The Positively Positive

In this week’s episode of Burn Notice, a couple of the “background” characters get to be more center stage. First off there’s Madeline, who’s enjoying having Jesse around the house, and also getting to the bottom of who he is and why he’s in Michael’s life.

Then there’s Sam. Usually Sam is backup for Michael or Fi, always there when they need him – playing wacky undercover guys to keep the baddies distracted, sitting on a rooftop with a long range rifle ready to put a bullet in anyone who threatens them, or sitting in a hot car listening to endless hours of boring conversations on bugs that he’s planted. This week though, Sam has to basically run an op himself, with everyone else on the team as backup for him.

My favorite bits…

Sam coming straight to the most important part of the mission – the snacks.

The montage of everyone chatting up all the various ship crews on the docks.

Jesse saving the security guard, so willing to stick his neck out for the little guy. Michael saves people too, but when he started he was hesitant at best. It’s interesting to see the difference between the two.

The way Madeline grilled Jesse in the kitchen. Nothing gets past her and I love it.

Michael making one of the most disgusting bugs I’ve ever seen. Ugh, that thing made me wanna barf – which I guess was the whole point.

Michael once again seamlessly pulling off an undercover personality – this one a wimpy drunk Fed on suspension.

Michael taking down two thugs by himself. I know he’s generally a badass on the show, but I still love it when we get to see an example of his skills.

Finding out the terrible way that Jesse’s mother died when he was a kid. Guess we’re getting an idea of what makes him always want to help the helpless.

One of my favorite songs, ‘Unstoppable’ by Santigold, being played in the club.

Sam and Jesse taking down the mobster in the bathroom. Brilliant.

Kind of crushing on “Chuck Finley”. I know he’s a killer but I can’t help it. First of all he’s kinda cute (sorta looks like that Bruce Campbell guy) and he’s pretty freaking funny. How many killers name their knives “Mr. Slicey”?

Sam being the one to take point on an op, once Michael’s undercover ID was compromised.

Jesse forcing Sam to tell his El Salvador story. I could tell right away from the way he told it, that it was real and it made me love Sam even more.

Sam getting pissed at Jesse for forcing him “pimp his past” to the badguys.

Madeline asking if word had gotten out about her cookies when Jesse hesitated to take one. LOL.

The op all going to plan, right up to the point where the mobster they were trying to entrap went back for Sam. Dang that Jesse and him forcing Sam to tell his El Salvador story.

Fi running auditions for the “troops”. Yeah, that looked like a real tough job…

Michael and Fi putting the blankets over their heads and sniping the cars from a rooftop. Okay I don’t know why, but for some reason I thought that looked so cool.

Tony talking big to Gio while his army ran out on him in the background. Oops.

Madeline knowing what Michael did to Jesse because the look he had on his face matched the one he wore when he joined the Army, leaving his little brother to deal with their abusive father alone. She knows that he’s lying to Jesse and knows it won’t end well. Like I said, nothing gets past her and I love her for it. The conversations between Michael and his mother have turned out to be some of most intense moments in the show recently. Great stuff.

Don’t miss out on my next review! Be sure to subscribe to The Positively Positive and get updates straight to your email!

More Burn Notice Reviews….
Burn Notice, season 3, episode 10 “A Dark Road”
Burn Notice, season 3, episode 11 “Friendly Fire”
Burn Notice, season 4, episode 1 “Friends and Enemies”
Burn Notice, season 4, episode 2 “Fast Friends”

You know, I keep waiting for the humor in this show to get old but it just doesn’t. If anything, it’s getting funnier and funnier with each episode. I also keep waiting for Bradley Whitford’s performance as Dan to get annoying but nope, that’s not happening either. Still funny as hell and going strong, this week’s episode has the boys tracking down a candy thief. Of course, like with all their cases, it leads them to something much bigger and they end up after a no-good pimp who’s threatening a girl who just wants to get out of the biz once and for all.

My favorite bits…

Jack being more upset that Dan is about to sneeze on him than the fact that they’re both getting shot to hell in a bathtub.

Jack’s ex setting him up on a date

The thug telling his boss that his office is kind of a dump and he should get a decorator. Last week we got a sidekick spouting dating advice and now design advice? What’s next, a sidekick with cooking tips?

Gemini not willing to let his best girl go because he needs to get his tattoo removed. Must be a big problem among pimps everywhere.

Dan referring to the forensics techs as “the geeks with the microscopes”. LOL! You know, somehow I think Abby on NCIS would think that was pretty darn funny.

Dan trying to memorize the names on the computer before he saw that Jack had printed it out on the “mimeograph”.

The look between Dan and Jack when the hotel manager came flying off the roof. Classic.

The chase after the bad guys on the roof, done to the tune of ‘Solid Gold Easy Action’ by T. Rex.

