Burn Notice

[TheVileOne]

Donovan did have a role in Lucy in the Sky, Noah Hawley's directorial debut.

For the first 4 seasons or so, Burn Notice was one of my favorite shows on TV. However, after a while, I couldn't stand how the plot was constantly baiting and switching you everywhere. Michael's burn conspiracy never made any sense.

 

[Dark Raven]

I can't remember if Sharon Gless knew right from the outset that Michael used to be a spy and was in on the plot helping him out or whether he had to lie to her for the first few seasons.

 

[Teelie]

He lied to her. She had no idea. No one really did except Sam. This bump has me thinking of rewatching the series again.

 

[Dark Raven]

He lied to her. She had no idea. No one really did except Sam. This bump has me thinking of rewatching the series again.

That can't be right. What about Fiona? She was in on it and helped him out.

 

[Batmannerism]

Donovan did have a role in Lucy in the Sky, Noah Hawley's directorial debut.

For the first 4 seasons or so, Burn Notice was one of my favorite shows on TV. However, after a while, I couldn't stand how the plot was constantly baiting and switching you everywhere. Michael's burn conspiracy never made any sense.

I'm onto season 6, and I've noticed that the tone has been getting noticeably darker and darker.
Things were pretty light hearted in seasons 1-4 but things start getting nasty part way through season 5, and continued through season 6.
I will say this, that Donovan was good in the heavy emotional scenes as well as the lighter ones.

As for the burn conspiracy - yeah there's a lot of bait and switch, but I would say its better than the Blacklist which introduces a new MacGuffin every season that only ever leads to more questions. 8 seasons and we still don't know who Red really is, come on that's just ridiculous.

It was difficult to keep track of exactly who burned Michael and why - I think ultimately it was Anson Fullerton, who ran a shadow version of the CIA ( of course the question there is "why?",) but then there was Mike's old CIA trainer behind that.....it does get confusing.

The other thing I found a little strange was that Mike was obsessed with getting his old life back - but realistically that was never going to happen, and it was obvious that his new life actually involved doing lots of real good for people, the show keeps pointing this out via all the other characters, but the writers keep Mike dangling...which is kind of frustrating.

Still, a really good show- I've got half of season 6 and season 7 to go.

 

[Batmannerism]

I can't remember if Sharon Gless knew right from the outset that Michael used to be a spy and was in on the plot helping him out or whether he had to lie to her for the first few seasons.

As I recall she didn't know for sure at first, but she always suspected that he was into shady stuff.

She knew he left home young to join the military ( he was a Ranger I think). She knew he traveled a lot and didn't talk about work - so I suspect that she suspected, but it wasn't until later ( probably the first time the FBI toss her house) that she really began to understand. She did know that Mike had "a certain set of skills" (like Liam Neeson) and could help people in trouble, from the very start of the show.

 

[TheVileOne]

I'm onto season 6, and I've noticed that the tone has been getting noticeably darker and darker.
Things were pretty light hearted in seasons 1-4 but things start getting nasty part way through season 5, and continued through season 6.
I will say this, that Donovan was good in the heavy emotional scenes as well as the lighter ones.

As for the burn conspiracy - yeah there's a lot of bait and switch, but I would say its better than the Blacklist which introduces a new MacGuffin every season that only ever leads to more questions. 8 seasons and we still don't know who Red really is, come on that's just ridiculous.

It was difficult to keep track of exactly who burned Michael and why - I think ultimately it was Anson Fullerton, who ran a shadow version of the CIA ( of course the question there is "why?",) but then there was Mike's old CIA trainer behind that.....it does get confusing.

The other thing I found a little strange was that Mike was obsessed with getting his old life back - but realistically that was never going to happen, and it was obvious that his new life actually involved doing lots of real good for people, the show keeps pointing this out via all the other characters, but the writers keep Mike dangling...which is kind of frustrating.

Still, a really good show- I've got half of season 6 and season 7 to go.

