Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell) is usually a pretty slick talker. But on Thursday's episode of 'Burn Notice' (Thursdays, 9PM USA), he had to talk faster than usual, as Carmelo Dante, one of Miami's biggest heroin dealers, held a gun to his chin. Dante was angry that he thought was a shipment of drugs was actually a shipment of weapons, at least according to a Serbian contact he had taken hostage.

It was a tough situation, but one that Michael (Jeffrey Donovan) was confident Sam could talk his way out of. "Oh yeah, it's such a shock that some Serbian scumbag that you took prisoner would lie to save his own life," said Sam. A good start, but the Serbian said Sam would lie, before he passed out.

Matt Nix is the man who single-handedly entered the term "burn notice" into the American pop culture lexicon. In a recent conference call about the current season of 'Burn Notice' and Michael Weston's spy games, Matt Nix reflected on the past, gave us a glimpse into the exciting last few episodes this season, and assured us all that despite the torrid chemistry, Bruce Campbell and Sharon Gless are not going to hook up as Sam and Maddie. Michael and Fiona, on the other hand, that's still a flame that's burning... if you don't mind the pun.

Q: What can you tell us about upcoming guest stars that you have lined up?

Matt Nix: In the finale, we have Garret Dillahunt coming and doing a pretty amazing bad guy. Let's see, the guy who played Tony Almeida on '24' Carlos Bernard, is playing a bad guy who... under other circumstances he could have been one of the team, but he is willing to do certain things that they're not willing to do. He's a guy who's really committed to what he's doing. It's a pretty devastating performance. He's pretty awesome.

(S03E14) There was a lot of action involving running and shooting and a bomb exploding in this installment of 'Burn Notice,' but overall it felt a bit like a been-there-done-that episode. Was it pedestrian or were the principals not interesting enough to keep up with the usual Michael-Fiona-Sam shenanigans? More on that and the excellent work by a lowly CSI tech named Finley, after the jump.

(S03E13) 'Burn Notice' is generally more serious dealing with spy business than a show like 'Chuck', which is more playful. There's more blood on 'Burn Notice,' and the killing is not done to popular music. Both shows are fun, but for a tougher brand of espionage, 'Burn Notice' is the way to go.

This was one of the better 'Burn Notice' episodes because it put Michael somewhere he hasn't been in a while -- a very vulnerable position. And Larry was back. You remember Larry, played with menacing lunacy by Tim Matheson? More on Larry, the Colombian cartel, Jack Fleetwood and -- oh yeah -- Michael's brother, too, after the jump.

(S03E11) For a nice change of pace, Burn Notice played up the local color. Lots of Little Dominica (not Little Havana) and action, including multiple explosions, a little face-forward repelling and a new somewhat mystical character for Michael to play. No Southern boy this week. No tank tops or muscle shirts. Nope. Michael was looking like Mr. Applegate, the devil in the musical Damn Yankees.

Burn, baby, burn.

Hot on the heels of USA's recent announcement to bring its detective series 'Psych' back for its fifth season comes news that the network has also renewed its hit spy drama 'Burn Notice' for a fourth year.

Some have made the argument that actor Ted McGinley is the patron saint of all things television. I mean, sure Teddy-M.C. has a wide and varied career and holds the power to destroy entire series with his very presence.

Well Mr. McGinley, I've met Bruce Campbell (once, almost, it's a long story). I know Bruce Campbell (not really, but Bob probably knows him better than I do). And you, sir, are no Bruce Campbell.

And just to prove it, let me pose a question: has anyone ever held a "Ted McGinley Watch" in his television honor? I didn't think so. Writer and blogger John Sellers has revived the annual TV tradition on his popular True/Slant blog.

(S03E09) Wow! Talk about a powerful finale. There were a lot of plot points and emotional issues addressed, and if you had any question about Michael's true loyalty, this show answered it. Burn Notice goes on hiatus -- is that what they call it? -- till the winter, and it's going to be a long rest of the summer and fall waiting for the story to resume. There was change in the air, what with Michael inching closer to a return to the CIA -- or so it seemed. More on all that and the blistering finale after the jump.