Dan’s flu going from the hotel manager and making its way over to Gemini the pimp. That’s some pretty powerful germs he’s got there.

Barfing in the bushes turning out to be a good way to find evidence. Who knew?

Dan’s painful “It….will….pass” as he’s bent double and unable to move.

The angry wife threatening to gun down her husband to the tune of “These Boots Are Made For Walking”, originally by Nancy Sinatra but I’m pretty sure the version in this ep is from Star Academy.

Dan practically beside himself that he’s not the one who gets to entrap the call girl and Jack ending up only talking to her about his ex.

Great use of a punk version (which I could not find anywhere, unfortunately) of “My Boyfriend’s Back” during the scene where Gemini and his thug come to shoot up the hotel room.

Dan’s flu then making its way over to Lieutenant Ruiz and the simultaneous “she’s pissed” Dan and Jack say as she walks away, well, pissed.

Cracking up at my local news cutting into the episode to report on the earthquake that just happened and the episode resuming at the point where there’s a news report about the shooting. For a second there, I didn’t know what the heck was real…..well, except for the earthquake cuz I felt that. LOL.

Jack and Dan just happening to be at the pharmacy where Gemini shows up, exactly 1.01 miles from his house and therefore not breaking the ultimatum that the lieutenant gave them.

Dan’s “It’s not a toy…..it’s a red gun” when Gemini spots what he’s got in the mirror.

Another final action sequence to a great song ‘Traveling Band’ by Creedence.

Dan handcuffing himself to Gemini as he loses consciousness and then Jack fighting Gemini while the pimp is still attached to his partner. OMG, best fight ever!! LOL.

Jack telling Dan that he can’t punch the smug bastard in the face but letting him do the next best thing…..giving the guy a big ol’ wet kiss and the infamous flu.

Don’t miss out on my next review! Be sure to subscribe to The Positively Positive and get updates straight to your email!

More of The Good Guys Reviews…
The Good Guys, season 1, episode 1 “Pilot”
The Good Guys, season 1, episode 2 “Bait and Switch”

After accidentally burning a spy himself in last week’s episode, this week Michael takes on said burned spy as a client. Jesse has been let loose by the FBI but now he’s got more bad guys on his tail, looking for money that they think he stole.

So Michael’s team gets one more member and everyone has to learn how to play nice. Jesse is good at what he does, but plays by his own rules and gets himself in trouble. Michael, Fi and Sam rescue him of course, and in the end Jesse moves in to Michael’s mother’s garage. Our threesome is becoming a foursome and I for one am pretty excited by the prospect. Michael hasn’t told Jesse he was the one who burned him, giving us future fuel for lots of drama. I say bring it on.

My favorite bits…

Sam continuously saying that “Vaugh is a good name for a vampire”. Makes me wonder, what’s he got against the name Vaugh?

Vaugh calling Michael ‘Boss’ once he decided to let Michael find Jesse

Fi writing “Outsource This!!” in spray paint on the wall. Oh man, I’m sure there’re quite a few people out there who would find that amusing.

The fact that Fi can not only create a bomb in less than 90 seconds, but can do it only using items found in a few office desks. That’s a rare talent right there.

Maddie sending a text “NEED HELP NOW” to both Michael and Sam, causing them both to break into her place with guns. Talk about bad text etiquette.

Finding out that in addition to their weapons, explosives and various other spy skills, apparently Michael and Sam can also do construction. The boys have got some skills too.

Fi referring to Sam as a “wash-up old booze hound” and maybe (or maybe not) realizing she was on speaker when she did it.

This Jesse guy taking on a truck full of bad guys with only minimal help from Michael and his team. Not too bad for a rookie.

Michael comparing spies to wedding planners because both like attention to details. LOL.

It’s not like we all didn’t see it coming but it was still a bit exciting when Jesse became Michael’s new client. Of course it’s extra tricky since Michael’s helping the guy that he burned and he can’t tell him.

The look Michael gives Fi when he’s trying to convince her to let Jesse stay in the condo next door. Who knew Michael could pull off a puppy-dog look?

Michael’s new undercover persona for this ep. He didn’t have to do an accent, per se, but that gravelly voice was awesome, especially when he asked if he could take the Mongolian beef with him.

Not being at all surprised when Jesse did his own version of the plan. He’s gonna be trouble, I can feel it…..though that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Jesse having the balls to shoot at Michael to keep up his act and Michael shooting right back. Really shows how good they both are that they both did it on the fly…and survived.

Sam telling Jesse that they were gonna “dance” if he didn’t behave and Jesse replying that he would beat Sam’s “old ass”. All of that totally cracked me up.

Maddie’s renter’s cat finding Michael’s detonators and subsequently moving out. Man, I really hate it when that happens.

