MichaelWesten-related stories
Posted Aug 7th 2009 1:43AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
(S03E09) Wow! Talk about a powerful finale. There were a lot of plot points and emotional issues addressed, and if you had any question about Michael's true loyalty, this show answered it.
Burn Notice goes on hiatus -- is that what they call it? -- till the winter, and it's going to be a long rest of the summer and fall waiting for the story to resume. There was change in the air, what with Michael inching closer to a return to the CIA -- or so it seemed. More on all that and the blistering finale after the jump.
Continue reading Burn Notice: Long Way Back (summer finale)
Posted Jul 31st 2009 3:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
(S03E08) In the latest Michael adventure, our hero was hell-bent on getting back into intelligence work – nothing new, really. However, that meant dancing with Strickler, a foxtrot that Fiona was reluctant to take part in ...
More on Fiona's vulnerabilities after the jump. Meanwhile, another job popped up when Barry, money launderer and occasional member of the Michael troupe of operatives, called in all his favors and became the client.
Continue reading Burn Notice: Friends Like These
Posted Jul 24th 2009 10:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
(S03E07) Burn Notice usually stays on the fun side of spying. This episode was all about getting back to doing a Robin Hood job, and since it tapped into Michael's psychology so perfectly, it added a good dollop of emotion to the fun.
And there was also that preview from last week that left fans gasping. Was one of the gang of three going down? Fortunately, in the world of spoilers and such, if that were true it would have been all over the net. Fortunately, it was all part of the con. More on that after the jump.
Continue reading Burn Notice: Shot in the Dark
Posted Jul 17th 2009 7:55AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
(S03E06) It seems like this season of
Burn Notice has been all about friends and family. You know, like the cell phone deal. Michael has been relying more and more on family -- and yes, that means Fiona and Sam to me -- and picking up new friends week in and week out. As Michael has pointed out a few times, he's more valuable as a friend than an enemy. By the time we reach the end of the summer, Michael may have to throw a party to celebrate the new friendships he's made.
We also now know what can stop Michael Westen in his tracks; a Taser to the neck. Yes, for one of the few times, bad guys got the jump on Michael and he was snatched.
Continue reading Burn Notice: The Hunter
Posted Jun 26th 2009 9:33AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
(S03E04) That pesky
Detective Paxson of the Miami PD continued to be a thorn in Michael's side, to the point that Michael decided it was time to extract her from his life. To get Paxson -- one royal pain in the butt who doesn't believe that Michael's one of the good guys -- Michael concocts a plan to help her close her case against Rick Matheson, a real bad guy.
Matheson was a one-note Rock look-alike, without Dwayne Johnson's charm. Mostly Matheson was a scumbag who deserved to be brought down.
Tommy, on the other hand, wasn't really a nasty moke. He was broadly hammed up by former
NYPD Blue star Nick Turturro, and turned out to be Michael's way into Matheson's organization.
Continue reading Burn Notice: Fearless Leader
Posted Jun 19th 2009 9:24AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
(S03E03) It seems as though everyone wants to be Michael's boss. Everyone but the CIA or the NSA or some other international spy agency, including whatever organization burned him in the first place. But characters like Carla last season or the rogue Management group at the start of this season, as well as Brennen, tonight's guest handler, they're all for Michael.
Seth Peterson was back as Nate, Michael's brother with a propensity for great-rich-quick schemes and getting into trouble. This time, though, he was a pawn in Brennen's game to get Michael to do his bidding.
Continue reading Burn Notice: End Run
Posted Jun 12th 2009 9:40AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
(S03E02) I love Sam Axe, which is another way of saying
Bruce Campbell makes watching
Burn Notice a pleasure. Especially an episode like this one that was all about the chemistry between Sam and Mike when working undercover on a case with a nut job criminal intent on leaving Michael swimming in a pool of his own blood.
It's not just Sam that keeps me coming back for more from this show, or the tense but compelling subtext between Fiona and Michael's "is it love?" relationship. By and large,
Burn Notice is smart TV. It shows me scenes I haven't seen before on other shows or on the big screen. More on the specifics after the jump, so if you don't want to know because you haven't watched yet, be warned.
Continue reading Burn Notice: Question and Answer
Posted Jun 5th 2009 10:27AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
(S03E01) You knew from
last season's finale that Michael taking the plunge into the Atlantic from a helicopter, thus turning down an offer to work with Management in some organized ops position, he was taking a big chance. The leap was a metaphor and the danger for Michael Westen was about to increase exponentially.
Well, in this opening episode, it's clear that creator
Matt Nix has upped the volume for
Burn Notice. In
Spinal Tap terms, we're at eleven, and that's more than ten. For Michael, a five-mile ocean swim in suit pants was just the kind of discomfort trained operatives have to learn to endure. When he landed on Miami Beach, one of the busy, bikini-clad girls and kids making sand castle types, he was all in. But no rest for the weary. In short order, Michael was on the run and in a world of trouble.
