The title caught my attention at first. What the heck is a Burn Notice? What I found was an awesome summer spy show that combined the action, intensity, and production values of 24 with the camera-winking wit of Xena: Warrior Princess. It even starred Bruce Campbell in probably the best role he’d ever played on TV! But I digress…

USA’s Burn Notice, created by Matt Nix and starring Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Campbell, and the incomparable Sharon Gless, starts its third season this week. Get the mojitos swirling and your TiVo rolling. This is going to be fun.

When a spy gets fired, he gets a burn notice, we learn in Michael Weston’s (Donovan’s) informative, deadpan tone. No warning from HR, he’s just stranded in whatever city he’s in with no identity, no credit, no cash -- nothing. Just left out in the cold with the clothes on his back, his training, and whatever friends he might have left.

Michael Weston is stranded in Miami. I could think of worse places, but he can’t, because this is where his chain-smoking, hypochondriac mother Madeline (Gless of Cagney & Lacey fame) lives. After a lifetime of running away from family issues, she’s thrilled to have her son trapped in town. She’s also glad to offer Michael’s unique set of skills to anyone in need, turning Weston and his friends into reluctant Robin Hoods.

His partners in crime include ex-girlfriend and ex-IRA member Fiona Glenanne, played by sexy, smart, and very funny Gabrielle Anwar, and Sam Axe (Campbell), a washed-up military intelligence officer with friends in low places. Though Fiona’s loyalties are at times suspect, he can usually count on her to have his back in a fight, especially when explosives or firepower are required. But when it comes to reconnaissance, undercover work, or raiding the fridge for his last beer, Sam is the man.

Burn Notice plays it for laughs, but the fun never gets in the way of the action and suspense. It’s a delicate line to walk, but the show’s stellar writers and cast members do it beautifully. I especially like the voice-over asides where Weston lets the audience in on spy tips such as the latest in low-tech listening devices, the psychology of scaring a suspect into talking without resorting to violence, and even the art of duct tape. I wonder who the show’s technical advisors are. I guess if Nix told us, he’d have to kill us.

Last season, Michael finally tracked down the people who burned him and escaped in a heart stopping leap from a helicopter into the crystal blue Caribbean waters. Is he finally free of their menacing presence, or will he still need to constantly look over his shoulder? Probably, but Weston never likes things to be too easy. I hope this season Michael can get out of Miami, even if only for a short time. It’s a beautiful city full of sexy people and rich culture, but the series would do well to expand its geographical scope if it hopes to keep its dynamic momentum moving.

Catch Burn Notice on USA on Thursdays at 9:00/8:00 Central.