{"id":4429,"date":"2009-09-19T11:34:02","date_gmt":"2009-09-19T19:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stargate-sg1-solutions.com\/blog\/?p=4429"},"modified":"2010-03-07T10:58:18","modified_gmt":"2010-03-07T18:58:18","slug":"special-feature-burn-notice-commentary-transcript","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stargate-sg1-solutions.com\/blog\/2009\/09\/special-feature-burn-notice-commentary-transcript\/","title":{"rendered":"Special Feature: Burn Notice Commentary Transcript"},"content":{"rendered":"

As most fans will know, Michael Shanks<\/a> had a four-episode arc in Season 2 of the hit USA series Burn Notice<\/em><\/a>. Playing burned spy “Victor”, he was prominent in the very popular season finale, “Lesser Evil”<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Michael joined creator Matt Nix and co-star Bruce Campbell on the DVD commentary, which is very entertaining. Now, thanks to the efforts of Stargate fan daniel4ever<\/strong>, we bring you the transcript of the DVD commentary in its entirety! Please read and let us know how you enjoyed it!<\/p>\n

\"burn_notice_s2_dvd_cover\"<\/div>\n

In the transcript:
\nMN:<\/strong> is creator Matt Nix
\nBC:<\/strong> is actor Bruce Campbell
\nMS:<\/strong> is actor Michael Shanks<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Hi, I\u2019m Matt Nix, creator of Burn Notice, here with Bruce Campbell\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> I play Sam Axe\u2026<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> and Michael Shanks\u2026<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> I play Victor\u2026<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> So, this was the season finale for season 2, Lesser Evil, although this part (opening credits) is in every episode so there really is not a whole lot to say.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> This is where you get to do the wonderful recap of the amazement they are about to experience.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yes, exactly.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> So, this was directed by our good friend Tim Matheson, right?<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Indeed it was, who can be heard on the episode 2.08 commentary.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> And he\u2019s been around, what, this was his 3rd episode?<\/p>\n

(Currently showing scenes from previous episode with MS on screen)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Uh, let\u2019s see, he did one in the first season, so this is his third episode. He\u2019s actually directing the season premiere of 3 as well.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> He kind of has been co-opted into doing some of the bigger ones. He gets a little, he gets a little epic.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yes, yes, and this was a big episode, this was a very big episode for us. For various sorts of odd budgetary reasons, we ended up, um, with a little extra more money to spend on this one which was great, because we had a lot to do.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah, there\u2019s some major carnage in this thing, too, and Tim, you know, he shoots like a feature, if you watch his episodes, he gets a lot of coverage and he does things that are more like a movie which is kind of fun when you\u2019re working on it but probably tortures the producers. But it is a good episode.<\/p>\n

(Background MW getting into Carla\u2019s limo)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Now this was all shot in midtown which is actually great for us because it is pretty empty, it\u2019s a sort of downtown looking place, but uh, you don\u2019t even need to clear the streets, there is nobody on them. So it\u2019s very empty, sort of unfortunate for anyone who invested in midtown, but we can use it as sort of a back lot, it\u2019s great. (BC laughs) (Something else is said here but it is incomprehensible, because two people are talking at the same time) Now, Bruce, what is Jeffrey doing right now, do you know?<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> He\u2019s shooting the first day of episode 2, season 3.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> That\u2019s right, first day of episode 2.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> He\u2019s on a set, torturing a bad guy, right now\u2026<\/p>\n

(Limo ride in background)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yes, as he should be\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> And on screen, he\u2019s torturing Tricia Helfer, obviously, the infamous Carla, who the funny thing is, all bad guys are the nicest people as actors (all laugh). I mean, it\u2019s true, (someone else says something here that I can\u2019t understand) Vincent Price, he really just wanted to cook in his kitchen, you know, not kill innocent people. But, and the same with Tricia, she\u2019s from Canada, she\u2019s a prairie girl, incredibly down to earth and here she is playing you know this steely kind of bad ass character. I always find it very entertaining.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Is there a hidden message that both of the seemingly bad guys in this particular episode, Victor and Carla, are from, the actors are from Canada?<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Uh huh.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Is there a hidden message that most of the secret agents out to get us here in America are from Canada?<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Well, you know Canada; those guys are a very dangerous neighbor to the north. You gotta watch them.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> They\u2019re wily.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> They could invade at any moment.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah, they\u2019re just sitting around drinking beer, being kind of laid back and then you turn your back<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Watch your back, boom they stab you.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> There\u2019s an elbow pad in your face like you wouldn\u2019t believe. (BC laughs)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> So, now, Matt, we\u2019re getting near another interrogation scene or another setting certainly. These are becoming a little more a part of the show.<\/p>\n

(MW is walking up the steps to where Victor is being held)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah, absolutely, one thing that we\u2019ve discovered is that blocking a scene is much easier when people are tied to chairs. (Laughter)<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> I think it\u2019s great that now that Obama is president that we\u2019ve taken this tack that now that Jack Bauer is not torturing so much that on Burn Notice you can take it as an Obama like stance with everything. (Laughter)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah, we don\u2019t really, you know, we\u2019ll beat each other up, but we usually don\u2019t touch the bad guys.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> No, there isn\u2019t\u2026 you know, what it is, on this show, we get the bad guys to kill each other.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

(Victor and MW are fighting on screen in background)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> It\u2019s a higher moral ground than taking a, you know, live wire and just sticking it in their ear for half an hour.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> This is great when we did this fight scene, because they\u2019d uh, we\u2019d, obviously just finished the bathroom fight at the end of the previous episode and they\u2019d kind of done a similar thing in here, where it was just hand to hand, and what was great in terms of Jeffrey is he pointed out we were in this great space with all these metallic looking tools and chains and whatnot, let\u2019s use it, let\u2019s shake it up a little we don\u2019t want to just do the same ol\u2019 same ol\u2019, so\u2026 although it is odd that he would be around so many conveniently placed chains and\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> But you have to have that though, right Matt, if you\u2019re gonna fight, you gotta have some form of weaponry available.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Exactly, that\u2019s why you put people in interesting locations with chains. (Laughter) You are fired, Shanks, you are retroactively fired, don\u2019t say that ever again. (All laugh)<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know how much more I could be fired. (All laugh)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Well, we don\u2019t want to give away what happens, obviously, right until it happens, because it\u2019s gonna shock me even watching it now.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> I\u2019m hoping that if they\u2019re listening to the track with the commentary on it, maybe they\u2019ve seen the episode, but\u2026 I don\u2019t know, you know, people do things for different reasons.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> You know, they may have been too busy and the DVD is the way that they watch this show. In Buttcrack, Kansas, that\u2019s probably how it\u2019s going down. I don\u2019t think they\u2019re going to be TIVO-ing as much.<\/p>\n

