Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe Television Movie Poster

As you probably know, USA’s Burn Notice is one of The Blot’s favorite television shows and Bruce Campbell is one of my favorite actors. So you know I’m super excited for this Sunday’s world premiere of the new made for TV movie Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe starring the B-movie legend. Fans of the show have been talking about this 2hr movie for months, really ever since it was first announced it at SDCC last summer. Directed by Burn Notice’s own Jeffrey Donovan, the movie explores how Sam (Campbell) came to be an ex-Navy SEAL and living in Miami, which is where we meet the character in the first episode of Burn Notice.  I've read some mixed reviews of the movie so far, but really as long as it's got Bruce fighting bad guys, what more could you need?

The original movie Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe airs this Sunday, April 17th, at 9/8c on USA.

Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe Official Synopses: Before Sam Axe teamed up with Michael and Fiona, he was Commander Axe, U.S. Navy SEAL. The Fall of Sam Axe tells the story of how Sam went from respected Naval Commander to the man of mystery we've come to know on Burn Notice. On what will turn out to be Sam's last military mission, he is sent to the jungles of Colombia to investigate claims of a vicious terrorist organization known only as the "Espada Ardiente" (Flaming Sword). His mission: to determine whether U.S. military aid is necessary to deal with the threat. But when he arrives, things are more complicated than he'd imagined. He receives word that the rebels have targeted a small civilian clinic deep in the jungle. Sam must now save the clinic's doctors and patients from certain death. However, nothing is as it seems and the Espada Ardiente may not be the biggest threat Sam Axe faces.

Burn Notice Season 3.5 Premiere and Television Poster

Burn Notice, The Blot’s second favorite television show, returns tonight, January 21, to finish what it started over 8 months ago…its third season. After a 6 month hiatus, Burn Notice Season 3.5 airs the first of 7 all new episodes tonight on the USA Network at 10/9c. If you don’t currently watch Burn Notice, do The Blot a favor and tune in tonight! You won’t be sorry, as the show’s witty banter, excellent mysteries and intense action has proven to win over even the most cynical of television critics/viewers.


Tonight’s Burn Notice mid-season premiere episode “A Dark Road” also features an extra special reunion of sorts as Sharon Gless’ former Cagney & Lacey co-star Tyne Daly (Judging Amy) guest stars! Fans won’t want to miss this amazing Emmy and Tony Award winning actress’ return to television to re-team with her former Cagney & Lacey partner.


If you don’t know the show’s basic premise here’s a quick overview: When spies get fired, they don’t get a letter from human resources…they get BURNED. After coming face to face with the group of people that burned him, Michael Westen, a blacklisted spy, must figure out his next move...all while staying ahead of anyone else that may have him in their crosshairs. In the meantime, he continues to use his unique skills and training to help people in desperate need of assistance.


Burn Notice also features Fiona, a beautiful ex-IRA operative who happens to be Westen’s ex-girlfriend; Sam, Michael’s closest buddy in town; and Madeline, Michael’s hypochondriac mother, who couldn’t be happier to have her boy back in town. Created and written by Matt Nix, Burn Notice combines intense action/thriller elements with surprising humor to create an iconic new breed of spy.


Burn Notice airs Thursday nights on the USA Network at 10/9c and stars Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell, Seth Peterson and Sharon Gless.

SDCC 09 - Burn Notice and Psych Panel Freebies

There were two panels The Blot HAD to attend the Thursday of Comic Con, and thankfully we arrived in San Diego just in time to see both! Over the past 2-3 years I’ve become obsessed with the USA Network’s original programming, and by far my two favorite shows on USA are Burn Notice and Psych. So when I heard both would be at Comic Con I got really excited, especially when it was announced that the legendary Bruce Campbell and Corbin Bernsen would be there.


Both panels were awesome, but what really got everyone in Ballroom 20 excited was the free shwag both shows gave out to the fans in attendance. I had no idea how much of SDCC was dedicated to freebies, but everywhere I looked there was someone screaming for usually worthless free stuff. It’s like everyone, and I do mean everyone, is after free shwag at San Diego Comic Con. I guess it’s all part of the SDCC experience, and some of the best shwag I got this past weekend came from the Burn Notice and Psych Panels. First off, everyone at the Burn Notice panel got the awesome San Diego Comic Con 2009 Exclusive Michael Westen yellow “Get Burned” t-shirt seen above.


But where we really racked up was the Psych panel which gave out SDCC 2009 exclusive Psych comic books, green Psych Magic 8 Balls (with official Shawn Spencer sayings), and Psych “fake psychic, real detectives” t-shirts. I’m not sure what I was more surprised about, that both t-shirts were printed on expensive American Apparel brand shirts, or that I saw the very same Psych tee on sale at the Hard Rock Hotel for $22!


