This week's Talking TV with Ryan and Ryan podcast has a different format: Ryan was out of town, so, on my own, I spoke to 'Burn Notice' creator and executive producer Matt Nix for over an hour. (Don't worry, we'll have a regular podcast, probably with a different special guest, later in the week.)

Forgive me for my enthusiasm, but I really think parts of this podcast could be of interest to wide variety of TV fans, even those who don't necessarily watch the USA Network show.

Toward the end of the podcast, at about the 55-minute mark, I asked Nix to do something writer/creator Shawn Ryan ('The Shield,' 'Terriers') has done in previous Talking TV podcasts: I asked him to talk about his "beefs" with TV or the making of it. That got Nix started on a self-deprecating riff about those who take to the Internet to critique episodic problems that occasionally afflict his show.

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.

Michael Westen and Fiona Glennane might not be a part of it, but Sam Axe is still going to have a whole lot of company -- and even a date or two -- in the 'Burn Notice' prequel movie.

As production continues in Bogotá, Colombia a trio of new cast members have been announced. TVLine.com reports that 'Burn Notice' star Bruce Campbell, who plays Sam Axe, will be joined by Chandra West ('The Gates'), RonReaco Lee ('The Good Guys'), Kiele Sanchez ('The Glades') and John Diehl ('The Shield').

West will play Sam's new love interest, the "smart and sexy" Donna. Lee and Sanchez will play, respectively, a field medic and a humanitarian who run into trouble in Colombia. Diehl rounds out the cast as Rear Admiral Lawrence, a no-nonsense naval officer who will stop at nothing to get to the truth.

"When you're directing a TV movie in Colombia, what you don't want to do is..."

OK, there's no word on whether the upcoming 'Burn Notice' prequel movie will have those distinctive voiceovers, but we do know who is directing the film: the show's star, Jeffrey Donovan.

Donovan will direct co-star Bruce Campbell in a story that will follow Sam Axe's adventures on a tricky mission in Colombia. The TV movie will be shot on location early next year and debut on USA in the spring.

"He was a real Navy SEAL, not a joke Navy SEAL," Nix said in last summer at Comic-Con. "What made him go from that to a guy who lives in Miami drinking beer and lives off rich women? That's what we'll find out."

That all sounds fine, but allow me to make a key casting suggestion for the Sam Axe movie.

How do you raise an army, if you need one? On 'Burn Notice' (Thu., 9PM ET on USA), the team becomes involved in a mob war, and must con a gangster. But in order to do that, they'll need their own private army.

[Spoiler alert.]

It's ex-spy helping ex-spy on 'Burn Notice' (Thu., 9PM ET on USA). Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) is responsible for blowing the cover of an agent named Jesse Porter. Yes, Porter (played by Coby Bell) has been "burned" just like Michael has. Now, the only way to save Jesse is to go undercover.

[Spoiler alert.]

You can't keep a good spy down.

The fourth season premiere of 'Burn Notice' fired up the ratings for the USA Network, drawing in 6.6 million viewers overall with 2.6 million in the coveted 18-49 demo, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That topped last summer's opener by 10 percent and was the third highest-rated episode for the net in the 18-34 demo. The Jeffrey Donovan starrer remains cable's most-watched show.

It's always weird to come back to a job after a long time away on vacation. At the end of the last season of 'Burn Notice' (Thu., 9PM ET on USA), Michael (Jeffrey Donovan) was kidnapped by a secret organization. Now, he's back. And he's a little surprised to find that life has moved on without him.

[Spoiler alert.]

'Burn Notice' just ended its third season and now comes word that they're adding a new regular character to mix with Michael, Fiona, Sam, and Madeline.

Coby Bell, who had regular roles on such shows as 'Third Watch,' 'The Game,' and 'L.A. Doctors' (no, I don't remember that 1999 show, though it sounds like something that should have been a hint, doesn't it?) will join the cast as Jesse Garcia.

The Hollywood Reporter describes the character as "a cocky and sarcastic counterintelligence expert with a chameleon-like ability to assume different cover identities and an intense desire to see bad guys punished.' Wait, that sounds a lot like Michael! He finds himself in Miami, too, and hooks up with the gang for what I'm assuming will be lots of action.

"If Michael wanted to kill you, you'd be dead." Right on, sister. If we ever land in the slammer for any reason, we want Madeline Westen as our wing man, er, mother. Because we know she'll stand by us through thick and thin, talk back to the cops, and even slap one if necessary.

Madeline may have no idea what her son is up to on 'Burn Notice' (Thu., 10PM ET on USA), but she's ready to take the fall for him. Or send the cops on a wild goose chase to the Sawgrass Mills Mall. That works, too.

Watch the video after the jump.

(S03E16) If you wonder where the excitement is in entertainment, you're probably not watching 'Burn Notice.' However, if you're reading this review, you probably are a watcher and you have just gorged yourself on what was mostly called a season finale.

In some ways, it was a typical 'Burn Notice' finale, leaving Michael in a seemingly puzzling situation. This was ranked up there with one of the more intriguing ones. It was everything creator Matt Nix promised it would be. More on that, the client named Simon, and how to hot-wire a jet ski after the jump.

TV viewers often have "I wonder what would happen if ______ and ______ had a crossover episode?" fantasy. There have been many crossovers, of course. Everything from Jessica Fletcher appearing on 'Magnum, P.I.' to The Green Hornet and Kato appearing on 'Batman' and the recent crossovers we saw on all of the 'CSI' shows. Now 'White Collar' creator Jeff Eastin is talking about a crossover with another USA Network show.

In this conference call with TV critics, Eastin mentions that he'd love to do a crossover episode with 'Burn Notice.' He's friends with 'Burn Notice' creator Matt Nix and they've joked about it, but he might bring it up to USA for the second season (the season finale of 'White Collar' airs next Tuesday).

Oh, snap. On 'Burn Notice' (Thu., 10PM ET on USA), Michael learns that the person he helped to free is actually coming for him. Some gratitude!

And you can pretty much count on a bomb to turn up whenever he's around. It's just a matter of whether it's strapped to a guy he's sitting in a car with, or somewhere equally explosive.

Watch the video after the jump.

Kelly Ripa attacks Regis Philbin with a butter knife on 'Live With Regis and Kelly' (weekdays, syndicated) as part of an impromptu self-defense exercise led by Jeffrey Donovan of 'Burn Notice.'

Philbin attempts to disarm Ripa by side-stepping and performing a wrist hold, but nearly manages to stab himself.

Watch the video after the jump.

(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.