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”

In this episode of Royal Pains, Hank has a lot on his plate. First there’s his dad, who’s come back into his and Evan’s life after running out on them and their mother twenty years ago. Then there’s the normal amount of unusual medical cases – a woman suffering from (quite literally) a broken heart and the couple suffering from, get this, leprosy brought on by an armadillo. In the midst of all that, he and Jill have a few moments where the romance between them looks to be sparking up again. They get interrupted before they can get in more than a few kisses, but I’m thinking these two might be getting back together. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

My favorite bits….

Hank stitching up his dad after punching him. Guess that’s the benefit of being a doctor – when you knock someone out, you can patch them up too.

Evan doing a Hank impression with the HankMed bobblehead. I loved the fact that the bobblehead Hank was wearing the same outfit as real Hank.

The way the word “yoga” became code for…..um…..shall we say, other physical pursuits?

The look on Evan’s face when he saw that the cute beltmaker’s husband was a very large police officer. Oops. Nice going, Evan.

Hang getting pulled over and asked to perform an exam in the back of a cop car. Now, there’s something you don’t see every day.

Evan falling on his ass while taking Blake’s place in her yoga class. Technically I guess he fell on his face, since he fell forward, but that didn’t sound nearly as funny.

Despite being pissed at his dad, Hank not hesitating to break a window to get to the man when he thought he was in danger.

Feeling bad for poor Divya trying to figure out how to tell her fiancé that she wants to break tradition and sleep with him before the wedding. Oh boy, talk about awkward.

Blake asking if the heart monitor came in ‘sun-kissed yellow’.

Dear old dad trying to pull off the old “I didn’t know that was all your money” line on Evan. Yeah, right.

Finding out the reason why Hank is so mad at his father, the man left his wife and sons when his wife got sick? Oh man, that’s pretty awful. Poor Hank. I’m sure he had to grow up fast to take care of his mom and his little brother.

Evan telling Hank that at some point he has to forgive their dad and Hank coming right back and saying that at some point, Even is going to have to realize that he won’t. Whoa.

Evan in his spectacular green golf outfit.

Poor Blake not only getting dumped via text, but not even being the one to read it herself. Yikes.

Knowing as soon as they sat on the couch that Hank and Jill weren’t going to be able to keep their hands off each other. I loved how Hank clicked the garage door closed and then immediately had to open it again as they were interrupted by a frantic call about Blake.

There’s such a thing as “broken heart syndrome”?? Huh, who knew?

Divya and Raj deciding to….ahem…do “yoga” before they get married 😉

Everyone pointing out to Evan that he really needs to look up what ‘subliminal’ means.

Totally knowing that Mrs. Newberg was talking about Edie as soon as she said she had found ‘the most wonderful man’. Uh oh, guess dad is gonna be around a bit longer than Hank was hoping.

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More Royal Pains Reviews..
Royal Pains season 2 rap promo
Royal Pains, season 2, episode 1 “Spasticity”

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”

Okay I know I already talked about my dislike of summer in my Burn Notice review. But as I watched the season premiere of Royal Pains, I thought about how summer doesn’t look so bad on that show. They actually make it look good. Pretty people, pretty beaches, pretty houses. Heck, if summer had always looked like that to me, I’d be all over it.

So I guess the solution is to move to the Hamptons, right? 😉

Until then I guess I’ll have to settle for watching Royal Pains and live vicariously through that. Not a bad alternative actually. The season premiere started out right were we left off last season, with HankMed in financial ruin and all of it Evan’s fault for trusting their money with their father. Divya is now unhappily engaged, Jill finally said goodbye to her ex and poor Hank doesn’t know who to be more mad at, his brother or his father.

Other than that, it’s pretty much business as usual as Hank and his team have to save a man who seems intent on getting into more accidents than the law allows.

My favorite bits…

Enjoying all the lovely scenery of the Hamptons. I don’t know why but I’ve always liked the look of those beaches more than my other hometown beaches. So pretty.

Hank knowing exactly where to find Evan, also knowing without a doubt that their dad had run out on him and so upset that “despite my best efforts, it looks like there’s still one sucker left in this family”. Oh man, so much pain and history in that one sentence.

The way Divya just decided to just move on from the fact that she got engaged to a man she doesn’t love. Whoa girl.

Evan being able to tell that Divya got engaged without her actually saying the words.

The conversation between Hank and Boris in the garden. So far Boris has been the one seeking out Hank so it was interesting to see that flipped around as he became disappointed in him.

Disliking (in a good way) Marcia Gay Harden’s character the moment she appeared on screen and knowing that is precisely she’s been added to the cast. Methinks she’s gonna be quite the foe to Jill in the future.

The way Dieter silently and methodically delivered the file to Hank. I could be mistaken but I don’t think Dieter has ever said one word and yet I still find him a really funny character.

Evan coming back to face the music and immediately working on re-booting Hank Med’s finances.

The lights on the floor acting as a guide in the mansion. Cool stuff.

Evan coining the term “spasticity”. Love it. Sometimes I’ve felt that way myself.

Evan’s “Look at these, you tell me these are not BEGGING to be pressed.” LOL, he’s such a child sometimes.

The “I told you so” way that Dr. Blair took a bite of her sandwich when the nurse told Jill that Hank was waiting in her office. Hilarious!

Hank and Jill’s ultra awkward first talk since her ex left town. Ouch. That hurt to watch.

Evan many phone calls trying to drum up business….(“Yes, I can stick it.”…”There’s that catchy hold music again.”) – LOL!

The look on Spencer’s face and his “That’s how this works??” when he saw Hank with the pliers. Dude, you nail your hand to a wall, you betcha you’re gonna need tools to get it back out.

Spencer’s troubling memories over his father echoed on Hank’s face when he advised Spencer to just stay away from the room. Seems like that’s been Hank’s modus operandi – stay away from the problem. I gotta agree though, sometimes that can be the sanest solution to insanity.

Evan’s HankMed infomercial. Oh man, now I’m kinda hoping that USA decides to film one as part of an ad campaign. How awesome would that be?

Divya pointing out that Evan first needs to regain Hank’s trust as his brother, then as his CFO. So true.

Hank spotting that what is needed to help Boris is someone to look at the whole picture and be his “quarterback”. Hmm…interesting.

Spencer slamming himself into his panic room door. Eek!

Jill having the balls to excuse herself from her own disciplinary hearing to save a life. Nice!

Evan’s way out of the doghouse being through the panic room door to press the button and set Spencer free. Yay Evan!

I just love watching Hank work when there’s someone who needs his help. He even apparently got on the good side of Dr. Blair. Way to go, Hank.

Aw poor Evan. So awful that his dad always asks about Hank before asking about him.

Hank finding out that Spencer wasn’t suffering from spasticity after all.

Evan selling his car to help clean up the mess he made with HankMed’s finances.

The brothers making up while tossing a football. So sweet.

Yelling out “Ha! Psyche!” when Evan ran deep for the ball and Hank left him there. I saw that coming from a mile away.

Henry Winkler showing up as the boys’ dad. Fonzie is their dad? Cool!

Practically jumping out of my chair in shock when Hank punched out his father. Okay so yeah, I didn’t see that one coming. Wow.

Overall a premiere episode that added some new characters while giving the familiar ones some new challenges. A great start to the new season.

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More Royal Pains..
Royal Pains season 2 rap promo

More from The Positively Positive….
Burn Notice, season 4, episode 1 “Friends and Enemies”
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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”