tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post4190204253801586123..comments2024-03-19T05:50:19.572-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: Burn Notice, "Friendly Fire": Devil insideAlan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-30582737069493507052011-09-11T13:12:47.081-04:002011-09-11T13:12:47.081-04:00I enjoy BN a lot, because it doesn't take itse...I enjoy BN a lot, because it doesn't take itself too seriously. <br /><br />Chris Vance' opening salvo was sheer delight - "getting to know you, getting to know all about you", with a hint of menace throughout, mostly through mannerisms and tone. I am so looking forward to the rest of him.<br /><br />Yes, the red/black suit and gruff whisper was OTT, but - it worked, and was fun.spiralxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12394525248639450449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-9409361314091153772010-02-02T14:14:32.693-05:002010-02-02T14:14:32.693-05:00Speaking of rules, your post violates Alan's r...Speaking of rules, your post violates Alan's rules because it addresses a specific post. Nor am I telling people that they are not entitled to post their comments--unlike you.<br /><br />Moreover, I liked most of the comments. I was just saying that some posts are hyper-critical of what is basically a good-time, simple show. <br /><br />There are differences between a show like Mad Men that essentially begs for deeper analysis and Burn Notice. Certainly, the huge divergence in the sheer number of comments that these shows generate are a clear indication of the differences.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02508902311555812190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-28522096575525127242010-02-02T01:19:50.749-05:002010-02-02T01:19:50.749-05:00And I think an invocation of Moff's Law is in ...And I think an invocation of Moff's Law is in order:<br /><br />http://www.racialicious.com/2009/12/21/and-we-shall-call-this-moffs-law/<br /><br />If you don't like comments other than cheers on a TV critic's blog, it's sort of self-defeating to comment yourself, isn't it? It's one hell of a way to stop a conversation dead.cgeyenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-84080837467585276992010-02-01T13:58:41.434-05:002010-02-01T13:58:41.434-05:00I loved this episode.
I think the people posting ...I loved this episode.<br /><br />I think the people posting are expecting Shakespeare.<br /><br />Just sit back and enjoy the ride.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02508902311555812190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-20342762078123032692010-01-31T13:51:20.077-05:002010-01-31T13:51:20.077-05:00I noticed a different editing when they left a sce...I noticed a different editing when they left a scene, sort of a freeze and then fade to black and white. I loved it. It reminded me of watching [reruns] "The Wild Wild West" as a kid and how they used their frames when they left the scene. If there's one show on TV which reminds me of how wonderful that was The Wild Wild West, it is BN. <br /><br />Good, entertaining, trashy, and with the meta-acknowledgment and good taste to admit it up front front.timbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11840503196010960235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-17931571819177435332010-01-30T13:46:15.972-05:002010-01-30T13:46:15.972-05:00I was happy Sam is still seeing Miss Reynolds. Jus...I was happy Sam is still seeing Miss Reynolds. Just because there's something about the way Bruce Campbell says "Miss Reynolds" that cracks me up.Jimnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-5076377023927901082010-01-30T09:17:37.255-05:002010-01-30T09:17:37.255-05:00Not my favorite BN episode but I'll take OK BN...Not my favorite BN episode but I'll take OK BN to most anything else on TV these days.<br /><br />I have to agree with one poster on the pacing - my wife pointed out she noticed the editing seemed over done with lots of fade outs, stop and go editing etc, way more than usual for BN (she works in TV I don't) but she noticed the change in the way the show was edited and didn't like it. So that poster I think was dead on regarding the editing or pacing being different from the norm.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-27074075242309268152010-01-30T04:17:41.798-05:002010-01-30T04:17:41.798-05:00Okay, I may be showing my age, but the minute I he...Okay, I may be showing my age, but the minute I heard the whisper, and saw the red shirt/black suit/spooky "snap my fingers and something explodes" -- my first thought was that they were all subtle references to "High Plains Drifter..."<br /><br />And, maybe I've been watching too much TV lately, but I will take a supposedly "subpar" Burn Notice episode (even though I don't think this episode was weak at all) over all the overhyped Conan/Leno angst over the past two weeks. Two mediocre "comedians" -- one of whom gets a $45 million dollar "go away" payment -- sorry, that just isn't TV I care about.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-56921710955571361612010-01-30T04:06:19.527-05:002010-01-30T04:06:19.527-05:00I have to object to the "win every time"...I have to object to the "win every time" complaint. For one thing, you'd have to level that at almost every series on television. For another...<br /><br />One of the things I like most about this show is that very often Michael's first plan DOESN'T work. The bad guys don't react as he expected. So he has to switch horses in mid-stream and try again. And again and again, in some episodes.<br /><br />In this very episode, the first attempt at catching Mincoln--a basic armed snatch--failed. THAT's when he came up with the over-the-top Whispery Dude. Then THAT plan failed because Omar had bigger problems than Michael.<br /><br />Yes, Michael almost always wins eventually. But so do most serial heroes. This was not their best episode by far--but overall I think they do pretty well.Mark Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01994430001543710190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-49347865514518831322010-01-30T00:13:45.658-05:002010-01-30T00:13:45.658-05:00I had heard this was a big Sam-centric episode whe...I had heard this was a big Sam-centric episode when he didn't get all that much to do so I was disappointed. We got a peek about his personal life..which was good but not what I expected.<br /><br />Some astute posters pegged the voice thing that was bugging me...the raspy Batman -like voice (which I loathed except when it was parodied on "Community") and the English accent.<br /><br />I wasn't grabbed for some reason. Maybe the poor use (IMO) of Danny Trejo ? But they blew stuff up real good. That was a plus.Allison DeWittnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-48737583556180119272010-01-29T23:51:45.750-05:002010-01-29T23:51:45.750-05:00Okay, uneven may be the best word. But even when ...Okay, uneven may be the best word. But even when it didn't work, I really enjoyed the risks. The shipper bits with Mike and Fiona were fun. Kind of stunning that an actor of Trejo's stature was on the show. I wonder what happened to his character.WWWeaveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13089876173526593905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-56506471187714289612010-01-29T23:03:21.160-05:002010-01-29T23:03:21.160-05:00I thought this was possibly the worst episode of t...I thought this was possibly the worst episode of the series. The dialogue was bad, the plot was cliched, Michael's character seemed laughable to me, I kept expecting the gang members to start laughing at him. The "Sam and his former friend" sub-plot seemed very week to me as well. The ex-SEAL friend was even more thinly drawn than the usual friend from the past character is.<br /><br /> Also, something seemed very off about the pacing. I can't quite put my finger on what it was - I don't know if it was editing or directing or what.<br /><br /> I thought the whole episode was a mess and not even close to usual Burn Notice standards.Enoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-2068721808037154632010-01-29T22:58:52.053-05:002010-01-29T22:58:52.053-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Leohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12025323133801587306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-34222936275868545422010-01-29T21:48:58.643-05:002010-01-29T21:48:58.643-05:00I guess we don't have to worry about "wil...I guess we don't have to worry about "will they or won't they". I was a little surprised Fi & Michael got together already, but maybe I missed something in the last (half) season. <br /><br />Every time I saw the black suit, I couldn't help thinking, My God he must be hot. A black suit in Miami! I love all the light colored suits Michael usually wears. Living in the NY/NJ area, I rarely see men in those kinds of suits, even in summer. And boy, does Michael wear them well. But I'm digressing....DeeTVnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-63029323129592937372010-01-29T20:44:30.424-05:002010-01-29T20:44:30.424-05:00I guess I responded to this episode a little diffe...I guess I responded to this episode a little differently. I thought the point of Michael's "character" this week was to be a caricature, of sorts. He was supposed to stand out, be over the top, memorable/borderline crazy in every way. When he approached them, the gang members responded immediately.<br /><br />The voice was a distraction, but I found it humorous rather than annoying.<br /><br />I'm also unsure of the "win every time" criticism. If they don't win every time, isn't that the end of the show? (I'm not sure if that's always been true, anyway. Consider the end of "Friends Like These", where Barry gets his book back but the criminal gets away.)