(Victor and MW talking to each other in background on screen)<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> I can respectfully say I\u2019ve never been in Buttcrack, Kansas.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Now this, uh, Michael, was your sort of transition from crazy, homicidal Victor to, there it goes, look at it, emotional Victor. What was that like?<\/p>\n

\"BNcap01\"<\/div>\n

MS:<\/strong> Um, this was, it was interesting because this was shot, both this and the scene on the boat were shot on the very last day of filming and I think up to that point there was a lot of question in I think uh, at least Tim\u2019s mind, I\u2019m not sure in your mind too, whether or not Victor – we were going to like Vic – and I remember when I first got the script and I looked at it and I said well this is the scene where we have to see the stuff underneath what is going on there and if you don\u2019t do that, there\u2019s nothing else to me in the script up to the end where you are actually going to get a chance to feel for the guy. So it was really important to me to focus on this scene and find that underlying pain that the audience could relate to more, then, as well as not betray the character, so that is why you see, uh, sort of both simultaneously.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> What I think is actually amazing about what you did here is, um, and I think it\u2019s really more credit to me because I told you how to act it\u2026<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Absolutely. (laughter)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> No, is you really managed to hold onto who Victor is when you laugh, and it\u2019s not that he\u2019s suddenly sort of dropping a veil and becoming a different guy, he\u2019s the same guy. It\u2019s just that he showing a different side of himself.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Right.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> And, Michael, I have to say that I think you were a very good bad guy, and I\u2019m actually sorry to say the word \u201cwere,\u201d but I\u2019m not going to give anything away you know, but I think as far as bad guys go you’re right up there. You\u2019re 4 episodes of bad guy, most bad guys are one episode so you punched through the barrier, you\u2019ve done a kind of cinematic history, really, in television.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Worthy adversary.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Whoa!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah, no, that\u2019s true, you\u2019ve fallen into the worthy adversary category and in this show, you never really know if someone is fully on your side.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> I\u2019ve had a couple of people watch this and they kept waiting until the very end, and even afterwards as to whether or not Victor was gonna still turn on Michael somehow and they were so surprised when the gunshot went off and that was it, they didn\u2019t uh\u2026<\/p>\n

(On screen: MW coming down stairs after talking to Victor with Fiona and Sam)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> What gunshot? What are you talking about? (Laughter)<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Uh, the uh, well, she\u2019s got a shotgun in her hand right there, it\u2019s gonna happen any second now. (Someone whistles a casual whistle\u2026)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Actually, Bruce\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah?<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> You\u2019ll be interested in this, one of the things that we\u2026 when we\u2019re working on the episodes think about in terms of characters turning, bad guys turning, and when to trust people is when Sam trusts someone, it sort of gives the audience permission to trust someone.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> (laughs) Right! Well, Sam has a BS meter, I think.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> That\u2019s true; he seems to be the cynical one.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> He doesn\u2019t have the, uh, yeah, his people skills are not as refined perhaps, and so I don\u2019t know, maybe he\u2019s just enough. That\u2019s a good point, Matt, I\u2019ll keep that in mind, that Sam is the moral compass of the series.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah, sure, moral compass of the series, exactly. Ok, I accept that.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Because Fiona is out of control, I mean, she\u2019ll kill anyone at anytime for any reason, so it\u2019s really Sam has to calm her down and you know, keep her in line.<\/p>\n

(On screen: MW and Fiona have just entered Victor\u2019s boat)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yes, this was our Art Department\u2019s, uh, we wanted Victor to have rigged all of the windows so that if you went in any way, uh, you\u2019d get Claymored, hence, Fi\u2019s \u201cVictor should teach a class,\u201d line.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> The only thing that got me about that was the fact that, um, was that Michael stood in front of the Claymore while she was disarming it till she said clear, and then he moved out of the way of the Claymore.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> You\u2019re fired again. (laughter)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Hey guys, can I make a quick note? I saw the Captain Crunch back there, uh; Captain Crunch has a very negative connotation for me.<\/p>\n

MN or MS (sometimes I cannot tell and will denote as or):<\/strong> Oh?<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> I was eating a bowl of Captain Crunch, which was my favorite cereal and was then notified that my dog had died.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Oh no!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> And I\u2019ve not touched, literally, Captain Crunch, since.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> How old were you Bruce?<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> This was last week. (laughter) No, I was like 10.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Oh, wow.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> It was my favorite cereal and I can\u2019t look at it. So thanks for putting it in the show.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Sorry! Well, it\u2019s associated with a tragic loss, that\u2019s why it\u2019s in there, Bruce, we\u2019re mining your emotional history.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Are there other people you think that their animals have died while eating the same cereal?<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> I think it\u2019s just you.<\/p>\n

MS or MN: This is just for your therapy this has got nothing to do with\u2026 (Can\u2019t hear the rest as Bruce begins speaking again)<\/p>\n

(On screen: Victor and Sam enter cage for interrogation)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> I like this place to torture Michael in this scene cause it\u2019s a great cage, it\u2019s just a giant cage, and look, there\u2019s more weaponry lying around, there\u2019s a vice, what\u2019s that? There\u2019s a vice and a wrench\u2026 (laughter)<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Careful, careful, he can still fire you. (lots of laughter)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Good! Uh, yeah, actually, there\u2019s lots of stuff up on the shelves too. (Someone else says something indistinguishable here too.) That\u2019s right, he\u2019s tied to his chair so it\u2019s all right. But, I like, you know, how he\u2019s a good adversary, because he messes with Sam cause he knows \u2013 he knows all the drills, so he knows that Sam is going by the book. Which is good, what I think when a bad guy is as smart as the good guy, then it really gets tough, then the bad \u2013 the good guys have to work for a change.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah, we had to look up all of the actual numbers in the uh, at least that version of the military interrogation manual.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Oh, right, of how many, uh, techniques there actually were.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Cause there are all these different approaches and you know some are more popular than others.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> And the episode we just shot, which I can\u2019t reveal yet because it\u2019s very secret, has a new technique, a completely different technique still to come. So, viewers, after watching the amazing techniques in this episode, there\u2019s more amazing stuff yet to come. When you guys gonna run out, Matt?<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Uh, I don\u2019t know. I mean I think that, uh\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Are we ever gonna do a waterboarding? (laughter)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> No, I think that\u2019s off limits, actually.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Really? Can\u2019t really go there?<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> That would be less comfortable. (Someone, probably Matt, says something in here that I cannot make out \u2013 since he was talking the same time as Bruce, who is louder.)<\/p>\n

