Burn Notice: Modern Throwback

Aside from CSI, our other major slothful summer TV favorite was Burn Notice, on the USA Network. It was the perfect summer show, and not just because it started the day after summer began and ended on the last full day of summer. Fast-paced, witty, well-written and well-acted, it felt almost like a throwback to the 70s, when such shows as “The Rockford Files” and “Switch” were on the airwaves. The cast is first-rate: Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell, and Sharon Gless were all great at defining their characters, and had a great chemistry between them. Donovan in particular deserves to become a breakout star on the strength of this performance. At turns funny and lethal, he turned the Michael Westen character into much more than just a smart-ass wise guy – you could always tell there was dark side just beneath the surface, both in the relationship with his family and his efforts to find out why he was left hanging out to dry by the powers that be (whoever those powers turn out to be). The show seemed to pick up steam as the season rolled along, and I look forward to seeing what they come up with next summer.