Fi deciding she liked Jesse once he told her that he was put on desk duty because he had a tendency to beat up all bad guys, including thugs in bars who beat up their girlfriends. Okay, I’m with her, I’m starting to like Jesse too.

Michael speeding past the bad guys in his tricked-out truck. Nice!

Seeing how badly it affected Michael when he heard Jesse being tortured over the phone. Yikes, poor Michael.

Barry not being able to stay mad at Fi for losing him a client because the way she did it was “smoking hot”. LOL!

Jesse being able to roll with Michael’s story, picking up on all of the clues he needed to in order to help Michael get him out of there.

Loving this exchange between Jesse and Sam:
Jesse: “Oh, you go through all that trouble to save my ass and leave the old guy in charge of the getaway?”
Sam: “Buckle up rookie, and try not to bleed on the upholstery”

Maddie sharing with Jesse her “very best gun cleaner”. LOL!

Jesse telling Michael that when he finds the person who burned him, he’s going to kill them. And this guy is living in his mother’s garage? Obviously they’re gonna start working together? Oh yeah, this is gonna be VERY interesting.

Don’t miss out on my next review! Be sure to subscribe to The Positively Positive and get updates straight to your email!

More Burn Notice Reviews….
Burn Notice, season 3, episode 10 “A Dark Road”
Burn Notice, season 3, episode 11 “Friendly Fire”
Burn Notice, season 4, episode 1 “Friends and Enemies”

Two episodes into this series and I’m totally hooked. I have no idea what kind of numbers this tv show is bringing in, but I really hope they’re good because ‘The Good Guys’ is already becoming a favorite.

Like the pilot, this episode was full of great lines, hilarious bad guys, gorgeous classic cars, awesome stunts and some totally rockin’ tunes. With all that good stuff, it’s hard to know what I like the most, but overall I’d have to say it’s the writing. Pretty much every single thing that comes out of every character’s mouth (especially Dan’s) cracks me up.

In this episode, the guys start out on a vandalism case and end up tracking down a whole lot of stolen classic cars. Not getting much help from the department they use Dan’s Trans Am as a bait car and (no surprise) they lose it. In the meantime, the sexy officer on the task force seems to have her sights set on Jack but it turns out that she’s working with the bad guys and trying to keep him off track.

My favorite bits….

Dan using Jack’s keyboard to scratch his back. Now there’s a use for one I hadn’t thought of before.

This line from Dan: “The only place a woman should punch a man is in the face.” – LOL!

Jack telling Dan “I’m not getting into a bed you’re already in, Dan.”

The bad guy’s sidekick actually spouting out some pretty good love advice.

Jack and Dan locking a snitch in the trunk so they can track Dan’s car. Brilliant and freaking hilarious.

Not being at all surprised that the moment Dan is left alone with a computer, he downloads enough porn to give it a virus.

That when the guys discover the computer isn’t tracking, Dan yells “my car!” and Jack yells “Julius!” – it’s not hard to who’s priorities are where.

Two sets of goofy bad guys – one silly but tough Brits and the other silly but tough rednecks.

Dan calling peanut shells “salty, delicious tree bark”

This bit:
Dan: “Hey man it don’t matter what her name is, you’re never gonna see her naked.”
(looks up and sees Kiersten standing behind him)
Dan: “I know I won’t”
(me falling on the floor and laughing my ass off)

Liz trying to hide the fact that she’s jealous about Jack going on a date with Kiersten, and failing miserably at it.

Kiersten and Jack battling it out to the tune of Heart’s ‘Crazy On You’. I was beginning to wonder at this point if we were going to get any music in this ep.

Dan nearly blowing away the “computer machine” because it wouldn’t tell him where his partner was.

FINALLY figuring out what in the heck the sound effect was that they use when flipping back and forth from scene to scene. When going from past to present they use the sounds of a revolver: spinning the cylinder and firing it. Then for just the regular scene changes they use an automatic: pulling back the slide and firing. Oh yes, I am extremely proud of myself for figuring this out. Can you tell?

Yelling at the screen “Noooo! Don’t hurt the cars!!” when Jack’s car came crashing through the window and hit the Mustang and then they started shooting it up. Oh noes!!

The final shootout done to the tune of “Rock You Like a Hurricane” by Scorpions….and laughing out loud at the fact that both of the songs used in the ep are actually in my iPod shuffle right now and I worked out to at least one of them in the past week.

Jack turning down Liz so he could go take part in Dan’s tradition of eating oysters and drinking beer till they puke. Awwww, so sweet.

Overall another fun episode of this great new series.

Don’t miss out on my next review! Be sure to subscribe to The Positively Positive and get updates straight to your email!

