Burn Notice

CHICAGO – USA and TNT have battled for Summer dominance and they’re both set to bring back several of their biggest hits in the coming weeks. Timed to get fans even more excited for the USA stable, Universal and Fox have released the most recent seasons of hits “Burn Notice,” “White Collar,” and “Fairly Legal” today and all should satisfy hardcore fans even if it is a bit surprising that none of them are being released in HD.

CHICAGO – “If you want a happy ending, it depends on where you stop the story.” Such is the theme of the mid-season premiere of “White Collar,” USA’s hit show that has essentially been working on one arc that could be coming to a close since it premiered — the attachment of G-man Peter Burke (Tom DeKay) to con man Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer). What if Caffrey had a chance to split? Would he take it? Or would he choose to walk the side of the tracks he used to rip off? These questions may not be completely answered by the end of this second half of the third season but it feels like we’ll be closer to the next phase of this massive hit.

CHICAGO – I feel like I’ve written a dozen reviews of USA’s hit “Burn Notice” and they all have basically the same theme — this is a show that could have been great but has now clearly settled for just being good.

CHICAGO – While AMC, FX, and even TNT have been pushing forward in the world of basic cable programming, the very-successful USA network feels like it has been treading water.

CHICAGO – Brian Tallerico guests on Bill Moller’s show on WGN-Radio in Chicago on June 18th, 2011 to discuss upcoming premieres, including “Fallking Skies,” “Combat Hospital,” “Suits,” “Wilfred,” “Louie,” “Burn Notice,” “Expedition Impossible,” and more.

CHICAGO – They can’t all be winners. The third season premiere of “White Collar” definitely feels like a show trying to find its identity after spinning several of the same plates in the air for two hit seasons and with no clear direction on where to go for chapter three.

CHICAGO – My love affair with USA’s “Burn Notice” has been rocky at best. During the second season, it felt like a show that could really blossom into one of the best on cable, but it kind of plateaued a bit in the third season and has been a solid-if-unspectacular program since, never quite living up to its potential while still being entertaining.

CHICAGO – The second wacky legal show debut of the week (after NBC’s awful “Harry’s Law”) is the fairly good “Fairly Legal,” a show that works largely due to the incredible charm of its lead, Sarah Shahi (“Life”).

CHICAGO – The USA network, like TNT, has adopted an unusual launch pattern for some of their shows, dividing their seasons in two. So, while “Royal Pains” and “Burn Notice” had their second season premieres last summer, they now return for the second half of their sophomore chapters.

CHICAGO – USA’s spy hit “Burn Notice” returns tonight, November 11th, 2010 with another solidly-entertaining mix of the cool, the comedy, and the crazy. The middle of season four ended with Michael Weston (Jeffrey Donovan) crossing paths with two lunatics (Michael Rooker & Robert Patrick), being given a list that was the key to destroying the people who burned him, getting into an intense shoot-out, and a horrible car accident. Yes, there are a lot of loose ends to tie up.