Ox Notes: January 25, 2008

This is perhaps the best news ever: DVD distributor Shout! Factory has acquired the rights to Mystery Science Theater 3000, and plans to release all 198 episodes on DVD or in downloadable format. Finally, I'll be able to revisit the post-apocalyptic despair of Warrior of the Lost World and Adam West's villainy in Zombie Nightmare.

The cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer will reunite in March for a panel discussion of the show at PaleyFest08.

In an interview with The TV Addict, Mira Sorvino explained why many agents won't let the actors they represent appear on Dancing with the Stars: "Something about doing it as an actor right now seems to send out a message that there are problems in your career, which shouldn’t be the case, but that’s just the way people regard it." Sorvino added, "As soon as that goes away, I'm there."

DwtS champ Julianne Hough isn't the only one in her family with musical aspirations. Julianne's brother, Derek, and Mark Ballas are working with Melanie Brown's manager, who's agreed to represent their band, Almost Amy.

Even as they negotiate a contract with the AMPTP, the WGA came to an interim agreement with Lionsgate, which will allow work to resume on Showtime's Weeds and AMC's Mad Men.

Amazing Race winners TK & Rachel told People that Rachel was able to solve the final Roadblock puzzle first because she'd written about all of the challenges on each leg of the race in a journal, which they studied on the plane ride to Alaska. I was glad that interview confirmed that there's more to TK than the "intense guy" persona given to him by the show's editors.

TV Guide interviewed chef Jamie Oliver about his new cooking show, Jamie at Home, which debuts on Saturday. Too bad I won't be awake when it airs in the Central time zone at 8:30 a.m.

Another show debuting Saturday is Trading Spaces, which returns in a new, old format. Former host Paige Davis is back, despite having been hurt by her firing from the show three years ago.

Be prepared for a potential calendar change in 2009. As stated in Barack Obama's Top 10 List of Campaign Promises on last night's episode of The Late Show with David Letterman, Obama said that, if elected, we'll all be celebrating Halloween in "Barack-tober."