Ox Notes: October 19, 2007

Fox's The Next Great American Band premieres tonight at 8 ET. Even though the producers are promising more talented musicians than they get on American Idol, Reality Blurred notes that sticking it on Friday night isn't an indicator of confidence.

Judge John Rzeznik told TV Guide what he's looking for in The Next Great American Band.

In other musical competition news, CMT will run Gone Country in January, in which non-country artists try to start a country music career. With a line up that includes Bobby Brown, Twisted Sister's Dee Snider, and rapper Sisqo, how can I not watch?

Private Practice, The Big Bang Theory, and The Unit have all been picked up for full seasons.

And due to the overwhelming stress of the dog-adoption scandal she got herself into, Ellen DeGeneres canceled the Friday taping of her show. Kudos to Jane Seymour for publicly handling her mother's death with more grace and composure than Ellen's shown after someone took her hairdresser's dog away.