(On screen: MW and Fiona have just gotten out of the car, and Sam comes down the ramp to meet them.)<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> I\u2019m thinking as much as Victor was a rival for Michael for spy skills, I think he\u2019s a rival for Sam Axe for bad fashion choices. (laughter \u2013 this is where Sam is wearing the red shirt with the big appliqu\u00e9) I was looking at that last scene \u2013 that was visually assaulting.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Well, now, wait a second\u2026 (laughter) you\u2019re touching a nerve there!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah, I\u2019d go easy on that, because me and Tommy Bahama are very close.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yes. (laughter)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> I am not endorsing Tommy Bahama, I\u2019m just saying I think, it, meaning Tommy Bahama, suits me pretty well.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> I\u2019m just gonna leave that floating in the breeze there\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> What more is there to say?<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

(On screen: Madeline exercising to Jack LaLanne)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> And here we go, this is the beginning of the epic Madeline and Sam\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> That\u2019s right!<\/p>\n

MS or MN:<\/strong> That\u2019s great. (Can\u2019t hear, someone else is also talking.)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah, I think I shot one scene outside of this, um, house, for the whole episode, me and Madeline, but it\u2019s great, you know, look, again, working with Sharon Gless is \u2013 what can you ask for? She, she is iconic and yet she\u2019s still a very dedicated actor. She loves it, she gets excited, you know, we would like, she got like nervous, she was nervous sometimes and uh, I just thought that was so cute, a woman who busted her butt on a really, you know, on Cagney and Lacey for so many years, I still get excited working with her cause I go, she\u2019s from a different time period, she\u2019s from a different, you know, she really \u2013 she set her own landmarks in their own world, they were, they, she had her version of an iconic show.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> I mean, it\u2019s amazing watching her just bring it. It\u2019s like a switch goes on or something.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Uh huh, uh huh.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> It\u2019s pretty \u2013 really incredible!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> But, typically, you know, on screen, you know, she\u2019s barking orders and chain smoking, and off screen, she\u2019s kid of sweet and goofy.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Typical. It\u2019s all the good guys who are the jerks.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> I love watching her rake you over the coals too.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Ha ha! Well, cause what\u2019s good is she is Michael\u2019s mother so she\u2019s not a dummy.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> And, she had a kind of an idiot husband, Michael\u2019s father, so she\u2019s had to deal with all of this before. That always amuses me.<\/p>\n

(On screen: Michael enters cage to talk to Victor. They allow dialogue to play briefly \u2013 Victor\u2019s line, \u201cFour? That seems high, oh, come on, you\u2019re counting earlier with the chair!\u201d)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> A fine delivery, Michael Shanks! That was great. (laughter)<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Oh, look at my face though; I only really counted to three, so delivery fine, math not so good!<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yes. (pause in talking here) Yeah, this was, this was a\u2026 I think kind of a tricky scene, because it\u2019s uh, you\u2019re coming clean with him in a lot of ways and it\u2019s you\u2019re not entirely trusting each other and it\u2019s\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Now, Matt, significant of the season 2 DVD compilation is that as opposed to last year, we have a new director of photography.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yes, yes.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Which I\u2019m not sure if folks will, uh, hopefully they\u2019ll notice, uh, it\u2019s a different style.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> The fabulous Bill Wages, yes.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah, Bill Wages came in and uh, it looks to me \u2013 well, first of all, I can see on the set again. (laughter) Because, uh you know, the first season had a fabulous look, but it was done with a different style with the big old lights shining in your face, kind of like it was in 1964.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah, it was much brighter.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Much different story, and uh, this season I can actually take my sunglasses off and you know, play a scene, so it\u2019s\u2026 We\u2019re enjoying working with Bill, he\u2019s a real hardworking guy, he gets in there too whenever it\u2019s a lot of hand held stuff \u2013 not all directors of photography will actually shoot stuff \u2013 he\u2019ll grab the camera and just get in there and go – so he\u2019s a real \u201clet\u2019s pick this up and do this\u201d kind of guy.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Very hands on, yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

(On screen: Victor and Michael get in car and drive off quickly.)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Now this, actually, uh, Tim Matheson really pioneered the use of shooting the interiors of the car on the stages and the actual driving stuff, some of this is second unit, some of this is, uh\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Is it you\u2019re saying, Matt, the rear screen stuff?<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> The rear screen stuff, yeah. We hadn\u2019t really\u2026 we\u2019d done a little bit of it but this was really\u2026<\/p>\n

\"BNcap02\"<\/div>\n

BC:<\/strong> Which I have to say works really well, we just did it in the episode we just shot recently and it\u2019s so good for actors because actors can then just act and not worry about causing a traffic accident, and it\u2019s really good for the sound guys and the camera guys can get very controlled and it’s really easy to get more shots because you\u2019re just all controlled on a stage and you know if you keep it moving like this and you only show it periodically I think it works perfectly fine.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Oh, it does, I\u2026 I\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> You wouldn\u2019t really know. (I think in context he is referring to the viewers.)<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> I\u2019d never done it before, um, in the studio, and what I found out about shooting the stuff, obviously the stuff that was done by the stunt guys on second unit, the \u2013 all the real driving stuff, I felt so foolish when we were doing it in the studio. I think I remember telling you that, Matt, and um, cause \u2013 but I\u2019ve also done so much spaceship (laughter)\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah\u2026<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> \u2026 poor man\u2019s (I think this is what he said, it was hard to make out) process which is \u2013 would seem to be more absurd because you\u2019re running around and the set is sparking but you also don\u2019t actually see through the windows and see what\u2019s sort of happening and it\u2019s not a contemporary sort of situation so you can suspend disbelief a little bit more. I was actually feeling more foolish in this because it\u2019s just the two guys in the front seat and you\u2019re wondering how silly you guys look sort of doing that shift back and forth and um I was amazed at how well it tied together \u2013 uh, it really looks seamless and nobody notices at all.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Another thing is, you know, it\u2019s really good for TV shooting because it allows you to do more stuff in a stage which is always more controlled.<\/p>\n

(On screen: The big explosion, and car rolling over onto its side and top through the flames.)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Well, Matt, I\u2019m still half amazed in this modern world that we are still actually blowing stuff up.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> I\u2019m very proud of the fact that \u2013 and we do almost no CGI. We\u2019ve probably done\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah, and these are big!<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Cleanup stuff, yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> You know, Jeffrey and I were in the front of a couple of big ones and I think it\u2019s exciting because the whole \u2013 I mean, it makes a massive concussion and you have to be extremely careful, but these guys, all the effects guys, get very excited when it\u2019s time to blow something up. They get giddy like children!<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> And so do we all!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah, but I guess there\u2019s no doing a real fireball vs. a digital one where you know you see a car driving through it, the fire interacts with the car\u2026<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah, you can tell!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> There\u2019s no way you can do that in the digi-world. But, see, yeah, Michael, that stuff all works good, you know, you think you\u2019re hanging out to dry there shooting it, but it\u2019s all in context.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Yeah, I know. Stuff like this, just when he points and the shifting and all that stuff cuts together so well.<\/p>\n

(On screen: Driving into garage.)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Now it wasn\u2019t until we actually got onto the set and started doing the meetings that we realized that we have a car chase that spans from before the commercial, through the commercial, then this is sort of the break in the car chase and then it continues after \u2013 it\u2019s like the longest car chase ever! (laughter) Ah, the fuzzy pink, uh, rear view mirror\u2026<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> That was a great treat. (laughter) It seemed that everything Victor \u2013 I loved about the character, it seemed that everything Victor touched turned pseudo homoerotic. I don\u2019t know if (can\u2019t make out) meant it that way or\u2026 (laughter) But it was great that the set guys came up with that!<\/p>\n

(On screen: Madeline and Sam in her kitchen.)<\/p>\n

\"BNcap03\"<\/div>\n

BC:<\/strong> Meanwhile, back at mom\u2019s house\u2026<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> What I love about what you did in this Bruce, was the really playing \u2013 it\u2019s like she\u2019s playing a scene from earlier in the season and there\u2026 Sam doesn\u2019t want a drink!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Oh, yeah, then there\u2019s key! You know Sam\u2019s serious when there\u2019s no alcohol involved.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Cause then something matters to him. (Pause to listen to dialogue in episode \u2013 Sam says, \u201cCrap,\u201d as he looks out the window.) That\u2019s my favorite word in the show, Matt; anytime I see the word crap in a script I get very happy. (laughter) It\u2019s just such a great Michigan word \u201cAh, crap!\u201d<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Exactly.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> What\u2019s your car like? It\u2019s a piece of crap. Everything in Michigan was a piece of crap where I grew up. That\u2019s why I don\u2019t live there anymore, but\u2026 (laughter) \u2026 it\u2019s just a great \u2013 I love that term, anytime I can sneak it in it\u2019s a beautiful thing!<\/p>\n

(On screen: Sam shooting through the front door of Madeline\u2019s house.)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> I love the fact – I was just on that set the other day \u2013 there\u2019s a brand new front door.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Oh, yeah, we\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Because I keep forgetting the carnage and mayhem that we did.<\/p>\n

MN (I think):<\/strong> It was pretty significant.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Oh, yeah, how did that get explained away, the entire loss of the front and side of her house?<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> It had to be fixed and in the upcoming episode, we\u2019re going to try and fix it. (laughter)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah, Sam spends how many episodes at Madeline\u2019s in season 3 working on fixing the place up? (laughter)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah, so they are going to try and fix it\u2026 (someone else says something that I can\u2019t make out).<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> That\u2019s great.<\/p>\n

(On screen: Back in garage \u2013 Michael throws a brick through a car window.)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Did you know that Michael Westen breaks a lot of car windows? (He then says something else, but I can\u2019t make it out.)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> He does, he does. We don\u2019t have a whole lot of respect for property!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Uh uh, because things are important, you gotta move!<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> And this was your first scene you shot in the episode.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> This is the first scene, yeah, and it was\u2026 this is where you really realize how much I sweat in Miami!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> No, no, Michael, I\u2019ve got you beat, sorry, I mean, we\u2019ve had to create high tech undergarments to wick away the moisture that comes off my doughy body.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> I thought for me, I thought that because we were shooting it in a carpark, (ed note \u2013 you can tell he is not from the US by that term!) I thought, well, it will be shaded and kind of cool. (laughter) No, it\u2019s a brick pizza oven in there, so I\u2019m \u2013 it was, uh, you know, for me trying to remember my lines on top of everything else\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> No, but it\u2019s funny, obviously your first day of shooting, it\u2019s like the, you know, halfway through the episode \u2013 that\u2019s always my favorite!<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> yeah!<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> We\u2019re actually, uh, paying for some of the episodes by selling actor\u2019s sweat by the quart (laughter) (can\u2019t make out) fans.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Man, I got gallons then for you \u2013 I\u2019m good!<\/p>\n

(Something else is said in here, but I can\u2019t make it out.)<\/p>\n

(On screen; back at Madeline\u2019s house.)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> And it\u2019s funny \u2013 that Madeline is slowly learning the spy business. I mean, she was really out of it for a while, missed all of it, but now it\u2019s kind of all slowly dawning on her, and I think over time she\u2019s starting to recognize guys \u2013 she\u2019s a little more accepting who Michael brings home.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> He\u2019s always coming home with weirdoes.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Season 7, she\u2019ll be like, \u201cSam, is this a Mark 5 fragmentation grenade or a Mark 7?\u201d<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Exactly. (laugher) \u201cI wouldn\u2019t do that Sam, that\u2019s a bad choice!\u201d<\/p>\n

