In most television shows, Status Quo is God. You don't mess around with the set-up of a show, because you might alienate the fans of previous set-up. So how do you make a show continue to evolve without breaking the status quo?

The answer is that presentation is everything. You offer a different situation and set up, but keep the same format. It's like having Mountain Dew in a bottle, can or a glass with ice. Same Dew, different presentation. Everything about this episode harkens back to the first season. And that is the problem. Same Burn Notice, different presentation. The only thing that has changed is that Michael is talking to this mysterious "Carla." He still doesn't know what they want him for, he still doesn't know why he was burned in the first place. So we are back to square one, essentially.

With that said, the episode was fun to watch. Michael still has that intelligent thought process that makes the show work. He simply doesn't panic in a bad situation. He acts practically. The best 'Spy Work for Dummies' is his quick thinking to keep his cover secret approaching Fiona and Sam. "A good marksman can hit a target going 50 miles an hour. A great marksman can intentionally miss a target going 50 miles an hour." The look on his face when Fiona fires a shot between his feet was priceless.

All in all, I hope that the next major shakeup in the series actually does something to shake things up. It is certainly fine to watch as it is, but hopefully they can start building better villains then the generic thug and the mysterious voice.

When creating a character in a story, a good way to keep things straight and consistent is to write out a character profile. Start with their basic appearance: height, weight, hair, eyes, clothing, etc. Then, with their appearance in mind, start outlining their personality. Are they sarcastic? Are they a smooth talker? Anti-social? Bubbley and talkative? If needed, change the appearance to fit the personality better. Once that is done, then create a backstory for them. Make it as elaborate and detailed as you want it to be. (in other words, how much effort you want to put into it)

After you have done all that, you can write for the character. Adhere to the set boundaries that you have. Remember that they will behave a certain way not just because of their personality profile, but because of their backstory. A skilled writer will dance around their backstory, always there but never explained. Less subtle writers will grab hold of it and shove it into the audiences face.

That is kind of what this episode feels like. Everything is thrown in your face, and much of it is not palatable. The very beginning has the line of "finding yourselves" and everyone just deals with their problems. The party at the beach house could have been fine, but came across as too modern in teenage behavior and more then once instigates the cringe factor. (You know, when a scene goes so far south that you want to skip it.)

The campfire confessional was tough to sit through, if only because you know this was the climax of the story and you didn't want to just skip it. Everyone just sat back and very literally whined about their sad pasts. It felt like they had pulled out their own character profiles and read them out loud. The only thing that saves it is Zuko's outburst about how his anger hasn't subsided since he returned home, but he has only been more frustrated with himself. This works only because we have been following his story next to Aang's, and his actions at the end of season two obviously wasn't as easy as he thought it would be.

For a surprisingly strong comparison in this same episode, Combustion Man's appearance works entirely because we know nothing about him. You get the feeling that if you did, he would still be a scary guy. The intensity of that action sequence was beautifully done, particularly Aang's redirection of the combustion blast. These kids have reached superhuman abilities beyond a world filled with superhumans, and this man forced them to escape by the skin of their teeth. The fury of that moment was best described by Sokka, "He's blowing things up with his mind!"

A handful of good character revelations and an impressive action sequence can not redeem a mediocre story with mediocre backstory explanations. Although, if you liked Ty Lee's bathing suit and the doves that fluttered at Zuko removing his shirt, maybe this wasn't such a waste.

In economics, it is unfair to ask two people to do the work of three. It is that simple. Likewise, it is unfair for four episodes to do the work of eight. The last sequence of episodes have been incomprehensible, confusing and downright bad. It all comes together seeming as though it is trying to organize every storyline in the series into one grand plan. It fails horribly (not spectacularly, that would mean the denouncement fails to live up to the hype. This is stumbling through everything, step by misplaced step.)

Robert Picardo is an impressive and popular actor, he usually makes things one level better then it could have been. Here, his performance is intriquing and nuanced, but only has 30 seconds in his prior appearance and here to show his stuff.

That is kind of like the entire Veritas storyline. It had some potential. It makes you examine Lionels character from the beginning of the series. What really fails is how this conspiracy is revealed and used. We have had a evidence throughout the series that Jor-El is capable of controlling Clark in some way. It does make sense that Jor-El would impliment some way for humanity to protect itself should Clark not be the hero he is supposed to be. But considering the huge cache of Kryptonite lying everywhere, why is this such a convoluted plan?

