and a lot of the best spy techniques take a couple years.  So just finding a way to pull that off is always a challenge, but we sort of end up doing the greatest hits of the world’s traitors and spies.

Spoiler alert!  At the conclusion of season two, Michael jumps out of a helicopter into the ocean, and the viewers knew the cops had been called on him, but the outcome was left to the imagination and wonder.  Matt Nix describes the new character of Detective Paxton, and how she is going to effect how Michael is going to be able to operate going forward, after spending some time in jail...Nix explains:

Detective Paxton is played by Moon Bloodgood, and the idea is, for a long time, Michael was not really showing up in the police computers, and he was being protected from some of the consequences of his activities around Miami.  And then once the folks behind his burn notice back off, their sort of going-away present to him after he jumps out of the helicopter is calling the cops on him.  So in the premiere episode he goes to jail for a little while.  And so after that he ends up with Detective Paxton on his tail.  And she’s a really good cop.  And a lot of the resources that Michael would use against – or has used in past seasons against people that have come after him are not available to him with Detective Paxton.

So for example, in the first season, when Jason Bly came after Michael, Bly was pushing the envelope some; he was doing some things that he ought not to do, and Michael was able to use that against him and get him off his back.  And the problem that they find with Detective Paxton is she’s just a really good, really committed cop, who is really smart, and is on to Michael, and knows how to mess with him.  So she figures out that -  in one of the later episodes - she figures out – well, in the fourth episode, she figures out that given the sorts of things that Michael, Fiona, and Sam are doing around Miami, if they have a police tail on them all the time, that’s going to make their lives very, very difficult.  So she does that.

And they can’t really get any angles on her to blackmail her or get her off the case, and so Michael essentially has to convince her that they’re on the same side, which is difficult because Michael’s not really following proper legal procedure in taking care of problems for his clients, and yet at the same time, he is doing things that the Miami PD ought to appreciate.

And so a lot of times what’s interesting for us is finding adversaries for Michael who are in some ways mirrors of himself.  And in the case of Detective Paxton, she is committed and kind of dogged in the same way that Michael is, and that turns out to be a real problem for him.  And I think that there’s a bit of an understanding between them that, if Michael were a cop, he would be a cop not unlike Detective Paxton; and if Detective Paxton were a freelancing burn spy then she might not be so unlike Michael, but they are clearly adversaries.  She cannot have people pulling the things that Michael pulls on the streets of Miami, and he can’t be hauled in by the cops, and so there really is no middle ground between the two of them.  Michael has to figure out a way to get her off his back, and she’s not in the mood to compromise.

Nix further teases another "mirror" character to Michael Westen, in the form of one Strickler, played by Ben Shenkman, by adding:

Over the course of this season one of the characters that Michael interacts with is – and this is a real thing – is someone who is interested in selling his services.  As we all know now, people with extraordinary skills can be very valuable on the open market.  And … secrets, people who fight, people – you know, there’s a whole industry now that is devoted to brokering the services of those people.  And so Michael at one point during the season is approached, and this is one of the ongoing characters, played by Ben Shenkman, who approaches Michael, and he is a guy who is another kind of mirror of Michael.

If Michael is the guy who is usually approaching a bad guy in an episode and convincing that bad guy to go along with his agenda for perfectly reasonable reasons, like “You really ought to show me your security” for these reasons, “I can protect you,” and getting the bad guy to do what he wants him to do.  And he’s always the smart guy in that equation; he’s always the one pitching the perfectly reasonable solution to your problems that will ultimately undermine you.  Along comes this character, Strickler, played by Ben Shenkman, and he’s doing the same thing to Michael; he’s basically saying, “Hey, like let’s make you some money and we’ll make me some money, and this can be helpful in your quest to get your old job back.  All you’ve got to do is play ball with me on a few little things and everything is going to work out fine."

And so Michael, dealing with this guy that he doesn’t really trust, but at the same time is presenting a very compelling case that this is the way to get things done, and Michael – it’s kind of an offer Michael can’t refuse.  And yet that has a moral dimension to it, and Fiona has some very strong things to say about that, and that turns into a big thing in the second half of the season.  In the second half of the first mini-season, I should say.  I guess that would be the second quarter of the season.  Very difficult to talk about these two mini-seasons.

And then in the second mini-season we’ll be dealing with a different character, who is someone with a background in covert intelligence as sort of like your – Victor was someone who appeared to have no moral compass, and then turned out to have a moral compass disguised as no moral compass.  In the second half of the season we’re going to be meeting a character who is truly a freelance psychopath, and Michael is going to have to deal with that guy and hence … new….

One of the most amusing relationships is that of Madeline (the incomparable Sharon Gless) and Sam (Bruce Campbell).  Matt Nix responded to the question of if we would be seeing more of them in season three:

More actually.  That’s really fun.  We basically made – Sam blew up Madeline’s house in the finale of season two, and so he’s kind of on the hook for repairs.  So it means that he spends much of the first nine episodes hanging out at Madeline’s, trying to put her house back together, which is made more complicated by the fact that Michael’s father did a lot of the original building on the house, using stolen lumber and improvised parts, so it’s kind of a complicated enterprise and presents new problems, and so him and Madeline are interacting with that.  And then also that Buick that they borrowed from Madeline’s neighbor, Ann …, Sam ends up dating the daughter of the owner of … Madeline’s next-door neighbor, so that gives him another reason to hang out.

And then the other thing is actually one of the interesting things about this season is that now that Madeline really knows what Michael does; I mean there’s no more, “Who are you again?” or “What do you do again?” or that kind of thing that we did more in the first and second season, it opens up new opportunities for Madeline to participate with Michael, Sam, and Fiona.  Which is not to say it doesn’t turn into anything silly, like Madeline running around with a gun, but there’s no longer any need to explain to Madeline what’s going on when they’re doing a job.  And there are certain things that Madeline can be useful for, and there are things that are appropriate for who she is, but they are nonetheless useful, and that has been a fun thing to explore.

The special effects on Burn Notice are one of the things that sets it apart in the television landscape, and Matt Nix responds to questions regarding television's budget versus feature films, saying:

Yes, really it is very rare that Kevin – I mean really we’ve got such a great team of effects and stunt people that I can’t think of a time that they have come to me and said, “This stunt is too expensive.  We cannot do this stunt.”  Literally, they will say to me, “You are not pushing hard enough.  Come up with something that you really think we can’t do so that we can show you that we can do it.”  Right?  And so it’s just not – budget is not really the issue.

And really a good example is when Kevin talks about doing intricate gags, that being a lot more difficult than doing big things.  Like we do all the big things.  We do the same things that they would do in a big movie, we’ll do them in more or less the same way, it’s just that we don’t have as many cameras on the stunt, we don’t shoot the green screen shot of the lead as the car is flipping, so that you see that it’s him in the car.  You know, there are certain things that we don’t have time to do.  So it’s kind of the details that end up falling out of stuff because we don’t have time to do it.

The funny thing is actually like my dream stunt sequence was the raining, flaming cars car chase sequence at the end of season two, which I wrote fully expecting them to come back and say, “We can’t do it.”  And Artie, our stunt coordinator, and Kevin talked to me and the basically had pitches for making it bigger.  And of course I said, “Yes, make it bigger.”  So, honestly, like I’m still trying to push for something that we can’t get, and we just keep writing it and they just keep doing it.  So because of that it’s kind of a difficult question to answer.

Kevin Harris adds:

I’m more partial to water-type work, boat work, doing a lot of different types of effects on water and with the boats and stuff; it’s a lot more challenging.  I will say that after doing a couple of seasons of SeaQuest and a Hulk Hogan series called Thunder in Paradise, the thing that really needs to be done when you want to do real deep action is you almost have to run simultaneously.  We have a second unit and a first unit.  And on both of those shows there, pretty much your first year they did all of your walk and talk scenes when your second unit was backing it up with all the action sequences.  And in that case there is my difference as far as time versus money.  There it’s both; you’re going to get double the time, although you’re going to spend double the money.

And I’m confident that Burn Notice is getting to that point.  This season here we’ve done more second unit work than we’ve ever done before.  And when we did the last episode of season two, probably 70-percent of that was done via second unit, and it really meshed in very nicely.  But to do a good – because the studios are not going to give you more than your seven days.  I don’t care what show you’re doing, they are seven-days bound.  So the only way to get more out of it is to run simultaneous units.

And we live in Florida, our biggest scenery here is the water, and it’s a lot more costly to shoot on the water, but you get a hell of a bang for your buck.

I would say that sums up Burn Notice exactly:  A hell of a bang for your buck.  Burn Notice premieres Thursday, June 4th at 9:00/8:00 Central on the USA Network.  It is being brilliantly paired with the extremly promising looking Royal Pains, starring Mark Feuerstein, which I described in an interview as being like Burn Notice, except instead of Jeffrey Donovan doing covert spy stuff, you have Mark Reuerstein doing covert doctor stuff.  Nicely done, indeed, USA.

A complete transcript of this interview will be coming soon, as it was literally the most indepth, enjoyable one I have had the pleasure to witness, and I don't think any of you should miss a word of it.

Interview: Burn Notice Creator and Special Effects Coordinator Talk Season 3

Super-spy Michael Westen has a rough day at the office

Burn Notice has been a huge success for the USA Network, pulling in a total of over 5 million viewers each week and scoring strong ratings in key 18 to 49 as well as 25 to 54 age demographics. Who would have thought that a quirky, fun, and hip series about a blacklisted spy would garner such critical and ratings success. Burn Notice is wrapping up the second half of its second season with its finale airing on Thursday, March 5. Recently, TVOvermind got to participate in a phone interview with Jeffrey Donovan, who plays spy Michael Westen in the hit series.

