Showing posts with label Burn Notice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Burn Notice. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Friday, May 11, 2012

Morning Coffee (5/11/12)

Oh, hey, it's finally Friday!

Ryan McGee says good, important things about TV criticism.

Amazing: Prince Charles plays weatherman.

Ugh, the Game of Thrones comics covers do not bode well.

Burn Notice fans! Go vote on which opening they should use this season. I love the all new version REALLY A LOT and will be sad if it doesn't win.

And here's a nice article about USA Network's summer shows.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

USA Network Summer Premiere Dates!

USA Network announced some more premiere dates yesterday, and since a few of you have asked, I figured it was time for a roundup:
May 11: Common Law
June 6: Royal Pains & Necessary Roughness
June 14: Burn Notice & Suits
July 10: White Collar & Covert Affairs
Political Animals will premiere in July as well, but does not have an official date yet.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Burn Notice: "It's unsettling when you're that sincere!"

(Mild spoilers ahead! But mostly just character analysis.)

Burn Notice had a solid midseason premiere last night with "Damned If You Do," and it seems we now know what obsession will replace Michael's quest to find out who burned him: protecting Fiona. For this episode, at least, this also became his priority over saving the world or helping random people, and . . . I think I'm okay with that. It makes the calculus of Michael's decision-making more complex, and therefore makes the character more interesting.

In this show's moral universe, the ends usually justify the means. Michael may hurt people, but he generally thinks he's serving the greater good, even if he's not entirely convinced he himself is good. His constant need to save the world is all the more powerful given that, at least some of the time, he thinks he's a bad person, or at least brings bad things down upon anyone he cares about. Michael has a touch of Josh Lyman syndrome ("He goes through every day worried that somebody he likes is going to die and its going to be his fault. What do you think makes him walk so fast?") but with him, this tends to play out on a larger but more impersonal scale. Sure, saving random strangers (or countries) is great, but it's also a symptom of what Michael says about not letting himself care about individual people.

Now, though, he cares, and everyone knows it. When you move your ex-girlfriend into your apartment, you lose all plausible deniability, both to your mother and to the bad guys out to get either or both of you. He's doing bad things, things that will hurt people, because that's what's necessary to protect Fiona. (And Fiona, as she herself points out, is no damsel in distress, which makes this all the more compelling.) If he were on Vampire Diaries, this is when someone would tell him to be careful - his humanity is showing. And it makes him a much more interesting character. Michael saving the world? Done that. Michael damning the world to save the girl? That's something different.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Tonight's TV Premiere Reminders: 11/3/11

Whenever there's a TV premiere, I'll try to let you know. Remember, you can see my regularly-updated TV spreadsheet here. (All times Eastern.)

9 p.m.:
Bones season 7 premiere, FOX
Wheee! Booth and Bones are finally together! They're going to have a baby! This could either be really fun or completely horrid! But I'm hoping for really fun! We'll see!

10 p.m.:
Burn Notice season 5 midseason premiere, USA
Another favorite! Back on the same night! Can you tell I'm pretty excited about tonight?

Friday, July 1, 2011

A Random List of My 10 Favorite Current TV Shows, In Order

I love lists. I'm always making lists in my head, making myself sort and classify things. And no one's been clamoring for my list of favorite shows, but I've felt like I should have one handy, and it finally coalesced in my head last night. I managed to put them in order, even! (For now. May change with my mood. You know.)

1. The Vampire Diaries
2. Burn Notice
3. Castle
4. In Plain Sight
5. White Collar
6. The Good Wife
7. Justified
8. Haven
9. Doctor Who
10. Community

Interesting note: There are three shows from USA Network (my favorite, I love them, they have my heart), but then not more than one from any other channel: ABC, BBCA, CBS, CW, FX, NBC, SyFy.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

New Burn Notice online graphic novel!

Just in time for the Burn Notice premiere, chapter one of the online graphic novel A New Day has been released. For now, you can read online, and they'll allow for download to your mobile device soon. Note: It takes place after the season four finale, so if you're still catching up (as I am) you might want to wait.

Morning Coffee (6/23/11)

Good morning? I think?

Watch the season premiere of Burn Notice and series premiere of Suits tonight on USA, and refresh your memory (or prepare to dive in for the first time) with this handy Burn Notice A to Z.

Read Jose Antonio Vargas's very important piece, "My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant."

Going to Comic Con? Heed Carina MacKenzie's tips.

Listen to free music from La Sera.

Follow my new favorite Tumblr, Joe Biden Eating Sandwiches.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Friday Favorites! (6/17/11)

Let's try a new weekly feature . . . Consider this an open thread to tell me and your fellow readers what you've been reading/watching/listening to/eating/crafting/loving this week.

At the moment, I'm obsessed with John Le Carre, Company, Burn Notice, this shawl pattern, and frozen grapes. (They're good! Really!) How about you?

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Morning Coffee (6/16/11)

Just Thursday? Huh.

Ponder the new Best Picture rules.

Read this fascinating profile of Michele Bachmann.

Watch this awesome new Burn Notice clip. (Warning: Someone at the show said there are some errors in the accompanying article.)

If you'd like to get angry, here's your ridiculous article of the day.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Morning Coffee (6/10/11)

Oh, HELLO, Friday. We've been waiting for you. I'm heading off on a little weekend trip, so things will probably be pretty quiet around here.

Vote in the season MVP poll on Vampire-Diaries.net, and while you're there take a look at their very good explanation for why they no longer have anything to do with EyeCon.

Read Sherman Alexie on "dark" themes in YA fiction.

Watch USA Network this summer. Alyssa Rosenberg explains why. For the record, my top three picks would be Burn Notice, In Plain Sight, and White Collar, which was sadly missing from the article.

Get ready for a Brian Epstein biopic. Wheee.

Marvel at this politician who seems to think that people who work for the government don't have real jobs.

And check back here later for my attempt at formulating a coherent spoiler policy.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Morning Coffee (6/7/11)

Happy Tuesday!

If you're in the Boston area, head over to Wilson Middle School in Natick tonight for a YA Extravaganza with Maureen Johnson, Sara Shepard, and Sarah Mlynowski. (Let me know if I'll see you there!)

Tune in to USA Network tonight for the season premieres of White Collar and Covert Affairs.

And if you're in the market for USA Network's new DVD releases, go to Target. They're having a sale on both White Collar season two and Burn Notice season four, and if you buy both at once there's an additional discount.

Or enter to win Covert Affairs season one or White Collar season two from The Televixen!

Listen to this Dresden Dolls rarity, "New England." It's pretty delightful.

Watch this impressively put-together Vampire Diaries fanvid.



Read this analysis of Sony passwords.

And check back here later for some ranting about People Saying Dumb Things About Books, and the return of my Song of the Day feature!