We have had a "National Treasure" style hunt that puts even that movie to shame with the stretches of puzzle piece logic. Two keys that open a safety deposit box holding a clockwork dial that plays a random song that is significant to only one person identifying the location of a castle in Europe which happens to have been relocated to Smallville as the Luthor mansion.

Reading that last sentence, I realize that it is completely accurate, and I still don't know how they got to that point. But as for everything else, Jimmy's spotlight episode a few weeks ago has been rendered null and void. It was almost uneeded now, and was still indulgent. (Let's do a James Bond espionage episode!) Considering his last spotlight episode was a film noir dream, this doesn't bode well for his episodes.

Considering what has been revealed for the next season, I think it will only get worse. Lana's departure was just sad, it was too obvious that Kristin Kreuk just wanted to leave so she did it by videotape. Michael Rosenbaum is also leaving, after discovering for the thirtieth time that Clark has superpowers. (I'm thinking... he's going to get amnesia.) I have never seen a show limp along this bad towards the end. Maybe with a fresh start with the writers they can make up for this mess.

The previous episode got to the point of absurdity, but funny. The bridging of all the different actions of the Titus family, plus Tommy, was quite clever. "It's Chicken A La King!" (Allah King) The only thing that made the episode gel together was Titus emotional breakdown, which was handled with sensitivity, yet still made fun of it. I have no idea how they pull this off.

But now Titus has to confront his demons. Is mental illness genetic? This thought has haunted him for a long time, but now it became crippling. Part of the reality of this show is that the comedian Christopher Titus based the car guy Christopher Titus on himself. His mother was really insane, he really fell into a bonfire, he taped his dad getting arrested on TV. Sometimes the only cure for sadness is laughter, not just a good joke but at your predicament. The FBI are interrogating them in the possibility that they are terrorists. (Having a psychotic break on a plane is not a wise thing to do.) So they interview them in a sporatic style, and they alternatingly defend and incriminate themselves. But then comes the sadistic choice, commit Titus to a mental care facility or face prison time on federal crimes. This leads to the group standing side-by-side. They may be disfunctional, but they stand together.

The ending leaves you discontented, but hopeful. Titus has dealt with a lot of crap in his life, he'll manage. "Once you've driven your drunk father to mom's parole hearing, what else is there?" If only this could be more properly concluded with another season...or two. Sometimes be grateful that you had the time you do have, and enjoy the laughs.

My interest in television and movies stems from the idea that we are heavily influenced by media. If all you listened to was angry, suicidal, depressing music, despite your best efforts you will feel the things that you hear. We are influenced by what we surround ourselves with.

Titus is a human being, when things went bad with his car ship he became depressed and turned to alcohol. Deliberately pushing Erin away, he could only get worse. But he is resonable enough to kick himself out of it and now he has to repair his mistakes. Getting Erin back is going to be difficult but he loves her so much he will do whatever is needed, including kidnapping and putting her in a burlap sack.

Okay...now how often will that actually happen in a non-joking way but also with benign intentions? The show never really follows those standards of reality, but that is part of the charm. Like every other episode, they have something they want to say and come heaven, hell or high water they will say it. If there is a few lapses in realism they are willing to go with it.

The wonderful thing is that the plot is constantly moving, Erin forgives Titus of his binge drinking, but it reveals that Erin has gone of the deep end. No job, ratty clothes and hair unkept, she lost the desire to go on with her own life. It doesn't help that her family is more then willing to use her to their own advantage, considering how reliable she is. She spent a long time getting away from their influence and the week or two after leaving Titus dropped her into a hole. She doesn't want to return to Titus because it requires emotional work.

But the real meat and lesson this story reveals comes as a literal tug-of-war begins for Erin between Titus and his family against her family. Erin eventually snaps and yells at Titus for how hard she fell. She put so much of her life into him that when he slipped up, she couldn't bounce back, and she blamed him. In the best moment of the episode, with a brief moment of stunned silence, Titus gently tells her that he loves her, then says that what she said was crap. Why? Because we can choose how we act and behave. No one has a leash on us, no one forces dispair on us, not even a soul-sucking family. After that wonderful moment, Papa Titus gives a rare moment of careful, wise advice for his son; after all, Papa Titus has had plenty of women leave him and return.

Of course Erin returns to him in the end, but it is about the journey. Whatever your mistakes may be should be the strengths of the one you love. And whatever flaws you have together you work through them.

Touching, hilarious and smart all at the same time, a brilliant episode.