(On screen: Sam and Madeline preparing explosives.)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Now, these montages are always kind of, they\u2019re interesting to watch and to shoot, you kind of just, do it in real time.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Uh, you know, we\u2019ve talked about the prop guy Charlie before, that uh, he makes this so you can kind of just do it and so we just shoot us doing it knowing that will be, you know, crunched down to 37 seconds.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> I think it\u2019s always fun though seeing when he sort of takes you through it and says, ok, so here\u2019s how it actually works.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah. (laughs)<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Now here\u2019s a question \u2013 Is that actually plausible, is that the non-dairy creamer mixed with the gunpowder?<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yes, uh, the explosion that it makes in the show is a little bigger\u2026<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Right.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> \u2026 than uh, than it would, but it makes a pretty impressive fireball, um, cause it\u2019s, you know, it\u2019s very \u2013 it\u2019s a fatty substance, there\u2019s a lot of energy in non-dairy creamer and it\u2019s got so much surface area because it\u2019s a powder, it makes a big, uh, big poof!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> But, Matt, when you do these things you always have to like leave out like two vital ingredients, right?<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah, I mean, the \u2013 that particular arrangement, you could probably make it work, under certain circumstances, but you\u2019d need a lot more stuff. We don\u2019t want people hurting themselves.<\/p>\n

(On screen: Car exiting the garage and crashing into the parked cars at the bottom of the ramp.)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> You know, Artie the stunt guy must have had a smile on his face for this entire episode.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Oh, yeah, yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> I mean, he never had a bad day when we were shooting this.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Now you\u2019ll notice that the piece of concrete on the floor there says \u201cOTTER\u201d on it, which is an homage to Tim Matheson\u2019s character in \u201cAnimal House.\u201d<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Right.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Wow, that\u2019s good!<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yes. Dr. Flotterman was the uh\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> But will Tim leave a hint of him being on \u201cLeave it to Beaver.\u201d (laughter) Will there be something there? (more laughter)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Well, no, I threw that in. Maybe we\u2019ll put \u201cLeave it to Beaver\u201d in the uh, coming up.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> I think we should. We gotta dig deep \u2013 go to IMDB and figure out Mr. Tim Matheson because he goes waaaay back! It\u2019s really nice too, working with Tim, because he has been on film sets since he was like five, so he kind of lives on a film set\u2026<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> And it\u2019s really nice. He\u2019s seen it from every angle. I\u2019m gonna bug him because he just mentioned he did some movie with Bob Hope and Jackie Gleason \u2013 I\u2019m like, ok, come on, where are the stories?<\/p>\n

MS or MN:<\/strong> Wow! (laughter in background)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah, can you believe that combo?<\/p>\n

MS or MN: Woooow!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Trying to get those guys out of their trailer?<\/p>\n

\"BNcap04\"<\/div>\n

MN:<\/strong> That was, uh, after we saw the, I\u2019ll confess, after we saw the explosion that the effects guys gave us there, we added part of the line that it was, you know, these chemicals plus some other stuff because it was such a gigantic explosion. (laughter) I mean, it\u2019s really \u2013 you can\u2019t complain about big explosions, but, uh, that was a\u2026<\/p>\n

(On screen: Fi sets off charge that blows up a car as they drive by.)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> I was itching to do this all season. (laughter) Boom, Boom!<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> It\u2019s great!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Wow, that\u2019s a very serious explosion, cause you\u2019re flipping a car too.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah, wow! Ok, sorry, cars (emphasis on the s).<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yes, cars.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Wow!<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> I actually, uh, full disclosure, I was working on a feature script that for various reasons uh, ended up getting shelved by the studio and I had a raining, flaming cars scene in the feature (laughter in background), then uh, this came along and I was, there was part of me that had just fallen in love with that scene and I just decided, yes, we are going to do raining, flaming cars\u2026<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> On television.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> On television!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Just cut and paste, easy\u2026<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> But honestly, I\u2019m really proud of the fact that we did a, you know, what I felt like was a really respectable version of what is really a big movie stunt!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> You know, raining, flaming cars is not really something you see a lot on television.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yep.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> And I think it\u2019s a credit to our uh, stunt guys, who you know, I mean Artie came up to me the other day after I asked him if he could do this \u2013 some stunt in one of the episodes and said, I want you guys to try to write something I cannot do. I challenge you in this!<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Whoa!<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> And \u2013 but that attitude is just, it\u2019s just great. Now of course, he knows that if we, if we try to do that then he\u2019ll have to, he\u2019ll make a lot of money doing that stuff. (laughter)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah, yeah!<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> But, uh, but nonetheless, I admire his moxie.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> And I still think, Matt, we should continue to go on record here; this is the only show that is still in Miami.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yes, yes.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> We are officially in Miami, dictated to be outside quite a bit, which is why \u2013 you know you\u2019re in Miami. I mean, uh, there\u2019s no mountains anywhere!<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah, even most of our inside stuff was outside here and most of our outside stuff was car stuff in this episode.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> It\u2019s just so strange, because when you really do see the outside, how unique and beautiful it is \u2013 it\u2019s amazing that it\u2019s the only show that\u2019s uh, taking advantage of that!<\/p>\n

(Pause in commentary to watch what is on screen for a few seconds \u2013 On screen, Michael Westen is in the car, using the On Star.)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> So now, yes, this is our On Star integration with Saab. (laughter) Um, and I will say, for anyone who, uh, doesn\u2019t like product integration in television, shows, uh, that little chime that you just heard, uh, was the reason we were able to do this entire episode. (laughter) So\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Right, right.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> So, thank you GM, we love you Saab!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> That flaming wall of cars, you mean?<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yes, flaming wall of cars\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Courtesy of General Motors\u2026<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Courtesy of General Motors, yes.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Well, you guys did a, I have to say, for as hokey as product tie-ins are, you did a pretty good job of working it in within the weird spy context.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> No, unless you said that, I never would have really noticed that, so\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Right.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Because it makes perfect sense. It\u2019s actually another great spy trick, if you will.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah, I\u2026<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> My attitude about it is I don\u2019t mind doing it as long as it makes sense.<\/p>\n

BC or MS:<\/strong> Yep.<\/p>\n

(On screen: Madeline\u2019s house explodes.)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Now here\u2019s the big explosion, boom! (laughter) Now what everyone should know is, we cut out the big part of the explosion. (laughter)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Because it was too ridiculous?<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> We really did, it was too big, but that was on our stages as well, so we had to do a significant rebuilding after that.<\/p>\n

(On screen: Looking at classic red car.)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> That is the look of love in Sam\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah, baby! And the funny this is about these old cars, they look great, they got a great feel, you look good in them, but man they are a big bucket of rust and you know (laughter) transmissions that don\u2019t work, and leaking\u2026<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Cause you were just driving that one again in the\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> \u2026leaking fluids, I just drove it again, and I had to just pull out recently from a parking spot, just pull out and follow a guy, and I\u2019m like, ok, let\u2019s see if I can do this, you know, it\u2019s like (Bruce makes funny car noises and sounds \u2013 impossible to spell out but you get the idea), so anyone that thinks they want to run out and buy one of these cool vintage cars, uh, save up twice the amount of money, buy it with half, the other half going to fix up that piece of crap. There, I said it.<\/p>\n

