Ox Notes: August 19, 2008

CBS announced the cast of The Amazing Race 13, which includes a pair of hippie beekeepers in their 60s. Host Phil Keoghan told The Associated Press that he finds the team of frat brothers especially amusing. TAR 13 premieres September 28.

TV Guide has a handy online calendar of fall premiere dates. The latest print edition of TV Guide, which hits newsstands on Thursday, is sponsored exclusively by ABC, and will feature 21 pages of ads for the network's fall lineup.

The CW has decided not to screen the new 90210 for critics. According to Naperville Sun critic Wendy Fox Weber, that can mean only one thing: "90210 stinks."

TMZ reports that Dancing with the Stars producers were ready to cast 82-year-old actress Cloris Leachman for Season 7, but dumped her in favor of singer Toni Braxton. According to the report, producers thought that Braxton would make the more compelling contestant because she has a heart condition.

I sure hope that DwtS casting decisions aren't being made based on which celebrity is more likely to produce a dramatic dance floor injury, a la Marie Osmond and Cristian de la Fuente.

EW.com has an interview with Project Runway designer Kelli, who really isn't taking her auf'ing well.

The Chicago Tribune's TV blog, The Watcher, offers some explanations for why people watch The Hills. I haven't yet fallen under the fake documentary's spell, but perhaps I will when Heidi & Spencer get married on live TV. Or maybe not.