Burn Notice – Insurance fraud is fun

Season three of Burn Notice resumed in fine fashion last night. Everyone’s favorite small screen spy guy, Michael Westen, wasted little time trying to acquaint himself with his brand new unseen enemy. Was he successful in his endeavors? Stay tuned. In other news, Fiona is still feisty as ever, Sam has yet to stop boozing and Maddie continues to to find herself mixed up in Mikey boy’s illegal hi-jinks. All in all, the spy game doesn’t seem to have lost its luster.

So, what was revealed about this new mystery psycho in Michael’s life? Well, a lot more than I expected. He’s British, enjoys firebombing hotel rooms, wears Monaco Silver cologne, is a crack shot with a sniper rifle and likes Three-Card Monte. I made up that last one, but the rest is true. Oh, his name is Mason Gilroy, and he’s apparently responsible for a number of grisly assassinations. In short, he’s a badass. Hey, it’s not as if the powers that be are going to sic some pussy on Mikey. Right?

Mike’s side job for the episode was the typical embarrass-a-dumb-low-rent-hood-with-your-superior-knowledge plot. Of course things got complicated, but nothing Mike and Co. couldn’t handle. It was made noteworthy by the presence of Tyne Daly, who played an insurance clerk befriended by Maddie. For those too young to remember, Tyne and Sharon Gless (Maddie) used to kick ass and take names on the wildly popular ’80s police procedural Cagney & Lacey. Nice to see the old gals together again, chain smoking and downing wine.

Here’s what we learned from the proceedings:

• Mike has impeccable posture. I never noticed before, but the man is definitely not a sloucher.
• Sam’s kryptonite is 65-year-old female insurance workers. I still can’t believe the “Sam Magic” failed.
• Jeffrey Donovan excels at the cliched over-the-top southern tough guy character. The greasy wife beater added flavor.
• Family + cash + violence + getting arrested = messy. Good to know.
• I love it when Sam preaches caution and Mike ignores him. Nothing good ever comes of it.
• Mike’s mint Dodge Charger was featured prominently. I really want that car.
• Push bars are killer. I might install one on my truck and start ramming drivers who piss me off. Hey, if Mike can do it and go unpunished, why not me?
• Fiona throws a mean punch. I already knew this, but it helps to be reminded.

It looks like heat is about to be turned up on Michael Westen … again. I get the feeling all these nasty spies sign up to harass Mike just so they can bask in the South Florida sun. I can’t rally blame them. It must be a welcome reprieve from the deserts of Afghanistan and the icy winters of Eastern Europe. At any rate, Burn Notice is back. That’s a good thing.

Clacked by Scott Tunstall
on Jan 22, 2010 @ 00:26 EST5EDT