TVSquad

it's just further evidence that good, quality shows that take their time, develop their stories, focus on the character, and deliver something that tickles our laughs and cries at just the right moment are far better than throwing money at a show that relies on wowing the crowd with ineffective big-budget effects, quickly thrown-together and overly picked-over scripts, or shows that rely on unscripted, real people doing various wacky or uninteresting things in a reality show format that looks like it was written by a third-grade classroom group project.

Wow, that was the longest sentence I've ever written...

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In reality, there is nothing bad about Burn Notice. It is another in the line of great originals on USA. Monk, Psych, and Royal Pains. Great characters, unusual situations that surround them, and great stories along the way that help develop the whole. I'll give anything a try that comes from USA.

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Love, love, love the show. Definitely the most underrated show on television. Mad Men is my favorite current show, but Burn Notice is second. It's so consistently stellar.

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After that last finale I've been rewatching all the old episodes of Burn Notice. It's just as awesome the second time around! I'm glad this show didn't get picked up by one of the "Big 4" networks, or else it probably would've been canceled, or at least not given the treatment it deserves, like another spy show I know of (*cough* Chuck *cough*).

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I think a big part of USA's recent successes have come from their formula, and it's a good one. They don't have shows with large, ensemble casts. Most of their shows, Royal Pains being the exception, have the main character(s) on screen 95% of the time. (Psych's Shawn and Gus are practically one two-headed character for this analysis.) There is no giant mythology that needs to be learned to make sense of things. Most episodes are self-contained with slow build-ups of bigger storylines. The lead characters are all people you'd want on your side when the chips are down. All of the locations are attractive places you'd like to visit or live.

The big networks seem to have lost sight of the fact that sometimes simpler is better. USA's shows have: No ghosts, no supernatural mysteries dragged out over what seems like a decade. No giant ensembles where it takes weeks just to learn characters' names. No gimmicks like bionics or talking cars. No supercops solving every case with forensic science that would normally take weeks or longer to get evidence processed.

My only question is how is Leverage not on USA?

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I just recently got into Burn Notice & I love it! Now I hear Michael Weston's voiceover in my head... for example, while reading this blog post. The second paragraph works really well as a Michael Weston VO.

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I'm glad the ratings are good, I love this show 2010 "Burn Notice hit it again. I'll be watching next mid season show USA best characters welcome.

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2010 "Burn Notice will do it again Love My show.

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This show should get more acclaim! It is so good! I'm glad it stayed on USA because I remember watching these commercials during re-runs of House and thinking "Not another cop/spy show..." People are really tuning in to this well made scripted show. It would be nice to have it run on syndication and maybe even like Dexter did a while back run in the summer/Saturdays. And a movie? If the script is good, yes.

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Burn Notice is the best show on TV today. What viewers love is not only the action and fun of the show, but the clever writing that leaves us laughing or can tug at our heart, but is not dumbed down. It is wonderful to have an intelligent script where the audience does not feel miserable after watching.

And the most important ingredient is the amazing cast.
I would watch classically trained Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell, and Sharon Gless together in anything now. They are brilliant!

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The show's first episode hooked me totally. It's the ONLY tv show I always watch, and it is, hands down, the BEST overall drama/comedy/cult story in twenty years. There is little on any network worth watching. This story has it all: intrigue, mystery, humor, terrific action, several layers of internal dialogue, ethical questionings, tremendous acting, super settings and cinematography and an old-fashioned Robin Hood style morality that demonstrates the shades of gray inherent in modern society. Sam is one helluva second-man character.

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Bottom line. USA has the best original programming on network and basic tier cable. In fact, I like a lot of their stuff better than pay cable.

Now, if only they could get the US Open back from ESPN...

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