The second season of Burn Notice has had Michael Westen searching for the man who tried to kill him at the end of season 1, and who botched a mission Carla (Tricia Helfer), Michael’s forced handler, was leading. Though Michael’s real goal has always been to use any information he comes up with as leverage against Carla to help him discover just who it was that blacklisted Michael in the first place. But with Tricia not returning for next season, the lingering question going into the finale is what is going to happen to her character, and is Michael going to be responsible for her demise?

“Well, you know, I think it’s no surprise that Carla and Michael were going to eventually be in each other’s crosshairs,” Donovan confirmed. “And in the final episode literally that happens. Without giving too much away the eventual outcome was necessary. What’s going to happen is that she gets basically - she has powers above her that control her and she basically relies on Michael to save her butt at the end. And he tries but it doesn’t go as well as expected for her.”

With that kind of information it’s tough not to be excited about the upcoming finale, but after two season of Michael searching for the person who burned him, the question of whether he will ever find the man responsible looms large over the series.

“I think that the actual person who burned me, you’re actually going to meet in the season finale,” Jeffrey Donovan said during the interview. “And he’s going to have answers that only - will satisfy people halfway; dealing anytime with any kind of covert organization they can’t ever spill the beans totally. But what you’re going to see in the finale is pretty exciting because though Michael does find out who burns him it doesn’t release him from the perils of his career choice.”

Those perils, and the information Michael is able to get from his nemesis will ultimately lead the show into its third season.

“…this will be the guy who burned me. And he’ll explain what happened and what’s going to happen to Michael Westen if basically he keeps making trouble,” Donovan said, elaborating on the discovery of who burned him. “And that’s what season 3 is going to really focus on is who in his past is a threat to his livelihood. And that’s what basically you’re going to find out in season 3.”

Donovan was also asked about the future of Michael and Fiona’s (Gabrielle Anwar) relationship for season 3. Donovan claimed to know nothing specific about their future but said that he assumes, “you’ll probably see more of Michael and Fiona trying not to be together,” confirming that we should in no way assume that their romance is about to blossom yet again.

Jeffrey Donovan recently renegotiated his contract on Burn Notice, which extends his commitment through 8 season of the show, if the series is lucky enough to get renewed for that many seasons. This is exciting and shows the commitment that Donovan and the creators have for the long term development of this show, and all we can do is hope that they continue to deliver.

For a transcript featuring the highlights of the conference call with Jeffrey Donovan, please proceed to the next page. He had some great tidbits to share with fans on staying healthy, doing his own fight scenes, and working with Bruce Campbell.

Interview: Jeffrey Donovan from Burn Notice

First off, thanks to the wonderful Gwennie for filling in for me last week. I love my students, but not their germs. Thanks, Gwennie! You did a fantastic job.

We open with aerial shots of Miami and Michael voiceovers that in order to be a spy, you have to blend in to your surroundings. In Miami, this means a bathing suit.

Michael and Fiona are walking up a HUGE house. Michael has on maroon colored swimming trunks--not a speedo--and a open white button down shirt. Fiona has on a itsy bitsy teeny weeny purple flowered bikini. She has on a teal sarong with fringe and matching teal hankerchief tied around her hair. They both look hot and I am reminded once again that Gabrielle Anwar has 3 children. I bet she doesn't sit around debating which gummi bear flavor tastes the best. Anyway, Fi is worried that she has on too much clothing, but Michael assures her that she looks fine and that they are there to find out about the bomber. Fi gripes a little that all they ever do is look for the bomber. She has a point, but he did try to kill Michael, so I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt here.

Michael and Fi reminisce about their favorite arms dealer, Seymour and how the last time they met things didn't turn out so great. Michael kicked him around a bit and threw gun powder in his face. Fiona seems less concerned and reminds Michael that Seymour was "enchanted" by Michael. Michael does not seem impressed by this. Fiona hands Michael some suntan lotion and asks him to "do her shoulders." Michael takes the lotion and as he applies it, he tells Fiona that if she wants to talk about what happened the other night, but Fiona interrupts him and says that it was nothing and they were just "blowing off some steam, right?" Michael decides it's time to go in and walks away. Fiona has an exasperated look on her face, but follows him.

Seymour is having a party and it appears that the only requirement was that the females wear as little as possible while the males wear manpri bathing suits. I would harp about sexism and hop on my feminist horse, but it's at this point that we get a look at Seymour and I am thankful that he is covered up. He is exactly what you would picture a nerdy Miami arms dealer to look like. Straggly hair, beard, paunchy belly, wearing lots of white linen. Michael wants to talk to Seymour and Fiona agrees to take out the security guy who is behind the bar making smoothies.

Michael says hello to Seymour, who takes one look at Michael and starts screaming for security. Fiona disarms the security guy and holds him at gunpoint. This guy has got to feel bad. She is holding him at gunpoint with his own gun. He should probably have his security club membership card revoked. Seymour tells Michael that he learned a lesson the last time they met and he is prepared. He pulls a gun on Michael. Michael looks quizzically at the gun and remarks about the kind of bullets that are loaded in the gun. Seymour hilariously turns the gun away from Michael to try to figure out how Michael could tell about the bullets and Michael grabs the gun and disarms Seymour. For an arms dealer Seymour isn't very smart. He must do ok business though cause that house is nice!

Michael tells Seymour that he needs help tracking down Derek Poole. Poole is the suspected bomber. Seymour agrees to help, but only if Michael teaches him some moves. Michael agrees, but something tells me that this will never happen. Maybe it's because Michael answers him so sarcastically. Or maybe it's because I have a feeling that Seymour would rather compare gummi tastes with me. I think I like Seymour.

Seymour asks Michael for cash to "open some doors" and Michael declines. Seymour agrees to front Michael the money, but warns him that they will have to be in constant contact. Bad Asses in crime. Seymour yells at the security guy and then orders him to make Michael a mango smoothie. I'm telling you, Seymour and I would get along fantastically.

Michael and Fiona leave Seymour's house and Michael asks Fiona for a loan. She tells him that if he needs money he can get a job. Michael reminds her that he can't exactly fill out a job application like everyone else or the people who burned him will wonder why he needs cash. Huh, you would think someone would be more concerned that Michael isn't working since his bank accounts were all frozen in the burn. He hasn't taken any money from Carla, so how do people think Michael is buying all the yogurt? Anyway, Fiona tells him that she just turned down a job investigating stolen paperclips at an art gallery. Michael smiles at her leans into her and tells her that "she's the best." Fiona walks away, telling him that she expects a commission.

Michael and Sam are at the local hangout having a drink. Sam is warning Michael against getting into business with Seymour, but Michael needs the info that Seymour can uncover. He asks Sam about his cover id for the art gallery job. Sam hands Michael a folder with all the necessary info for Micheal to assume the identity of Miles Parker who has a background in investigating corporate espionage. Fiona calls Michael and he tells her that he is ready for the art gallery job. Before they hang up, he tells her that he will call her later and maybe they can meet for dinner. Sam comments on the dinner invite, but Michael shoots him down. Sam is adorably amused at Michael.

Michael walks up a long sidewalk surround by glass. He is buttoning his coat . He VOs that in order to really pull off a new identity you have to be prepared to lie to everyone that you know. He walks into a building with a sign that reads Miami Art Collective. The building looks rough, but stereotypically perfect for an art gallery. Michael walks up the the receptionist Melanie, who is played by Marla Sokoff, and I have to fight the urge to turn off the TV right now. Not because I don't like Marla, I am sure that she is a fine person and she does a good job with this role, but because it reminds me of that awful, awful show, The Practice. Michael introduces himself to her as Miles Parker and she cheekily responds back with a nice to meet you. Michael asks to speak to Scott Chandler. Scott Chandler comes around a corner to greet Michael. Oh good gravy, Chandler even does the little finger point thing as he meets "Miles". GAG!

Chandler leads Michael to an area in the back of the gallery. He offers Michael a drink, while he inputs a number into a key pad. (The number is 574 for anyone who cares.) Chandler is impressed with Miles's resume and begins to tell him about some mysterious activity at the office including putting a bug on the phone. Chandler talks the bait and "Miles" is hired. He asks for a layout of the gallery. His phone rings and when he answers, Seymour says "Hello, Alpha, it's Bravo." Micheal greets Seymour (using his real name) and Seymour tells him that he has found some good news about the bomber. Michael leaves to meet him.

Seymour and Michael are sitting outside at a high table with a green umbrella. Seymour says that Poole does work for the city and is connected to the Russian mob. The restaurant they're in is a Russian mob hangout. Seems that when the Russians need something blown up, Poole is their go to guy. Michael looks around and sees some guys that I guess are supposed to be Russian. Michael wants to know what the good news is, and Seymour informs him that Poole has a girlfriend and things are hot and heavy. Poole and the girlfriend can't be apart for more than a few days without some "alone" time. Michael assures Seymour he gets the message and Seymour says, "I bet you do." "You and Fi, the molten hot action couple. I can't even imagine what it must be like in that bedroom." Seymour licks his finger and holds it up, making a hissing sound. Michael looks as if he wants to wants to reach across the table and strangle Seymour. He tells Seymour that he and Fiona are not a couple. Seymour can't believe it (and let's face it, neither do we). Michael reminds Seymour to focus and brings the conversation back to the girlfriend.

The girlfriend, as it turns out, is pulling into the parking lot. Seymour begins to point to her and Michael reaches out, grabs his hand and tells him to stop. Seymour grasps hands with Michael. Michael paints a wide smile on his face. Seymour tells Michael that the girlfriend's name in Bianca, she works at the restaurant and her shift starts in 10 minutes. Michael congratulates Seymour, but Seymour isn't done with his good news. His stupid bodyguard is going to plant a tracking device on her car so that Michael can follow her. Michael can not believe that Seymour is that stupid. He reminds Seymour that they are in the presence of the RUSSIAN MOB.

