Burn Notice (TV series)

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Burn Notice (June 28, 2007 - present) is an American television series on the USA Network created by Matt Nix. It follows the life of an ex-spy, Michael Westen, as he attempts to figure out who put out a burn notice against him.

Contents

[edit] Season 1

[edit] Pilot [1.01]

Oleg: You're real Michael Westen, yes?
Michael: Yeah.
Oleg: Back home, you're story Russian Intelligence tells to scare. They say you're one name for many people. Special Operations team. They think one person cannot make so much problems.
Michael: Nope. Just me.
Michael: [V.O.] Drop me in the middle of the Gobi desert, bury me in a cave on the moon, and my mother will still find a way to call me and ask for a favor.
Madeline Westen: You know you missed your father's funeral by eight years.
Michael: Well, last time I talked to him he said, "I'll see you in hell, boy," so I figured we had something on the books.
Michael: [V.O.] 30 years of karate. Combat experience on five continents. A rating with every weapon that shoots a bullet or holds an edge. Still haven't found any defense to Mom crying into my shirt.
Michael: [V.O.] Covert intelligence involves a lot of waiting around. You know what it's like being a spy? Like sitting in your dentist's reception area 24 hours a day. You read magazines, sip coffee, and every so often someone tries to kill you.

[edit] Identity [1.02]

Michael: Would you put some pants on?
Sam Axe: What? I work better when I can breathe down there!
[Sam attempts to disable a car that Fiona supposedly wired to turn off via a cellphone. It explodes.]
Michael: Fiona, you were supposed to stop the car, not blow it into the Everglades! What happened to shorting the ignition?
Fiona: You said disable; it's not going anywhere.
Michael: [V.O.] My mother's understanding of my career changes with what she wants from me. One day, she can name everyone on the National Security Council, the next day, she thinks I work for the post office.
Michael: [V.O.] A hitman is like a plumber, a dentist or a mechanic. Everybody is always looking for a good one.
Michael: [V.O.] Truth is, identity theft isn't hard. A number and an ID is all you need to drain a bank account and return some money to some very surprised retirees. But why stop there? As long as you're stealing someone's identity, why not use it to contact some known terrorist organizations on unsecured phone lines? Why not use it to threaten federal judges and insult the local drug cartel? Most fun I've had in Miami.

[edit] Fight or Flight [1.03]

Sophie: So we're supposed to stay in here, in the garage, and do nothing?
Michael: Pretty much. It's not so bad as safe houses go. You got a TV at least. I once spent three days in a Riyadh storage facility with nothing but a flashlight and an Arabic celebrity magazine.
Michael: [V.O.] When you go on the run, the first thing you do is lay down tracks in the opposite direction, but that only works if the bad guys find the trail and believe it's for real, which means selling it. You need to put on a little show, make them feel clever. When you make somebody work to get a piece of information they'll believe it that much more because it's hard to get.
Michael: [To Sam] Well, I'll tell you what, if there's a situation that requires showing off your upper body and boozy flirting, you're my guy.
Michael: [V.O.] International conferences attract spies for the same reason hotel bars attract hookers: you can do business and drink for free.
[Madeline is reminiscing about Michael and his father.]
Madeline Westen: I remember what fun you two had always working on cars in the garage.
Michael: Fun? I remember him making me fake a seizure at Mr. Goodwrench so he could steal spark plugs.

[edit] Old Friends [1.04]

Michael Westen: [V.O.] Spies go to bars for the same reason people go to libraries: full of information if you know where to ask.
Michael: You lost my car in a card game.
Nate Weston: Well, I needed the money and you weren't helping me out. Besides, nothing ventured, nothing gained, bro.
Michael: It was a rental car you ventured.
Carl Wilhelm: "Pimped"? I'm not a pimp.
Michael: [cheerfully] You say "tomato", I say "pimp."
Sam Axe: If I lose my pension, you're gonna be changing my diapers when I'm 95 and drooling.
Michael: Sam, I would never let that happen. I'd smother you with a pillow first.
Michael: Hey, can I borrow your car?
Sam: Where ya going?
Michael: Uh, just to the store to get some new yogurt.
Sam: [chuckles] Come on, Mike. Fiona calls, whisper whisper, all of a sudden you gotta have yogurt? What's the big secret?
Michael: No big secret, just looove yogurt.

