USA Network Movies

 

Combining the best action/thriller elements with surprising humor and an iconic new breed of espionage, the second season of USA Network hit Burn Notice heats up as blacklisted spy, Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) hones his unique skills for new clientele. After being fired as a professional spy and dumped in his hometown of Miami without money or resources, Westen struggles to put his life back together and find out why he has been "burned." The series also stars Gabrielle Anwar as Fiona, a beautiful ex-IRA operative who happens to be Westen's ex-girlfriend; Bruce Campbell as Sam, Michael's closest buddy in town; and Sharon Gless as Madeline, Westen's hypochondriac mother. This new season (2008-9) of 16 episodes follows Westen as he takes on all new death-defying assignments in hopes of getting closer to his new employers, the people that were possibly responsible for his ousting. Joining the cast this season is Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) as Carla, the woman who may be behind Michael's "burn notice."

The first season of this sleek spy series mixes plenty of action with sex appeal and a dose of wry humor. While on a covert mission in Nigeria, spy Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) discovers he's been burned, which equates to being fired in the world of espionage. After escaping the immediate danger of his assignment, he wakes up in Miami with no memory of how he got there and discovers his accounts have been frozen and his contacts cut off. Forced to fend for himself, Michael recruits the help of the only friends he has: Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell), a former intelligence contact whom the FBI has tapped to gain intel on Michael; Fiona Glenanne (Gabrielle Anwar), a spunky ex-IRA operative looking for closure after being dumped by Michael several years earlier; and Michael's meddling mother Madeline (Sharon Gless), who's thrilled to have her son back in her life. Despite the often uneasy state of these alliances, Sam, Fiona and Madeline each bring their own skills to the table to help Michael find out who burned him and why. In order to fund his investigation-not to mention more mundane expenses like rent-Michael picks up a side job as a private investigator helping Miami citizens obtain justice. Each episode chronicles a different case, opening the way for notable guest stars like Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess) and Richard Schiff (West Wing). But Michael's main goal throughout the season is following the convoluted trail of betrayals and double-dealings that led to his burn notice. ~ Brie Hearn, Rovi

TV's favorite obsessive-compulsive, phobia-ridden detective is back for another 16 hour-long episode in the fifth season of Monk. The opener finds former San Francisco homicide detective Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) bedevilled by an egotistical movie star (Stanley Tucci) who is slated to portray Monk in an upcoming movie. But this irritation is a mere pinprick compared to what is in store for our hero in subsequent episodes. For example, in the episode "Mr. Monk Can't See a Thing", the detective faces the possibility of permanent blindess after an "accidental" firehouse explosion. In "Mr. Monk's Class Reunion", Monk must again confront bitter memories of his wife's murder, all the while endeavoring to save a former classmate from a similar demise (by the way, this is the episode in which we discover that Monk attended the University of California at Berkeley--and that his college nickame was "Captain Cool") Equally traumatic is the prospect that Monk's longtime psychiatrist Dr. Kroger (Stanley Kamel) will retire in disgrace after one of his former patients is accused of murder in "Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink". On a lighter note, in "Mr. Monk Makes a Friend" the infamously neurotic detective is inexplicably befriended by a seemingly neurosis-free guy named Hal, played by comedian Andy Richter. And when he goes undercover as the butler to a suspected murderer in "Mr. Monk Is at Your Service", Monk's list of 311 phobias is suddenly increased to 312 when he develops an overwhelming aversion to frogs. Two of the more noteworthy episodes this season are "Mr. Monk, Private Eye" in which Sharon Lawrence is introduced as Linda Fusco, who will become the new love interest for the recently divorced Captain Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine; and the self-explantory Yuletide installment "r. Monk Meets His Dad", with Dan Hedaya in the title role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi