Lastly and most importantly is the fantastic Gabrielle Anwar who portrays Westen's former, and still hoping, girl friend, Fiona Glenanne. Watching these two go about their business is an honor as they are both so capable and so good. Donovan also has incredible range in slipping into roles ranging from scared nobodies to fierce hard cases, all believable and all entertaining.Īlso in the cast are terrific talents such as veterans Bruce Campbell as Sam and Sharon Gless as Mrs. He knows what he can do and has no reason to talk about it. The character of Michael Westen was played superbly by Jeffrey Donovan who provides the character with a quiet solidness and dependability devoid of cockiness or machismo. This splitting of shows into two mini-seasons continued for several more years. One year later, it returned in two groups of shows, the first nine from July to September and the remaining seven in January to March.
#Michael weston burn notice series#
The adventures in the television episodes go far beyond that as he works to uncover the truth and, when he finally does that, to get his old job back.īurn Notice, a series on the USA cable network, was first broadcast in June of 2007 and ran 12 episodes. The recorded adventures in the pages of the books recount his different activities as he lives in Miami Beach and tries to survive long enough to learn who burned him and why.
Without that skill, he and his compatriots would have been dead long ago. Knowing no plan ever survives the first encounter with the opposition, he is able to weigh the situation and alter the plan as needed. His knowledge of explosives, both professionally made and improvised is phenomenal and his shooting skills are among the best.īest of all for his longevity is his incredible ability to think on his feet. His skills at hand-to-hand combat became almost legendary and he has black belts in at least two disciplines.
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One of the first things he did when he started to work for the government as an agent was to learn how to defend himself, determined to never be the target of a bully again. His mother, a sturdy, strong-willed woman was determined to stay alive and keep her sons that way as well but when Westen reached adulthood, he left as quickly as he could.
We find that he was the older of two sons of a drunken bully who beat the two and their mother with little provocation. Through time, we learn much about Westen. Though used to working alone, Westen has learned to call frequently upon the aid of his old friends Sam Axe, a retired agent, Fiona, an Irish beauty who has loved Westen for years, and even his mother, a chain-smoking widow who has a wonderful air of naïveté about her which makes considerable wisdom and determination. In the parlance of that agency, this means that he is out of work, bank accounts frozen, without the protection of his colleagues, and stuck in his home town of Miami Beach.Īs he struggles to learn why he was fired and who was behind his drastic denouement, Westen takes odd jobs around the metropolitan area, often in aid of someone without the ability to protect him or herself. Initially the actual agency name is never mentioned in the books or in the television series, Burn Notice, from which the books were based but as the series progresses, the coyness of mentioning the CIA departs.Īfter many years as a highly respected and very capable career, Westen finds himself suddenly blacklisted by his employer who issued a "burn notice" on him.
Michael Westen is a contract agent for the CIA.