Ox Notes: July 29, 2008

A Dancing with the Stars 7 casting disaster appears to have been averted: Rev. Al Sharpton turned down an offer to compete on the show. If the separation of politics and ballroom dancing isn't already written into the Constitution, it should be.

DwtS alum and noted work out buff Mario Lopez will take over as sole anchor on the celebrity gossip show Extra starting on September 15.

Samantha Harris haters, consider yourselves vindicated. Harris earned worst host honors in a recent AOL poll for her gaffe-prone work on Dancing with the Stars.

The waiting list for seats in the audience of the British show Top Gear is 21 years long. No wonder NBC was so keen on creating an American version of the show.

A Georgia house built for an edition of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is facing foreclosure.

I can't believe I missed the first two days of Shark Week! Discovery's Shark Conservation Blog is full of interesting information about the ocean's top predators.

Two days before the winner of the fourth edition of The Next Food Network Star was announced, the results accidentally appeared on the channel's website.

Tonight, the Food Network debuts Food Detectives, hosted by Ted Allen. In this humorous interview with TV Guide, Allen reveals that the "five-second rule" isn't all it's cracked up to be.

The Boston Globe has a slideshow of the Top 50 Science Fiction Television Shows of All Time. If, like me, the list inspires you to do some shopping, boxed sets for a number of the shows mentioned are selling at Amazon for at least 50% off.

TV Guide asked readers submit their suggestions for the Sexiest Sci-Fi Stars on TV, and I was glad to see Robert Picardo of Star Trek: Voyager and Stargate: Atlantis fame getting some love in the comments thread. No one can resist the charms of The Doctor: