Burn Notice
The Ultimate Binge Watch
What makes a series great for marathon viewings?
Intro:
Cable networks are full of shows that have run a decade on formulas so predictable they've been run straight into the ground. They're consistent, but often so interchangeable that there's very little merit to marathoning the series. Not to mention you need to start from the beginning if you haven't seen the show before, or you'll be asking questions the whole time about plot or character details from previous seasons. Someone mentions a character who was a big deal in a previous season, the main cast acknowledge them, but if you didn't see that season you're left in the dark. The more a series relies on overarching narratives, the harder it is to catch new viewers up without taking too much time away from the episode.
Then there's Burn Notice. I got turned onto this show by one of my college professors who specialized in video editing. That specialization gave him considerably different tastes in movies & television, which intrigued us. Editing, as he always taught us, was the kind of thing that, when done well, you usually don't notice. Bad editing, by contrast, was generally pretty glaring and distracting. Even non-film-students have opinions about movies that edit action scenes way too fast, or make random cuts in scenes that don't make sense, or when scenes go on way too long, or when the audio over-dubbing is off or glaringly obvious, etc. When we asked him what the best shows were, he told us Burn Notice had some of the best editing he'd seen.
Honestly, I'd seen promos for the show while surfing channels (this was before streaming had really taken off), but it never really stood out to me. However, there was a channel available on my basic college student TV that, in a pretty bold move, would simply broadcast certain shows all day. One day it'd be House, another day, as it so happens, was Burn Notice. You could flip on the channel and just binge a series from 8am until 11pm. Best part, it didn't take up a tab on your laptop or cost money. You didn't get to control where you started, but that's where you really got to appreciate shows that caught you up to speed fast on everything going on.
Why Burn Notice is Great:
Everything you need to know about Burn Notice comes in the first 45 seconds with the intro. Rather than a generic theme song that just shows the cast and highlights of the series, Burn Notice catches you up to speed on the premise, the characters, and all the fun it has to offer. We get a solid grasp on everyone's background, their relationships with our main character Michael Westen, the spy nonsense they get up to, and the show's general sense of humor.
Our Hero:
My name is Michael Westen. I used to be a spy, until....
The Inciting Incident:
(over phone) "We got a burn notice on you. You're blacklisted."
What That Means:
(whistles) When you're burned, you've got nothing. No cash, no credit, no job history.
Our Setting:
You're stuck in whatever city they decide to dump you.
(stirring awake) "Where am I?"
"Miami."
The Main Setup:
You do whatever work comes your way.
EXPLOSION(s)
You rely on anyone still talking to you.
Our Cast:
A trigger-happy ex-girlfriend.
"Should we shoot them?"
An old friend who used to inform on you to the FBI.
"You know spies, buncha bitchy little girls."
Family, too.
"Hey, is that your mom again?"
If you're desperate.
"Someone needs your help, Michael."
Wrapping It All Up:
Bottom line, as long as you're burned, you're not going anywhere.
From there, the episode gives us the need-to-know information on the overarching plot, which moves its way through antagonists as Michael gets closer & closer to finding the people responsible for burning him. Each antagonist feels threatening in their own way, even while they exist simply as an obstacle to get in Michael's path to the truth. Spies are, by nature, cryptic and well-guarded people, not to mention the layers of bureaucracy in any intelligence organization assures us that Michael will be dealing with a lot of obstacles. Over 7 seasons, with all the progress Michael makes, the opening intro changes only slightly, as relationships evolve, but the script above adds only a single new sentence (for a new character added halfway through).
Then there's the recaps. They'll catch you up on Michael's current obstacle and any important elements required for the episode. For the amount of humor and voiceovers the series has, the scripts themselves are seemingly written in a way perfect for recaps. You get all the information you need in under a minute, and in short little bits of dialogue that never feel overwhelming. Every new character in an episode gets a short but succinct caption telling you what you need to know about them. It's truly remarkable how everything in the show feels planned for both recaps and for new viewers to immediately get up to speed.