Michael jumps up from the table and heads to the parking lot. He tells us that part of being a good spy is being able to come up with a cover story that explains why everyone is where they are, doing what they are doing. He walks up to the bodyguard and begins to yell at him for "leaving your keys on my wife's dresser" and he punches Stupid Bodyguard, SB looks confuzzled. Michael tells him to go with it and to run. SB is all about planting the tracker though, so Michael has to punch him again and finally SB runs away. Michael yells after him "And don't ever let me catch you near my wife again." He voice kinda cracks when he says it, like he is really mad. The Russian Mob guys are laughing so I guess they bought it.

Back at Michael's loft, Michael is looking over the blue prints for the office. Sam cracks open a beer and tells Michael that he likes corporate espionage. No guns or bombs. Sam wants to know if Michael has figured out how someone got in. Michael says that he knows how he would do it, which is to slip in with the cleaning crew and hide until everyone leaves, then look around. A loud sigh is heard and we see that lying on Michael's bed is Fiona. She is confused about why Michael called her over. Michael says to bounce ideas. If looks could kill right now, Michael would be six feet under. Sam looks from one to the other, grabs another beer and heads to the patio.

Fiona hops off the bed. She is wearing a grey tee shirt halter dress. It is very short. She walks up to Michael and asks if this is about the other night, her not staying for breakfast. Michael smiles at her and I swear her heart must be made of stone cause I melted at that smile, and asks if it is so weird that he would want her opinion. She tells him to look at her and say that it isn't about the other night. He looks at her and begins to say something, but stops himself and leaves to go talk to Chandler.

Michael shares with Chandler his belief that the bad guy came in with the cleaning crew. He thinks that the person may have been caught on the video camera in the parking lot. Chandler lets him into the office (using a code a lot longer than 574) and tells Michael that he is meeting a client for dinner and for Michael to let him know if he finds anything.

Michael searches Chandler's office and finds a different type of device hidden in Chandler's keyboard. This device records keystrokes which can be used to get into private accounts. Michael removes the battery from the device. He tells us that more spies get caught changing batteries or fixing wires than any other activity.  I wonder if that is true? It makes sense. Michael figures that whoever planted the keystroke bug will have to come in and change the battery so he waits and hides. Later that night in the darkened office, we see the door open and a person comes in and flicks on a flashlight. The person makes their way to the desk and begins to fool with the keyboard. Michael flips the lights on the lights to reveal the receptionist, Melanie. She takes off running and Michael chases her. She attempts to stab him with a letter opener before begging him not to tell Chandler for fear that he will kill her. Michael finds that a little hard to believe about Chandler, but Melanie tell him that he has killed before, the victim was her father.

Sam, Michael and Melanie sit at a restaurant and Melanie tells them that her father was a painter--J.D. Blake. Sam recognizes the name and remarks that Veronica (his ex) was really into Pop Art. Chandler was Blake's dealer and the trouble began over a painting called The Lady In White. Bids worth millions of dollars were coming in before the painting was even finished. Blake was sick, but Chandler kept applying pressure to finish the painting causing Blake to fire Chandler. One month later, someone broke into Blake's loft, beat him to death and burned down the studio. The Lady in White was reported destroyed in the fire and the police ruled the death a robbery gone bad.

Melanie lived in New York with her mother and never met her father, nor used his name. They had only started talking a few months before he died. When she heard that The Lady In White was being moved in the black market, she came to Miami to investigate and got a job with Chandler. Sam warns her that the painting could be anywhere. Melanie has to prove that Chandler is behind her father's death and has the painting. Michael tells her that he is checking out the security footage from the service entrance tomorrow and Melanie freaks. Michael tells her that he will cover for her as long as her story checks out. And just like that the client is now Melanie. A fact that graphics missed!

Oh good grief. It seems that the creative team behind Burn Notice are trying to kill me with The Sexy every week. Week 1 was the Speedo, week 2 was the kiss, now the punching bag. Michael is dressed in a white tank top with grey sweat bottoms and he is whaling away on a punching bag. He is all hot and sweaty and muscley. Sam walks in and Michael stops. (ARGH!!!) Anyway, it looks like Melanie's story checks out. Michael tells Sam to call Melanie and tell her that they will help her, but she has to stop spying.

Michael is making a big magnet out of a car battery. Look, I should probably be more specific, but the MacGyver aspect of the show makes my eyes glaze over. Not because I don't find it interesting, I do, but it's kinda like steak. I know where steak comes from,but I don't need to see the process. The science stuff is cool, but I really just want to see the end result. The end result here is that Michael makes a big battery and heads to the offices to watch the security video. The Video Guy tells him that all the video is stored on the main frame, which he motions to. Michael, who is carrying a large back pack, sets the bag down on top of the main frame and activates the electromagnet inside it, causing everything to get erased. Michael leaves to go tell Chandler.

"Miles" tells Chandler that he (Chandler) has a huge problem. Whoever is targeting him is a professional. "Miles" needs to go through Chandler's computer files and see what is going on. Chandler balks at this because the files are private. "Miles" yells at Chander to get a clue, that this person is a professional and to call him when he is serious about finding the spy. Chandler tells "Miles" to come back, that he will give him the access. "Miles" warns that things may get worse before they get better.

Sam and Michael meet to exchange info. Sam has done some digging and can now link Chandler to a guy named Jacob Orr who is a "so called security consultant" who has done time for manslaughter. Michael asks Sam if he wants to meet a new friend and suggests that he bring along Fiona. Sam jumps on this opening to ask Michael about his private life, starting with the "weird" energy in the loft. Michael denies anything is happening, but Sam doesn't buy it. He asks if they....... and Michael looks away. Sam can not believe it and asks Micheal how many times he has to be burned by a flame to figure out that it burns? Michael changes the subject and asks Sam if he is going to help. Sam says that he will, but that he objects to Michael suggesting that he work with Fi when he was getting a booty call. Michael yells for the check. I love these 2 together. Sam cracks me up.

Sam and Fiona are at a bar watching Jacob Orr. Fiona is wearing a skin tight grey dress with horizontal black stripes. Sam gives Fi a bug for a cell phone and asks if she can handle it. Fiona snits that surely he doesn't believe that she can't get a man to go up to a hotel room. Sam snits back that she does seem able to get men to make bad choices. Fiona realizes that Sam knows about her and Michael. She tells Sam that Michael started it, which is so something that my students say. Sam redirects Fiona's attention to the mark.

Fiona and Orr sit at the bar laughing. Michael VOs that "for a female operative picking a guy up at a bar is harder than it might seem. Most men have a sense for when a pick up is going too well (Really? Do they care?) If it's too easy, they get suspicious, if it's too hard, they move on." Fiona does a good job evidently, as Orr does not seem suspicious. They head up to his room, where Fiona pours some chlorhydrate in his drink. However, Orr is not interested in the drink, so Fiona gets him to get undressed. While his shirt is over his head, she hits him with a bottle. Sam is giving back up outside and begins to try to break the door down. Orr is not quite out of it though, so Fi hits him again. Orr is out, and Fi plants the bug. Sam is still outside trying to break the door down. Suddenly, Fi, opens the door and walks out. She's fine. Silly Sam, you should know that Fi is bad ass and can take care of herself. I'm going to let you off the hook though, cause watching you try to break down that door was funny.

There is a knock at Michael's door. Sam opens the door to find Melanie who storms her way in asking for Michael. Sam tells her that Michael is at the store, buying yogurt. Melanie is in a panic because Chandler is having the hard drive reconstructed. Sam tells her not to worry. That will take some serious time. Melanie is worried for her life. Sam tells her not to worry that they are getting close. He plays a recording of a conversation between Orr and Chandler. Orr is suspicious, Chandler not so much. Orr feels pretty sure that the people who robbed him were after more than $40 and tells Chandler that it was a 2 person operation. They talk about a holding company where they money is being kept. Orr wants his money. Sam tells Melanie that if they can find documents that connect Orr, Chandler and this phony company, they can go to the police. Melanie wants to know how they are going to do that. Sam says that Chandler's spy ("Miles") will have to turn up the heat.

"Miles" arrives at Chandler's house asking what in the world Chandler got him into. Chandler is a little confused. "Miles' tells Chandler that his house was broken into and his files thrown about. He tell Chandler that is was 2 people--a man and a woman. Chandler looks a little gobsmacked. He tells Michael that he has another business associate that was approached the same way. "Miles" begins screaming at Chandler that he has to tell him everything. Whoever is spying on Chandler has resources, why, it could be a black listed spy standing right in front of him and Chandler wouldn't know. (WINK, WINK) Chandler looks as if he is about to spill everything, but pulls back at the last second. He tells "Miles" he has nothing to hide. "Miles" needs access to everything, camera, security feeds, access codes. Chandler agrees.

Michael has snuck into the gallery, but he can't go through the service entrance cause Chandler is watching the videos. He has to go through the gallery, with Sam coaching him through. Of course we have to obligatory mess up with the rights and lefts, but eventually Michael makes it through unseen.

Michael is in Chandler's office looking through his files. He doesn't find anything unusual. He starts to sweep the office. He looks in the easy places first, but that is a no go. Finally, he moves a table and finds a hidden panel with a series of locked file cabinets. Michael tells Sam that he needs a specialize tool with a diamond bit and a cooling agent.

Michael and Fiona meet up with Melanie and they tell her to hold tight. She is nervous, because Chandler is acting weird. Fi tells her that this is good, this means Chandler will turn to "Miles" for help. Michael tells her to act natural. She says that she will try and leaves. Fiona tells Michael that some people are better than others at acting like things are normal. Michael is saved by the phone. Seymour has some information about the bomber and wants Fiona to fire up the Saab.