[edit] Family Business [1.05]

Nate Westen: No wonder I got my ass kicked.
Fiona Glenanne: Oh, you were lucky. The old guy had a Desert Eagle 9mm with combat grips.
Michael: Ex-Mossad.
Nate: What do you mean, like Israeli spies?
Fiona: Sure. Every other retired spook is an arms dealer. Not a bad gig, if you can stand ex-spooks.
[Michael shoots her a look.]
[Fiona is making an explosive concoction.]
Michael: How's it coming, Fi?
Fiona: Dangerous, unstable. Remind you of anyone?
Sam Axe: Hey, Mikey. When you read this guy's profile you're gonna kiss me.
Michael: I am not gonna kiss you, Sam.
Sam: Look, I'm not saying I'm gonna like it. I'm just saying you're gonna kiss me.
[Nate hugs Michael and walks away.]
Madeline Westen: Now you see Michael, you're too hard on him. I mean, he can be so sweet. I just want us to be a family.
Michael: I know, Mom, I know. [Michael pauses and then looks up.] He just stole my wallet.
Jake: They're expecting my answer today. What do I say?
Michael: Well, since they're probably planning on killing you if you say anything else, I'd suggest, "Yes."

[edit] Unpaid Debts [1.06]

Michael Westen: [V.O.] Getting information out of someone who doesn't want to give it up is all about upsetting the target's emotional balance, impairing their judgment. Fear is good for that; anger is not bad either.
Michael: [V.O.] Anyone who has handled large amounts of cash can tell you it's one of the toughest things in the world to move. It's heavy and dense; dead weight. If it's on fire, of course, that complicates things further.
Michael: [V.O.] As a rule, spies don't like dealing with cops. Covert ops are illegal by definition. If they were legal they wouldn't need to be covert.
Michael: [V.O.] You can tie up a lot of resources by keeping a bugged phone line open. As long as it's open they're supposed to keep listening. Say a few cryptic things now and then and they'll be stuck in their little van trying to figure out what the hell you're doing.
Fiona Glenanne: Honestly, I don't know why they bother. They should just put a bullet in your head and be done with it.
Michael: Apparently I'm more valuable alive than dead. But I'm sure they'll take it under advisement.

[edit] Broken Rules [1.07]

Michael Westen: [V.O.] Military firebombs are typically white phosphorus or chlorine trifluoride. These are remarkably effective, but they are also unstable, lethally toxic, and hard to find at the grocery store. The main ingredient in a homemade firebomb, on the other hand, is Styrofoam. A military demolition expert can put something together in a few hours. An IRA trained guerrilla can do it in twenty minutes... give or take.
Michael: [V.O.] In any new job there's always friction with your co-workers. They are wondering if the boss likes the new guy better, if he's going to make them look bad... In some jobs that can get you a dark look in the break room; in other jobs that can get you a bullet in the back of the head.
Michael: [V.O.] In intelligence work, surveillance is called coverage. It's like basketball; you can run zone defense or man-to-man. Man-to-man is risky; follow someone too long and they're going to get suspicious. Zone is usually the way to go. Stay put and let targets come to you. Less obvious, easier on the feet... and you can catch up on your celebrity gossip.
Fiona Glenanne: You have always had a problem with my work. I have always supported you.
Michael: I'm helping people; you're running guns! Big difference!
[Michael and Fiona are in their car being chased by cops.]
Michael: Do you have guns in the trunk, Fi?!
Fiona: A few semi-automatics, yeah. I got a deal, Michael. This guy was selling Browning 9mms for 200 bucks a piece.
Michael: You have unregistered weapons in a stolen car, Fi!

