Burn Notice
My dad got bored with watching CSI for the fifth time (no, really, you have seen all the CSIs dad, accept this) so he put on Burn Notice, a new show that was starting on FX two months past that he'd recorded, just when I came downstairs after getting back from sorting my grandparent's affairs out (it's cold out there, but invigorating, by bike!).
Anyway, I sat there thinking it wouldn't be very good and I'd head off leaving my dad watching it. Instead, from the start, it captivated both of us.
Probably what hooked as at the beginning was the wry narrative by the lead spy, which points out various silly stupidities with quotes like: "the problem with hiding in Nigeria is that you're the only white person in a suit so you're going to stick out" followed by "it's also the gun-running capital of the world, so chasing someone into a market is not a good idea" and later on "to get rid of a drug-dealer, give me a hardware store any day over a gun", plus "drug dealers always have armoured doors, but they forget that walls are just plaster".
What kept me hooked was just how much fun it was. You've got this guy with super spy skills and loads of experience. For some reason he's been kicked out of his job, which he obviously loves, he doesn't know why, he has no money or employment history, he's being tracked by the feds and, worst of all, his mother has his cell number...
As a result, you've got this super-experienced and talented spy going around and doing small odd-jobs for whatever money he can get and the badies never seem to know what hit them. All the while there are these little witty asides on spying and how to do it packed with really good and interesting advice, all of which is much more prosaic and lacking in action than James Bond makes it look but is much more interesting. Then there's the whole thing with the government which, since he's not trying to run away, aren't basically too serious about tailing him, making it all a big game between him and the government. Plus there are all these great little moments like when the spy is confronted with his weeping mother, moral car-theft and using regime change tactics to stop school-yard bullying. Oh yeah, and his mother, who wants favours.
I like the characters too. They're a bit unusual and very human, plus I like the professionalism and practicality of the main spy, and the way he has no clue about how to deal with people (like his mother) unless its tied to his job.
Anyway, I sat there thinking it wouldn't be very good and I'd head off leaving my dad watching it. Instead, from the start, it captivated both of us.
Probably what hooked as at the beginning was the wry narrative by the lead spy, which points out various silly stupidities with quotes like: "the problem with hiding in Nigeria is that you're the only white person in a suit so you're going to stick out" followed by "it's also the gun-running capital of the world, so chasing someone into a market is not a good idea" and later on "to get rid of a drug-dealer, give me a hardware store any day over a gun", plus "drug dealers always have armoured doors, but they forget that walls are just plaster".
What kept me hooked was just how much fun it was. You've got this guy with super spy skills and loads of experience. For some reason he's been kicked out of his job, which he obviously loves, he doesn't know why, he has no money or employment history, he's being tracked by the feds and, worst of all, his mother has his cell number...
As a result, you've got this super-experienced and talented spy going around and doing small odd-jobs for whatever money he can get and the badies never seem to know what hit them. All the while there are these little witty asides on spying and how to do it packed with really good and interesting advice, all of which is much more prosaic and lacking in action than James Bond makes it look but is much more interesting. Then there's the whole thing with the government which, since he's not trying to run away, aren't basically too serious about tailing him, making it all a big game between him and the government. Plus there are all these great little moments like when the spy is confronted with his weeping mother, moral car-theft and using regime change tactics to stop school-yard bullying. Oh yeah, and his mother, who wants favours.
I like the characters too. They're a bit unusual and very human, plus I like the professionalism and practicality of the main spy, and the way he has no clue about how to deal with people (like his mother) unless its tied to his job.