For example, killing Nate was very mean-spirited. Also, what the hell happened to Nate's wife and the mother of their child? How can she just abandon their child? That never made sense to me.

They say it was Anson who burned Michael despite revealing John Mahoney as Management. We never see Management again and it's never clear what happened to him.

All this buildup to a big reveal with John Mahoney, and then we never ever see him again. Now it's Anson. Oh it was me all along. It was a letdown.

This is kind of why I lost interest with the show.

Also, they hinted at the Organization Management worked for was actually hunting a more evil bad guy and arms dealer. Like maybe the Organization weren't the true villains? That whole plotline got muddled and lost in the later seasons.

 

[Batmannerism]

For example, killing Nate was very mean-spirited. Also, what the hell happened to Nate's wife and the mother of their child? How can she just abandon their child? That never made sense to me.

They say it was Anson who burned Michael despite revealing John Mahoney as Management. We never see Management again and it's never clear what happened to him.

All this buildup to a big reveal with John Mahoney, and then we never ever see him again. Now it's Anson. Oh it was me all along. It was a letdown.

This is kind of why I lost interest with the show.

Also, they hinted at the Organization Management worked for was actually hunting a more evil bad guy and arms dealer. Like maybe the Organization weren't the true villains? That whole plotline got muddled and lost in the later seasons.

This is true, exactly who was what to whom became very muddy.

Carla, Vaughn and Management were all part of Anson's organization.....I think. Really, taking down that organization should have been the end of the show.

I have mixed feelings about Nate's death - Donovan and Gless really sold it, but did it need to happen ?

it certainly was part of the darker tone, I wonder if they changed writers after season 4 ?

 

[TheVileOne]

This is true, exactly who was what to whom became very muddy.

Carla, Vaughn and Management were all part of Anson's organization.....I think. Really, taking down that organization should have been the end of the show.

I have mixed feelings about Nate's death - Donovan and Gless really sold it, but did it need to happen ?

it certainly was part of the darker tone, I wonder if they changed writers after season 4 ?

Well I don't get why Michael and Madeline had to take care of Nate's son? What happened to his mother? Was the mother a deadbeat? She seemed like an OK person before they wrote her out.

They actually gave Nate a good ending for this show. There was no reason to bring him back just to kill him.

EDIT:

Apparently, Nate's wife Ruth had a drug problem and Madeline sued for custody of the kid. That's some flimsy writing IMO. I think the problem is we never see it happen.

 

[Teelie]

That can't be right. What about Fiona? She was in on it and helped him out.

Oh yeah, Fiona, forgot she knew but but she only found out after he skipped town.

 

[metaphysician]

I suspect that the last few seasons were victims of "We've finished up the story but the show got renewed". In retrospect, they should have finished things up after the big climax with exposing Management's organization. Maybe one season after that of clearing up loose ends, narratively and thematically, and then end the show. Throw in a backdoor pilot or two, but otherwise actually conclude the main series arc.

 

[The Caped Knight]

I really wished there was a crossover between White Collar and Burn Notice, such a missed opportunity.

 

[metaphysician]

I imagined a Burn Notice/Leverage crossover, myself. After all, they have a similar tone.

 

[Lily Adler]

I thought for a minute a sequel series was coming out on a streaming service.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

I really wished there was a crossover between White Collar and Burn Notice, such a missed opportunity.

There needed to be an Avengers Initiative of the USA shows that were the super hits: Burn Notice meets Psyche meets Monk meets Royal Pains meets Covert Affairs meets the gran mama of them all La Femme Nikita from USA.

I'll be taking pitches for how this crossover would work... NOW.

 

[Lily Adler]

There needed to be an Avengers Initiative of the USA shows that were the super hits: Burn Notice meets Psyche meets Monk meets Royal Pains meets Covert Affairs meets the gran mama of them all La Femme Nikita from USA.

I'll be taking pitches for how this crossover would work... NOW.

Oh my god Nikita. My Dad was weirdly obsessed with that show.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Oh my god Nikita. My Dad was weirdly obsessed with that show.

For whatever reason do you think?