[edit] Wanted Man [1.08]

Michael: [V.O.] Clandestine meetings are never fun to arrange. It's a big part of the job for a covert operative but it's never pleasant. It's not so much the fear of death that bothers you, it's driving to the meeting with a bag over your head... Sometimes they wash the bag, sometimes they don't.
Michael: Next time Lawrence, go limp. It's really hard to drag a human shield.
Barry: Name's Cristo. Like Madonna, the whole one name thing.
Sam Axe: Like Charo.
Barry: Sting.
Sam: Fergie.
Barry: Pélé.
Sam: Spider-Man.
Barry: Liberace.
Sam: Crap, I can't think of any more.
Michael: [V.O.] The thing about security is that the very things that protect you can be turned against you by someone who knows what he's doing. It's tough to compromise a well thought-out security system, but making someone think you can compromise it, well, that's much easier. Take surveillance cameras, for example: you can disable one by shooting a laser at it and overloading the light sensitive chip. Cheap, easy, and exactly the sort of thing a sophisticated criminal gang with lots of resources would do. Leave around some tell-tale signs of surveillance like cigarette butts, a forgotten camera lens cap and the more security there is, the more likely they are to think they've got a very serious problem. Even the security team itself can be an opportunity. The more employees you have, the more you have to worry about them. Deliver some vague threats and a few hundred bucks to a security guard. If he's honest he'll tell his boss, who then wonders who wasn't so honest. For the cost of a nice dinner you can get a whole security team canned.
Fiona Glenanne: I know a few Iranians who are coming into town.
Michael : Oh, let's avoid people who use "Michael Westen" and "jihad" in the same sentence.

[edit] Hard Bargain [1.09]

Michael: [V.O.] Rescuing a hostage isn't about battering rams and guns. Charge through a door with a gun and chances are the person you're trying to save will be the first one lying on the floor dying of acute lead poisoning. So you come up with alternatives: ingredients from the local pharmacy, mixed with aluminum foil, powdered in a coffee grinder will make a serviceable flash grenade that would stun anyone for a good 20 feet. Thermite is another handy tool: with a surface temperature of a thousand degrees, it's used to weld together railroad ties. It would make pretty short works of most locks too.
[Michael and Nick are sitting in a car finalizing a plan.]
Michael: So you understand? You pick up the package and walk away. Got it?
Nick: Yeah.
Michael: You don't look at us, you don't talk to us, you just walk out with the video. Fiona and I will be watching to see if the kidnappers have someone there and Sam will follow in the car if he sees anyone leave.
Nick: Okay, so I walk to the car.
Michael: No, Nick; focus. You just walk away.
Fiona: You pick up the package and you leave like we're not even there.
Nick: But wait, you will be there, right?
Michael Westen: Yes, we will be there. Okay, go ahead. [Nick tries to get out but the door is locked.] Unlock it first.
Michael: The thing about doubling anyone is that the more they do for you, the deeper they get. The deeper they get, the more you can make them do. Great if you're running them, but hard on the source. The suicide rate is... above average.
[Fiona is threatening Lucio with a taser.]
Michael: [V.O.] The art of turning someone into a double agent is delicate. The target has to be put into a fragile psychological state.
Lucio: Get this crazy bitch away from me!
Michael: [V.O.] Fortunately, fragile psychological states are a specialty of Fiona's.
Sam: He heard that she had a boyfriend who could help.
Michael : He heard that she had a boyfriend that could help.
Sam: I was vague. I said I was a freelance superhero Robin Hood kinda guy.
Michael: That's vague.

