Notice The Burn

By Beau Smith

It seems like 2007 has been on one Hell of a sugar rush. Did somebody spike the clocks with speed. It’s the Fall season already.

That also means that the new Fall season of TV shows are starting up. It’s a little hard to believe that my summer of fun watching BURN NOTICE on the USA Network is over. I enjoyed every week of it and it ended with a wonderful two- hour episode that smartly hooked me into making sure that I watch every episode when it comes back in June 2008. If you didn’t catch it this year you owe it to yourself to catch any reruns they show or buy the DVD set of the first season when it’s released. It has a great cast with Jeffrey Donovan, who I like to call the James Garner of this generation. It’s got pop culture icon, Bruce Campbell who at his entertaining best in this series. It also has the incredibly sexy and funny Gabrielle Anwar as Donovan’s trigger happy ex-girlfriend.

In the series Jeffrey Donovan plays, Michael Westen a spy that is given his Burn Notice, meaning he is ousted, kick out, booted from his job under murky circumstances. He then is thrown back to Miami where his family is and where he really doesn’t want to be. After you meet his mom, (very much reminds me of my own mom) you’ll understand why.

Michael immediately makes it his mission to find out who burned him and why. As he starts to unravel the clues he finds out it’s a much bigger can of worms than he ever dreamed of.

Bruce Campbell plays his former SEAL / FBI / Military buddy that helps him out as does his ex-girlfriend/former IRA member that is the shoot and blow up first, ask questions later kinda girl.

While figuring out who burned him Michael ends up helping a lot of people that need his special kind of help. The pay isn’t that great, but it shows what a truly good heart Michael has without ever being a Touched By A Spy sappy thing.

The show is superbly shot and directed. It’s one of the most perfect blends of action, humor and drama that you’ll find. Great lengths have been taken to make each of these characters very likable. Michael Westen is a character with a lot of layers that we haven’t even seen yet. The first season has peeled off just enough to really hook us.

The show lets you see that Michael didn’t have the best childhood. His dead dad is painted as somewhat of an abusive control freak, yet we can see that there’s a lot more behind his story that’s yet to come. There aren’t any of the clichéd abusive father stuff that has been over done and over acted in TV. This is a part of a complex mystery that is being played out as well as any on LOST.

Another layer that we see expertly peeled is just how good of a spy Michael was/is. At first viewers may be lead to believe that Michael is just a easy going, care free kind of spy, but in key scenes where his friends and family are threatened you see in Michael’s eyes and Jeffrey Donovan’s wonderful acting, some of the deadliness that lies under the surface. You get a glimpse of why Michael Westen is/was such a very good black ops spy.

The whole show and cast has huge likeability. That’s very rare past or present. The casting of the guest stars is also superb. Even actors with the smallest parts are picked with care. The pilot for the show was also something rare. They were able to set everything up quickly without the viewer feeling cheated or rushed and they also did it in a style that is usually saved for A-List films. BURN NOTICE uses and tips it’s hat to many shows that have come before without copying or being cliché.



I suspect that the USA Network will replay various episodes between now and next summer when the second season starts. Know that you can drop in any of these episodes and not be lost. BURN NOTICE does what comic books used to do. It tells a stand-alone story with moving sub-plots. They do it to perfection.

I waited for the whole season to end before I wrote about it here at Busted Knuckles. I wanted to be able to recommend not only the series, but also that you buy or rent the boxed set of the first season on DVD when they release it via retail and rental. (No release date has been set at this time.)

You will not be sorry and you will thank me over and over. I will enjoy that. Life is good when I enjoy things. (At least that’s what I tell people.)

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Busted Knuckles Babe Of The Week




Missy Peregrym
- actress

Most of you that read comic books and love pop culture no doubt recognize the lovely, lanky and leggy Missy Peregrym from her roles in comic book like TV shows such as HEROES, SMALLVILLE, and the brand new show, REAPER.

This Canadian beauty has the most All-American good looks that you’ve ever seen. (If that makes sense.) She has a million watt smile and has great acting range. She can do sweet, nice, girl-next-door and she can turn that around and be ass-kicking evil. You have to like that kind of unpredictability. I suggest you catch her on reruns of HEROES and on her new show REAPER. Trust me, you don’t wanna miss Missy.

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Busted Knuckles Manly Cover Of The Week



Tarzan #138
Gold Key, 1963

You can never go wrong when you’ve got the King Of The Jungle busting the chops of some turban wearin’, pointy toed trapper on the cover of a comic book. It’s an extra-added treat when Tarzan brings along his Silverback buddies to toss the bad guys around as well. A good time is had by all.

The Gold Key adventures of Tarzan were always a great source of manly covers in the 1960’s. They were painted and always eye popping. I hope you enjoy this one.

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The Roundup

I’ve really been under the deadline crunch as of late with writing two new comic books that I will soon announce to you. I’ve been working around the clock and that’s never pretty the next morning. I’ll let you know what those two comic book series are very soon. I’ll also have some VERY BIG news to add to that. So keep coming back so you won’t miss it.



I guess you’ve heard that my big amigo, Chuck Dixon is back writing ROBIN for DC Comics. I think you’ll agree that the book and character will soon return to the exciting heights that it enjoyed the first time Chuck made The Boy Wonder a pleasure to read. Make sure you stop by Chuck’s personal website and hear what he has to say about it. http://www.dixonverse.net.

Okay, keep those emails and letters coming in. I never tire of hearing what YOU have to say.

Your amigo,

Beau Smith
The Flying Fist Ranch
P.O. Box 706
Ceredo, WV. 25507
http://www.flyingfistranch.com

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Prove your manhood by visiting Beau at the Flying Fist Forum!

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