Ox Notes: December 9, 2008

The big TV news today is NBC's decision to give Jay Leno a nightly talk show at 10 ET starting next fall. That leaves the network with only ten hours of primetime programming each week, much of which will presumably be devoted to reality shows like The Biggest Loser and America's Got Talent.

MSN has an article about 10 Reasons We'll Miss Boston Legal. I thought last night's series finale was perfect.

If you're shopping for TV-related Christmas presents, check out TVShowsOnDVD's Zap2It's Holiday Gift Guide. And don't forget to browse Amazon sales page featuring the website's biggest discounts on TV DVDs. Some seasons of CW shows like Smallville and Supernatural are selling for more than 70% off!

Amazing Race champs Nick & Starr told Reality TV World that they beat runners up Ken & Tina by 11 minutes and Dan & Andrew by more than 90 minutes in the Season 13 finale, which was watched by 10.57 million people. The winners were also interviewed by People.

People conducted an hilarious interview with ousted Survivor: Gabon contestant Corrine, who said that the remaining contestants (with the exception of Bob) aren't underdogs: "These are just unintelligent, unsuccessful people that got lucky breaks. This is revenge of the nerds edition." Corrine-haters can take comfort in the fact that she's currently unemployed.

TV Guide revealed that Toni Braxton didn't perform at the Dancing with the Stars 7 Finale because she was recovering from having a lump surgically removed from one of her breasts. The lump was not cancerous.

DwtS 7 runner-up Warren Sapp told OK! that he appreciates hearing from fans who tell him he was "robbed" of the trophy.

Supermodel and Project Runway host Heidi Klum is lobbying for a spot on Dancing with the Stars. How cool would that be?

DwtS 5 competitor Cameron Mathison told OK! that a t-shirt tucked into his underwear gave the illusion that he was wearing a thong during a recent episode of All My Children. Judge for yourself in this clip from The Soup:

Ox Notes: December 8, 2008

The Amazing Race 13 wrapped up last night, and, fortunately, bumbling frat guys Dan and Andrew didn't win. TV Guide and EW recapped the episode.

Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan is scheduled to be a guest on the December 21 episode of CBS's Million Dollar Password. The show debuts on December 18, and The Futon Critic has a complete schedule of celebrity guests. I'm looking forward to the December 28 episode featuring Betty White and Adam Carolla.

Entertainment Tonight caught up with the cast of the Dancing with the Stars Tour as they rehearsed their new routines. In the video, which is nearly six minutes long, Marlee Matlin revealed that she'll be dancing with all of the male pros to the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."

DwtS pros Mark Ballas and Derek Hough are finishing work on a CD with their band. The CD is set for release in March 2009, which conveniently coincides with the premiere of Dancing with the Stars 8.

Jackass cast member Steve-O is the latest celeb rumored to be competing on DwtS 8.

People interviewed Top Chef: New York competitor Alex Eusebio, who missed the irony when he said of the challenge that led to his ouster: "Some of us do not want to be on camera."

Catching up on Survivor: Gabon stuff, here are links to Jeff Probst's blog post about the latest episode and the Ponderosa videos from Episode 12.

MSN has a slideshow of Great TV Baldies which, naturally, mentions Star Trek: The Next Generation's Patrick Stewart. The slideshow provides me with a convenient excuse to include a video of the surprisingly catchy Captain Picard Song. Make it so.

Ox Notes: December 4, 2008

Bravo's website features blog posts about last night's episode of Top Chef: New York from Tom Colicchio, Lee Anne Wong and the eliminated chef, who said of guest judge Rocco DiSpirito: "I have a hard time accepting him as a chef." Way to burn that bridge, dumbass.

Fans of the show living in the Chicago area can stop by contestant Radhika Desai's restaurant, Between Boutique Cafe & Lounge, for Top Chef viewing parties on Wednesday nights.

Two members of the Dancing with the Stars family are trying to counter recent stories about them. Julianne Hough says she and Chuck Wicks aren't planning on getting married, and Kim Kardashian says she would pose for Playboy again.

The final two episodes of Dancing with the Stars 7 were watched by over 20 million viewers, leading all other shows last week.

In Dancing with the Stars 8 news, it's unlikely that Paula Abdul will participate as a contestant since judging American Idol's live performance show on Tuesday nights would make her late to the DwtS set for the live results show.

