Now that’s more like it.

I really felt like BN got back into its groove tonight. It felt all Season 1 all over again. And the addition of Moon Bloodgold as a cop on Michael’s tail (so to speak) was a nice little twist, to keep Michael on his guard.

But you know what? It’s about time someone wondered why things have been blowing up so much in Miami. I mean, sure, it’s Miami. There’s more bizarre murder and mayhem than in your typical American city. But there aren’t explosions every day.

Since Michael came to town, there sure as heck have been.

That promises to be a rather … interesting relationship. And I like that in contrast to Fiona, she’s actually wearing a decent amount of clothing.

So, things I liked about tonight:

• Sam snorting lactose — yep, lactose! — to pretend to be a bad cop? Love it. Then him and Michael doing the whole reverse torture thing? Only Michael and Sam would come up with reverse torture.

• Madeline Westen … cooking. I didn’t even have to taste any of it and I was frightened. The cake looked good, at least. You know it didn’t taste good. Michael did a very nice job of covering, though, once he realized Mommy cooked it.

• Loving Michael is like trench warfare, Madeline? Somehow, I think you’re the Germans in that analogy. And I mean that in totally the most loving way possible.

• Fiona’s birthday gift of a bayonet to Michael. Loved how he semi-flinched as he opened the box, wondering if it might be something explosive.

• Speaking of explosive, Fiona’s whole reaction to Michael having leftover C4 in a storage locker was classic. That chick loves to blow crap up. The bigger the boom, the better. And Michael was holding out on her? How dare he?

• The little things: Sam’s love of his new girlfriend’s car and the fact that she rebuilt the engine; Sam trying to scam a free meal out of Michael; Fiona impatiently pushing Michael to help on the job; Fiona’s knife-throwing as she’s guarding a burly guy three times her size who skipped out on bail so she captured for extra cash; Michael saving receipts for Paxson.

Really, I enjoyed the episode, I giggled throughout and marveled at how Michael, Sam and Fi managed to navigate a job that, naturally, was nothing what it seemed it would be at the start.

My Burn Notice friends are truly back.

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I wasn’t the only person who was a wee bit disappointed with Burn Notice‘s Season 2, and had hoped Season 3 would somehow manage to recapture the whimsy that made Season 1 so much fun.

I’m not convinced yet, though I’m not ready to kick Michael, Fiona and Sam off my DVR season pass, either. (And Michael’s mom will be the last reason to kick the gang off.)

They’re kind of like the Scooby-Doo gang, but smarter, fewer and better armed.

A quick recap:

Season 1 gave us Michael Westen, a spy served a so-called “burn notice,” which means he’s been written off by his handlers. They deny any agency affiliation, cut off his bank accounts and dump him in a city where he’s expected to stay. In Michael’s case, it’s Miami, where his ex-girlfriend (and IRA gun-runner) Fiona and former spy buddy Sam (played by Bruce Campbell, w00t!) live. Oh, and his mom and brother.

In Season 2, Michael’s quest to find out who burned him brings him close to his goal, with Battlestar Galactica’s Number 6 as his new handler of sorts, who’s trying to make him work for her bosses. Are these the people who burned him? We assume so, until the season finale, when her boss (played by Frasier Crane’s father) claims that his folks were actually protecting Michael by keeping him off the grid. Michael jumps out of a helicopter several miles off the Miami shore. Wearing a suit.

Season 3 opened with Michael swimming to shore and ending up in the hands of the cops, as Frasier’s dad’s folks ratted Michael out and removed their protections and so he’s suddenly popping up on computer databases again and the cops think he’s armed and dangerous. A former spy buddy shows up and bails him out of jail, asking him to help his girlfriend, whose family farm is being threatened by drug dealers or gun runners or some sort of bad guys.

To be honest, I had trouble following the convoluted plot of Thursday’s opener. I guessed relatively early on that his spy buddy wasn’t really his buddy and was trying to do something to him, though I’m still not sure if he was trying to kill him or capture him or frame him or what.

The main issue was that the only scenes that really piqued my interest were the ones with Michael’s mom bitching at Sam about having blown up part of her house. Sharon Gless is quite funny. Word is Tyne Daley may be booked for next season for a guest spot (if I can find a link to the article I read this in, I’ll update it later.), which could be very amusing to those of us who grew up in the ’80s, when Cagney & Lacey was a staple.

For the boys, as if Fiona in skimpy clothing wasn’t good enough, Moon Bloodgood (that search term alone should increase the hits this post gets) is joining the cast as an occasional guest, as Detective Paxon, Michael’s new nemesis of sorts. She basically is trying to find out who Michael really is; I’m assuming she’s wondering why things keep blowing up so much when he’s around, no?

So, was I wrong in being a tad disappointed with the season premiere? Is it going to find the fun again? I hope so. Burn Notice was once such a guilty pleasure, and I’d like it if it returned to that status again.

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I’ve been catching up on all sorts of shows lately, so I thought I’d just wrap up some thoughts on some of what I’ve been watching:

Burn Notice

I think Michael Westen got his groove back. I absolutely adored Season 1. I enjoyed individual episodes in Season 2, but as a whole it left me feeling sort of meh.

But the bickering between Sam and Fiona, the weekly escapades of being a good guy, the decreased emphasis on the overarching mythology (c’mon, we have enough of that with Lost and BSG), Michael’s MacGyveristic tendencies and the goofiness of Sam’s love life (right now, I’m watching the scene where Sam is trying to talk to the lady of his dreams while taking down a bad guy) – nevermind Michael’s mom (Sharon Gless is totally awesome).

All of that adds up to a weekly 40+ minutes of goofy enjoyment.

And Romo Lampkin as a bad guy? Love it.

Fringe

OK, it’s J.J. Abrams, so I was bound to love it.

But the show has my favorite character currently on television – Dr. Walter Bishop.

The man opens his mouth and I laugh. The other week, I recall, someone said something about needing to cut someone open. His response: “Oh goodie, I love to cut.” Or something along those lines.

I giggle almost as much during Fringe as I laugh out loud during 30 Rock.

The whole underlying mythology? I can take it or leave it. I can’t expend that much mental energy on more than one J.J. Abrams special at a time, and Lost is taking up more than its share these days.

What I really like about the show is that even though there’s this mythology, each week can be taken in and of itself. It’s as close as I come to enjoying a procedural. Granted, it’s a procedural that involves the ability to enter someone else’s consciousness and other weirdness, but that’s par for the course with me.

Life on Mars

While I do wonder about the reason Sam’s back in 1973, I watch each week for Harvy Keitel and Michael Imperioli. Keitel’s cop is my second-favorite character on television these days, behind only Dr. Walter Bishop (see Fringe, above).

And Imperioli’s 1970s sexist pig is a joy to behold. Loved it when Annie basically saved his life this week. And Annie’s relationship with Sam is super-cute, too.

Brothers & Sisters

Loved it the first season.

Second season, started to wane.

This season? Pretty much over it, but I still watch most weeks. Dunno why. Can’t help it. Must stop.

Flight of the Conchords

If you’re not watching this show, you are missing one of the funniest things ever on television. “Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor” almost rival’s last year’s “HipHopOpotamus v. the Rhymenoceros.”

Please, for the love of all that’s holy, just watch this show.

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