Michael, Fiona and Seymour have parked the Saab in a grove of trees. Seymour has found the house where the bomber is holed up. Poole opens the door to let Bianca leave and Fiona notices that the place is booby trapped. Michael realizes that the entire house is booby trapped and leaves the Saab to go find an easier route to get to to Poole. Fi is instructed to stay behind and watch Seymour. Seymour starts talking about how cool Michael is, then asks Fiona what the deal is between Michael and her. Fiona tells him they are in different spaces. (I'm about tired of these 2 talking in cliches! You are hot together, either fish or cut bait already!) Even Seymour scoffs at the "spaces" line and tells Fiona to go with the flow. He tells her that Michael and she are destiny and you shouldn't fight it. Destiny will kick you ass. Fiona looks mildly irritated, but tells Seymour she'll keep it in mind.

Back at Michael's, Sam is hunting around in the fridge, when Fi and Michael get home. Sam holds up his beer and tells them he can drink it on the balcony if they "need some alone time." Michael and Fi glare at each other, before Fiona tells Sam to drink it "here". Sam inquires about the bomber, and tells Michael that he has a lead on the drill bit. Just as Michael is popping open a yogurt, Melanie calls. She's at the office and any kind of regard I had for Melanie was shattered by this scene. Idiot. It seems that Chandler had someone shredding some documents and they didn't all get shredded. Michael tells her that she is a stupid, idiotic girl and that she is a waste of oxygen. Well, ok, maybe that was me, but he does tell her that it was a trap and since she used her employee access code to get into the building on the weekend, Chandler is going to know it was her. Michael tells her to get out now, but when Melanie looks out the window, Chandler has already pulled up. Melanie tells Michael this and the fear in her voice is evident.

Michael tells Melanie to tape her cell phone to the top of a box, and run an extension cord from the behind the box and place the contraption in the front door of the gallery. "Miles" calls Chandler and tell him that it was a trap. "Miles" and Chandler walk up to the front door and see the bomb. Finally, Chandler comes clean about The Lady in White painting. As Chandler and "Miles" walk toward Chandler's car it explodes. "Miles" asks where the painting is and Chandler says that it is at his house, while Fi watches them leave, fondling her detonator.

Sam approaches Orr at a bar. He reminds tells Orr that the last time he saw him, Orr was getting his ass kicked by a girl. Orr stands up and Sam grabs his thumb and twists. Orr doubles over. Sam tells Orr that he was hired by Chandler to kill him. However, Sam tells Orr that he is only getting 10 grand for the hit. Sam knows that Chandler is making more than that off the painting. He is going to tell Orr where Chandler is off loading the painting and he wants a cut of the action. Orr agrees and asks where Chandler is hiding.

"Miles" and Chandler go to Chandler's house. Chandler has hidden The Lady in White behind another painting. He takes it down and "Miles" pulls a gun on him. Chandler makes a move on him, and Michael hits him in the forehead with the gun. Chandler goes down and Michael takes the painting.

Orr shows up at Chandler's house to confront him about Sam's story. He sees that the painting is gone. He asks Chandler about the painting and Chandler truthfully tells him that a spy took it. Orr has a hard time with that one, seeing as how he knows Chandler to be a liar and a thief. Orr pulls a gun on Chandler and Chandler insists that the spy took the painting. We head outside of Chandler's house and hear the sound of a gunshot.

Sam, Michael, and Melanie meet at the restaurant. They tell her that she won't have to worry about Chandler anymore, that Orr was caught trying to dump his body. She thanks them and then gives Michael and envelope full of cash. Michael tries to not accept it, but she insists. She also gives him a small painting of a butterfly that her dad did the year she was born. Michael gratefully accepts both. Melanie leaves. Michael gives Sam the picture and tells him to drop it off at the loft, he is going to kidnap an explosives expert. Sam wishes him luck.

Michael, Fiona and Seymour are behind Poole's house. Seymour has some specialty weapons that Michael requested. He asks to come along, and Michael tells him to stay put.

Fiona and Michael approach the house. Fiona fires a disruptor shell into the house, which is a shotgun shell full of water. She hits the bomb that is wired to take the house down. The blast will knockout a bomb with out causing it to go off. The disruptor rounds aren't lethal from more than 10 feet and Michael fires one into Poole's chest from about 15 feet. Poole goes down.

Michael, Seymour and Stupid Bodyguard (who really is quite cute) have Poole tied to a chair with a bag over his head. Michael removes the bag and Poole immediately recognizes him as the guy who lives over the club. He assures him the bomb that was planted was not personal. At this, Seymour and SB, turn around and Seymour lights a blow torch. Seymour "menaces" his way closer to Poole, but Poole doesn't need any torture. He'll tell Mike what he wants to know. Michael even promises to help Poole and Bianca leave the country.  Poole tells Michael that he never met the man who hired him, he was given an address. He was paid by money transfer into an account in the Caymans. He even remembers the account number-7595163003. Michael asks Seymour about gun smuggling shipments to Suriname. Poole is less than pleased.

Michael walks out of Seymour's house and Fiona is waiting for him. He tells her that he has the account number, now all he needs to do is trace the name. Seymour comes running out of the house and gives Michael and Fi each a box. He tells them that he had something made to honor their first mission together. Michael and Fiona open the boxes and discover matching throwing daggers. He has even engraved the word destiny on them. He tells them that it is a symbol of their bond. Fi looks amused. Michael seems to be at a loss for words, especially when Seymour reveals he made one for him too. Seymour goes back inside to check on "jack ass and the hostage."

Fiona remarks that the gesture was kinda sweet. Michael says to her: "The morning after we...." Fi: "Yes." Michael: "I brought you a Spanish omelet, egg whites only. But you were gone." Fi: "My favorite. Maybe next time, I'll have to stay."

Burn Notice 4.03 "Seek and Destroy"

Previously on Burn Notice: Someone tried to blow Michael up, much to his annoyance. Carla hires Michael to find out who was trying to kill him, which happens to be what he was doing anyway. It's so nice when management and employees are working towards the same goals! Except, you know, Michael really just wants to make friends with whoever is screwing up Carla's plans.

Welcome to "Hot Spot", which I assume is a reference to anywhere in the near vicinity of one of the leads of Burn Notice. Hi everyone, I'm Ms. Gwennie Pennie, filling in for Katie Scarlett as she recovers from a sinus infection. We open on Michael and Fiona arguing. Fiona is happy to help Michael get revenge, but not to be Carla's errand boy. "Revenge is a waste of time," says Michael. "So is watching TV and eating candy, but you do it because it feels good," retorts Fiona. Point to Fi! Michael promises to knock whoever tried blow him up around a little for good measure when he finds him, and momentarily appeases Fi's bloodlust. Fi points out that the storage facility that they're standing in front of has security cameras that might have caught the bomber going to and from the loft, and she got the name of the service rep who installed the security system as well as the model number. "You do care," Michael smiles. Well, DUH!

Michael talks his way in with an "upgrade" for the storage facility's security system. By "upgrade" he means a new unit so he can steal the old one, of course. Blondie, the office manager, is wary. Maybe it's because Michael's southern fried accent is more suspect than day old KFC. Blondie calls the security company about the unexpected upgrade, and hands the phone off to Michael, who has a completely different conversation than Ron, the security manager. Michael hangs up on Ron as Ron screams about calling the police, hands the phone back to Blondie and says, "Well, somebody's in trouble! But it ain't me." Clever Michael thought he might need to buy some time, so he already had his computer ready to call all the storage facility's phone numbers at once. The cacophony of ringing phones and Ron's slow call back to Blondie give Michael just enough time to dash out the door to Fiona, waiting with the Saab.

Back at the loft, Fiona's learning her fortune after some Chinese takeout. "The one you love is closer than you think," she reads aloud, then gazes meltingly at Michael. Michael is impervious to Fi's ample charms when there's exciting surveillance footage to watch though, and doesn't so much as glance at her. "What's yours say?" Fiona wonders, grabs Michael's fortune cookie and smashes it into a zillion pieces. Fiona Glenanne - No Demolition is Too Small. "The one who burned you is closer than you think." "What, what?" Michael sputters. He realizes she's just seeking attention and is unamused. But he's not totally annoyed because he's thinks he's spotted the man who tried to kill him in the security footage!

Sam and Michael are having drinks at the Cafe Carlito. Sam is unimpressed with the  bomber. So am I, Sam. He's wearing a City of Miami Department of Public Works uniform and is kind of mangy looking, which just goes to show not all uniforms are created equal - but more on that later. Anyway, Sam has a great idea for a way for Michael to unwind - football! He has a friend with seats on the 50 yard line three rows up who has a problem. "When is the last time you did something regular people do?", Sam wonders, "Don't be afraid, I'll be right there with you." Michael looks skeptical, to put it mildly, but agree to meet Sam's friend (and former Dolphins player) at 2.

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL??? Oh wait, that's Sunday. Michael and Sam meet with Sean Martin (played by former Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin), who coaches for 1st and Goal, which seems to be some sort of at-risk/future superstar football team. He isn't the one with the problem, it's his player, Corey Jensen. Corey is a good kid but got in a fight with a local gangster who now wants Corey dead. Corey and his sister are holed up at Coach Martin's house, and Michael and Sam agree to go pick them up and get the scoop.

But guess who's befouling the Charger? Mike's Burn Notice Lady, aka Carla, aka Jib Jab to me and a friend who think that whenever Tricia Helfer talks her jaw does this weird thing just like in those Jib Jab cartoons. Seriously, who shows all their bottom row of teeth when they talk? It's just weird! Tall, Blond and Evil wants Michael to come with her for a little chit chat. Michael willingly hands off the keys to Sam and heads off.

We cut to Carla cutting off Michael's cable tie handcuffs, then removing the bag from his head. "Don't I get tied to the chair? Don't go soft on me now, girl," Michael deadpans. Oh, Michael! Don't give me any ideas. Carla, however, lacks my imagination and wants a casual meeting to discuss Michael's progress on the investigation. He learns that the bomb residue was the same as on the other operatives (plural) who were attacked. Carla won't share names though, and Michael complains, "I thought you weren't going to tie my hands." "I've seen your work. And you're just fine with your hands tied," Carla replies. Mreow, mreow! Oh, and if you need to tinkle, Michael, you're going to have to hold it or be shot. That'll make you pee shy.