[edit] False Flag [1.10]

Michael: [V.O.] Facts are the hallmark of a good false identity. It is harder to create history than it is to alter it. Plus, the more truth to your lie, the easier it is to remember.
Fiona Glenanne: Evelyn comes along and she's attractive, sweet, needy. Don't deny it.
Michael: Fine.
Fiona: Isn't it interesting she turned out to be who she turned out to be. What shall we make of that?
Michael: You made your point, Fi.
Fiona: Did I?
Michael Westen: Yep, you did.
Fiona: Doug is sleeping peacefully.
Michael: You gave him something.
Fiona: Maybe, well, half of something.
Michael: [V.O.] Just because there are no windows or doors doesn't mean there are no exits. The thing to look for is an air conditioner unit, that's where the wall is weakest. Also, people watch doors, they don't watch air conditioners.
Sam Axe: Here ya go, Doug: my lucky vest.
Michael: It'll look great over my shirt.
Doug: Thanks.
Sam: It's a little worn, but it'll do the trick.
Doug: Are these bullet holes?
Sam: Yeah, I broke it in for ya.

[edit] Dead Drop [1.11]

[Sam and Fiona are doing recon at a gay bar.]
Sam Axe: How do you want to handle this?
Fiona Glenanne: Well, I think the balls are in your court.
Michael: [V.O.] The truly paranoid don't go to meetings themselves. They use a cut out, someone unrelated to them hired to show a pre-arranged sign and deliver a message. The sign is something innocuous but hard to miss. My favorite is a tourist guide for Madison, Wisconsin. No one will look at it twice, but unless I'm in the Midwest, I know they are waiting for Michael.
Nate: Hey bro, you look tired.
Michael: Hey Nate, you look clean. You shaved the ferret off your face.
Fiona: Ah, the mating dance of the spy. It's a wonder spies ever get close enough to kill each other, isn't it?
[Sam walks into Michael's house with a bucket of fried chicken and Michael pulls his gun.]
Michael: That'll kill you, you know?
Sam: [referring to the gun] Yeah, no kiddin'.
Michael: No. The bucket of trans fat you've got there.

[edit] Loose Ends [1.12]

[Michael and Fiona are standing over a large cache of weapons, preparing for an operation.]
Michael Westen: If we need more than this, we're doing something very wrong.
Fiona Glenanne: Or something very right.
Michael: [V.O.] When you work in intelligence, you get used to the idea that some information is worth risking everything for. You sign up for the lifestyle, or the chance to serve your country, or the millions of frequent-flier miles. But finally, it all comes down to putting your ass on the line to learn something.
Michael: [V.O.] There are some fights you just can't win. A force can be so overwhelming that no tactical approach in a fight is going to lead to a victory worth having. When you can't win in a fight, sometimes you have to settle for making sure that if you lose, everyone loses. It works for nuclear weapons; it works for me.
Michael: [V.O.] For any operative, stashing weapons is second nature after a while. Spies hide guns like squirrels hide acorns. You never know when you'll need some firepower, or where you'll be when you need it.
Carmello: Who are you?
Michael: I'm Michael Westen. I used to be a spy.

[edit] Season 2

[edit] Breaking and Entering [2.01]

Michael: [V.O.] A great way to get people talking about their security is to put them on the defensive. Accuse a guy of having bad locks and before you know it he's telling you where his motion detectors are.
Michael: [V.O.] When you're claiming to be someone you're not, the key is commitment. You've got to sell it like your life depends on it, because sometimes it does. One reason to work with the same people is you know each other's moves, so if you shoot at your team in the middle of an operation, they know to go with it.
Michael: [V.O.] Private military companies are best known for their bodyguard work. It's a big part of their business, but it's not the only part. For a big enough check, they'll rain hot lead down wherever you want. It's not work that attracts service-with-a-smile types.
Michael: Seems the people who burned me want me for a job. For now, that's all I got.
Sam Axe: A job? Does it pay?
Michael Westen: More of a "we'll kill you if you don't do it" type of thing.
Sam Axe: Ah. Never liked those.
Michael: [V.O.] When you work as a spy, it's easy to think of people as assets. Resources to accomplish a goal. Because you don't have a personal relationship with an asset. You don't care about an asset. You don't miss the scent of an asset when she leaves the room.