(On screen: Sam and Madeline in car, just before she gets out to \u201cblend\u201d in downtown.)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Now this scene \u2013 were you aware Bruce \u2013 I just want to Shout Out to Sharon Gless, I think this is possibly her best scene of this series thus far and we shot this pretty quickly. I mean, did you feel something special there, I mean, it\u2019s really, it\u2019s affecting, at least to me!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah, Matt, you know what, scenes come so fast and furious, you hope that they have the intention that you want and then sometimes in context I think sometimes they get stronger cause we guessed correctly you know\u2026<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> \u2026that the tone was right at that moment or whatever.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Cause I remember that\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> \u2026so\u2026<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> \u2026we banged that out before lunch, it was (voice trails off, can\u2019t make out).<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> It was a very, uh, very quick scene, and the one thing I, the only thing I wanted to do in that scene was to not totally lecture her the whole time because she is still Mike\u2019s mother\u2026<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Uh huh.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> \u2026so Sam would treat her with respect.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Yeah, no, that reads to it.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Kind of chiming at her.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> That\u2019s one of the things that\u2019s so touching about it too.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Well, cause Sam, you know, he gets all weepy sometimes. (laughter) He\u2019s a very touching character.<\/p>\n

(On screen: Victor, Michael and Fiona driving in little black car.)<\/p>\n

\"BNcap05\"<\/div>\n

MN:<\/strong> Alright, now Michael, I\u2019ve been, I\u2019ve been burning to ask you this, you\u2019re going in here, and we\u2019re doing this stunt, and then you jump up onto the car and you decide you were going to leap into the back of the Saab? Because you didn\u2019t tell anybody you were going to do it, did you decide you were going to do that?<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> No, Tim, actually \u2013 I did it in rehearsal and Tim told me not to and um, I said well, you know, I hate to say but, but um, I would, probably would have done it anyway, I won\u2019t, I won\u2019t lie, but because you guys did such a hand cuffing job of um, having that Parkour guy\u2026<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Uh huh.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> \u2026do Victor in the uh, whatever episode that was, (laughter) that I said I can\u2019t puss out of this\u2026<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> \u2026look, you\u2019ve got this guy that\u2019s been able \u2013 crawling up buildings, he\u2019s Spider Man in another episode, (laugher) but now I\u2019m gonna old man it into the back seat? I said I think I better jump into the back there and give the character some credibility back, but uh\u2026<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Well, I don\u2019t know if you heard the crew, because we were pretty far away, but you got spontaneous applause on that.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> I did, I did, and I was, I think I was too busy \u2013 worried about trying \u2013 not kicking Jeffrey in the back of the head when I jumped in the back seat, so\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Well, everyone was applauding except the director, Tim Matheson. (laughter)<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> You don\u2019t say? (laughter)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> He was very pissed off.<\/p>\n

(Pause in commentary \u2013 On screen: looking through a file.)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> And the prop guys, I\u2019ll tell you, they must have files and files and files of newspaper clippings, fake IDs, I mean these guys could get into any club in Miami now!<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Oh, yeah, absolutely. (laughter)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> You know, some of these, our prop guys, I think they \u2013 I\u2019d watch \u2018em on weekends, cause I don\u2019t know, I think they\u2019re taking that stuff, because they have to make some of it look good enough to shoot on camera.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Uh huh, the detail of it, yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah, and so it\u2019s always \u2013 and I\u2019ve always begged them, whenever Sam has to explain a bunch of stuff, I\u2019m like, please, Dear God, give me something I can hold in my hand and they\u2019re usually pretty good about putting photographs in dossiers and files and county things and government stamps, it\u2019s really, they do a really good job.<\/p>\n

(On screen: Michael and Fi discussing his leaving for Cuba.)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> They really do. Now I was really disappointed, unfortunately Gabrielle was actually going to be with us today but she, uh, her schedule got moved up and so she\u2019s shooting right now as we\u2019re doing this, but this was, uh, I think, one of their best love scenes, if you will.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Unh huh.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Umm\u2026<\/p>\n

\"BNcap06\"<\/div>\n

BC:<\/strong> Well, these guys, look, it \u2013 they have chemistry, you got two leading actors and that, as Michael well knows, sometimes you\u2019re gonna pass the chemistry test and sometimes you\u2019re gonna fail.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Unh huh.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> And these two, for whatever reason, they got it, and it\u2019s critical, so I mean I don\u2019t know that you, you can\u2019t fake that, you really can\u2019t fake that chemistry.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> And what\u2019s fun is a part of the chemistry is that slap, and it was interesting, cause I wrote that scene without the slap and then it was actually Tim Matheson who said, it feels like it needs a, something, there and I was like, Iiiiii\u2026 I think I know what it needs and then I wrote in the slap and everybody \u2013 Yes, the slap, perfect! (laughter) But I love that it manages to be more romantic with the slap and not less.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Unh.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Well, there always seems to be a little violence with love.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> you know, in the, in the trenches you know it\u2019s always, uh, life and death.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Combustible.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Exactly.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Well, especially for those two it seems to be the MO.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yes, well, it\u2019s explosive. (pause in commentary) And Matt, I must say with this new season coming up \u2013 doesn\u2019t seem like it\u2019s changing, seems like it\u2019s still explosive and good chemistry.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> You know, it\u2019s true.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Just saying is all, just saying.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> I know, yeah, they got it, they got it!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> And you know what\u2019s funny, um, a friend of a friend of a friend is a police officer, and you\u2019d think that he would only want the stuff that blows up. He very specifically, uh, left a phone message that he was very happy that the Michael and Fiona thing was continuing because that was one of his favorite parts of the show, coming from a tough cop!<\/p>\n

MN and MS:<\/strong> Uhn, yeah!<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Well, I mean, it matters to us too and people think we\u2019re less into it than we are, but we spend a lot of time thinking about it, just out of\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> And the funny thing is, if you don\u2019t have it, then all you really have is stuff blowing up.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah, if there\u2019s no context you don\u2019t care, you need to care about the people.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> So I think it, yeah, it\u2019s the, yeah, it\u2019s the underpinnings of that and what I think is coolest about the show is yeah, stuff blows up but ultimately at the end of the day it\u2019s all about spies just dealing with their miserable lives.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> And you have to care, like you have to care that Michael Westen will be killed, if you don\u2019t then the show\u2019s over.<\/p>\n