Sam is just getting ready to pick up pizza for the gang at the loft when Michael returns with nothing worse than a few paper cuts. Michael gloats that Carla is a step behind him on intel, but his cheer is tempered by the news that Fi is "fired up" about their new case. Michael's new fortune: "When the tiny ex-IRA agent is angry, thing go boom."

Meet Corey and Tanya. Tanya got a ride from local gangster Felix Cole, who promptly attacked her. The fifteen-year-old managed to fight him off and escape, but her brother was understandably pissed and went after Felix with a baseball bat. Corey tries to explain but Fi cuts him off, "No explanation necessary. Use a golf club next time. Greater force to a smaller area." Corey takes this advice with a side of "Holy shit, who is this lady?" But now they're trying to kill Corey and they have nowhere to go. Fiona says it's fine, they'll take care of it, but Michael asks Corey and Tanya to excuse them for a moment. He then asks Fiona out onto the balcony in the tone reserved for hostage negotiators dealing with a particularly dicey situation. They head out and Fiona shoots down all of Michael's reasonable solutions, but Michael doesn't score any points when he says she's letting her emotions get the better of her. Oh, kind of like YOU did last week Mike? He's smart enough to play along.

Michael, Fiona, and Corey scope out Felix's hangout in the Charger. Felix heads up the 24K crew. The title cards helpfully point out: "Felix Cole - Gangster", but Fiona's not having it. "He doesn't deserve to be called a gangster. Anyone who attacks a fifteen year old is a pervert", she sneers. The title cards are also smart enough to play along with Fiona and regroup: "Felix Cole - Pervert." We also meet Tony Soto, the boss, learn the whole 24K crew are trying to kill Corey, and that any car that gets boosted from here to midtown is Felix's guys. Corey thinks it's hopeless, but Fiona has that homicidal gleam in her eye. It's so bright I can see it through her sunglasses.

Fiona, Sam and Michael regroup in the loft. Sam thought they would just be finding a lost dog or something. "You're going to have to work a little harder than you're used to," Fi chides. "I work plenty hard, lady, I just make it look easy," Sam retorts. He's not making pickle spearing look very easy though, as he and Michael prod at them in a jar with forks. Pickles and yogurt in the fridge, Michael? Will there be a little Westen bundle of joy in 9 months? Michael wonders how they're going to play this, and Fi's answers is of course head on. Corey and Tanya are going to need a safer place to stay, which of course means. . .

A trip to Madeline's! Madeline is delighted for the company and guilt trips Michael that if he didn't bring people over, she'd never see him. She thanks him for springing Nate out of jail and having his arrest expunged. Michael explains that it was done for him, and oh, by the way, it was the same people who had him arrested in the first place. "Sometimes I forget how complicated your life is," Madeline understates.

"There's a reason armies wear uniforms," Michael voice-overs. "Uniforms suggest organization, power and numbers." You forgot HOTNESS! Take a lesson, bomber! Michael, Fiona and Sam are all getting dressed in black suits, white shirts and black shades. The guys deck themselves out with a little extra bling, and we learn Fi has a tramp stamp. The fact that she has an ass you could bounce a quarter off of was already well known. The trio head out in the Charger and meet up with Felix in his red GTO at a stop sign. "Nice car," Michael calls out. "It's too bad, really." "What's too bad?" Felix replies. That they're going to throw a pepper grenade in it, shoot out all the tires, and melt the engine block with a coffee can filled with Thermite and a burning fuse. Aw, I already saw that Thermite thing on Mythbusters! "It's time for you to leave Miami," Michael orders.

Michael catches Corey up on their progress and gets the low down on Felix's top three boosters. Madeline is happily feeding Corey the contents of her pantry, including some oysters from when Michael was a baby. Tanya, who isn't as big on aging soda crackers as her brother, wants to go home, but Michael says it's not safe. He also checks to see if they have any other family in the area Felix could target, but sine their mom died, it's just the two of them. Coach Martin looks after them when they need it, so Sam is dispatched to warn him to lay low.

Michael and Fiona are flirting and building a shape charge to break into Felix's HQ through the fire exit. Michael is fumbling with the det cord and Fiona purrs, "Let me do that. I have a more delicate touch." She also made some progress finding the bomber. There's a chance he works for ASA Dismantling, who contracts to do the city's demolition work. She promises to look into it, then finishes up the bomb. "It's beautiful," she says, looking it it fondly. "Yeah, beautiful," Michael replies fondly as well, but he's not looking at the shape charge!

The trio are decked out in their uniforms staking out Felix. Felix is inside ranting to his crew about their inability to find out who these people are. That was a sweet ride, dude - I get why you're pissed. Maybe they should have just strapped the can of Thermite to you and spared the car. Oops, a little of my inner Fiona slipped out there, sorry! The gang is about to rid Felix of his lack of knowledge by blowing in the door. Sam steps in with the shotgun and lines the crew up on the back wall. "Who the hell are you people?" Felix growls. "Name's Johnny," Michael replies. He blithely informs Felix he has 48 hours to get out of Miami or they will make his travel arrangements for him. Felix huffs and puffs, but Fiona is the one who blows his house down when she lights the vodka she's dumped all over the bar on fire.

Michael and Fi head back to the loft. "Did you see the shopping list your mother gave Sam? Corey is eating his own body weight in cereal every day," Fiona says. Guess the pantry is cleared out! The reminisce about how they met and we learn Michael's cover in Dublin was "Michael McBride." We also learn his Irish accent is much more appealing than that southern fried one. Fi wonders where he went, and Michael says, "You know how it is with cover IDs. You become who you need to be." "And everyone gets to guess who you really are," Fi replies quietly. She leaves for a meeting at ASA Dismantling, feeling blue and wondering who the real Michael Westen is. Michael sits on the bed, looking after her and wondering why those two crazy kids can't just make it work. I might be projecting a little bit there.

Cut to Fiona strutting through a warehouse filled with guys welding. She's wearing a tiny (even by Fiona standards), skin-tight tube dress, sexy hair and smoky eyes. "Nina Roberts, GreenRow Publishing, we spoke on the phone yesterday," she says to a hunk in a hard hat. "Oh right, you sell the calendars," he replies, removing his hard hat to show off his own sexy hair. "No, darling, I make the calendars. Theme calendars," she says, showing off a Firefighters one. The men of demolition are next because, "Nothing turns a woman on more than when something goes boom," she flirts, tossing her hair over her shoulder. You said it, girl. Mr. January (mini spoiler!) just needs to give her names and photo of all the guys, but not to fill them in on what he's doing, so as to spare the homely's feelings. "What are you looking for?" Mr. January wonders. "Depends. But I think I'm looking at Mr. January right here," she breathily responds and leaves him wanting more.

Michael, in uniform, sits in the Charger in a parking garage, watching one of Felix's top guys try to steal what looks like a Camry.  "Lose your keys?  I can give you a ride," Michael calls out, getting the thief's attention.  The thief tries to land a punch but Michael drops him like a sack of potatoes after smashing his head into the side of the car then sending a spin kick to his head for good measure.  Michael's only injury is his sunglasses have slipped ever so slightly down his nose.  He pushes them up while looking down at his unworthy opponent.

Split screen to Sam in Corey's SUV, hanging out at the marina.  Sam is in uniform as well, and has another henchman in his sights.  Literally in his sights, since he shoots the guy with a bean bag round.  He does no permanent damage but assures the thug, "The temporary damage hurts like hell.  Did I forget to mention that?"  Oops!  Silly Sam!

Cut to a black Corvette being passed by a black Saab.  Could it be our favorite former IRA agent?  Of course!  Fiona, uniform clad, cuts the Corvette thug off.  She hops out and offers to exchange insurance information with him, but decides it would be a better idea if he got in her trunk and put on the lovely cable tie handcuffs she's holding.  They're in the hand without the gun.

"There's an element of theatre in any offensive campaign," Michael VOs.  "It's not just about bullets and bodies - killing people usually creates more problems than it solves.  It's about undermining your enemy's will to fight, destroying the morale of his troops, sending the message that fighting back is useless because the battle is already lost."  Michael, Fi and Sam have left Felix a care package - his three lieutenants, bound and gagged in front of his hangout.  They're also hanging out across the street in their spiffy threads.  Have I mentioned how the uniform is rockin'?  Michael gives Felix a call and says the guys are a going away present for him.  Felix gets even more pissed and pulls out his piece.  "I'm good to go,"  Michael assures him, pulling aside his jacket to show he's packing as well, while Fiona readies her weapon, "but do you really want to do this in front of all these people in broad daylight?"  He sounds a little bored.  Even Felix isn't that stupid, but he makes with the threats, "You just wait, Johnny boy."  "Oh, I'll wait.  I'll wait 23 hours and 14 minutes," is Michael's cool reply.    Felix huffs off while Michael smirks.  His phone rings and surprisingly it's neither Madeline or Carla but Tony Soto, Felix's boss.  He wants to talk to Michael in person and has thoughtfully sent a car to pick him up.   Tony agrees to leave two of his guys to keep Fi and Sam company while he and Michael meet, so Michael hops into the car.

Smoky club.  Haven't they banned that in Miami like everywhere else?  Everyone seems to have cigars, so maybe there are different rules.  Tony is holding court at a big corner table and is pleased to make Johnny's acquaintance.  "You got style Johnny.  You're aggressive.  I like that."  Get in line, dude.  Tony and Johnny (Michael) work out a deal that Felix will go bye bye if Johnny and his crew can make a Maserati untraceable.

Michael and Sam have switched back into their civvies and are taking the Maserati to Madeline's garage to work on.  They do a montage of changing VIN tags, stealing info from an out of state Maserati to create clean paperwork, and using hydrochloric acid to burn the VIN off the chassis of the car.  Once the car is cleaned and cloned, Sam offers to drive it around South Beach, "just to make sure it drives OK" -  aka have fun tooling around in a $150,000 car.  Michael tells him to knock himself out - he has a meeting with Carla.