(S03E08) In the latest Michael adventure, our hero was hell-bent on getting back into intelligence work – nothing new, really. However, that meant dancing with Strickler, a foxtrot that Fiona was reluctant to take part in ...

More on Fiona's vulnerabilities after the jump. Meanwhile, another job popped up when Barry, money launderer and occasional member of the Michael troupe of operatives, called in all his favors and became the client.

Sometimes when I'm watching USA Network, I'm as tickled with the promotions for the shows as I am the shows themselves. That's saying a lot, because as a rule, networks are not very clever about commercials hawking their shows. However, USA is the exception to the rule. Just yesterday, Kona wrote about the Psych promo that took a shot at The Mentalist -- completely justified, too -- and here's another that caught my eye. It's a tribute to Monk.

This is the last season for Monk, so USA gathered some of the stars -- in character -- from its other programs to give a little tribute to Adrian Monk. What a stroke of genius!

USA has to be rather pleased. Last week, the top rated show on cable was Burn Notice. And their newest series Royal Pains is hanging in there impressively in fourth place, creating a powerful Thursday night lineup. As a reward, word has it that USA has renewed both Burn Notice and Royal Pains.

I first fell into Royal Pains because I have this bizarre fascination with the Hamptons. I hadn't even heard of it until a few years ago, and now it's just fascinating to me. Here's a place full of people I will never get to mingle with, living and partying somewhere that I will never go. It's Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous with a plot.

Burn Notice I've not watched because I didn't jump in when it first started (regular readers may remember that I have a thing about that), though I should probably just get over it and check it out. It has Bruce Campbell in it, and he's always a blast and I've heard nothing but good things about it. Regardless, it's more good news for cable broadcasting while the networks keep crying away the summer.

(S03E07) Burn Notice usually stays on the fun side of spying. This episode was all about getting back to doing a Robin Hood job, and since it tapped into Michael's psychology so perfectly, it added a good dollop of emotion to the fun.

And there was also that preview from last week that left fans gasping. Was one of the gang of three going down? Fortunately, in the world of spoilers and such, if that were true it would have been all over the net. Fortunately, it was all part of the con. More on that after the jump.

(S03E06) It seems like this season of Burn Notice has been all about friends and family. You know, like the cell phone deal. Michael has been relying more and more on family -- and yes, that means Fiona and Sam to me -- and picking up new friends week in and week out. As Michael has pointed out a few times, he's more valuable as a friend than an enemy. By the time we reach the end of the summer, Michael may have to throw a party to celebrate the new friendships he's made.

We also now know what can stop Michael Westen in his tracks; a Taser to the neck. Yes, for one of the few times, bad guys got the jump on Michael and he was snatched.

(S03E05) Michael Weston met Michael Westen. How cool was it that Burn Notice cast actor Michael Weston -- remember him as the private eye who helped House last year? As a psycho/math genius/code breaker/pattern spotter named Spencer Witawski, he was sort of a detective here, too, good enough to have tracked down Michael and become the latest client.

As integral episodes go, this was a major one. Major for Michael and his desire to return to government work and major for the status of Fiona and Michael's relationship. And did I mention that it was a major league great show, too? More after the jump.

(S03E02) I love Sam Axe, which is another way of saying Bruce Campbell makes watching Burn Notice a pleasure. Especially an episode like this one that was all about the chemistry between Sam and Mike when working undercover on a case with a nut job criminal intent on leaving Michael swimming in a pool of his own blood.

It's not just Sam that keeps me coming back for more from this show, or the tense but compelling subtext between Fiona and Michael's "is it love?" relationship. By and large, Burn Notice is smart TV. It shows me scenes I haven't seen before on other shows or on the big screen. More on the specifics after the jump, so if you don't want to know because you haven't watched yet, be warned.