Review: Burn Notice, Episode 2.1, "Breaking and Entering"

The premise of this witty action show is simple: Michael is a spy who's been tagged as a bad agent ("burned" in the parlance of the trade). With his assets frozen, he's forced to work as a private investigator/bodyguard in his hometown of Miami while trying to discover who was responsible for issuing his burn notice. He's assisted in his endeavors by Fiona, a former lover who was once a member of the IRA, and Sam, an old friend who's a retired spy. The cast is a pleasure to watch, with Jeffrey Donovan as Michael, Gabrielle Anwar as Fiona, Bruce Campbell as Sam, and Sharon Gless as Michael's hypochondriac mother.

The second season begins with an episode written by creator/showrunner Matt Nix, picking up right where the first season ended with Michael finally being taken to meet the people behind his burn notice. As is usually true on this show, things don't go according to plan, and that's the fun part for the audience. It's as witty as ever, and should easily avoid a sophomore slump. Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer guest stars as a woman representing the people who burned Michael.