Cut to Carla sliding into the backseat of an SUV.  "Hello, Michael."  Sorry, Michael, I didn't recognize you with that black bag over your head.  She clips his cable tie handcuffs once again and he yanks the bag off his head.  "Do we have to go all the way to your office, or can we just do this here?,"  Michael says.  His annoyance with Carla seems to be pretty high.  Maybe he'd rather be tooling around South Beach with Sam.  Scratch that, knowing Michael he'd probably rather be watching riveting footage from a storage place's security camera.  Carla has his list of names of European demolition experts and notes that his ex-girlfriend is on there, but Michael is sure they can rule her out.  Carla needles him that Fiona had the expertise and the access.  Ooh, I think someone is jealous!  Michael says with all those names he's going to need some time, and Carla grants his two days.  48 hours seems to be the running time limit in Miami.  She tells the driver to pull over and leaves Michael to walk back to the loft.  I guess Carla's never heard the saying you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.  We do get a nice shot of Michael in his black t-shirt, slipping on the Oliver Peoples, so I won't hold it against her.

We pop over to Madeline's house for quick check in on Corey and Tanya.  They're checking out the old Westen family Christmas photo.  Aww, look there's Mr. Abusive Dad looking grim, Madeline looking a little like Sam's lady friend from season one (I guess we know where Michael got his good looks), Nate with a dopey grin on his face, and young Michael with his arm protectively over Nate's shoulder and sporting a major shiner.  Corey and Tanya are sad they don't have any family photos like that, but that quickly fades when they learn Michael's shiner was because he got in a fight with his dad to protect Nate, and the photo was taken because Madeline threatened to dump the whole Christmas dinner in the trash unless everyone shut up and took the picture.  Ah, family memories.

Cut to Fi back at ASA Dismantling.  Mr.  January has put together the requested information, and will be waiting for her call.  Don't hold your breath, buddy.  Fiona checks the file while she heads back to the Saab, and look who we have here!  The bomber is Derek Poole and he works part time for ASA.  She calls Michael and fills him in as he and Sam suit up as Johnny's crew.   There's a knock a the door.  Michael and Sam pull out the guns as Sam gruffly calls out, "Who's there?"  It's Coach Martin, sporting a bloody lip.  Guess he didn't keep his head down after all.

Coach Martin got jumped by Felix and his boys.  Felix wants a meeting with Corey or he's going to go after the rest of Coach's players, but Felix just wants to talk to him.  "No, he's going to kill him.  He probably will kill you both,"  Michael evenly states.  Should they call the police?  Of course not!  Michael tells Coach to call Felix and set up the meeting.

Michael and Sam have changed again.  Geez, those guys are clotheshorses.  They're at the Cafe Carlito and it turns out the spot where Felix wants to meet  Corey is the perfect spot for an ambush.  Felix is a one trick pony and pulled a similar stunt a few years ago.  Unlike most people, Michael is pleased with the prospect of being gunned down in an alley.

Back at the loft, Michael and Sam transform Corey's SUV into a bulletproof vehicle.  Who knew that all those crappy phone books that no one needs anymore (thanks, internet!) are actually really useful?  Stuff them in the door panels of your car and a non-armor piercing bullet will only penetrate to the depth of a quarter inch.  Foam sealant will keep your tires rolling, but there's no cheap alternative to bullet proof glass.  Are you sure, show?  I thought I saw some at Ikea. . .

Johnny (Michael) is meeting with Tony, who's impressed with his work on the Maserati.  I think Tony is a fangirl, y'all.  He wants to check out Johnny's operation, so they head off in Corey's SUV.  "I figured you for a nicer ride,"  Tony says.  "We don't like to take anything flashy to our location,"  Johnny replies.  "We can't afford to attract attention," Fiona adds.  "Now about Felix," Johnny goes on.  "Don't worry about him.  This checks out, I'll take care of Felix," Tony assures him.  Especially when Felix, who's been camped out waiting to see Corey's car drive by spots them, takes off after them, blocks them in an alley and shoots up the SUV.  That would make me cranky too.  Michael throws it in reverse and gets them the hell out of there while Felix realizes the error of not having a plan B.

Some random warehouse area.  Johnny (Michael), Fiona, Tony and his deputy exit Corey's now bullet ridden SUV.  Sorry about the car, Corey!  Only the Charger is indestructible on this show.  Johnny suggests Tony has some housecleaning to do, and says they're leaving Miami until things chill out.  Tony assures him he'll take care of it.  Sam pulls up in the Charger behind Michael and Fi, and they're off.  Michael shoots a little smile and a "You the man!" hand gesture at Tony as they head off.  He's so cheeky!

Coach Martin, Michael and Sam exposit that Felix and his crew have left town as they walk the football field.  Coach Martin hands over three tickets since he heard a lady was doing most of the work.  Isn't that always the way?  Corey wanted to say thanks, and tosses a football to Michael as a hello.  Nice catch, Michael.  Let's just watch that again to see if I missed any details.  That gray v-neck is nice.  I miss the uniforms, but fewer layers are good too.  Tanya is also there, and tells them to be sure to thank Fiona too.  Speaking of Fi, she calls Michael to let him know she's found the bomber's house.  Michael says he's on his way and tells her to wait, but she's tempted by the fact it looks like it's been empty awhile.  "Take it easy and be careful," says Michael.  That'll happen.

Fiona and her fabulous ass cross the street to an older bungalow type house behind a chain link fence.  After a quick pick of the lock, she's inside.  When Michael starts VOing about the placement of booby traps, we know Fi's in trouble.  She trips a contact plate under the rug, and the walls burst into flame courtesy of the accelerant the bomber soaked them with.  Fi cringes against a not yet burning wall and bares her teeth.

Michael arrives at the bomber's house while frantically leaving Fi a voicemail.  The fire department is there trying to douse the flames. Michael ducks the caution tape and stalks up towards the building.  "Hey, you can't be here," a fireman shouts, grabbing Michael and moving him back towards the tape line.  "Is anyone in there?  Did you find anyone in there?  Is there a woman in there?!  I just need to know if someone was in there!  Did you see a woman come out?  Did anyone see anything?!" Michael shouts, getting more and more frantic.  The firemen manage to push him back towards the tape.  Michael stands a moment, looked totally panicked, then turns back towards the Charger.  Grabbing his cell, he calls Fi again.  "It's Fi, leave a message." "Fi, Fi, pick up the phone!  Call me if you get this!  I need to know where you are!" he shouts as he drives off.

Shots of the Miami skyline going from day to night.  There's a shot of the Greenberg Traurig building.  I've been told "traurig" means sad in German, which is a nice subtle clue as to how Michael is feeling.  We see him pull up at the loft in the Charger, and he climbs out into the pouring rain.  His shirt is already wet, so it's my assumption he's been out looking for Fi for hours.  He calls her cell, yet again heading straight to voicemail.  He hangs up and heads up the stairs looking shell shocked, opens the door and fumbles with the key while the lightning and thunder crash in the background.  He pauses, pushing against the closed door, at a total loss.  "There you are," Fiona calls out from the background.  "You've got to get a landline in here."  She starts babbling about the bomber's place while Michael heads toward her.  He looks like a man lost in the desert who just spotted an oasis.  Fi continues to babble that her cell phone bit it in the fire, but finally stops when Michael reaches her.  She looks up at him wonderingly, "Michael, you didn't think that. . .", she trails off, as he begins to gently stroke her hair.  The look on his face says, yes, yes he did think that, and to see his beautiful Fiona, here, safe and sound, is even better than watching hours of security footage.  He gently cradles her face in his hands, and they rest their foreheads together for a moment before sinking into some steamy kisses while Fiona wraps her arms around Michael's dripping form.  From the rain, people!  Get out of the gutter.

It's the next morning and Michael is trying to creep into the loft with breakfast and coffee as a surprise for Fi, but the surprise is on him when Carla is there waiting.  She knows Fi stayed the night, but Fi left before Carla got there.  I can't imagine the two met because then we'd be finding Carla's dead body instead.  My money is totally on Fi in a battle between those two.  Anyway, Michael is all too happy to tell Carla that her little list of European bombers was a bust.  Carla makes with the threats and says there are those who think Michael is more trouble than he's worth.  "What do you think is going to happen to you if you don't deliver?"  she growls.  "Same thing that would happen to you, I suppose," is Michael's even reply.  Looks like your dog is off the leash, Carla!  Take that!  She tries to be menacing by making veiled threats on his life, but he looks more annoyed than anything.  She takes off and he calls Fi, again getting her voicemail.  It's sweet, and nice to see Michael getting a taste of his own inaccessibility, but it doesn't really make sense.  How would she have gotten a replacement cell phone in the time it took him to get breakfast?  Give me more rain soaked kissing scenes and I'll let it slide, show.

And that's a wrap!  Tune in next week for more, and start stockpiling those old phone books, just in case.

Burn Notice 2.11 "Hot Spot" Recap

Hey Folks.  My name is Katie Scarlett and I will be your Burn Notice recapper.  Let's get a few things out of the way right at the beginning.

1.  Michael Westen/Jeffrey Donovan is a beautiful man.  He has a great voice, mesmerizing blue eyes, arms to die for  and I've been assured by folks in the know that he smells good as well.  There are times when this is hard to ignore.  I'm not going to try.

2.  I like Gabrielle Anwar and Fiona.  I liked Gabrielle in Scent of a Woman and in the delightfully cheesy Three Musketeers.  Fiona makes me laugh and I like, that for the most part , she isn't whiny and she frequently makes herself useful in a fight.  She's a crack shot and can defend herself.  In the case of a fight she won't standaround holding a vase while the men play grab ass.