Also making its debut at Comic Con 2009 was the Psych Shawn and Gus Talking Bobblehead Set. They did not have any of these cool bobbleheads for sale or to give away, but they did bring a set to show off to the crowd. What's great is that both bobbleheads actually look like James Roday and Dule Hill, the actors who portray Shawn and Gus on Psych. Each Psych talking bobblehead says 7 unique sayings, and the set retails for $35. You can pre-order the Psych Shawn and Gus Talking Bobblehead Set here.

Royal Pains on the USA Network

We’re now four episodes into the USA Network’s latest hit Royal Pains and The Blot has to say, I like this show. I was a little concerned at first because the show’s plot seemed a little iffy and it stars Mark Feuerstein, an actor probably most well known for his many failed television shows, and Paulo Costanzo of Joey fame…not exactly a ringing endorsement. But USA has been on fire with its original programming of late and Royal Pains airs after one of my favorite shows (Burn Notice) so I thought I’d give it a shot.


As it turns out, the show is really entertaining despite its convoluted “concierge doctor to the rich and famous” premise. The cast is entertaining and the actors seem to have already developed some real on screen chemistry for being only four episodes in. Plus, the Hamptons eye candy the show throws in each and every week rivals that of even Burn Notice’s. But what really blew me away are the show’s ratings. Royal Pains debuted to 5.57 million viewers and its ratings actually went up in its second week, even beating its Burn Notice lead in. And don’t even get me started on the fact that the combo of Burn Notice/Royal Pains is actually pulling in higher ratings than shows on the broadcast networks in their same Thursday night timeslots.


For those of you not familiar with Royal Pains, it is the story of Hank Lawson (Mark Feuerstein) who inadvertantly became the Hamptons' newest doctor-on-demand. Hank was a rising star in the New York City medical community, until he lost everything fighting for the life of a patient. With his career stalled and his personal life in shambles, Hank’s younger brother Evan (Paulo Costanzo) stepped in to help jump start Hank’s life. Fed up with Hank's personal pity-party, he convinces Hank to join him on a last-minute trip to the Hamptons for Memorial Day weekend. When the brothers crash a party at the home of a Hamptons billionaire and a guest falls critically ill, Hank saves the day. His dramatic medical rescue draws attention from the crowd, and soon Hank's phone starts ringing off the hook with patients demanding house calls. Hank has now become the hot new "concierge doctor" in town…and the rest they say is history.

Royal Pains airs Thursday nights on the USA Network at 10/9c.

Burn Notice Season 3 Premieres Tonight - Official Trailer & Poster

Burn Notice, one of The Blot’s favorite television shows, returns tonight (June 4th) on USA with all new episodes! It should be an interesting season now that Michael Westen has finally freed himself from the clutches of the nefarious black-ops organization that had him burned. But, what sort of trouble lies ahead for Michael, Fi and Sam now that they are no longer under the protection of Carla and her goons?!? Only time will tell!


Since we still have a few hours to kill before the show's season premiere, check out this awesome trailer for Burn Notice Season 3 set to ZZ Tops' "Sharp Dressed Man":



Burn Notice Season 3 will air Thursdays on the USA Network at 9/8c.

Burn Notice’s Michael Westen Kills The Competition

Has The Blot told you lately what a huge fan I am of the USA Network’s Burn Notice? Week in and week out it is one of my favorite shows on television, and evidently much of America feels the exact same way. Last week’s season finale officially made Burn Notice “the hottest show on cable.” (link) Burn Notice ended its second season “with two series highs: 6.1 million in total viewers and 2.7 million” viewers in the coveted 18-49 demographic, making it the highest rated show on basic cable. (link)


These are extremely impressive numbers considering the second part of Burn Notice’s second season aired against strict competition from the broadcast networks. Not only was Burn Notice Season Two, Part II numbers competitive with shows like NBC’s ER and CBS’ Eleventh Hour, it soundly beat the ratings of “cable’s incumbent ratings champion, TNT’s The Closer.” (link)


I finally got a chance to watch the episode last night and was blown away. Burn Notice Season 2’s final episode was pure fun and excitement. I won’t include any spoilers in case you still haven’t seen the episode, but never in a million years did I expect the show to end the way it did. It definitely set up next season to be an exciting one without giving us a lame cliff hanger to worry about for months.


I’m just dying to see how Season 2’s game changer affects Michael (Jeffrey Donovan), Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar), Sam (Bruce Campbell) and Madeline’s (Sharon Gless) lives from here on out. If anything, I was more than a little bummed to find out there won’t be another episode of Burn Notice until the summer of ’09, but that’s a small price to pay for quality TV.

Burn Notice Returns to the USA Network Tonight!