<br /><br />Overall, I thought the episode was pretty good, though a little less comedic than usual.Chadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14299731959049654407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-47661065224172289882010-01-29T19:22:18.739-05:002010-01-29T19:22:18.739-05:00I agree, the voice was annoying but the suit was p...I agree, the voice was annoying but the suit was pimping lol. I believe the opening was set in the Epic hotel by the Miami river.ShayDettahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10794309944665558929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-69077665780271979992010-01-29T19:16:02.049-05:002010-01-29T19:16:02.049-05:00I thought the voice complemented the suit which co...I thought the voice complemented the suit which complemented the Devil incarnate thing. Sort of like Bedazzled meets the guy from Conor McPherson's play The Seafarer.Mapeelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12149683683413237283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-41009175915992005342010-01-29T19:12:11.340-05:002010-01-29T19:12:11.340-05:00I love this show and have watched since the pilot,...I love this show and have watched since the pilot, and yet I feel like it's been getting worse throughout season three. Everything just seems very tired and cliche -- especially Michael's voiceovers, which keep telling us things they've already told us before (for example, "hard to hide a gun in a bathing suit," or "hotels make for great meeting spots because ...")<br /><br />Jeffrey Donovan has also seemed really off in these last two episodes. Last week I thought his performance was very typical and going-through-the-motions sort of work. This week it was very stiff and deliberate. (The voice, the posture, the mannerisms. It all grated on my nerves).<br /><br />Lots of continuity problems with Sam's friend showing up (going back to the explanation about his marriage last season), and after he punched the guy in the face and then decided to help him about two minutes later it bought the episode down a notch for me. <br /><br />Burn Notice has really been as its peak when it gives us a memorable client story, yet these last two weeks they've abandoned that in favor of stunt racing, explosions and (one really ludicrous) gun fight in which 1,000 bullets were fired but nobody had a scratch on them, despite rappelling <br /> -- rather awkwardly -- down the side of a building. <br /><br />Matt Nix has talked at length about how he goes out of his way to do this "just because" and yet the need for bombs and guns has never seemed so forced, taking away the blue sky feel and comedic tone that made Burn Notice successful. <br /><br />I can't be the only one that feels this way, right?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-50399965823671147662010-01-29T18:21:28.293-05:002010-01-29T18:21:28.293-05:00Yeah, the voice was goofy, but I was entertained, ...Yeah, the voice was goofy, but I was entertained, so I'm happy.deznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-11079480196416874952010-01-29T17:50:35.615-05:002010-01-29T17:50:35.615-05:00It was Chris Vance's voice that kept bugging m...It was Chris Vance's voice that kept bugging me. I realize it's probably his own, or close enough to it, but it kept making me think of Cary Elwes and Simon Jones.....Toby O'Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06999037844031101965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-58485233807935583782010-01-29T15:58:45.569-05:002010-01-29T15:58:45.569-05:00It was! I can't believe I picked him out. Th...It was! I can't believe I picked him out. That's Jason Vargas, aka Snake (not Spike, sorry!) from Airborne.<br /><br />http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0889846/Alannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-29793036354123421992010-01-29T14:55:49.486-05:002010-01-29T14:55:49.486-05:00Was the bad-guy (who wasn't so bad) the same a...Was the bad-guy (who wasn't so bad) the same actor who played Spike in the early 90s classic rollerblading movie "Airborne"? Just looked like him...Alannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-27369750597908044072010-01-29T14:45:14.007-05:002010-01-29T14:45:14.007-05:00Maybe it's because I only had three hours of s...Maybe it's because I only had three hours of sleep but I thought it was a scream. I'm tired of the southern accents. <br /><br />ha! word verification..weadstorAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-27487850932187890082010-01-29T13:07:13.866-05:002010-01-29T13:07:13.866-05:00I suppose I can't argue around that explanatio...I suppose I can't argue around that explanation, Alan.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18322488476602270121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-3713478836553871662010-01-29T11:57:35.477-05:002010-01-29T11:57:35.477-05:00Am I the only one who thought that Michael's &...Am I the only one who thought that Michael's "Louis" persona was intentionally over the top because he was going to drop character with the "good" gang leader? Even after they took down Rincon and Vega I was expecting him to drop the act and let them know that he was a guy they wanted to have as a friend.<br /><br />That has been my main issue with this show as it goes on. With all the underworld figures and small timers that he has helped, he should have a much bigger stable of friends and allies. Especially now that he has accepted the fact that he is a vigilante, not a spy. Leaving his extended circle at Barry and the arms dealer with the crazy eyes doesn't feel like it is enough anymore.Andy Lnoreply@blogger.com