3.  There will be no talk of Fioael or Michona.  Mash ups are stupid.  I firmly believe that when Michael and Fiona retire from the spy business they will be together.  I believe they are an OTP.  I don't even mind seeing a little of it each week, but I never want to see a whole show about it and I'm not going to search for it in every episode.

4.  Bruce Campbell is the awesomest of awesomes.

Last Time on Burn Notice:  Michael was a spy and, for reasons unknown to him, was burned.  This is spy talk for being fired.  After Michael was burned he returned to Miami ,where he grew up with an absent father, Madeline, his dramatic mother (played by the glorious Sharon Gless) and a ne'er do well younger brother named Nate.  Along for the ride is Fiona, Michael's gun running ex, and Sam, a retired spy who loves alcohol and women.  Michael has set up shop in an apartment above a nightclub.  He owns a mattress which sits on the floor, a refrigerator stocked with yogurt and a spoon.  He drives a kick ass Dodge Charger.  He helps people by using his Super Secret Spy Stuff and he is actively trying to figure out why he was burned and who burned him.  He's getting closer to finding out the truth by working for a secretive woman named Carla who is pulling LOTS of strings and is generally making Michael's life hard.

When we last left Mike, his brother had been jailed, his contact, Carla, was trying to organize a hit and the front door of his apartment had been wired with explosives.  Michael found this out after he opened the door and.....

"When you're a spy you learn to live with the idea of people wanting you dead.  An old enemy, a dissatisfied employer, a disgruntled asset.  You work long enough, the line to kill you gets pretty long.  Still, getting blown up is really something you  never get used to."  During this voice over we see Michael on the ground, looking pretty good for someone who was blown up.  Sam is calling to him and as Michael struggles to bring the world back into focus, Sam tells him to relax, that he took a "pretty bad fall, no make that a very bad fall."  I should point out that at this point, Michael's sunglasses are sitting haphazardly across his face and it makes me laugh.  I lost an earring yesterday and all I did was go to Provinos with my family.  Michael gets blown up, falls off of a balcony, bounces off the roof of his car and lands flat out on his back on the concrete and his sunglasses are just a little off kilter.  Spies are so cool.

Sam gets Michael up and helps him to his car.  Aside from some ugly looking scorch marks, the only apparent injury is Michael's left arm.  Sam notices that they are being watched and the car chase begins. Being the AWESOME spy that he is, Sam out manouvers the bad guys.  In the process, he destroys his own car.  This is a bummer for him, cause his girlfriend gave him the car and he's taken pretty good care of it.  After grieving for the car for about 10 seconds,  Sam and Micheal abandon the car and take off down the streets of Miami.  We get a voice over about how being a hunted spy makes you hyper aware, and I'm not sure that's true, cause at this point Michael starts to sway and I think he might be seeing everything in doubles. Sam suggests a hospital, but Michael waves that off.  Silly Sam, your Mikey is too cool for a hospital!  It's at this point that Mike becomes aware of a man walking into the middle of the street and takes off after him.  Michael recognizes that this man is at the end of this rope and is trying to commit suicide. Michael rescues him and already I feel for the guy,  he just looks so sad.

Mike and Kenny sit on the curb and Kenny reveals that he was trying to off himself because his son, Jack, needs the money.  Sam reminds Michael that people are trying to kill him and maybe sitting on a curb in the middle of Miami isn't smart.  Michael asks Kenny if he will be OK, and Kenny, who is doing a poor job of holding back his sobs, nods yes. Since no one believes him, we end up back at Kenny's with Sam outside guarding the place and Michael and Kenny inside.

Michael asks Kenny to tell him his story and Kenny reveals that his 6 year old son, Jack, has a heart problem. It's getting worse and Jack's condition may be fatal.  The suicide attempt was to get insurance money for a procedure since Kenny was conned by some people who sold him fake drugs with the promise that it would help Jack.  Not only did Kenny lose all his money, but Jack actually got worse.  Kenny can't afford the surgery Jack needs.  Michael tells us that the first rule of Spy School is not to get emotionally involved.  He tuns and looks at young Jack who is coloring a picture, and decides to get involved. He instructs Kenny to tell him everything about the people who conned him and that Michael will get his money back. "By any means necessary."  Couple of things, first of all, those people should rot in Hell (Dean Winchester could help with the punishment.) and the little boy playing Jack is the 2nd cutest Jack in the world.  The first one has my heart tucked safely away in his race car bed in Indiana.

Michael and Sam leave Kenny and walk down the street.  Sam takes this opportunity to remind Michael of all the things that are not going great for him: almost blown up, brother in jail, people following him.  He doesn't need to get wrapped up in someone else's problems.  Finally, Michael snaps.  "I'm running on fumes, Sam.  This is all I got.  I can help this guy."  Sam doesn't look happy, but agrees to help.  A car comes screeching around the corner down the alley toward our boys and almost instantly Micheal goes from weary to furious.  He picks up a rock and when the car stops, he breaks the driver's side window and asks to be let in.  He gets  into the back of the car (insulting the driver along the way) and ends up in a room tied to chair with a bag over his head.  The bag is removed and we see Carla, her 2 goons and some Cheetos.

Carla demands to know what game Michael is playing and Michael reminds her that he didn't try to blow himself up. Carla looks unconvinced and angry and possibly a little scared.  After a bit of arguing, Michael yells that he wants his brother out of jail and that he wants answers.  His voice quiets and cracks a little as he tells Carla that he "wants his life back".  You can see that he is barely holding it together and this is a different Michael than we've seen.  He is angry and not entirely in control.  Carla orders him to be taken out of her office. I think that Jeffrey Donovan does seething anger better than any other actor out there--Christian Kane is a close second--but with this scene, Donovan takes us past that and we are beginning to see some holes in the armor.  I don't mind that, but I swear, I never want to have to write about Michael crying.

Michael and Fiona inspect the damage to his apartment.  Michael is wearing a sling.  Slings are not comfortable.  When I popped my shoulder out of socket and had to wear one, I hated it.  It caused me more problems than it was worth.  Michael looks like he shares my sentiment as he keeps fidgeting with it.  He asks Fiona to determine the chemicals used in the bomb. Fiona tells him that she admires his work ethic, but that he could take a day off to recover from almost dying.  Michael shuts her down and walks away, asking Sam for info about Kenny's case.  Sam tells him that the scammers have a source in a medical clinic in Coral Gables.  They decide to pull a con of their own.

Sam and Fiona head to the clinic where Sam makes a scene about being in pain from liver disease.  He waves around a wad of cash and the receptionist tells him that they will try to fit him in.  He sits in the waiting room where Fiona approaches him and tells him she might have something that will help.  A nosy clinic worker keeps looking in their direction.

As Fiona and Sam head outside, Michael voice overs that "medical scammers, like pimps, crack dealers and feral dogs" have to protect their territory, and that they often need muscle to help protect said territory. Fiona and Sam finish their "deal" and we are introduced to Todd, the Enforcer.  He tells Fiona to scram and shows her his gun.  Fiona doesn't look scared.  Micheal walks up, pretends like he is making nice and wants a piece of the Medical Scamming action. (He has adopted a funny accent which, by Southern standards would simply be categorized as Yankee.  If someone can be more specific, let me know.)  He offers Todd a hand shake and when Todd makes a move, Michael grabs his head and smashes it into his knee, shoves him in the trunk and takes his gun away.  Todd is a pretty useless enforcer.

Michael and Sam take Todd (who is in a large trashcan) into an abandoned commercial building.  Michael tells us it's the perfect cover since people can come and go all day and the floors are sound proof.  Michael and Sam do some remodeling.  The attach these long metal bars across the walls so that Todd can't just break through the plaster and they cover the windows so he can't open them.  They turn the trash can over and Todd comes tumbling out.

Back at Kenny's, Michael tells him to go ahead and schedule the surgery and make his reservations for the trip.  Kenny looks skeptical but Michael reassures him and even offers up some babysitting so that Kenny and can get started.  Michael takes Jack back to his mother's house. Mom wants to know why he is wasting time on this when Nate is still in jail, but Michael assures her it is being handled. Madeline reluctantly walks into the den to join Jack and Fiona.  She tells him that she has some toys he can play with and they leave to go find them. Fiona asks why she has to stay and Michael tells her that he doesn't want the house blown up.  Fiona tells him that she was supposed to go meet Campbell (her paramedic bf).  Michael asks her sweetly to stay and she agrees, but not before giving Mike a dirty look.  At this point Donovan looks right at the camera with widened eyes.  Not sure why, but it made me laugh.

Sam tortures Todd for information.  The torture comes in the form of cutting his own thumb and allowing the blood to drip on Todd's bald head and running down into his face.  It's gross.  At this point, Todd gives up some info about one of the Head Scammers In Charge and Sam locks him back in the room.  Sam also puts his bloodied thumb in his mouth.  I don't get that.  It makes me sick to see it.  Is that a boy thing?  On the phone with Michael, he does remark that he is going to need some band aids.  If he knew he was going to cut himself, why not prepurchase some band aids?  I'm just saying.

Michael is in his apartment doing some stomach crunches.  He is all sweaty and he is wearing a grey tank top.  His arms are perfection.  Seriously, it's really hard to recap this scene.  He looks good.  He's gotten rid of the sling and is just kinda holding his arm across his body.  He calls Kenny to arrange a recon mission.  The grey tank top needs to be permanent.  He's in Miami for goodness sakes.  What is it about Hot Boys on TV covering themselves in multiple layers?  Annoying.

Michael and Kenny sit in the Charger looking for a member of the Scammer Club.  Michael reiterates that Kenny is to "tell me" when you see him.  Anyone who has ever watched TV, read a book, or taken a breath, knows what is about to happen.  Kenny sees the "doctor" from the scam and jumps from the car to chase after him. Michael chases after them and after allowing Kenny to get in a few satisfying punches, Michael sends him back to car and Philip, the fake doctor, gets the Todd treatment.  Phillip and Todd talk for a bit with Sam secretly listening in and we discover that although they may be scared of Sam and Michael, they are more scared of "that bitch and what she will do."  Sam perks up at this as a new player has entered the game.