[edit] Turn and Burn [2.02]

Michael Westen: [V.O.] If you wanna make a friend, solve a problem for them. No problem to solve? Create one.
Michael: That stalker happens to have a MAC-10 in his jacket! Oh-— you knew, didn't you?!
Sam Axe: Mike, look, I did a little pre-scouting; I knew he was packing, but I didn't know he had a MAC-10. I thought it was, like... a regular gun.
Michael: [V.O.] Most people think distracting a group of guys is best done by a beautiful woman. The problem with beautiful women is people want them to stick around, which can cause a lot of problems. Obnoxious guys, they just want to get rid of.
Raul: She loves me more than her own life.
Michael: That's a lot...
Michael: Fi, get me a sniper rifle and some C4.
Fiona Glenanne: Oh, I like where this is going.

[edit] Trust Me [2.03]

Michael: Mom, I gotta get to work, actually. Uh, what is it you need?
Madeline Westen: Well, I can't find my salad spinner.
Michael: That is tragic.
Fiona Glenanne: Zeke is one careful con-man. He's security conscious, he's smart... smooth, too, in a cheesy, Sam kind of way.
Sam Axe: Hey, smooth is smooth, baby.
[Michael is undercover when his male mark approaches him.]
Michael: Friend, you're ruinin' my ratio. I have a good ratio goin' on, I got four ladies to one Davis. Four-to-one, I like that.
Waseem: [quoting from Michael's note] "I will be wearing a white shirt and..." [laughs] This word right here? It is a kind of... spicy goat cheese.
Michael: I was trying to say "black pants". My Urdu's a little rusty.
Waseem: At least you got the name of the restaurant right.
Michael: [V.O.] To win a negotiation you have to show you're willing to walk away. And the best way to show you're willing to walk away... is to walk away.

[edit] Comrades [2.04]

Michael Westen: [V.O.] Get your hands on any classified document worth having, chances are it's going to be redacted, which makes reading it a lot like watching a movie on an airplane: all the juicy parts are missing but you still get the basic idea.
Madeline Westen: Do you know what his first word was? It was "Michael".
Michael: It was "juice"; I was there, his first word was "juice".
Madeline: True, but he was looking at you when he said it.
Sam Axe: "Daddy"?
Fiona Glenanne: Bet you never thought you'd hear me call you that.
Michael: [V.O.] One of the hardest things to do in a fight is to make it look like you're trying to kill someone without doing any permanent damage. They don't teach any half-moves in combat training. There are moves designed to kill and maim as efficiently as possible. If those are off limits, one option is open your fist right before a punch lands. Painful, but the force is distributed. Another showy option is a kick to the shoulder. You might break a rib or two; but if you aim right, nobody is going to the morgue.
Michael: [V.O.] A fight is one of the quickest ways to tell if someone isn't who they say they are. If you say you are Russian but fight like an American, consider your cover blown, which means you better know Sambo, the mixed martial art of Russia. Of course, you also have to win the fight; a great cover ID doesn't help much if you're dead.

[edit] Scatter Point [2.05]

Michael Westen: [V.O.] A criminal cover ID isn't just about a new name and phone number; it's about fitting into a culture with its own rules and hierarchies. It's a world where bank robbers are the rock stars, con artists are the snobs, car thieves are the blue-collar guys, and safecrackers are the artists.
[Veronica asked Sam to marry her and Sam seeks Michael for advice.]
Michael: Do you love her?
Sam Axe: She could be the one.
Michael: Then say yes.
Sam: It's complicated.
Michael: [slowly] Then say no.
Sam: [sarcastically] You're a good friend, Mike.
Michael: [V.O.] Safe-cracking skills are a basic part of espionage training. Spies steal secrets and people keep their secrets in safes. But staying current with safe cracking is a little like staying current with computers: a new model every year. Bottom line: if you want to breach a safe, you have to practice.
Michael: [V.O.] Making yourself invisible when you need to is a crucial skill for a covert operative; it sounds exotic but it's not like there's a super-secret move they teach you at spy school that allows you to vanish into thin air. Often it's just a matter of quick thinking, fast feet, and strong fingers.
Michael: [V.O.] Tailing a trained operative requires a number of time consuming preparations: everything from acquiring a vehicle they can't recognize or trace to familiarizing yourself with all the local traffic patterns. Of course, since you can never be sure who's a trained op, there's always the chance you'll take all those precautions just to follow a secretary back to her cubicle.