More from The Positively Positive…
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 11 “Beat The Devil”
Burn Notice, season 4, episode 1 “Friends and Enemies”
Royal Pains, season 2, episode 1 “Spasticity”

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not a huge fan of summer. Never have been and probably never will be. I mean summer’s okay and all, but as far as seasons go, fall and winter are definitely my favorites.

You see, I was born in the city where Burn Notice is set – beautiful, sun kissed, white sand beaches, Miami. Only I never really liked the beach. The beach to me meant uncomfortable heat, burning sunburns (I ALWAYS got burned, every single time, no matter how much sunblock my mom slathered on me), sand everywhere, etc. When I was a kid growing up in Miami, I used to dream of living in a place where I could actually wear a coat in the winter. Strange, but true.

Okay so why do I bring all this up? Because now I’ve finally found a reason to look forward to summer. And no, the irony of it being shot in my old town of Miami is not lost on me.

At the end of last season, Michael Westen took down the crazed ex-spy Simon. In doing so, he got himself back on the good side of Management (I love that “Management” is actually just one guy). He may have also gotten arrested in the process (being found holding a gun to a guy’s head will do that), but he was out within minutes and taken to some faraway place to be imprisoned…..um, in a really fancy room?

This season starts right where we left off, with Michael in that room. When his “captors” come, it turns out they actually need his help. They’re trying to find someone big, who’s been behind some major stuff all over the world and so far they’ve all been coming up with bupkis.

Michael agrees to help and, in the meantime, returns home to find that everyone has had different reactions to him going missing for a month. His mother is wondering about the stories the FBI told her of her son being a killer. Sam and Fi have started doing jobs together, acting like nothing has happened but still affected by his long absence.

The trio end up solving a case, just like old times, and it brings them together again. Michael also starts on his other “job”, creating a chain reaction that causes something which made my jaw drop.

Michael has burned a spy and now we have to wait until next week to see what happens next.

My favorite bits….

Trying very hard not to be scared to see that Michael’s captor is Uriel from Supernatural. I know, I know, it’s a different show but hey, I can’t help the fact that I kept waiting for the guy to snap his fingers and kill everyone. It was a gut reaction, okay?

Seeing that Michael actually really was in a prison when they moved him to an actual cell. Kinda surprised me as I thought the pretty room meant he was in a mansion somewhere.

Michael going into the jungle all decked out in combat gear. Very different than his normal linen suits and I like it.

The way Michael asked “so now it’s my turn?” when Vaughn told him that every other agent who gets close to finding the person they’re looking for gets, well, dead.

Madeline offering Michael a tuna fish sandwich when he got home. So sweet.

Sam and Fi seemingly barely to acknowledge Michael’s return and seeing that the two of them have apparently been working together as a team (however poorly) for a while.

Michael screaming: “Guys! Guys! I have a loaded pistol machine gun in my hand and I have no idea what I’m doing!” – Yeah, I hear ya Michael. I really hate it when that happens too.

Badass Michael going up against a group of bikers with a MAC-10 in each hand. Nice!

The way Fi peeked around the trunk to ask Michael if he was pouting. Such a cute little moment.

Fi finally dropping the act of not missing Michael, smacking him first, kissing him second and finally getting mad that he was getting involved with the people who burned him. Yep, things are back to normal.

The way Sam said “The boss is a guy named Big Ed…..apparently he’s quite large.” – LOL!!

Another visit from everyone’s money launderer, Barry. Yay! I love Barry.

Being shocked that Fiona was small enough to fit through that tiny ventilation hole. Holy cow. If I’d been in that room I would’ve been screwed.

Vaughn calling Michael “Robin Hood”. So true.

This line – “Remember, we want to have a nice polite conversation with him….AFTER we kidnap him.” – Yep, always works for me.

Michael ducking just in time when he saw Sam and the biker chick wrestling over the shotgun…and also the look on his face when he saw how close they came to blowing his head off. LOL.

The way Sam’s hair looked after his fight with the biker chick. Hilarious!

The freaking awesome car chase (or would it a motorcycle chase?).

Michael coming completely clean with Madeline and telling her exactly what he did and why sometimes he has to break the law and work with bad people to help good people. Then breaking down when he told her about what Simon said to him, voicing out loud the fear he’s been carrying about turning into a monster like Simon did.

Finding out that Michael once again has done something bad in order to do something good, except this time it’s the worst thing possible – he’s burned a spy. Whoa.

Overall an exciting season premiere that puts Michael back where he belongs, but with a whole agenda.

Don’t miss out on my next review! Be sure to subscribe to The Positively Positive and get updates straight to your email!

More Burn Notice….
Burn Notice, season 3, episode 10 “A Dark Road”
Burn Notice, season 3, episode 11 “Friendly Fire”