Sam and Michael play the "Who Talks First" game with Todd and Phillip.  Todd and Phillip are not keen on this game.  Both are tied to a chair and blindfolded.  Neither is willing to give up the name of the Big Boss, so Sam pushes Todd out of the window.  However, Michael tells us that death is not necessary, only the screams.  Todd's chair has been wired to only drop a floor and Michael pulls Todd back inside.  Phillip gives up the boss lady as Rachel. Sam encourages Phillip to call and set up a meeting for them with Rachel.

Michael, Sam and Kenny are eating lunch while Sam explains the plan to Kenny.  Michael gets a phone call from Carla requesting a sit down and off he goes. He ends up in the same room as before, tied to the same chair with the same bag over his head.  Carla tells him that the Organization has a new job for him--find out who tried to kill him. Like he wasn't going to do that anyway.  Michael says that he will, but he wants his brother out of jail.  Carla says it will happen on Thursday.  She wishes Mike well, patronizes him a little and off she goes.

Back at Madeline's, Fiona and Jack sit down to play army men. Fiona hilariously describes in detail the weapons of the army men.  Jack looks amused.

Michael and Fiona show up at a pool.  Fiona has on a beautiful white bikini and I can't believe that Gabrielle Anwar has had 3 children.  Michael has on a black Speedo.  I don't think there have been words invented in the human language that could describe this beautiful site.   He looks smoking hot.  They hop into a hot tub with Rachel, who is played by an actress that I know from a brief stint on All My Children. They agree to go into business together.

After lunch, Fiona gets Rachel alone and starts quizzing her about her "marks".  Rachel admits that it is more of an older crowd, but when they do con a parent, it's great.  She can get more money and use it to pay for her house on Keystone Island.  The parents cry and hug you cause they think you've saved their child.  Again--special place in Hell for people like that.  I know the show is fictional, but you know people like that exist. Fiona is as irritated as I am and punches Rachel in the face.  They fight and Rachel gets away.

Back at Michael's, Fiona apologizes and Michael tells her not to worry about it.  That he wants her to go back to Madeline's and protect Jack.  Michael asks Sam if he's had any luck finding Rachel but Sam has no news.  Mike gets pretty angry and decides that there is only one thing left to do.  He's got to borrow the money from Carla.  Sam is pretty set against this plan, as this will put Michael under Carla's control.  Michael's done and so is Sam.  The two square off and the fists start flying.  It's clear that Michael is going to be the ultimate winner, but Sam takes the wind out of his sails. Blocking the door, Sam says, "You can hit me all you want, but I'm going to stand here until you get your head back into the game."  The fight goes out of Michael and he walks away, holding that sore left arm.  If he would stop punching people with it, it might heal faster.  I'm just saying!

Fiona, Sam and Michael meet to discuss how to find Rachel.  The only clue is the house on Keystone Island. Michael comes up with a plan and it involves Fi's boyfriend's ambulance.  Fiona doesn't look happy about this, but she agrees to ask Campbell for help.

Michael and Sam hook up a cell phone to a computer.  They are going to try get Rachel's location using a computer program that can pinpoint sound. We are reintroduced to Campbell who is labeled as "Fiona's Boyfriend."  Campbell tells her that they are done, as Michael will always come first for Fiona.  Fiona tries to refute, but her phone rings and it's Michael.  Campbell tells her to answer it, as they are finished anyway.  Campbell's graphic changes from boyfriend to ex-boyfriend.  No big loss.

We are back with T0dd and Philip who have been reunited.  They are tied up sitting back to back on the floor.  Mike calls Rachel and tells her that they have a new offer. If she gives them $250,000 and leaves town, they won't kill her.  Michael reveals that the siren that Rachel hears is on it's way to give aid to Todd and Phillip. Mike holds the phone away from his ear while  Todd and Phillip yell for help. Michael fires 2 shots into the floor and then boys get quiet again.  Rachel hears the siren and pauses for a bit, but ultimately turns Michael down.  No matter though, cause Sam's and Michael's Spy School Stuff has paid off and they know where to find Rachel.

Rachel is trying to hightail it out of town when Michael and Fiona show up.  They convince her that she is a dead woman.  They are taking over her operation. The only way she can stay alive is to go to jail, otherwise "they can't take the chance." After some finageling, Rachel tells them where she has $500,000 hidden and she calls the police to confess. Michael shoots a ring of bullets around her head as a warning and a reminder to make her confession good.  She looks pretty scared.

Michael gives all of the money to Kenny and tells him to use the left over money to start a college fund for Jack.  Kenny enquires about the Scammers.  Rachel confessed and Phillip and Todd were found hog tied behind a police station.  Michael goes to leave when Kenny asks him to thank Fiona as well.  It seems she made quite the impression on Jack.  He drew her a picture.  It's  Fiona and Michael. Michael is wearing his sunglasses and they are holding hands.  Michael thanks him and leaves.

It's daytime and Fiona is nursing a drink andmourning for Campbell.  Michael tells her that she will findanother boyfriend.  Michael is a little smirky as Fiona starts listing Campbell's qualities: sweet and cute and had other impressive qualities.  The smirk fades a little from Michael's face. Michael apologizes and Fiona finally looks at him.  She questions him about his apology and he tells her that he wants her to be happy. They share a sweet half smile, before Fiona looks away andpulls something out of her bag.  The explosives at Michael's were professionally set, but after they were set, the front door had to stay closed.  If the Bad Guy went out the balcony he may have been caught on the security cameras from local businesses. Fiona asks Michael if he is really going to go after these guys.  Michael says yes, that the "enemy of my enemies may be my friend."  He hands Fiona Jack's picture, kisses her on the cheek and walks away.  Fiona opens the picture and smiles.

Michael gets home to find Carla waiting for him eating some yogurt.  Tricia Helfer plays Carla, and I know that it is humid in Miami, but she really needs a hair cut.  She also needs a bra on with that shirt.  She inquires about the progress he's made finding out who's trying to kill him.  He lies to her and she calls him on it.

We end with this voiceover "When you've spent enough time as an operative, recovering from a brush with death isn't about an appointment with a psychiatrist, or a week in Hawaii. It's about having a purpose. Whether it's something to fight or someone to hunt."

I love this show so much and I am so glad that it is back.  How can you not love a show that preaches that "guns make you stupid and duct tape makes you smart."  Until next week  my fellow spy lovers.

Burn Notice Episode 2.10 "Do No Harm"

If you haven't been watching Burn Notice, then by the end of this article I hope to change that, and at least get you to tune into this show.  The most logical excuse as to why you're missing such a great show is because you missed it when it premiered, and you hate to jump in mid-stream.  But never fear, you see, Burn Notice is really a procedural spy show, not a serial one.  Granted, it definitely mixes the two, with seasonal character and story arcs that build from one episode to the next, however it succeeds where most other shows fail, giving you more procedural and less serial in each episode.  It also makes it extremely easy to do the two season recap I'm about to do for you.

Season 1
So season one was pretty simple.  We got to meet Michael Westin (Jeffrey Donovan), a former spy, or CIA operative for hire (you see its more beneficial for him to be a freelancer hired by the CIA than an actual CIA agent).  During a job he is given a Burn Notice, which is spy-talk that means he's been blacklisted, by unknown forces connected to the U.S. government.  He barely escapes and is dumped in Miami with no money, no identity, and no prospects. He begins to take on odd jobs that utilize his skills as a master spy and expert tactician in a very A-team and Macguyver sort of way.

Michael isn't totally alone, however, and has the help of two old friends, Sam and Fiona to help him on his adventures.  Sam (the fantastic Bruce Campbell) is a former Navy Seal who is living the life of a freeloading beachcomber.  Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar) is a former IRA operative and gun smuggler.  She has access to lots of deadly weapons and loves to use them...a little too much actually.  So Michael, along with his two friends Sam and Fiona, go about helping people, making some money, and trying to figure out just who it was that blacklisted Michael, and why.

Season 2
In season 2, the people who "burned" Michael have essentially made contact with him and have him running special "errands" for them.  If he refuses or causes any trouble, his family and friend's lives are threatened.  About halfway through the first part of the season Michael is convinced that Carla (Tricia Helfer), his handler, is putting together some type of assassination plot.  Michael has helped with this plot by aiding in getting a Dragonov rifle into the city and having a special keycard forged that grants access to a secured office building overlooking Miami Bay.  Michael, naturally, goes about trying to subvert Carla's scheme.

By the final episode of the first half of season two it appears that things have gone terribly wrong.  The would be sniper is blown up and a bomb is planted in Michael's apartment, which he barely escapes, though his wounds are not yet known.  At first site it appeared as though Carla may have gotten the best of Michael, and in an effort to cover her tracks destroyed all traces of the operation.  However, in a recent interview with Matt Nix, the creator of the show, he had this to say about the season 2 story arc.

"The second half of the season is about Michael discovering with Carla that something has indeed gone terribly wrong and that someone is working against them, that someone tried to kill Michael because he was working with them, and now he has a new assignment which is find the person who tried to kill you.  Which puts him into the unusual position of being allied with the people who burned him. Suddenly, what Michael needs to find out, which is who tried to kill him and why, is the same thing that they need to find out. So they are very uneasy allies. So the second half of the season is about Michael's investigation into that and his uneasy relationship with Carla and the people that burned him who want to know the same thing, but Michael doesn't necessarily want to share everything that he knows."

If my brief recap isn't enough, you can watch the entire first season on hulu.com by going here.  The second season is also available, online for free by going here.  You can also catch reruns airing right now on USA Network.  Burn Notice returns with Episode 10, Do No Harm on January 22 at 10 PM.

Burn Notice: Season 2 Recap