Following the lead of the other networks, NBC released its midseason schedule.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is being hurt by the economic downturn as it struggles to find contractors and suppliers willing to donate their time and materials for free.

C'mon, Hollywood. Are writers really so stumped for ideas that you need to remake Romancing the Stone and They Live?

Ox Notes will return on Monday, December 8.

Ox Notes: December 3, 2008

ABC announced its spring schedule, including a Monday, March 9 return date for Dancing with the Stars.

CBS also released its mid-season schedule this week, which includes plans to let new drama Harper's Island carry over into summer. Survivor 18 premieres on February 12, and The Amazing Race 14 bows on February 15.

In other scheduling news, Reaper returns to The CW on March 17. And episodes of Celebrity Apprentice 2, which debuts in February, will be two hours long, presumably because NBC has nothing else to fill its schedule.

HGTV has several new shows debuting on New Year's Day. I'm intrigued -- and kind of saddened -- by Income Property, in which homes owners convert rooms in their homes into rental apartments in order to raise extra money. Makes me long for the days when a big portion of HGTV's lineup was devoted to flipping homes for profit.

DwtS pro Julianne Hough and her boyfriend, country singer Chuck Wicks, are thinking about getting married, though not right away.

Reality Blurred has a thorough accounting of what happened to Toni & Dallas during their last leg of The Amazing Race. The duo didn't get their passports back in time to make to the Finale, so they'll be absent when the teams cross the finish line on Sunday night.

If you're searching for the perfect gift for that celebrity-obsessed cousin of yours, check out charity auction site Clothes Off Our Back for autographed Christmas ornaments and bowls.

AOL has a list of TV's Hottest Hunks -- Ever that has the nerve to rank CSI's Gary Dourdan ahead of David Hasselhoff. As if there was anyone hunkier than The Hoff back in the '90s...

Ox Notes: December 2, 2008

Just when I think I've seen the last news from Dancing with the Stars 7, Entertainment Tonight comes to the rescue. The show's website posted an extended post-Finale interview video, plus an interview with Brooke Burke recorded in a Barnes & Noble.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that "Hollywood is very hot on" Brooke's dance partner, Derek Hough.

Derek's sister, Julianne Hough, told ET that she might not be done with DwtS after all.

DwtS 7's Kim Kardashian told OK! that she won't be going naked in public anymore.

People has an interview with Toni & Dallas of The Amazing Race in which Dallas explains explains exactly what happened after he left their cash and passports in a cab.

David Gregory may or may not be the new host of NBC's Meet the Press.

CBS ordered additional episodes of the drama Eleventh Hour.

The first episode of the second season of HBO's Flight of the Conchords will make an early premiere on the website Funny Or Die.

As you bemoan the fact that you're actually considering paying $300 for that stupid giant talking triceratops toy for your preschooler this Christmas, keep in mind that even celebrities appreciate a good bargain. Us Magazine has a slideshow of stars shopping at Target and Costco.

Ox Notes: December 1, 2008

Since Thanksgiving interrupted the post-Dancing with the Stars 7 revelry, here are a few final news items about the season that was. People posted a report about "What You Didn't See" backstage at the Finale. And Kim Kardashian posted backstage photos from the Finale at her website and her MSN blog.

DwtS 7 champ Brooke Burke did an interview with a local news station in her home state of Connecticut.

Website The Frisky critiqued some of DwtS co-host Samantha Harris' Season 7 hairstyles.

Due to Thanksgiving, I'm also behind in posting links to Top Chef: New York blog posts by judge Tom Colicchio, culinary producer-former contestant Lee Anne Wong, and guest judge Grant Achatz, who said of MacGyvery contestant Eugene: "Give me that guy on my team anytime."

Apparently, Rosie O'Donnell hosted a variety show on NBC the night before Thanksgiving. I didn't even know it was on, and based on its pathetic ratings neither did anyone else. Thus ends Rosie Live.

The Chicago Tribune's The Watcher posted a Mid-Season Report Card about the highs and lows of the Fall 2008 TV season.

Reality Blurred compiled a list of reality shows premiering in the coming weeks. And The Futon Critic posted a helpful grid of the primetime schedule for Winter 2008-09.

Is anyone else anticipating getting unwittingly sucked into Secret Millionaire when it premieres on Wednesday night?