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Yes, he was burned by a CIA officer named Phillip Cowan on the orders of an organization called Management, run by a former government psychiatrist named Anson Fullerton. Cowan was killed by Management. Management was dismantled by Michael, Sam and Fi. Anson was killed by a sniper.
You forgot that Michael's CIA training officer Tom Card (John C. McGinley) was actually behind the entire rogue organization and had Fullerton killed by an agent currently in his charge.
Wait, Dr.Cox from Scrubs was the mastermind of the entire plot against Michael Weston?!?! I loved the first couple of seasons but then life got in my way and I wasn’t able to continue watching the show.
Fuck man, spoilers about an eleven year old television show man. Please!!! Some of us haven't seen this new show yet!!!
/s
EDIT: I've watched all of burn notice and I don't remember what happens. lol
I watched all of this series too and I didn't remember what happened, either! Mostly checked it out for the GREAT BRUCE CAMPBELL but ended up enjoying it so much I binge watched all episodes in one week!
I checked out when the Marty Crane actor from Frasier was getting into a helicopter and was part of some super secret controlling organization...I thought it was funny how Fiona had an Irish accent in the beginning but after a while just dropped it all together. I liked the MacGyver/Bourne elements in the show.
Same here. I’m actually rewatching this for the third time on hulu. I dig this show. The over the top undercover personalities they adopted for their way too complicated scenarios were awesome
Don’t be a like that. You will and can still absolutely enjoy it. But let’s be completely honest here, you were never going to watch it anyway if you hadn’t already.
I heard a lot of people say this show was pretty bad when it was coming out, so I was never open about enjoying it so much. It was entertaining, especially the first couple of seasons. I always appreciate when a show tries to be a little more serious and action-y but keeps it a little goofy and fun.
It had Bruce Campbell in it and the lead character, Michael Westen, did some wild MacGyver-like spycraft every week. You could not keep me away from it. Ha Ha!
Love the bit where he lures the drug dealer to the front door, which he knows is heavily armored--so he stands to the side and shoots him at an angle through the not-so-armored side of the house. Great stuff.
Burn Notice, Suits, Psych, Royal Pains. All the USA shows had pretty much the same formula, just with different pieces. Easily crushable TV that you can just sit back and enjoy.
Psych was always my favorite though. The Shawn and Gus chemistry was so goofy and perfect. The Jackal switch will never, not make me laugh.
I thought it really went downhill around the introduction of the other spy who got burned and they became partners or whatever.
Plus they started running out of spy knowledge for him and all his voice overs started sounding like "when you're a spy, you need gas in your car. That's why spies always know where the nearest gas station is"
On the other hand the last 3 seasons convert Fi into a useless damsel whos lines are approximately 50% breathily shouting "Michael!". And then that time they did an entire scene that was just a Kia commercial. So it's not all better.
This was the A-team of its Era. The same episode every episode (until the last couple of seasons). Nobody ever really died until season finalies.
And I loved every g-dang minute of it.
haha I was giving this name in restaurant reservations for a while there! His 'real' name in the show was Sam Ax and FOX realized how popular Bruce was so they even made a TV movie, The Fall of Sam Ax, in which a CHAINSAW has a big moment! For all you Evil Dead fans out there...
Fun show. Re watching now. Great cast and the show doesn't take itself to seriously. Re watching right now. It's nice to have it playing in the background amd you learn cool "spy" techniques.
"My name is Michael Westen. I used to be a spy. Until..."
"We got a burn notice on you. You're blacklisted."
"When you're burned you've got nothing. No cash, no credit, no job history. You're stuck in whatever city they decide to dump you in."
etc, etc.
My fiance watches this all the time. It's not horrible. It's just on the TV and I hear it while playing Zelda. I guess how he explains how things work is interesting sometimes. Not sure if it is accurate.
Re watching it now. On season 4. Loads of fun. Great adventures and doesn't take itself too seriously.
I remember reading an old interview with Bruce Campbell about his career and this show, of course, came up. He was saying, in answer to the question, that the toughest part about this show has got to be all the heavy lifting that Donovan does every episode. Also, how important it was to never show Michael Westen sweating in his suits despite shooting in Miami in the summer. In between each take he would stand in front on an airplane fan with his arms out, and do take after take without complaining. Bruce was all praise for the cast and crew.
Supposedly they added Jesse as a new main because all the work they put on Donavan was literally running him ragged. Plus the writers kept running into issues in that they were out of ways to have Michael always doing everything in every episode
great show, I bought all the dvds seasons for this show. loved the action, the romance between Michael and Fi, and the mother was a wonderful actress and Bruce Campbell was great ya some parts are I call BS, but overall it was a great tv show.
