“Fast Friends” Sets up what will likely be the most personal season story arc for Michael since the first. His whole motivation now for working with Management--a mission he could otherwise walk away from--is guilt over having burned counter intelligence agent Jesse Porter. Porter has no idea who burned him and vows to kill whoever did whenever he finds the culprit. Michael assures him he is okay with that. I assume, considering his empathy, he is being honest. I am nervous about shaking up the dynamics of the Michael/Sam/Fiona team by adding such a loose cannon as Porter. Burn Notice is a combination of Magnum PI and The A-Team as far as the character camaraderie goes. Both those shows went south with the order of things was disrupted in the final season, albeit more drastically in the latter.
Perhaps I am apprehensive because the character does not resonate with me. He only has one adventure under his belt, so the character is undeveloped. Maybe he will grow on me. But right now, he appears to be there for the sole purpose of adding tension. He has no real personality yet. Even worse, he reminds me of Vin Diesel. Surely similarities to Diesel in XXX were not a selling point.
A quick IMDb search notes the actor, Cody Bell, has a lengthy list of credits playing regular characters I long running shows, including 130 episodes of Third Watch.. I am willing to give him more time before I pass judgment on Porter because of it.
Starting after this paragraph. I found it awfully convenient he tracked down Michael to ask for his help getting a drug cartel off his back at the same time Michael was looking for him. It felt like away of squeezing out another Michael/Sam/Fiona con job without having to come up with an excuse to hire another actor to lay the client.
Okay, I am done being critical. “Fast Friends” was not a bad episode otherwise, but I am stuck in a holding pattern until I decide how much I like this season’s changes.
Rating; *** (out of 5)
