-- Steve'll remind folks that there are plenty others there, including this week's tips on how to take down the office bully.
Current Mood: 
amused
amusedThu, Jun. 25th, 2009, 10:54 pm
News You Can Use... maybe.
-- Steve'll remind folks that there are plenty others there, including this week's tips on how to take down the office bully.
Wed, Jun. 24th, 2009, 11:58 am
I've been watching too much Burn Notice lately.
Just looked in the mirror and noted that I forgot to shave this morning, thanks to the insanely-fast onset of summer here*. While examining the stubble I heard, in my head, Bruce Campbell's voice ordering, "dos mojitos, por favor."
-- Steve thinks that there are worse afflictions to suffer.
*Over the past week temperatures have risen by ten-twelve degrees Celsius. For those still shackled to the primitive Fahrenheit marks, think of the daily high temperature going from mid-60s to high-80s over a five day period. Oh, yeah, and the relative humidity shot up to a fer-gosh-honest 99%. It certainly feels Miami-ish in comparison to the cool and drizzly spring just a week ago. In any case, the sudden temperature change makes it tough to sleep... especially since I haven't cleaned and checked the air conditioner yet. Argh.
-- Steve thinks that there are worse afflictions to suffer.
*Over the past week temperatures have risen by ten-twelve degrees Celsius. For those still shackled to the primitive Fahrenheit marks, think of the daily high temperature going from mid-60s to high-80s over a five day period. Oh, yeah, and the relative humidity shot up to a fer-gosh-honest 99%. It certainly feels Miami-ish in comparison to the cool and drizzly spring just a week ago. In any case, the sudden temperature change makes it tough to sleep... especially since I haven't cleaned and checked the air conditioner yet. Argh.
Current Mood: 
confused
confusedTue, Jun. 23rd, 2009, 11:25 am
Burned, and liking it.
In a fit of weakness last Tuesday, I picked up the second season set for the TV series Burn Notice. As this fit of weakness struck the very first day of sale for the set, and I picked up the last copy on the shelf, I might as well come out right now and say that this is going to be a favourable review.
If you're unfamiliar with the series, my elevator pitch for Burn Notice would be that you blend Magnum PI and MacGuyver until smooth, season with a little The Prisoner, then garnish with a twist of Miami Vice.
Micheal Weston (played by Jeffery Donovan) starts the series as a US government agent on assignment discovering that a "burn notice" has been circulated on him cutting off his government support. Beaten to a pulp when his mission goes sour, he manages to escape, only to pass out on the airplane and then wake up in a seedy hotel in his home-town of Miami. There he meets Fiona Glenanne (Gabrielle Anwar), ex-IRA ordnance expert and gun runner and ex-girlfriend, and the boozy retired Navy SEAL and covert operative Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell). Weston reaches out to them to help find out why he was "burned". In the mean time he finds he cannot avoid dealing with his mother, Madeline (Sharon Gless), and his abusive father's legacy while trapped in Miami without travel papers and with FBI surveilance, arrest warrants, and vengeful foreign spies dogging him. Out of monetary necessity and a frustrated sense of duty he turns to helping people in Miami deal with the usual troubles you find in a TV "private eye" show.
What draws me to this show isn't its novelty; frankly, the concept itself is nothing new. I am drawn, however, by the obvious love of the craft shown by the show's cast and crew and writers. It's a smart show; though the villains are disappointingly prone to driving with their gas tanks full of foamed napalm, the schemes are less fanciful than the usual ruck and actually look like they could work. (Indeed, many of the criminal plots do appear to be drawn from real life cases.) There is obvious attention to real-world spy tradecraft, right down to a sardonic voice-over by Weston directed at the audience as if to explain to a novice class of spy-trainees the merits and pitfalls of the action on-screen. There is also a real love for the recurring characters, in that they do develop as the show progresses.
The structure is a bit different than the usual, in that though each episode has the traditional "A" and "B" plot familiar to viewers, one of those plots is the ongoing story arc of Weston fighting against those who burned him... and making progress, which removes the awful "episode reset syndrome" that haunted The Fugitive (or Gilligan's Island, for that matter) and gives the show's premise that much more verisimilitude.
It's also fun to spot favourite actors from other great shows cropping up; two West Wing alumni, two from BSG, two from Stargate SG-1, and many others familiar from TV and film. The show draws A-talent, but it also fosters new actors too and I look forward to seeing them in future shows on other series.
The editing and cinematography is stylish; sometimes it's obtrusive, but never overly so and frankly it works. The fight choreography is great, assisted by Donovan's own martial arts expertise.
Argh, out of time... maybe I'll follow this up later with more. In the mean time, just let me say that Burn Notice is worth watching if you can find it. Season 3 is airing now 9pm Eastern Thursdays on the USA Network, which (for some reason or another) doesn't find it's way here to Canada, plus episodes are available on the US-only Hulu service.
-- Steve will also recommend their official site, which sports (among other nifty things) their "Ask A Spy" section wherein Donovan (in-character as Weston) answers fan questions about tradecraft in 1-minute short films. The "how do I escape from a Turkmenistani prison?" segment is particularly amusing.
If you're unfamiliar with the series, my elevator pitch for Burn Notice would be that you blend Magnum PI and MacGuyver until smooth, season with a little The Prisoner, then garnish with a twist of Miami Vice.
Micheal Weston (played by Jeffery Donovan) starts the series as a US government agent on assignment discovering that a "burn notice" has been circulated on him cutting off his government support. Beaten to a pulp when his mission goes sour, he manages to escape, only to pass out on the airplane and then wake up in a seedy hotel in his home-town of Miami. There he meets Fiona Glenanne (Gabrielle Anwar), ex-IRA ordnance expert and gun runner and ex-girlfriend, and the boozy retired Navy SEAL and covert operative Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell). Weston reaches out to them to help find out why he was "burned". In the mean time he finds he cannot avoid dealing with his mother, Madeline (Sharon Gless), and his abusive father's legacy while trapped in Miami without travel papers and with FBI surveilance, arrest warrants, and vengeful foreign spies dogging him. Out of monetary necessity and a frustrated sense of duty he turns to helping people in Miami deal with the usual troubles you find in a TV "private eye" show.
What draws me to this show isn't its novelty; frankly, the concept itself is nothing new. I am drawn, however, by the obvious love of the craft shown by the show's cast and crew and writers. It's a smart show; though the villains are disappointingly prone to driving with their gas tanks full of foamed napalm, the schemes are less fanciful than the usual ruck and actually look like they could work. (Indeed, many of the criminal plots do appear to be drawn from real life cases.) There is obvious attention to real-world spy tradecraft, right down to a sardonic voice-over by Weston directed at the audience as if to explain to a novice class of spy-trainees the merits and pitfalls of the action on-screen. There is also a real love for the recurring characters, in that they do develop as the show progresses.
The structure is a bit different than the usual, in that though each episode has the traditional "A" and "B" plot familiar to viewers, one of those plots is the ongoing story arc of Weston fighting against those who burned him... and making progress, which removes the awful "episode reset syndrome" that haunted The Fugitive (or Gilligan's Island, for that matter) and gives the show's premise that much more verisimilitude.
It's also fun to spot favourite actors from other great shows cropping up; two West Wing alumni, two from BSG, two from Stargate SG-1, and many others familiar from TV and film. The show draws A-talent, but it also fosters new actors too and I look forward to seeing them in future shows on other series.
The editing and cinematography is stylish; sometimes it's obtrusive, but never overly so and frankly it works. The fight choreography is great, assisted by Donovan's own martial arts expertise.
Argh, out of time... maybe I'll follow this up later with more. In the mean time, just let me say that Burn Notice is worth watching if you can find it. Season 3 is airing now 9pm Eastern Thursdays on the USA Network, which (for some reason or another) doesn't find it's way here to Canada, plus episodes are available on the US-only Hulu service.
-- Steve will also recommend their official site, which sports (among other nifty things) their "Ask A Spy" section wherein Donovan (in-character as Weston) answers fan questions about tradecraft in 1-minute short films. The "how do I escape from a Turkmenistani prison?" segment is particularly amusing.
Current Mood: content
content