Peter Rogers's Blog
"You know what? Screw this. If anyone needs me, I’ll be in Margaritaville."

I was randomly searching for something on the internet and came across your beat sheet for Burn Notice. Just thought I'd give you a tip about how the writers of the show break these episodes. Might be useful.

Every episode of Burn Notice turns on a relationship that Michael establishes with an adversary. He has a goal that has to be achieved with that adversary that involves some form of espionage-related deception technique. In your episode, Michael has no relationship with Bob. He has no task to achieve with him.

The fact that your bad guy has no relationship with Michael is part of the reason your episode is so light on action. There's no conflict possible other than avoiding and running away.

Also, when breaking the episodes, MUCH more attention is paid to the ending. In a Burn Notice ending, the bad guy is usually delivering what he believes is his killing blow, which turns out to be his undoing. That scene (known as the rat-f*** scene) is often what the episode idea begins with, and the writers work backwards from there. In any case, that scene almost always involves a measure of poetic justice, in which a version of the bad guy's plan is his own undoing.

These things are also true in the season three episodes, FYI. ;)

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Wow.  I have no idea who you are, and I'm fairly certain you'll never read this, but THANK YOU.  These might be the most perspicacious notes anybody's ever given me on something I've written.

So if I come back to writing this spec (I eventually gave up just because I could never suss out its deep structural problems), I think I know where to start:  with the rat-f***.

:)

~ looking forward to S3 ~

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