Michael Westen just got burned! That's spy lingo for fired, except no body told him he was fired or that his credit rating was trashed or that all his savings were frozen with a government code attached to them or that he was deposited someplace he does not want to be (Miami). When I first saw the previews of this show I though this must be a junk like so much else that comes on TV these days. Looked like an interesting premise so I watched the pilot. Maybe not worth all the hype but the show does have several redeeming qualities. Number one is the actor who plays Westen. Mr. Donovan is a likable rogue and during the course of the hour he does grow on you. The script has a mix of tongue in cheek dialog with a bit of Mac Guyver thrown in. After being fired from the agency Michael tried to find out why and in the process takes on a job of a private investigator for some living expenses. In the course of his investigation, he is helped by his former girlfriend , Fiona, who is ex- IRA and who is played with great ease by Gabrielle Anwar. The scene where she puts away the local drug dealer's muscle is priceless. She's very well cast. Michael's nemesis is not the CIA agents who are constantly watching him but his hypochondriac mother who has the disease of the week syndrome played by Sharon Gless.
The rest of the supporting cast is adequate and the finale was a little implausible as Michael blackmails the mogul whose robbery of $10 million in art he was hired to investigate.
Overall it was new, a pleasant way to pass an hour and with all the summer reruns so pervasive on TV now, I will probably watch it next week.
The rest of the supporting cast is adequate and the finale was a little implausible as Michael blackmails the mogul whose robbery of $10 million in art he was hired to investigate.
Overall it was new, a pleasant way to pass an hour and with all the summer reruns so pervasive on TV now, I will probably watch it next week.