This show is so bad it’s fun. Always cracked me up Fi had an Irish accent at the start/pilot and the decided she didn’t want to sound different in America so she just spoke with an American accent. Then they had to re-visit that here and there through the show and then they both had to talk in an Irish accent.
There was one episode where Michael was pinned down in some sort of Tiki hut in a firefight and Fi ran back to save him. Rather than picking off the bad guys one by one from a distance she decided to run down and jump in the tiki hut with Michael so she was pinned down too.
If Bruce Campbell wasn’t in it though the show would
Almost be unwatchable.
I was kind of happy they explained by the 4th season who burned him, and had the show go in a different direction. Because while cool seeing him outsmart local thugs, and gang members. There's really only so much of that he can do before it get's old.
First 3 seasons were great. 4 was solid-ish. Kinda lost "it" after that and forgot what made it good.
It worked best when it was a casual, fun case of the week and not up it's own [whatever] in it's "lore". Some shows can pull that off, but far fewer than the number of shows that try.
Yup. One of the few shows that does a fantastic job at answering all the questions and one of the VERY few to stick the landing with an incredible finale and a satisfying ending.
Forgotten? My wife and I did a watch through a few months ago and still talk about how great it was once it found its legs.
Fun fact: it was filmed in Miami (duh) and had the exact same number of episodes as Miami Vice!
As soon as he defeats the latest mastermind, he finds out there is someone even more dastardly pulling the strings. About 6 seasons of this. Still enjoyed it, but that plot point got kinda old
I always wanted someone to come out with a cut of this show with only episodes that pertained to the main plot and cut all the other filler episodes (tons and tons of filler episodes.)
I
Important reminder: This is a sub for people to post about forgotten TV that they remember and would like to share with others. This is not a tip of the tongue style sub for people to search out old shows that they would like help remembering. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ForgottenTV) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yes, he was burned by a CIA officer named Phillip Cowan on the orders of an organization called Management, run by a former government psychiatrist named Anson Fullerton. Cowan was killed by Management. Management was dismantled by Michael, Sam and Fi. Anson was killed by a sniper.
You forgot that Michael's CIA training officer Tom Card (John C. McGinley) was actually behind the entire rogue organization and had Fullerton killed by an agent currently in his charge.
Wait, Dr.Cox from Scrubs was the mastermind of the entire plot against Michael Weston?!?! I loved the first couple of seasons but then life got in my way and I wasn’t able to continue watching the show.
*As a spy, sometimes life gets in the way*
Ok, who else read this in Michael's voice?
Immediately haha, I also pictured yogurt in hand
The first couple seasons were the best by far. So don’t sweat it.
With the exception of Fiona's "Irish" accent in the pilot. Thank God they used the "I'm gonna practice my American accent from now on" excuse.
What would you say…you do here??
private dancer from scrubs played by actor michael weston also guest starred on burn notice
Oh, so it turned into like an espionage version of the Dead Zone TV show.
Fuck man, spoilers about an eleven year old television show man. Please!!! Some of us haven't seen this new show yet!!! /s EDIT: I've watched all of burn notice and I don't remember what happens. lol
I watched all of this series too and I didn't remember what happened, either! Mostly checked it out for the GREAT BRUCE CAMPBELL but ended up enjoying it so much I binge watched all episodes in one week!
I checked out when the Marty Crane actor from Frasier was getting into a helicopter and was part of some super secret controlling organization...I thought it was funny how Fiona had an Irish accent in the beginning but after a while just dropped it all together. I liked the MacGyver/Bourne elements in the show.
Her accent was dropped in like episode 2. It was so bad.
Somehow it was easier for Fiona to speak in a fake American accent than for Gabrielle Anwar to keep speaking in a fake Irish accent lol
You mean Chuck Finley
You know spies....bunch of bitchy little girls!
Someone needs your help, Michael!
Same here. I’m actually rewatching this for the third time on hulu. I dig this show. The over the top undercover personalities they adopted for their way too complicated scenarios were awesome
Great synopsis. 👍
Well now I don’t have to watch it
That is just a tiny part of the show. Mostly it’s enjoyable for the explanation of techniques and Bruce Campbell.
Don’t be a like that. You will and can still absolutely enjoy it. But let’s be completely honest here, you were never going to watch it anyway if you hadn’t already.
SNL literally had a bit called “what exactly is Burn Notice” 😂
It’s fun spy stuff as a vehicle for Bruce Campbell to be a snarky badass yet again, is what it is! 😉
You know spies, bunch of bitchy little girls!
Which is perfect!
Ive told people it's like if The A Team and MacGyver had a baby
I heard a lot of people say this show was pretty bad when it was coming out, so I was never open about enjoying it so much. It was entertaining, especially the first couple of seasons. I always appreciate when a show tries to be a little more serious and action-y but keeps it a little goofy and fun.
