Burn Notice [TV Series] (2007)

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The semi-serious action series Burn Notice starred Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen, a highly trained American secret agent who, smack in the middle of a tough assignment in Nigeria, was fired -- or "burned" -- by his superiors. Not only that: Michael was cut off without a penny or with any other resources and flagged as a bad risk for any other government job; indeed, he was figuratively wiped off the face of the earth, with no official acknowledgment of his existence. Stranded in Miami, Michael resigned himself to picking up sporadic work as a troubleshooter-for-hire, using his Special Ops know-how to help ordinary people in distress -- all the while keeping several steps ahead of certain old enemies who were out for revenge. And, as Michael's slightly sardonic voice-over narration made clear, he also was determined to find out who had blacklisted him, and why. Providing both moral and physical support for our hero was his ex-lover Fiona Glenanne (Gabrielle Anwar), an explosives/reconnaissance/surveillance expert formerly with the Irish Republican Army; and hedonistic semi-retired spy Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell), who had accumulated a warehouse of "mementos" of his espionage career which he freely shared with Michael whenever the need arose. Also in the cast was Sharon Gless as Michael's overbearing, hypochondriac mom, Madeline, who was less upset over her son's abrupt dismissal than she was over the loss of her meal ticket. Adroitly combining fast, sometimes brutal action with deadpan humor, Burn Notice joined the USA Network lineup on June 28, 2007, with a special 90-minute episode. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi