DJariya

In case you all forgot, Thursday is episode 9, which is the midseason finale. The show will return in 2009 with 7 more episodes....most likely in January.

Synopsis:

orangecrush

That works out well. A few weeks off and then the midseason finale.

sb5

Was there a thread for last week's episode? I didn't see one. I thought it was a pretty good episode; it shook up the formula somewhat, and it was interesting to see Michael actually fail for once.

I'm assuming we're going to be seeing Tim Matheson's character again...

Anyway, looking forward to the finale.

Jimmy James

I know this was up against It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (and that even I watched FX first), but I'm a bit sad to see the last two episodes get so little attention. I thought they were possibly the best of the season so far. They finally seem to be hitting something of a groove.

I'm a bit sad they had to go blow everything up, though.

WallyOPD

I'm pissed that I have to wait a few months to see the next episode. This is why I wait to DVD most of my TV watching these days.

DJariya

I think this show was also a victim of the writer's strike. If it got an earlier launch date than late July, then maybe we would have gotten all 16 episodes. I think this, The Closer, Eureka and Saving Grace are doing split seasons because of that.

devilshalo

I think it's a smart move in that a lot of shows will be season debuts, where hopefully having BN take a little time off will not affect its ratings if it had gone head to head with a strong Thur night line up.

DJariya

Actually, your right. In January most shows will be in re-runs so it does make sense to place it there and face less competition. It would have gotten hammered by CSI, The Office, Grey's etc.

Rogue588

Man, it could've been like last year - See ya next summer!.

Frankly, i'm tired of these seasons that barely reach 20 eps. Can't USA emulate the major nets and up the episode order?

invisiblegt

I, personally, do not want this. That formula is the reason why there is so much of what is termed "filler" episodes. The writers have a finite amount of ideas for the season, and, needing to fill a full order, have to stretch these out in order to come out where the network wants them.

This is why Lost has been condensed down to the current sixteen episode seasons. It gives the writers a definitive gameplan as to how they will accomplish their goals.


Now, do not get me wrong. Any of the better written shows are able to sustain a full season with little dip in substance. However, this is more the exception than the norm, and I would rather not chance it on some of the shows I enjoy on the "smaller," cable networks: FX, USA, etc. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Rescue Me, Burn Notice, Monk, Psych... All benefit, I feel, from the stilted schedule.

It is a good creative model. It may not be the best business practice in terms of financial commercialization (more episodes = more advertisement), but I'm not complaining.

To quote Angel; "Always leave them wanting more kiddo."

actionjackson29

I hate when people say that. If I want more and don't get it I'm usually pissed off. The thing about this splitting of the seasons that USA sometimes does it is it works for shows like Monk and Psych which are episodic and you don't really have to remember anything. With Burn Notice especially this season it has this "the people who burned me" thread going the breaks hurt it. The episode right after the break for tennis that were trying to find out about the gun and I was having a hard time remembering what gun they were talking about.

Rogue588

But what if they have more ideas, but they're cut short because the episode order isn't as long as they would need? I mean, I hear what you're saying, but then that would mean the onus for quality is on the show's creators and screenwriters - not the number of episodes.

boredsilly

True, the onus for quality is on the creative team of the show, but it seems like it's easier to keep things tight over these abbreviated seasons. I personally love it. I actually think few shows can carry the typical 22-24 episode season, and would welcome more shows moving to a smaller episode run.

While there is some stuff that we'll need to remember for when the show comes back, the plot of BN isn't all that complicated I don't find. It's not like trying to remember what's happening on Heroes, BSG, or Lost. BN is pretty simple which is what I really enjoy about it.

Mysteryfan

USA usually runs a marathon just before these shows come back so it makes it easier to catch up again.

mrpayroll

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...&cs=1&nid=2565

Chris

onebyone

Great news. Burn Notice and Psych are great shows, glad they will be back for more.

harrydoyle

Yep, looks like this is coming back January 22nd, and they are in fact having a Burn Notice marathon all that day. I think Carla's going to be back for most of the episodes, it'll be nice to get going with that plot arc again.

wmansir

I don't know if it was just bad marketing on USA's part or my own prejudice, but I thought this was a Miami Vice ripoff, like the Silk Stalkings.

Thankfully earlier this year someone here on the forums said it was a good spy show so I checked it out and loved it. Unfortunately this happened back in September so I rushed through all the episodes only to hurry up and wait for new episodes.

starseed1981

January 22nd...nice. For some reason I thought it was longer than that.

mrpayroll

I think they filmed a whole bunch and then split them into 2 parts.

Chris

Superman07

Just managed to catch up. Very interesting cliff-hanger. I'm glad it wasn't quite so over the top as the S1 finale (with them all in danger).

Nice to see Carla went straight for the family like she originally promissed.

I was hoping for more of a Carla/Michael showdown on the bikes.

Anybody else notice they are uping the use of European cars?

harrydoyle

Yep, I think USA is doing the Monk/Psych route with Burn Notice, where the season is split into two halves- summer and winter. I'll be pretty jealous of the Miami weather watching the winter half.

Looks like the trailer is up: http://spoilertv.blogspot.com/2008/1...y-trailer.html

Derrich

Saab is a sponsor.

D

Superman07

Yeah, but they fall under GM currently.

I actually was referring to the use of BMW and Mercedes.

Skyclad01

I swear I hate how they split seasons. It fucks me up so bad. When one half season ends, then its just a bunch of misc. episodes of that series. So I go off looking for something else to watch. In that time, Either another series will start off its 2nd half, or a whole new show will suddenly appear. So its a very constant back and forth of trying to keep up with and when the 2nd half starts, im usually never sure if its a new episode, or a rerurn I forgot about or somehow missed. Pisses me off

I just saw a new Monk and Psych episode last week (during its mid season break) that I swear ive never seen before. And I watch those shows religiously, as I do with Burn Notice. Fortunatly, there hasn't been much reruns of BN during its mid season break, so I still know where I am when watching it.

Why cant BN and all these other shows just go back to how it used to be where 1 season would run from start to finish without any splits. I hate watching 3 or 4 episodes, being glad that the show it back on, only to have it go on break again.

Im afraid that with a few more season of BN, it will give it more reruns to show during its mid season break, and I will lose track and never know if its a new episode or a rerun of an episode I missed. Thus, making my interest for the show to slowly die out.