Ox Notes: January 15, 2008

Studios continued cutting producers and writers on Monday as a way to save money, and more folks could lose their jobs if the strike doesn't end soon.

To fill their empty primetime schedules, CBS filmed a Celine Dion concert special, and NBC is importing a British reality show about cars.

Indy car racer Danica Patrick says there's no way she'd follow in Helio Castroneves' footsteps and join the cast of Dancing with the Stars, mostly because she'd be "too serious" and wouldn't be fun to watch.

Former Borg drone Jeri Ryan and her French chef hubby spoke with TV Guide about how happy they are to be expecting their first child.

Presidential candidate Barack Obama and I share the same favorite character on The Wire.

Yesterday, a court ordered MSNBC to include Dennis Kucinich in tonight's Democratic presidential debate. Now let's see if the moderators actually ask him any questions, or if they spend the whole time encouraging Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to argue about race.

When Hillary Clinton stopped by the Tyra Banks Show recently, Tyra used the occasion to ask Clinton hard-hitting policy questions. Just kidding! She asked Hillary about Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky.

And Good Morning America is facing criticism for an interview Diane Sawyer conducted with Katie Holmes in which Sawyer failed to ask Holmes a single question about a recently-released, controversial biography of Tom Cruise.

I would've preferred it if Sawyer had asked Holmes how she can stand being married to someone as obviously insane as Tom Cruise is. Think I'm exaggerating? People posted a story about a Scientology recruitment video that showed up on YouTube the same week that the Cruise biography was released. If, after watching the video, you still believe that Tom Cruise has all of his marbles, you might be an honorary Scientologist.