Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Burn Notice

I love this show. Yes, it's formulaic, and silly at times, but man - it's got smart writing and consistently strong female characters, which you just don't see very often in these "damsel in distress" types of shows (let's face it - you don't see this very often, period). I like that all the characters aren't white bread (this is Miami, afterall), tho they could do a lot better on that front (I heard season three mixes it up a bit more, but I'm only halfway thru season 2 right now).

I also love the formulaic episode paired with movement of the overall "bigger" plot. Reminds me a bit of Quantum Leap in that sense. Each episode is self-contained, but there's a bigger story riding just underneath, to the point where it ends up being the subplot.

Smart writing, lovable characters.

Yeah, you just don't see enough of that.

4 comments so far. What are your thoughts?

Unknown said...

I enjoy Burn Notice, too. Or at least I did the first two seasons. I agree about the smart characters and I like the relationships they've built on the show.

I started watching Season Three, but bounced off of it a bit. That might have something to do with television fatigue. Or maybe it was just the formula grating on me after a while. I also think they missed a big opportunity with the end of Season Two.

But know I no longer have cable and so I can't watch it. I should see if it's available online.

Chris said...

I'm nuts about this show, too. I love classic pulp, and Burn Notice manages to update the old tropes beautifully, often playing off your expectations to find that unanticipated beat. And damn, but Fiona kicks ass.

Unknown said...

Cool - I just discovered that it's on Hulu, so I can keep up with the season. Thanks for giving me the impetus to check.

Kameron Hurley said...

What I like about Fiona is they don't pretend she's Buffy. Fiona knows guns, not martial arts. When she goes to take down a guy who outweighs her by 200lbs, she brings a stun gun. Another woman actually takes her out in a fist fight in season 2, which annoyed the crap out of me until J. reminded me that Fiona knows guns, not krav maga.

So she may not throw the best left hook, but she can blow up your car with chewing gum and a cell phone and snipe you in the head from 300 yards away.

If she was an amazon, cool (I still long for tv amazons), but they cast somebody who's not an amazon, and so she compensates accordingly.

I like that they're honest about that.