[edit] Bad Blood [2.06]

Michael Westen: [V.O.] The interior locks in an office suite are usually low-end; just there to keep white-collar workers from stealing coffee cups. File cabinet locking bars, on the other hand, are a more serious security measure. Their main vulnerability is that they depend on people's faith in padlocks. People have too much faith in padlocks.
Madeline Westen: Uh, Sam, didn't you forget something? [Madeline hands him a number of bullets] I found them in your pants. I heard them rattling around in the washing machine when I was doing your laundry.
Sam: Yeah, 9 mm. Uh, hey, err, I don't know what to say.
Michael: I'd say nothing. Nothing's good. Go with nothing.
Michael: [V.O.] Sometimes, when you meet a new operative, it's a good idea to open with an aggressive move. You learn about people when you make them play defense: their reflexes, weaknesses, how they handle themselves under pressure. And even if they are able to counter, it never hurts to know how far they're willing to go.
Michael: [V.O.] When meeting a covert operative for the first time, the arrangements can tell you a lot: if they give you a map and a photo, they trust you; a place and a time, they want to check you out before they make contact; a cryptic clue like "tidy pelican", they've just got an irritating sense of humor.

[edit] Rough Seas [2.07]

Michael: [V.O.] Dealing with a trained operative is like playing chess with a master. Dealing with criminals, on the other hand, is like playing checkers with a three-year-old: they like to change the rules.
Michael: If the devil had a name, it'd be CHUCK... FINLEY!
Seymour: You wanna be a badass, you gotta eat healthy!
[Sam and Virgil, Michael's houseguest, are talking to Michael on the phone.]
Virgil: Listen, I didn't pack enough underwear, so I borrowed a set of your boxers: the blue ones with the stripes.
Michael: They will never fit you; stay out of my closet.
Virgil: They're a little snug down under, but I got all packed in. 'Preciate it.
Sam Axe: Mike, be glad you didn't have to see that.
[Michael stops a soccer ball headed in his direction.]
Boy: Kick it! Kick it!
[Michael kicks the ball towards the boy.]
Marcela: Hey, no ball on the sidewalk.
Michael: He started it.

[edit] Double Booked [2.08]

[Larry, an ex-spy, checks in with Michael and then leaves as Sam walks in.]
Sam Axe: [about Larry] Just "checking in"? He's got a weird thing for you.
Michael: It's because he doesn't have any friends.
Sam: That's because he killed most of them, Mike.
[Michael and Campbell, Fiona's boyfriend, are meeting for the first time.]
Campbell: Fiona tells me you're a soil scientist.
Michael: Yes, yes, I love my dirt.
Therapist: And that's why I like to say that trust is a bridge, and it needs a strong foundation, and you can't build a bridge out of pain and fear, can you? [He nudges Michael awake.] Can you, Michael?
Michael: [sleepily] Uh, no, because that would make it, um, structurally unsound.
Michael: [V.O.] Spend a career in covert ops and you're going to know some bad people. You'll work with them, you'll live with them, you might even trust your life with them. But none of that makes them your friend. It can't. Because one day, you might have to end them.
Michael: [V.O.] Spies make great neighbors; they're polite, they keep the lawn trim, and they never crank up the music at night. They don't stand out, because they don't want to be found. So if you're hunting for a covert operative and all you've got to go on are the names of a few dozens suspects, you're out of luck... unless you know where to look.

[edit] Good Soldier [2.09]

Michael: There's an art to drinking without getting drunk. Start with a lot of ice to dilute the alcohol; order a new round before you're done so your half-full drink gets taken away, and of course, spill.
Michael: Most people thinks snipers like to shoot from ledges; the fact is the best sniper position is inside a room through an open window; it hides the shooter, masks the report of the supersonic round and makes the muzzle flash impossible to see.

[edit] Cast

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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