Continue reading Burn Notice: Friends and Family (season premiere)
Posted Jun 2nd 2009 5:27PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: CSI, Dexter, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
You see that palm tree beside Michael Westen? The blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean in the background? Well, you can count on seeing all that Miami Beach ambiance on
Burn Notice from now on. You might think, "Wait a minute. Why would they even consider leaving South Florida?" Well, last week the
Miami commissioners threatened to demolish the Burn Notice studios.
Burn Notice is the only Miami set TV show that actually is filmed in Miami.
CSI: Miami and
Dexter, for example, fake it with Los Angeles locations. When you see South Beach on
Burn Notice, you're seeing the real thing, same with Coral Gables, Boca Raton and every other recognizable SoFla locale. So it's become an important element in the show.
Continue reading Burn Notice staying in Miami
Posted Mar 6th 2009 12:35PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Watercooler Talk, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
When I say that the
Burn Notice finale last night made quite a splash, I'm not talking about the ratings. I'm talking about the show. Creator Matt Nix, who penned the
Burn Notice Season Two finale, really knows how to write a cliffhanger. Actually, it's a cliffhanger with a hook, because in some ways we actually went over the cliff with Michael Westen. More on those specifics -- and spoilers if you haven't seen the show yet -- after the jump.
Continue reading Burn Notice finale made quite a splash - VIDEO
Posted Feb 6th 2009 10:13AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
(S02E12) "That's the thing about spies. You never know who they are." -- Michael
Michael Westen with money troubles? Boy, now you really know how bad the economy is when a burned super spy has to dig up a job to keep himself in Armani suits. Actually, I thought it was a refreshing change of pace that Michael actively pursued an assignment rather than just wait for somebody to come along -- to Sam or Madeline or Fiona -- who needs help that seemingly only Michael can provide.
What was weird is that for much of the episode, the case was much less important than the subtext between Fiona and Michael. This is an interesting development and so different from other classic TV pairings. Watching Fiona and Michael you don't wonder if they'll ever do it, because they've done it. No, you wonder what the heck does it mean and how do they deal with the emotions stirred up by Fiona's near death and Michael's reaction to possibly losing her?
Continue reading Burn Notice: Seek and Destroy
Posted Jan 2nd 2009 9:00AM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free
How can we enter a new year without celebrating the last year's best and worst TV? Not a lot of the new shows were impressive, but I've been entertained for the last year, so I can't complain.
In making out my lists, I realized I must be a half-full type of gal, because even my worsts aren't that bad, and I had a heck of a time coming up with them.
So, here are my lovin'-life, lovin'-TV best and worst lists for 2008:
Best new show -- Leverage Man, I love everything about this show -- the chemistry between the characters, the quotable quotes, the clever jobs, the flashbacks. It's the most entertaining hour on television right now. Thank you, TNT!
Continue reading Best and Worst of 2008: Debbie's list
Posted Aug 6th 2008 11:01AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Programming, House, Reality-Free
Back in May -- remember that far back -- Isabelle wrote about the fact that
David Shore, creator of House, was contemplating a new show. It was a spinoff of
House, but not a medical show. It was going to be in the private eye genre.
Newark Star-Ledger columnist Alan Sepinwall (with
Dan Feinberg) did an interview with David recently and found out some more information about the spinoff.
"We brought in a character, partway through the year, [actor] Michael Weston as this private investigator House goes to. The spinoff would be less of a spinoff, it would be more us using
House to launch it. It would be an independent world. A character out of the
House mold, but definitely different."
Continue reading More about that House spinoff
Posted Jul 12th 2008 1:35PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Interviews, Celebrities, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
Part James Bond, part Jason Bourne, all Jeffrey Donovan. That's the recipe for the coolest spy on TV today, Michael Westen on
Burn Notice. Meeting Jeffrey Donovan recently, I was impressed with not only his charm, good looks and dedication to his craft, but also his determination to shoulder the responsibility and reward of his very own primetime series.
Nobody's handed anything to Jeffrey Donovan. He's been at it for a while, doing notable turns in
CSI: Miami and
Monk, playing recurring characters in
The Pretender and
Touching Evil, and practically stealing
Hitch from Kevin James and Will Smith by playing a nasty S.O.B.
Like his alter ego, Jeffrey Donovan is a very cool customer. He never lets you see him sweat, even when he's got ever right to in the glare of the spotlight, the heat of the Miami sun, and the hardball questions of the media roundtable he was facing. Okay, we weren't all throwing hardballs, but as this Q&A shows, Jeffrey D. can handle himself in any and all situations.
Continue reading Jeffrey Donovan talks about Burn Notice
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