I know this is a little last minute, but there has been so much good stuff going on this week! Burn Notice Season 2, Part II premieres tonight, January 22nd on the USA Network and The Blot is pumped. Burn Notice has something special that a lot of the new network television shows lack, fun. The action/spy thriller never takes itself too seriously and no matter what’s happening on screen, the actors seem to be enjoying themselves almost as much as their fans enjoy watching Burn Notice's storylines play out. Plus, Burn Notice stars the timeless Bruce Campbell, so what’s not to love?


I’ve heard that over the course of Burn Notice Season 2.5 we can expect some exciting new developments in Michael’s (Jeffrey Donovan) quest to discover the reason he was burned as he gets ever so close to finding out the true identity of the mastermind behind it all. We can also expect several more guest appearances by Battlestar Galactica’s Tricia Helfer as Michael’s new handler Carla. Burn Notice’s overarching storyline seems to be really picking up steam, and I know you won’t want to miss even a single minute of this great hour-long espionage dramedy.

Burn Notice airs every Thursday at 10/9c on the USA Network.

USA Renews Psych and Burn Notice

The Blot can’t even start to explain how happy this news makes me! The USA Network has renewed two of my favorite TV shows, Psych and Burn Notice, for additional seasons of 16 episodes each. (link) This will be the fourth season of Psych and the third for Burn Notice. These are two of the most entertaining shows on television, and if you like great ensemble casts chock-full of quirky characters then you will definitely enjoy these hour-long series from USA.

Both shows are currently on mid-season hiatuses, but “are scheduled to kick off the second half of their current seasons in January (although Psych will air a special Christmas-themed hour on Nov. 28).” (link) The Blot thanks USA for renewing both Psych and Burn Notice, and I look forward to following the wacky exploits of Shawn, Gus, Michael, Sam and Fiona for many episodes to come.

My Name Is Bruce Teaser Movie Poster

The Blot’s never been too shy about sharing my adoration for B-movie icon Bruce Campbell. From the first time I watched him play Ash in the Evil Dead trilogy (Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness) I was hooked. Whether he’s headlining B-movies like Bubba Ho-Tep (which if you haven’t seen yet you really need to rent) or playing bit parts in summer blockbuster movies like the Spider-Man trilogy, Campbell always exudes a “deadpan and somewhat sarcastic comic delivery” that The Blot can’t get enough of. (link) So, when I heard Campbell was making his directorial debut this fall with the release of his new film My Name is Bruce, written by Battlestar Galactica scribe Mark Verheiden,” I got really excited. (link)


Now I have no clue if My Name Is Bruce will be good, but I do know it’ll be one of a kind. The movie centers “around a group of fans who mistaken Campbell for his movie alter ego Ash and kidnap him to help them fight a Chinese war deity.” (link) It sounds like exactly the kind of crazy, “only in movies” type of plot that you can come to expect from a Bruce Campbell B-movie.

You can currently catch Campbell every Thursday night on USA’s Burn Notice or watch him on DVD in any number of television box sets including instant classics like The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess. He has also proven to be an excellent writer with his autobiographical NY Times best seller If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor and his fictional 2005 novel Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way. If all this hasn’t gotten you extremely pumped for the upcoming theatrical release of My Name Is Bruce, scheduled for October 2008 followed immediately by its DVD release in January 2009, then I don’t know what will.

Burn Notice Returns Thursday July 10th

I’ve been waiting all summer for tomorrow because it marks the start of Burn Notice's second season. I know I seem to be talking about this new show a little too much, but if you’ve caught up on Burn Notice Season 1 then you can definitely understand why! What surprises me is that USA’s breakout hit is not garnering more attention. Part of the problem is all of the craze surrounding AMC’s Mad Men, a show that aired in the same time slot as Burn Notice last summer.


From all of the media coverage, magazine covers and general hype surrounding Mad Men, you’d think it would have easily won its time slot against Burn Notice and have been the highest rated new show of last summer. I bet it would surprise most television fans to learn how far from the truth that is.

In fact, last summer’s battle between two great freshman cable dramas was overwhelmingly won by Burn Notice. While “Burn Notice never received the media blandishments of its time-period competitor, it beat the Madison Avenue drama every week in the ratings, averaging 2.9 million viewers a week to Mad Men's 900,000.” (link) And yet even with considerably higher ratings, all I ever read about is how great Mad Men is and how it's the show of the summer. Let me tell all the critics out there something, if there's one show of the summer debuting this month it's the spy fueled drama based in sunny, sand filled Miami. Besides, if you can't make it to the beach this summer then you can at least watch people living by the beach with Burn Notice. Plus, Burn Notice now stars Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer, try to beat that Mad Men!