(On screen: Victor and Michael getting on Victor\u2019s boat.)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Well, and that\u2019s actually, I mean in this scene\u2019s \u2013 that\u2019s coming up, it was really all about, and you know you did a great job with that Michael, making that character someone that you\u2019d come to care about, and I\u2019ve had more people than I can count bemoan the death of Victor and here it is, oh\u2026<\/p>\n

(On screen: Victor is shot.)<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Oh, ouch!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Oh my God!<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> The shock!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> What just happened?!<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> There she is, Tricia\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Oh, good old Carla\u2026<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Canadians with guns! (laughter)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yeah, exactly, a Canadian with a gun, what are you going to do?<\/p>\n

MS (I think):<\/strong> Evil\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Unbelievable! That\u2019s a good shocker, though Matt, I must say, that\u2019s the kind of \u2013 you gotta, even, even though Michael was a very good guest star, if you don\u2019t do stuff like that, I think this really mixes it up, because now people go, oh, he\u2019s probably not coming back, you know?<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah, well, that\u2019s the thing, I really feel strongly that you gotta be willing to go there and it shows people that you\u2019re serious and that the stakes on the show are for real.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Yeah, yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Yep, I think that the best thing of the Star Wars series was Luke Skywalker getting his hand cut off.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> When that happened, I cheered. I\u2019m like, oh, he can be hurt.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Unh, hmm.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> And then of course, three seconds later it became \u2013 he got a new hand, mechanical hand.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> That must have been an awkward moment in the theater there, Bruce. (laughter)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> It was a little awkward, but, uh, you know, I had to react to something.<\/p>\n

(On screen: Helicopter flying around.)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> We had so much fun with these helicopters. (laughs)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Well, no, it\u2019s always funny how, um, on the day helicopters arrive, how many producers show up insisting that they\u2019ve gotta supervise.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Right, right, right.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> It was very important that I be in the helicopter supervising.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> I know and Matt, the funniest thing is my assistant, Mike, who\u2019s down here with me, uh, really dreams of being a stunt man and, and you know, he\u2019s got a pretty good look and he finally got to be a helicopter pilot and so he didn\u2019t have to do anything really other than kind of sit in the passenger seat, but he got to basically bomb around and, uh, fly around in the helicopter all day. I\u2019m like, dude, I\u2019m not paying you too!<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> He looked great!<\/p>\n

(On screen: Carla is shot.)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> So \u2013 Oh, wait, what is going on here?<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> That\u2019s Artie our stunt guy as the sniper there. Ah, yes\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> It is somehow, uh, fitting, that it is Fiona. I mean now, frankly Sam \u2013 Matt, I gotta say I\u2019m a little disappointed there\u2026<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> (laughs)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> \u2026because Sam is usually the guy with the gun, with the rifle and scope\u2026<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> But she\u2019s been itching to do it, she\u2019s been asking to do it all season.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> I know it, I\u2019m sure of it. I\u2019m sure, but I\u2019m just a little it upset because I found it a little inappropriate, but I\u2019m gonna let it go because I understand. (laughter)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Next time you can shoot all the guests. For next season you shoot all the guest stars.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Shoot all the women.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Kill them all.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Thank you! And, helicopters are fun, but as you know Matt, if you have one helicopter, it means you have to have two.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yep, yep.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Right? Because you gotta, to shoot from one helicopter to the other. And did you get to ride, Matt? Did you get to ride?<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> I did. I was in the second helicopter.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Cause you had to supervise.<\/p>\n

(On screen: Michael Westen goes over to Victor to help apply pressure to his wound.)<\/p>\n

\"BNcap07\"<\/div>\n

MN:<\/strong> Now this, for the folks at home, we shot all of this stuff inside the boat on the stages. And then all of the helicopter stuff was a different day. And then all of the exterior boat stuff was at a different time. And then all of the commando stuff was at a different time, so it was a very, uh, we were piecing this together in the editing room. I was really pleased with how it came out, but it was\u2026 You had a long talk with Tim, did you not about this?<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> I sure did, uh, I credit a lot of the good stuff in this to Tim because, uh, he made me feel like a rookie, which is great, because, uh, I\u2019d worked this out in my head of how I was going to do this and he reminded me of certain common actor mistakes that I was falling into and I went, Oh my God, I should have seen that a million miles away, so uh, it changed the dynamite with the scene and effectively\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Now, Michael, give us a tidbit\u2026<\/p>\n

\"BNcap08\"<\/div>\n

MS:<\/strong> Well, he just, he just said\u2026 (can\u2019t make out, both MS and BC are talking at the same time)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Give him his props here. What did he do to save your performance?<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> I was playing, I was playing if a lot of the stuff like that, where you see me backed further in the corner, um, that was the first take we did and it was a lot of me playing the pain and the hurt and the playing the wound, and he said, play against it, go after your objective, what do you need him to do? And that\u2019s what, uh, the, all that \u2013 the aggressive stuff came out of, was him saying, you know, go get, go after this guy and what was great about it, he was absolutely right, um\u2026<\/p>\n

\"BNcap09\"<\/div>\n

BC:<\/strong> Look, Donovan\u2019s getting all gooey here too.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> No, and you could see the \u2013 I remember watching this scene, and when your voice, Michael, hit that kind of uhhhhhh, that it hit Jeffrey.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Now he\u2019s got some weird thoughts here guys, he was\u2026<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah, well, he didn\u2019t tell anybody he was doing it.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> No.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Did you see what he did with that gun?<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> This was, he did this once\u2026<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> That was creepy.<\/p>\n

\"BNcap10\"<\/div>\n

MN:<\/strong> We were watching that, and I was watching it and I was like, is he going to shoot himself?<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Right, right, because it\u2019s those moments where you go, this is all just not, this is not worth it. This is the downside of the spy business.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah, and the aw\u2026 and, and we were shooting that at one AM the morning of the last day of shooting of the entire season. (laughter)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> I don\u2019t think Donovan could even stay awake that day.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> It was really, it was really late, and everyone was really tired, and then he did that and the whole crew just burst out into applause.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Um hmm.<\/p>\n