I loved it. It was really entertaining
Agreed. Really fun show with Magnum PI vibes.
It had Bruce Campbell in it and the lead character, Michael Westen, did some wild MacGyver-like spycraft every week. You could not keep me away from it. Ha Ha!
Love the bit where he lures the drug dealer to the front door, which he knows is heavily armored--so he stands to the side and shoots him at an angle through the not-so-armored side of the house. Great stuff.
Ha ha! I just watched that scene on YouTube after posting my earlier comment. They titled it: Duck Tape
"Guns make you stupid. Duck tape makes you smart."
There’s a drinking game where every time he says, “When you’re a spy” you take a drink
Loved this show and Psych.
Burn Notice, Suits, Psych, Royal Pains. All the USA shows had pretty much the same formula, just with different pieces. Easily crushable TV that you can just sit back and enjoy. Psych was always my favorite though. The Shawn and Gus chemistry was so goofy and perfect. The Jackal switch will never, not make me laugh.
Monk!
White Collar
This was peak USA network.
C’mon son!!!
In second that 🤚
The last 3 seasons are really the better ones IMHO. It becomes less “con of the week” and more concerning the overall story arc.
I thought it really went downhill around the introduction of the other spy who got burned and they became partners or whatever. Plus they started running out of spy knowledge for him and all his voice overs started sounding like "when you're a spy, you need gas in your car. That's why spies always know where the nearest gas station is"
When it first aired I really hated the addition of Jesse but then he grew on me. Now I can't imagine the series without him!
On the other hand the last 3 seasons convert Fi into a useless damsel whos lines are approximately 50% breathily shouting "Michael!". And then that time they did an entire scene that was just a Kia commercial. So it's not all better.
It was a cute show; I'd say 50% MacGyver, 50% A-team.
This was peak USA Network. So many good shows.
I’ve seen someone else on Reddit refer to it as a more modern rendition of Miami Vice so I’ve been thinking of giving it a try.
This was the A-team of its Era. The same episode every episode (until the last couple of seasons). Nobody ever really died until season finalies. And I loved every g-dang minute of it.
I always thought of it more of the Equalizer and Leverage being the A-Team
Pretty sure he did find out. Then he rejoined the CIA or something... it got a little hard to follow after a while.
It wasn't Bruce Campbell, was it? I never watched the show, buy remember seeing him in it
No, The Chin was just a friend.
Ah, good. Almost had an attack of disbelief there! 😂
If you like Bruce Campbell, he has a memoir/autobiography called "If Chins Could Kill." It's a fun read.
Might have to give it a read
It is. I actually have an autograph copy of this.
There's also a song by Psychostick called Bruce Campbell. It goes from loving homage to full on creepy territory.
Chuck Finley
haha I was giving this name in restaurant reservations for a while there! His 'real' name in the show was Sam Ax and FOX realized how popular Bruce was so they even made a TV movie, The Fall of Sam Ax, in which a CHAINSAW has a big moment! For all you Evil Dead fans out there...
Fun show. Re watching now. Great cast and the show doesn't take itself to seriously. Re watching right now. It's nice to have it playing in the background amd you learn cool "spy" techniques.
"That's the guy." --whoosh in on title card: "The guy." "Yeah, he's a real piece of work." --whoosh in on amended title card: "Real piece of work."
i dont really know why but i loved this show. at least the first season... just a fun plot and it moved effortlessly.
*fade in* “So… I noticed that I was… burned” *cue opening theme*
"My name is Michael Westen. I used to be a spy. Until..." "We got a burn notice on you. You're blacklisted." "When you're burned you've got nothing. No cash, no credit, no job history. You're stuck in whatever city they decide to dump you in." etc, etc.
"Where am I?"
"Miami."
The font and kerning always makes the logo look like “bum notice” to me.
Great poster design too - bum noticed.
You know spies....bunch a whiny little bitches....
*bunch of bitchy little girls...
Malory Archer
STERLING!!!
He figured it out every season. Just kept going deeper and deeper.
Man had his fridge priorities straight, I will say that.
Loved this whole series. Thought it was really fun and engaging.
My fiance watches this all the time. It's not horrible. It's just on the TV and I hear it while playing Zelda. I guess how he explains how things work is interesting sometimes. Not sure if it is accurate.
Should we shoot them?
I only watched because of Bruce Campbell.
Sam Axe/Chuck Finley should have been Sully in Uncharted
Great show I love how you can enjoy the episodes independently without even knowing the over arching plot
Re watching it now. On season 4. Loads of fun. Great adventures and doesn't take itself too seriously. I remember reading an old interview with Bruce Campbell about his career and this show, of course, came up. He was saying, in answer to the question, that the toughest part about this show has got to be all the heavy lifting that Donovan does every episode. Also, how important it was to never show Michael Westen sweating in his suits despite shooting in Miami in the summer. In between each take he would stand in front on an airplane fan with his arms out, and do take after take without complaining. Bruce was all praise for the cast and crew.
