Burn Notice is a new TV series that premiered on the US cable station, USA Network, a couple of months ago. If you are feeling the withdrawal symptoms while waiting for the A list TV dramas to start their new seasons, you may find Burn Notice to be a welcomed summer distraction. Burn Notice stars Jeffrey Donovan of Crossing Jordan fame as a "burned" US intelligence operative, Michael Westen. Apparently in the intelligence circles, you don't get fired, you get burned. Westen is convinced that he has been setup to take the fall and is resolved to find the shadowy puppeteers behind his burn notice.

The show is not as serious as the plot outlines sounds. Unlike the likes of Lost, Heroes and Prison Break, this is not a serial drama. Each episode is pretty much a standalone story woven loosely together by Westen's ultimate intention of finding out who burned him. 

Having been burned, Westen finds himself in Miami cashless and outcast from the industry within which he once operated. Here he hooks up with his ex-girlfriend, the stunning Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar), and his sidekick, Sam (Bruce Campbell). In order to raise the money he needs to track down his double-crossers, Westen takes on small investigative jobs around Miami aided by Fiona and Sam. The thing that I really like about this show is the narrative provided by Westen throughout the episode. Westen talks the audience through the tradecraft he employs to discharge each case that he pick up.  

This show is a nice blend of the cheekiness of Magnum PI (remember Tom Selleck ?) and the cool improvised techniques of Macgyver. Burn Notice is more than a summer distraction but a stayer. I think this show has a few seasons to run and is certainly not a flash in the pan. Variety reports that USA Networks has already green lighted a second season of Burn Notice after the series dominated its Thursday timeslot since the June premiere. It'll be interesting to see how this show holds up against the A list serial dramas once they return to the air in September.

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