Ox Notes: July 8, 2008

Leslie Gray Streeter of the Palm Beach Post wrote about her dance lesson with Tony Dovolani, specifically about the terror that most of us non-dancers would feel if put in the same situation (and about Tony's skill as a teacher). She also conducting a Q & A interview with the Dancing with the Stars pro.

In other DwtS news, Season 6's Mario was interviewed by SingersRoom.com about why he thought rumors of a romance with Karina Smirnoff developed during his run on the show: "I feel like I'm naturally into the art of being sexy."

Survivor producer Mark Burnett is being sued by a former business partner for $70 million.

EW.com has a handy preview of shows premiering in July.

Reality Blurred has a post about why competition shows like The Next Food Network Star and Design Star are so entertaining. I bailed on Food Network Star after it spawned the intolerable Guy Fieri (the intro animation at his website illustrates my point).

The Futon Critic writes about why he's both anticipating and dreading this fall's revamped version of Cupid.

The production house behind E!'s The Girls Next Door -- a show about Hugh Hefner's multiple girlfriends -- is creating several new shows for the Travel Channel. Noooo! I love shows like Samantha Brown's Passport to Europe and Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations (I missed last night's season premiere episode, filmed in Laos). I'd hate to see the network overrun with Playboy bunnies.

I'll stick with the Travel Channel as long as they keep programming interesting shows like Michael Palin's New Europe; Palin recently did an interview about the series with the Financial Times. But as soon as there's talk of bringing back Taradise, I'm out.