Supposedly they added Jesse as a new main because all the work they put on Donavan was literally running him ragged. Plus the writers kept running into issues in that they were out of ways to have Michael always doing everything in every episode
Yeah I never warmed up to Jesse as a crack operative
I only know that dude from Touching Evil.
I keep hoping that will turn up streaming somewhere but nope, only the UK original version
There are some episodes on Dailymotion and all of them can be downloaded on Chomikuj
I loved that show it was fun.
YOUGURT!!
Shortest dresses on television. Ain’t nothing wrong with that!
Silk Stalkings 2.0
I watched the first couple seasons but some of the episodes were getting almost impossible to believe.
He was so good in sicario and shot caller.
He was fantastic in a small part as an asshole in Hitch.
Loved this show! "When you're a spy..."
One of the best modern shows I have watched in the last twenty years. I love this show. I need to buy it.
Would it have hurt them to update the credits in the last couple seasons?
great show, I bought all the dvds seasons for this show. loved the action, the romance between Michael and Fi, and the mother was a wonderful actress and Bruce Campbell was great ya some parts are I call BS, but overall it was a great tv show.
This and White Collar were great to watch back-to-back.
Oh, it's burn not bum
IDK Gabrielle Anwar kind of turned it into bum notice for me!!
This show is so bad it’s fun. Always cracked me up Fi had an Irish accent at the start/pilot and the decided she didn’t want to sound different in America so she just spoke with an American accent. Then they had to re-visit that here and there through the show and then they both had to talk in an Irish accent. There was one episode where Michael was pinned down in some sort of Tiki hut in a firefight and Fi ran back to save him. Rather than picking off the bad guys one by one from a distance she decided to run down and jump in the tiki hut with Michael so she was pinned down too. If Bruce Campbell wasn’t in it though the show would Almost be unwatchable.
I was kind of happy they explained by the 4th season who burned him, and had the show go in a different direction. Because while cool seeing him outsmart local thugs, and gang members. There's really only so much of that he can do before it get's old.
Harris might know.
Aziz’ cousin!
I still watch this now and again. Never gets old. Satisfying that itch, the show is such a snapshot of the time. Imho
Nah, he never noticed.
He did and I recommend you stop watching after he does
The Stove
Yes
Stumbled upon this show back in the day and binged the first season, which is in contention for my favorite show ever. Fun show.
Pretty good show
Well, this just bumped up to the top of my rewatch list.
Chlamydia
Fiona’s head looks very flat in that pic
I started this show for Bruce Campbell, then it became a comfort show
This is still my favorite show!! I still watch all the seasons.
great, fun show.
First 3 seasons were great. 4 was solid-ish. Kinda lost "it" after that and forgot what made it good. It worked best when it was a casual, fun case of the week and not up it's own [whatever] in it's "lore". Some shows can pull that off, but far fewer than the number of shows that try.
Love this series
I saw him crossing the street in Denver once. I should’ve asked him. (Was after the show ended)
Toofer
It was a fun show to watch
I always thought that actor looked like a tool…until Sicario
I thought he did a decent job in Shot Caller too!!
He never noticed.
USA really had a good lineup. Monk, this, Royal Pains, Psych. Top 10 vs all networks.
No.
Why was he burned
To make him compliant.
Best. Spy manual. Ever.
His mom was a G.
it wasn't that bad, Bruce Campbell was on it.
Yup. One of the few shows that does a fantastic job at answering all the questions and one of the VERY few to stick the landing with an incredible finale and a satisfying ending.
Is that Travis Haley?
what model gun does she have here?
Forgotten? My wife and I did a watch through a few months ago and still talk about how great it was once it found its legs. Fun fact: it was filmed in Miami (duh) and had the exact same number of episodes as Miami Vice!
As soon as he defeats the latest mastermind, he finds out there is someone even more dastardly pulling the strings. About 6 seasons of this. Still enjoyed it, but that plot point got kinda old
I always wanted someone to come out with a cut of this show with only episodes that pertained to the main plot and cut all the other filler episodes (tons and tons of filler episodes.) I
Isn't that the star of Blair witch 2: book of shadows?
Another show in my rewatch queue on Hulu.
In the end the real burn were the burns he made along the way
Yes
The Blair witch a bunch of years before.
Anyone here watch psych ? I like Psych. Psych is cool. Psych is a funny show. I Love Psych !
I’m guessing the woman looking up at him burned him with a bad case of the clap.
Wrong. It’s a tv show about a man named John Burn and he put in his two weeks notice. Pretty boring.
Having never seen a single episode of this show I can confidently state that he burned himself while in a fugue state.