Other Reasons to Watch:
Michael's voiceovers are both informative and a frequently hilarious glimpse into the mind of a spy. Best of all, as skilled and even omnipotent as Michael can seem sometimes, his voiceovers are delivered flat and dry, even at his own expense. Michael's inner spy monologue is always on, and it remains objective to his situation. When things are going well, it makes him look like a master spy. When things aren't going well, it makes you realize how hard being a spy frequently is. Michael Westen is nothing like James Bond, trading in tuxedos and endless romantic conquests for beige suits and a woman who constantly pushes his buttons in the most playfully irritating ways. The point of a spy is not to be flashy, but to blend in with your surroundings, wherever that may be. Michael is brilliantly nondescript, the kind of guy who looks like he could be from pretty much anywhere. This allows him to melt into dozens of different cover identities, depending on what the job requires. Best of all, he avoids allegations of being too good at everything in almost every scene. Between his romantic history with Fiona, Sam's constant playful ribbing, and his mother's PhD in manipulating her estranged son into coming by the house, Michael's weaknesses are on full display in every episode.
Let's talk about the rest of the cast. Gabrielle Anwar provides our daily recommended dose of C4 as ex-IRA Fiona Glenanne. She's like a femme fatale, but worse, she wants to talk about your relationship. She's beautiful, charming, excels at infiltration, sabotage, and reminding Michael there's a much easier option than his usual "nobody dies" moral code. Their chemistry is electric, in large part due to how much Michael tries to fight against it.
Bruce Campbell is a legend in his own right, but the washed-up, functioning alcoholic, Navy SEAL Sam Axe might be his most iconic character after Ash Williams. Sam can shoot, Sam can plant bugs, but above all, Sam can sell himself as anyone he needs to be, provided they go by the name Chuck Finley. If nothing else, Burn Notice could be a 112-hour Ted Talk on the magnetic charisma of Bruce Campbell. Sam and Fi have a fantastic chemistry of their own, having great dislike for the other and the way they operate, but putting those differences aside for Michael.
Then there's Madeline West, Michael's estranged hypochondriac mother. For a woman who barely leaves the house, Maddie is a chain-smoking force to be reckoned with. On the rare occasions she gets involved in a job, she will blow you away with how effective she can be, whether it's infiltration, interrogation, or straight-up intimidation. She's also an ever-present reminder of the life Michael left behind him when he joined the army. For all the things Michael excels at handling, his own past is his eternal Achilles Heel.
Let's talk about the team itself. The Burn Notice crew run a tight operation, even when things go wrong. Which they always do. And yet they can pivot and adjust their plans on the fly to come out on top. It's magical to see. Michael Westen could do whatever missions Jack Bauer or James Bond do, but I would not trust either of them to do what Michael Westen does. They are the ones I want coming to my rescue. Their success rate is incredible, without ever making an op feel boring or predictable. Some of the payoffs for the scumbags Michael & Co deal with on jobs are so beautiful, you'll come back to see them again & again.
You know what most shows don't spring for these days? Explosions. Real explosions. That car, that house, or that boat over there is gonna blow up. Burn Notice is almost entirely analog, using no CGI except on exceptionally rare occasions throughout its seven-season run. Make no mistake, every episode will have action, fire, and/or explosions. Despite Michael's best attempts to resolve every job without violence. If you're a connoisseur of old-school car chases, fight scenes, and shootouts, you will be well-fed on this series. Best of all, Jeffrey Donovan (Michael Westen) does a large deal of his own stunts, including fight scenes and jumping a guard rail with an explosion behind him. It's a cornucopia of lost arts in the medium of television. They simply don't make shows like Burn Notice anymore, and the old shows comparable to it lack its rewatch and pickup value. Basically, the show is a hidden gem that deserves to be remembered.




















