Burn Notice season 2
| Burn Notice | |
|---|---|
| Season 2 | |
 DVD cover | |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Release | |
| Original network | USA Network |
| Original release | July 10, 2008 – March 5, 2009 |
| Season chronology | |
The second season of the American television action-drama series Burn Notice, created by Matt Nix and starring Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell, and Sharon Gless, premiered July 10, 2008.[1] The season was split into two parts, with episodes 1–9 airing in the summer of 2008 and episodes 10–16 being broadcast in early 2009.
A burn notice is a document issued by intelligence agencies to discredit or announce the dismissal of agents or sources who are considered to have become unreliable. The television series is a first-person narrative (including frequent stream of consciousness voice-overs providing nuggets of exposition) from the viewpoint of covert-operations agent Michael Westen, played by Jeffrey Donovan. Michael Westen often delivers tips on unrelated subject matters, such as on burglar-proofing houses or getting promoted during commercial breaks.[2][3][4]
Season overview
The second season of Burn Notice continues the plot lines of the first season. Michael Westen had struggled to find out why he had been burned and by whom. Westen continues his work as an unlicensed private investigator and freelance spy for anyone in town who can pay him any money to fund his investigation into his situation as a blacklisted agent. Westen battles and outwits an array of mobsters, con artists, contract killers, professional thieves, drug traffickers, arms dealers and kidnappers. Michael must also battle personal demons, chief among which is his relationship with Fiona.
Season 2 introduces a mysterious woman named "Carla" (Tricia Helfer), an agent of the organization behind Michael's burn notice who is now trying to get him to work for that organization. Although he resists, she assigns him various tasks (which he later learns are preparation for an assassination), while he also attempts to find out who she is. She often coerces him into working for her by threatening the people he cares about with violence. Midway through the season, Michael is almost assassinated by an unknown group.[5] Carla gets the assignment to discover who placed the hit, as the mysterious assassin also killed the operative involved in her assassination, while Michael digs around for the mastermind to find what could be either a potential ally or a dangerous new enemy.
Carla's operation is sabotaged by a rogue agent in her organization, and Michael is assigned to find out who it was: Victor Stricker-Epps (Michael Shanks), another agent of the organization who was trying to destroy them from within after he learned that Carla had his wife and child killed as part of his recruitment. He also reveals that Carla is trying to kill them both because Victor has proof that Carla is corrupt: using the organization's resources for personal profit and to settle old vendettas, and Michael is helping him. At the end of Season 2, after Carla is killed by Fiona and Michael kills Victor in an act of mercy, he has an encounter with Carla's superior, simply known as "Management" (John Mahoney). Putting the pieces together, Michael realizes that Management falsified records to paint him as both corrupt and unreliable, forcing the government to burn him. When Michael demands Management leave him alone, Management complies. While it frees Michael from their grasp, it also removes the organization's protection, which now exposes Michael to police attention and allows enemies he made as a U.S. covert operative to track him down.
Cast
Jeffrey Donovan returned as the still-burned spy Michael Westen. Gabrielle Anwar reprised her role as ex-IRA operative Fiona Glenanne, and Bruce Campbell returned as ex-Navy SEAL Sam Axe. Sharon Gless also returned, as Madeline Westen, Michael's mother.
The second season saw even more recurring guests than the first. The most prominent of these was Tricia Helfer, who appeared in many episodes as Michael's handler, Carla. Paul Tei also made several appearances returning as money-launderer Barry Burkowski. Seth Peterson returned as Michael's brother, Nate Westen. Michael Shanks was introduced as wrangler Victor Stecker-Epps. Silas Weir Mitchell made two appearances as the quirky arms dealer Seymour. Marc Macaulay and Brandon Morris returned for one episode as Agents Harris and Lane, two FBI agents who were formerly in charge of Michael's surveillance. Agent Jason Bly, another FBI agent, also returned for one episode, portrayed by Alex Carter. Gary Weeks made various appearances as Campbell, Fiona's boyfriend, while Audrey Landers made a single appearance in her previous role as Sam's girlfriend, Veronica. Virgil Watkins, a former client, made an appearance, portrayed by Chris Ellis. Various other characters were introduced, who later became important recurring characters. These included John Mahoney as Management, Tim Matheson as Michael's former mentor-turned-assassin "Dead" Larry Sizemore, and Jay Karnes as arms dealer Tyler Brennen. Notable one-time guest stars included Kevin Alejandro, Erick Avari, Rob Benedict, Assaf Cohen, Patrick Fabian, Oded Fehr, Method Man, Larry Miller, Amy Pietz, Clarence Williams III, and Fawad Siddiqui.
