TVSquad

You see that palm tree beside Michael Westen? The blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean in the background? Well, you can count on seeing all that Miami Beach ambiance on Burn Notice from now on. You might think, "Wait a minute. Why would they even consider leaving South Florida?" Well, last week the Miami commissioners threatened to demolish the Burn Notice studios.

Burn Notice is the only Miami set TV show that actually is filmed in Miami. CSI: Miami and Dexter, for example, fake it with Los Angeles locations. When you see South Beach on Burn Notice, you're seeing the real thing, same with Coral Gables, Boca Raton and every other recognizable SoFla locale. So it's become an important element in the show.

This is either a sign that the overpaid and overindulged of the world are finally getting some karmic retribution, or the global economy is one more flush away from total chaos.

I know it's the second one, but we all need a little hope.

Entertainment Weekly has learned that CBS told their big stars to not even bother asking for another raise this year. The salary freezes only affect shows produced by the network, such as Numb3rs, NCIS and all of the CSIs.

Today's news that CBS ordered five more episodes of Eleventh Hour is not a big surprise. A big surprise would have been if the network didn't give the freshman drama a re-order. The Jerry Bruckheimer production has been in the most-favored nation position at CBS -- meaning whatever Jerry wants, he usually gets.

The network enjoys a very fruitful/profitable relationship with the TV/filmmaker. Together, CBS and Jerry share Cold Case, CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Without A Trace and The Amazing Race. They're thinking of changing the initials CBS to Columbia Bruckheimer System. (Kidding!)

Considering the fact that CSI has been the basis for two very, very successful CBS spin-offs -- CSI: Miami and CSI: New York (in case you've been out of the loop for the past six years) -- it hardly comes as a shock that another CBS ratings powerhouse, NCIS, is planning a spin-off. Maybe the only shock is that they've waited till now to really put thought into action.

EW's Michael Ausiello landed the exclusive and reports that the NCIS spin-off will be like the other CSI's in that they will not take a character from the show and make him/her the centerpiece of that new series. That means you don't have to worry about Ziva, Tony, Abs, McGee and Gibbs breaking up.

And after the fans' reaction at the end of last season, when the team was split up as the new director took over only to be reunited early this season, that's a major relief.

Sam Briggs is a schlemiel. Everything that can go wrong in his life, every dumb thing a guy can do while trying to do the right thing, happens to Sam.

The preview of Worst Week (premiering Monday at 9:30 PM ET on CBS) has not changed dramatically from this ready-to-go pilot. The premise is simply this: can a good guy like Sam overcome all the stupid things he does and find happiness with the girl he loves and her family that loathes him?

For the pilot, Worst Week works really well as broad farce. The situation of this situation comedy goes from bad to worse to worse still. It's funny. It's over the top. It's very, very outrageous. Whether or not they can sustain this level of silliness and maintain some semblance of believability week in and week out is the big question for Worst Week.

Jesse Spano is coming back to TV. After guest appearances on CSI: Miami and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Elizabeth Berkley is ditching the procedurals and heading over to Showtime. The former Saved by the Bell star will be joining Jennifer Beals, her costar in the 2002 film Roger Dodger, on Showtime's The L-Word for a multi-episode arc.

Word is, Berkley's L-Word character has a history with Jennifer Beals' Bette. The two went to college together and Berkley was the straight girl who got away. Perhaps Bette will have better luck the second time around.

My only hope for this pairing is that they can somehow manage to fit a Flashdance: What a Feeling / I'm So Excited dance-off into the plot of the show, thus bringing together the high points of both of these women's careers and officially making this the best casting decision ever.

Producers of CSI: Miami have found a new coroner. Starting this season, The 4400's Megalyn Echikunwoke will fill the role vacated by Khandi Alexander. Alexander parted ways with the series after six years due to her alleged unhappiness with the show *cough* David Caruso *cough.*

There isn't much known about Echikunwoke's character, other than she'll be the new coroner. For instance, her affinity for the phrase "aw sugar" and her feelings on whether or not the victims on the table "left this world too soon" are, at this point, a mystery.

As I started watching the premiere episode of this season of Burn Notice, I was reminded of one of the things I really love about the show...the scenery. Unlike CSI:Miami, BN is actually shot in Miami and while it's hard to put your finger on why it makes a difference, it's undeniable that a difference is made. It's the same difference you see when you watch Law & Order and CSI: New York back to back.

At the end of last season it seemed like Michael was on the verge of finding out who burned him and why. Now, most of the time that would mean that the series is one step closer to coming to an end, but fans of the show know better.

Cane may be gone from the landscape of fictional South Florida, but the actor who starred in that CBS drama seems bound to remain in the Miami area. Emmy-winner Jimmy Smits will be joining the cast of Showtime's Dexter in the new season.

Dexter, which stars Michael C. Hall as a serial killer who murders those he feels deserve to die and remains under the radar thanks to his job as a blood-splatter expert in the Miami Police department, was a breakout hit for Showtime. CBS aired slightly-altered episodes of the twisted crime drama earlier this year, in part of fill the schedule holes created by the writers' strike -- and, ironically, the failure of shows like Cane.

(S03E21 / S03E22) "Whoa, not on the menu!" - Earl Hickey

In the entire run of this series, I have never been more sympathetic to any of Earl's situations than the one he is in now. What is a man to do when he has a full-on hottie in his bed and everything she does drives him nuts? I see now why Billie and Frank got along so well.

The sad part is that it seems like Earl is destined to be shackled to women who are just plain evil. Karma takes him to Billie, he can't seem to get away from Joy and any time he meets a woman who seems half way sane, his list gets in the way. I can only hope this is all part of karma's master plan.

Late last week, TV Guide's Michael Ausiello reported that Khandi Alexander is leaving CSI: Miami at the end of the season. Alexander is know for her fierce but tender Medical Examiner alter ego Alexx Woods. There is no word yet about how the character will depart, but Ausiello hints strongly that the reason for the departure is some issues Alexander has with an aspect of the show.

Who knows? Cast members are leaving CSI, too (first Jorga Fox and now Gary Dourdan), so maybe there is just a limit to how long you can do this kind of show (intense, lots of blood and gore, often depressing). I haven't followed the plots on CSI: Miami, so I don't know what kinds of issues Alexander would have with the show.

She is a terrific actress; one of the standout episodes for me was her grief over working on the body of a child, and how she combined tears with professionalism during the episode. She will have no trouble finding other work out there.

Reportedly, there is a search for a new medical examiner, and this one will be male.

While Elizabeth Berkley's TV pedigree was perhaps better received than her feature film debut, it was the notorious Showgirls that made her a household name and launched her into the "Worst Films Ever" hall of fame. Her career began in the teen series Saved by the Bell, which also netted us Dancing with the Star's Mario Lopez, NYPD Blue's Mark Paul Gosselar and Beverly Hills, 90210's Tiffani-Amber Thiessen.

After Showgirls, it took the actress many years to regain credibility and acclaim, working in theater and off-Broadway productions until her return to television in 2002 in a recurring role on Titus. Since then she has guested on several shows, including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Now, Reuters tells us the 35 year-old Berkley is set to play Horatio Cane's (David Caruso) ex-wife Julia Winston and mother to his recently discovered teenage son (Evan Ellingson) on spin-off CSI: Miami. Miami is known as a "hotter, sexier" CSI, so she should fit right in. She can even try to match Caruso's one-of-a-kind line delivery when they inevitably spar.

Ah, September. This means the horrible, horrible month of August and the summer in general are going away. Thank God.

Labor Day is the unofficial "last hurrah" for summer, and there are a bunch of special shows and marathons on this three day weekend. Here's the day by day breakdown.

CBS is on a good run, being the most watched network for the last five years, but they have taken a bit of heat for the formulaic way they have gone about doing it. Not arguing with success, the whole family of CSIs, and their crime based cousins, will be back, but the network is trying to branch out with some edgier programming. Most notably, Swingtown, Viva Laughlin, and Moonlight.

Returning: The Amazing Race, Cold Case, 60 Minutes, How I Met Your Mother, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, CSI: Miami, NCIS, The Unit, Criminal Minds, CSI: NY, Survivor, CSI, Shark, Without A Trace, Ghost Whisperer, Numb3rs, 48 Hours Mystery.

New: Viva Laughlin, Swingtown, Moonlight, Cane, Big Bang Theory, Power of 10, Kid Nation

Out: King of Queens, Jericho, The Class, Close To Home

Moving: Without A Trace moves back to Thursday at 10. Shark heads to Sunday at 10.

• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, followed by a new episode of The Bachelor.
• NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal, then a new Thank God You're Here.
• FOX has a new Drive at 8, then a new 24.
• TLC has two new episodes of Little People, Big World at 8.
• Also at 8: American Life has Harry O, followed by 77 Sunset Strip and Hawaiian Eye.
• At 8:30, CBS has a new Old Christine, then new episodes of Two and a Half Men, King of Queens, and CSI: Miami.
• At 9, PBS has a new America At A Crossroads.
• USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
• At 10, FX has a new ep of The Riches.
• Discovery has a new Stunt Junkies at 10.
• HBO has a new Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.