(On screen: Michael Westen walks from the boat to the helicopter.)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Everyone was hugging him and high five-ing him, it was cause we knew, bam! And then that transformation, even though this was shot on a different day, of him walking out and just being cock of the walk sells it all the more.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Really exciting.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> No, it\u2019s great because you\u2019re, that reaction to it, to the shooting – appropriate and everything – it really sells the fact that what Victor was, which was a cautionary tale, and it really helps with this scene in terms of telling the story, uh, in an internal level for him about why, what Victor, what, what – watching Victor do what he\u2019s done, how it has affected him and it effects the choices he makes.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah, and it says, I think, there\u2019s a bit of, there but for the Grace of God go I.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> And\u2026 (can\u2019t make out)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> We added that, uh, Bruce, the uh, good luck Mike.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Good luck Mike.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> It just needed it.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> We um, in keeping with my theory about bad guys, uh, John Mahoney is playing management here, uh, John Mahoney \u2013 I worked with him on the \u201cHudsucker Proxy\u201d for the Cohen brothers and he again, you know, he\u2019s playing this you know, bad, evil manager guy and again probably one of the sweetest guys on the planet.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> He is ridiculously nice. (laughter) Yeah. And also, I don\u2019t know if you know the story, he was, uh, he basically called his agent and said, I really like this show, Burn Notice, if they have anything for me, tell them to let me know.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> That\u2019s great!<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> It worked out great.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Now I hear, uh, Matt, that Michael Bolton is also circling the building.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Cause he so (can\u2019t make out).<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> So perhaps you could address that at some point?<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> One of these days, we will uh\u2026 (can\u2019t make out)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Wh\u2026 what a coke dealer or something like that.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah, yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> You know, cause they always want to play the off types, the romantic singer always wants to be the bad guy.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Ah, we\u2019ll find something.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Maybe it can be a very special Michael Bolton episode.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> People make their way down to Miami.<\/p>\n

(On screen: Michael Westen and Management discussing his future in the helicopter.)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Now how much did you go up in a helicopter, Matt? I\u2019m not sure; did you fake some of this on a stage?<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> This was, they were sitting on top of, for this stuff, because you can\u2019t do the sound\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Right, right.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> \u2026with the helicopter going, this stuff was in on top of a truck, it was on top of a big container truck, they landed the helicopter and shot this.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Oh, so you could get the sky in the background!<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Oh, that\u2019s great!<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> So we shot all this and then we actually went up in the helicopter, um, to do the actual jumping.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> And then you\u2019re doing the herky-jerkies with the camera here?<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah, the herky-jerkies\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Right.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> \u2026exactly, that \u2018s the camera shaking, right.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> You\u2019re just trying to keep that camera steady in this moving helicopter.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Right, right. Well, that\u2019s uh, it\u2019s a cool effect.<\/p>\n

(On screen: helicopter door opens over water.)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Ok, now Matt, what\u2019s up with this idea, it\u2019s a pretty cool idea.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> This was actually, this sort of came, this came very late, it was not in the original version of the script and I was talking with the network and they said, I was talking with the head of the network, uh, Jeff Wachtel, and he was saying, ahhh, I just want something bigger, you know, I don\u2019t know, like a volcano, a helicopter, and I said, helicopter, that\u2019s what we\u2019re doing!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Man, so it\u2019s a pretty high fall, I gotta say.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> That\u2019s, that\u2019s uh, about 90 feet, 80-90 feet.<\/p>\n

MS(?):<\/strong> Ohhh.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> And Dean Grimes did that right?<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Dean Grimes, the double, did the full fall and Jeffrey did maybe a 20-30 ft leap off a tuna tower.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> That\u2019s enough, that\u2019s enough.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah, that was a really\u2026<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Unhh.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> \u2026that was a scary fall. Uh, Dean also, the double, had to do the uh, had to do the jump twice because\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Uhhh.<\/p>\n

(On screen: Michael Westen underwater.)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> \u2026he didn\u2019t nail it. And this is Jeffrey \u2013 we were out in the middle of the ocean with an underwater camera doing that. It\u2019s really great having an actor like Jeffrey, who you know, will say things like, I wasn\u2019t under the water long enough\u2026 (laughter)<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Oh, right.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> \u2026I need to be deeper!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> He\u2019s into it, he\u2019s committed.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> I\u2019m glad, by the way, just for the record, I\u2019m glad you chose helicopter vs. volcano \u2013 thought I would mention that to you. (laughter) I\u2026 personal preference.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know that he said volcano, I may be exaggerating, but, and there we go.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Matt, it\u2019s a good ending to that season, because it\u2019s all\u2026<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Great music too\u2026<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Carla is gone, the whole burn thing is now, nothing is ever going to be the same.<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> Yeah, scary things are coming.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Now I just want to point out for the record, uh, when I watched the show, it may just be an error of editing, but when Jeffrey looks back at Victor on the ground, Victor\u2019s in a slightly different position he was in when he got shot.<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Hmmmmmm.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> I\u2019m not saying, I\u2019m just saying\u2026<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> I think, I think you were totally set up for a post jump the shark episode where robot Victor come back. (laughter) Uh, we are very, we\u2019ve already written the robot Victor episodes and uh, but we really have to squander all of our credibility before we do that. (laughter)<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> I\u2019m not playing any more robots, been there, done that, forget it. (laughter)<\/p>\n

MN:<\/strong> All right, well, thank you very much.<\/p>\n

MS:<\/strong> Thanks Matt Nix!<\/p>\n

BC:<\/strong> Guys, it\u2019s been a pleasure, thank you Matt!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As most fans will know, Michael Shanks had a four-episode arc in Season 2 of the hit USA series Burn Notice. Playing burned spy “Victor”, he was prominent in the very popular season finale, “Lesser Evil”. Michael joined creator Matt Nix and co-star Bruce Campbell on the DVD commentary, which is very entertaining. Now, thanks … Continue reading “Special Feature: Burn Notice Commentary Transcript”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[15],"class_list":["post-4429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","tag-michael-shanks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stargate-sg1-solutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stargate-sg1-solutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stargate-sg1-solutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stargate-sg1-solutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stargate-sg1-solutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4429"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/stargate-sg1-solutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7708,"href":"https:\/\/stargate-sg1-solutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4429\/revisions\/7708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stargate-sg1-solutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stargate-sg1-solutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stargate-sg1-solutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}