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 1 | "Breaking and Entering" | Paul Holahan | Matt Nix | July 10, 2008 | BN201 | 5.39[6] |
| 14 | 2 | "Turn and Burn" | John T. Kretchmer | Alfredo Barrios, Jr. | July 17, 2008 | BN202 | 4.87[7] |
| 15 | 3 | "Trust Me" | Paul Holahan | Craig O'Neill & Jason Tracey | July 24, 2008 | BN203 | 4.76[8] |
| 16 | 4 | "Comrades" | John T. Kretchmer | Matt Nix & Jason Ning | July 31, 2008 | BN204 | 4.86[9] |
| 17 | 5 | "Scatter Point" | Rod Hardy | Ben Watkins | August 7, 2008 | BN205 | 4.56[10] |
| 18 | 6 | "Bad Blood" | Bronwen Hughes | Matt Nix & Rashad Raisani | August 14, 2008 | BN206 | 3.88[11] |
| 19 | 7 | "Rough Seas" | Jeremiah S. Chechik | Alfredo Barrios, Jr. & Michael Horowitz | August 21, 2008 | BN207 | 3.86[12] |
| 20 | 8 | "Double Booked" | Tim Matheson | Craig O'Neill & Jason Tracey | September 11, 2008 | BN208 | 4.77[13] |
| 21 | 9 | "Good Soldier" | Jeff Freilich | Alfredo Barrios, Jr. | September 18, 2008 | BN209 | 4.67[14] |
| 22 | 10 | "Do No Harm" | Matt Nix | Matt Nix | January 22, 2009 | BN210 | 5.12[15] |
| 23 | 11 | "Hot Spot" | Stephen Surjik | Ben Watkins | January 29, 2009 | BN211 | 5.38[16] |
| 24 | 12 | "Seek and Destroy" | Scott Peters | Rashad Raisani | February 5, 2009 | BN212 | 5.27[17] |
| 25 | 13 | "Bad Breaks" | John T. Kretchmer | Michael Horowitz | February 12, 2009 | BN213 | 4.84[18] |
| 26 | 14 | "Truth & Reconciliation" | Ernest Dickerson | Alfredo Barrios, Jr. | February 19, 2009 | BN214 | 4.67[19] |
| 27 | 15 | "Sins of Omission" | Dennie Gordon | Craig O'Neill & Jason Tracey | February 26, 2009 | BN215 | 4.85[20] |
| 28 | 16 | "Lesser Evil" | Tim Matheson | Matt Nix | March 5, 2009 | BN216 | 6.09[21] |
References
Footnotes
- ^ Hale, Mike (June 28, 2007). "What's on Tonight - New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved February 2, 2009.
- ^ "Burn Notice - Ask A Spy". Usanetwork.com. June 5, 2007. Retrieved February 2, 2009.
- ^ Self-Defense, Television (December 22, 2007). "Burn Notice's "Ask a Spy" - Burglar Proofing | Money Saving Reviews | Money Saving Buying Guides". OpTempo. Archived from the original on February 14, 2009. Retrieved February 2, 2009.
- ^ Ask a Spy - Getting Promoted. "Burn Notice: Ask a Spy - Getting Promoted". Hulu. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved February 2, 2009.
- ^ Fowler, Matt (January 21, 2009). "Burn Notice: "Do No Harm" Review - TV Review at IGN". Tv.ign.com. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ "Nielsen Ratings: Weekly Top 20 Cable TV Ratings for Week Ending July 13, 2008 - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.com. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ "Nielsen Ratings: Weekly Top 20 Cable TV Ratings for Week Ending July 20, 2008 - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.com. Archived from the original on September 6, 2009. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ "Nielsen Ratings Cable TV Top 20: The Closer, Nascar and Miley Cyrus - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.com. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ "Nielsen Cable TV Ratings for the Week ending August 3, 2008: TNT's 'The Closer' Wins Again - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.com. August 5, 2008. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ "Nielsen Cable TV Ratings for the Week ending August 10, 2008: TNT's 'The Closer' Bests WWE, Saving Grace and NASCAR - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.com. August 12, 2008. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ "Weekly Nielsen Cable TV Ratings: Top 20 Shows for the Week Ending August 17, Including The Closer, Burn Notice, In Plain Sight, WWE RAW, Monk and NASCAR - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.com. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ "Cable TV Top 20: The Closer, Cheetah Girls and Law & Order: CI - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.com. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ "Nielsen Top Cable Show TV Ratings for the week ending September 14, 2008 - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.com. Archived from the original on September 17, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ "Nielsen Top Cable Show TV Ratings for the week ending September 21, 2008; Monday Night Football and TNT's The Closer - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.com. Archived from the original on September 17, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ "Nielsen Ratings: Top cable shows for the week ending January 25, 2009 including Obama inauguration coverage, WWE RAW, Burn Notice, Psych, SpongeBob, Back at the Barnyard, Battlestar Galactica, Kyle XY and Damages - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ "The Closer, Monk and Burn Notice lead weekly Nielsen Ratings for cable viewing for the week ending February 1, 2009 - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ "Monk , WWE RAW , The Closer and Burn Notice lead cable viewing - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ "Updated: NBA All-Star festivities, The Closer, WWE RAW, and Monk lead week, Damages to return despite ratings - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.com. Archived from the original on August 22, 2010. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ "WWE RAW, The Closer and Monk lead weekly cable viewing - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.com. Archived from the original on September 17, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ "WWE RAW, The Closer and President Obama lead cable viewing - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2010. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ Berman, Marc (March 7, 2010). "Burn Notice Ratings". Mediaweek. Archived from the original on April 18, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)