On a side note, it appears AMC has already admitted defeat because there won't be a second head to head showdown between these two hour long dramas this summer. AMC has called uncle and decided to air Mad Men’s sophomore season on Sunday nights. I think it's safe to say round two goes to the cast and crew of Burn Notice. Anyway, if you still haven’t watched Burn Notice Season 1 don’t worry, I’m sure tomorrow night’s season premiere will do a fine job catching you up to speed on all of the adventures of Michael Weston and Co. from the previous season. So now you really have no excuse not to tune in to the USA Network on Thursday, July 10th at 10/9C for Burn Notice’s Season 2 premiere and enjoy a little sun, surf and espionage.

Burn Notice: Season 1 DVD Out Today

Going on sale today is the Burn Notice Season 1 DVD box set. Burn Notice quickly became one of my favorite television shows when it debuted last summer on USA and I am eagerly awaiting the start of Season 2 on Thursday, July 10th at 10/9C. Even though I've already seen all of Season 1, I just couldn't resist adding it to my Netflix Queue...especially since Aly has never seen an episode.


I know I’ve spoken about Burn Notice before and I’m sure I will do it again before Season 2’s debut, but if you haven’t given this show a chance yet you really are missing out on some terrific television. The Season 1 Box Set is a great way to get caught up on all of Michael Westen’s adventures in Miami in a quest to find out who burned him from the spy game.

The Burn Notice: Season One DVD box set includes all 11 episodes, including the two-hour season finale, on four DVDs and has a whole slew of extras, like cast/crew commentaries, interviews and more. What’s even better is if you don’t mind watching TV on your computer, you can now watch the entire first season of Burn Notice for free on the NBC/FOX joint venture Hulu.com.

Hulu.com has its very own Burn Notice channel where you are able to watch individual episodes with limited commercial interruptions. Have no fear though, Hulu.com is pretty advanced and allows you to pause, fast forward and rewind its shows. Burn Notice and a ton of other NBC/Universe and FOX television shows are at your disposal, so check it out to watch some of your favorite network shows on the web.

Tricia Helfer Set to Guest Star on USA’s Burn Notice

The Blot is extremely excited about this one! TVGuide.com is reporting that Tricia Helfer, Battlestar Galacticas’s cylon Number Six, has signed on to guest star on USA Network’s spy/action show Burn Notice for a multi-episode arc this summer. (link) According to the report, “Helfer, who recently inked a talent holding deal with FOX (which produces Burn Notice), will juggle her Burn duties with the final season of BSG.” (link)


Burn Notice, which starts its second season on Thursday, July 10th, has quickly become one of The Blot’s favorite television shows. I originally started watching only because Bruce Campbell (The Evil Dead, Army of Darkness) was co-starring in it, but the unique story telling of the show, as well as a stellar cast that includes Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Weston, Gabrielle Anwar as Fiona and Sharon Gless (Cagney & Lacey) as Michael’s mom, kept me coming back.

Burn Notice is one of those rare shows that week in and week out gets better and better. It’s a shame the show is on USA, which limits the initial viewing audience. For a quick recap, a burn notice is what a spy gets instead of being fired. The show stars Michael Westen as “an international spy who suddenly finds himself blacklisted” and has no clue why. (link) Westen, “dumped in his hometown of Miami without money or resources, struggles to put his life back together and find out why he’s been burned.” (link) The show does a great job of mixing in “mysteries of the week” with its continuing story line of why Michael Westen get burned so that if you happen to miss an episode you can quickly get caught up to speed. I highly recommend watching Burn Notice, and if you want to catch up on Season 1 before the start of Season 2, the Burn Notice Season 1 DVD Box Set comes out June 17th, 2008. You can pre-order Season 1 here.

The Blot's Top 10 Cable Television Shows of 2007

Well its officially 2008, but I figured there was still time left to recap 2007. I wanted to do a The Blot’s Favorite Television Shows of 2007, but thought I’d just be giving publicity to a lot of shows already getting tons of pub. So instead I decided to narrow down the focus and shine the spotlight on shows often over looked because they’re on cable and not on the big four (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox). Sorry CW, you’re not one of the big boys yet, but I’m still going to leave you off this list since you’re technically a broadcast station. And you won’t see The Sopranos or Entourage making the list this year, there’s no grandfathering in for past success. Both had considerably down seasons this past year and got pushed out by some little engines that could.

So here it goes, The Blot’s Top 10 Cable Television shows of 2007! If you want to find out more about these great shows, when they air or how you can catch up on past seasons, feel free to click on the names of each show and you’ll be taken to that show’s official website.

10. Little People, Big World - TLC

09. Doctor Who – The Sci-Fi Channel / Torchwood – BBC America (tie)



08. Psych – USA Network


07. Ace of Cakes – Food Network


06. Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations – Travel Channel


05. Damages - FX


04. Battlestar Galactica – The Sci-Fi Channel


03. Big Love – HBO


02. Burn Notice – USA Network


01. The Shield - FX