Table For Two: A look at Burn Notice

AJ: See, as the network presents it, no. POCs are comic relief, e.g. Psych, or the ineffective “serious” partner, which is what i think Dule Hill is supposed to be on that show.

Arturo: while James Roday is half-Mexican but plays a white character.

Arturo: see, I was reminded of that in the early eps: Gus HAD A STABLE JOB and he left it for the sake of the agency.

AJ: Right….but gus is supposed to be the “straight man” to the other guy’s “antics.”Which means the jokes on the straight-man PoC.

Arturo: And then you had the ep where Shawn just fits in with Gus’ acapella group without a hitch. Uh, NO. That’s like me auditiioning for Franz Ferdinand because I sing “Take Me Out” at karaoke.

AJ: Or Gus was tap-dancing. i just about threw up in my mouth.

Arturo: At the time I was thinking, “damn, dude can dance!” but then I put it in the larger context and … ugh.

AJ: But hey — sez the network exec — the formula works, right? (/snark)

Arturo: This is also the network that does NCIS marathons.

AJ: And the Law and Order: SVU marathons.

Arturo: And, back in the day, Walker: Texas Ranger. Somehow I doubt we’ll see an Undercovers marathon there.

AJ: nope.

Arturo: but, hey, you’re a woman – you’re all over Covert Affairs, AMIRITE?

AJ: No, Arturo, I should be allllll over White Collar.  That hottie lead, yum biscuits.

Arturo: I don’t want to punch many people in the face. But that guy is right up there.

AJ: But, interestingly enough, he did have a WoC love/sex interest–with diahann carroll as her moms, no less — and the writers wrote that out of the show.

Arturo: Well, that’s David Cassidy 101, no? Same reason Michael can’t engage in a full-on relationship with Fiona (and notice that it’s always him rebuffing her.)

AJ: Buuut … i think they had sex a couple of times on the show..at least that was what was hinted at.

Arturo: oh, definitely. that’s still fan-service and all, and yet a) Michael doesn’t seem to even notice any other women and b) Sam’s relationships/hook-ups are presented as their own form of comic relief.

AJ: So, in essence, he’ll f-ck her but he won’t say he loves her. Got it.

Arturo: Well, we can assume he’ll f-ck her,or that he has. But he looks “accessible” for the fanbase. It’s part of the big question that I feel the series can’t (or won’t) answer: What Does Michael Want? b/c he seems to want his job back, but has grown an extra layer of morality doing his odd jobs.

AJ: hmmmm….good point.

Arturo: And it’s one thing for him to feel reluctant about getting involved with Fiona again – I still don’t know exactly ::why:: they broke up – but, sheesh, he couldn’t even ask that one (POC?) detective out for coffee after they were square?

AJ: Nope, he had to go eat some yogurt and sublimate his desires…or whatever that yogurt-eating’s supposed to symbolize, besides his “quirkiness.”

Arturo: I’m a Bat-fan and all, but we gotta be nearing the end of the cycle for the “emotionally repressed” male hero, no? At least the Nolan films all but specifically tell you he was definitely suffering from a trauma.

AJ: We’re supposed to get that “quirk” is a shorthand for suffering trauma, I think.

Arturo: we’ve gotten a few glimpses of that – most recently when Michael saw that Simon was his “mirror image.”

AJ: right …

Page 3 of 4 | Previous page | Next page