Ox Notes: January 29, 2009

My favorite cheftestant, Fabio, dodged a bullet on last night's episode of Top Chef New York. Bravo's website has blog posts from judges Tom Colicchio and Toby Young, as well as Hosea's explanation of what happened after he kissed Leah.

Donny Osmond told Entertainment Tonight that he's not going to be on Dancing with the Stars 8 after all. In the interview video, it's not even clear if he got an offer to appear on the show.

Donny's sister, Marie, will be on TV this fall with her own talk show, fittingly called Marie.

Variety's Brian Lowry writes that shows like Mad Men prove that TV has the advantage over movies when it comes to storytelling and character development.

TiVo's chief executive is encouraging networks to rethink the way they sell advertising space since customers seem to love TiVo's ad-skipping feature.

Your TiVo will get a lot of use during TCM's 31 Days of Oscar, which begins on Sunday, February 1. The cable network cleverly organized its schedule of Oscar nominated movies to resemble a university course catalog. Here's a link to TCM's full schedule of movies.

This Sunday is also the day of "The Big Game": Puppy Bowl V! The two-hour long program of puppies playing starts on Animal Planet at 3 p.m. ET, rerunning all day until 5 a.m. I plan on watching every minute of the Puppy Bowl, including the Kitty Half-Time Show.

Check out some of the action from last year's Puppy Bowl:

Ox Notes: January 28, 2009

Ahead of tonight's new episode of Lost, TV Guide compiled a list of their favorite Sawyer-generated nicknames. I'm partial to Dr. Giggles for Jack.

Top Chef New York's Radhika Desai was interviewed by TV Guide and People.

Occasional Top Chef judge Anthony Bourdain was interviewed by MSN about the current season of No Reservations on the Travel Channel.

ABC and NBC announced new shows in development at the networks, including the celebrity genealogy show Who Do You Think You Are? at NBC.

Twentieth Century Fox is working on an A-Team movie, produced by Ridley Scott. Unless original A-Teamers Dwight Schultz, Dirk Benedict and Mr. T are involved, I don't care to see it.

Reality Blurred interviewed Survivor: Tocantins contestants Sandy Burgin, Carolina Eastwood and JT Thomas.

The guys from Flight of the Conchords compare being famous to "that nightmare people have when they're naked at school."

I'm going to spend the rest of the day watching this clip from The Soup over and over again, laughing hysterically:

Ox Notes: January 27, 2009

Yesterday ushered in the Year of the Ox and brought a merciful conclusion to NBC's disappointing Superstars of Dance. Spoiler alert: the U.S.A. won. Surprise, surprise.

Variety's Brian Lowry writes that the reality TV genre has gotten stale, citing in particular shows like Superstars of Dance.

The rumor mill is in high gear as we inch closer to the announcement of the cast of Dancing with the Stars 8. Britney's ex, Kevin Federline, and Cindy McCain say they won't be participating in the upcoming season, while Donny Osmond is dropping hints that he will.

ABC is adjusting its schedule to create a Thursday night comedy block.

Reality Blurred posted interviews with Survivor: Tocantins contestants Benjamin "Coach" Wade and Sydney Wheeler.

The teams of The Amazing Race 14 were just announced.

Here's one final performance from Superstars of Dance by the U.S.A. group The Groovaloos:

Ox Notes: January 22, 2009

Only two hours into its new season, I'm abandoning Lost again (I skipped Season 3 entirely). I can't another season of slow-as-molasses plot development and dialogue that boils down to: "I know the answer, but I can't tell you." What are your thoughts on the premiere? EW has a recap of both of last night's episodes.

I was much happier with last night's Restaurant Wars episode of Top Chef: New York. Bravo's website has blog posts by judges Tom Colicchio, Toby Young and Gail Simmons, as well as Q&As with guest judge Stephen Starr and the ousted cheftestant.

Bravo's website also has an instructional video on how to make Stefan's Orange Chocolate Rice Parfait. Yum!

Reality Blurred has a pre-season interview with Survivor: Tocantins contestant Erinn Lobdell.

ER alums George Clooney and Julianna Margulies will both return to the show before the series ends later this spring.

With long running hits like ER leaving the air, NBC is working on an image makeover. Meanwhile, other networks are planning more of the same in order to keep viewers comfortable, such as maintaining a full slate of crime procedurals at CBS.

Speaking of makeovers, a special called Making Over America with Trinny and Susannah, hosts of the British version of What Not to Wear, debuts on TLC on Saturday, January 24 immediately following the 2009 Miss America Pageant.

On Monday, January 26, Bravo will run a marathon of Inside the Actors Studio featuring some of the comedians who've stopped by the show in advance of a new episode featuring Conan O'Brien at 8 p.m. ET.

Ox Notes returns on Tuesday, January 27. Until then, enjoy this clip from The Soup starring Star Trek: TNG's Geordi La Forge and cast members from Mad Men:

Ox Notes: January 21, 2009

Lost returns to ABC tonight with two new back-to-back episodes starting at 9 ET. You can skip the catch-up episode at 8 ET by reading TV Guide's helpful Lost catch-up guide.

Tonight's new episode of Top Chef: New York runs an extra 15 minutes long, starting at 10 ET on Bravo. The network revealed details about the season finale, including the name of the guest judge and the location where it's being filmed (hint: it's not New York).

In other Top Chef news, People interviewed ousted cheftestant Ariane Duarte. And head judge Tom Colicchio is being praised as a hero after using the Heimlich Maneuver to save someone over the weekend.

First Lady Michelle Obama's hairstylist is getting his own TV show.

Yahoo! has a list of failed reality shows from recent years.

Speaking of failed reality shows, Monday's episode of Superstars of Dance drew an audience of 6.5 million, down 600,000 viewers from last week, but still better than the ratings of any of the shows on the Yahoo! list. Nevertheless, enjoy the Team Ireland group dance from this week's semifinal round:

Ox Notes: January 20, 2009

Zap2It has a list of Inauguration Day events on TV, including a full night of coverage on ABC.

In other political news, Cindy McCain has been approached to compete on Dancing with the Stars 8.

FOX announced its plans for next season, while SciFi announced its plans for spring, including a two-hour Battlestar: Galactica series finale on March 20.

Variety's Brian Lowry writes that TV movies are making a minor comeback, thanks to cable networks like SciFi and Lifetime.

Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner finally signed a contract with AMC, which includes two more seasons of his hit show.

Rob Thomas said that his next writing project is a script for a Veronica Mars feature film.

If you're brave (or desperate) enough, you can enter a contest to let MySpace users plan your wedding.

Check out the Shaolin monks' performance from last night's episode of Superstars of Dance:

Ox Notes: January 15, 2009

President Bush makes his final televised address to the nation tonight. CBS announced how the speech will affect its primetime lineup.

In other political news, The Daily Show will air live on Inauguration Day, Tuesday, January 20. And EW wonders how President Obama's FCC chair, Julius Genachowski, will govern the airwaves.

Gossip Girl's long-rumored spinoff will chronicle the wild times of a teenage Lily van der Woodsen in '80s L.A.

E! rates the odds of some CW favorites getting picked up for another season. Things look good for Supernatural, which returns with a new episode tonight.

Do you have any interest in watching a John Mayer variety show?

If you'll be in Las Vegas on January 27, check out the live musical revue starring cast members of Mad Men at the MGM Grand.

BravoTV.com has blog posts about last night's episode of Top Chef: New York by judge Toby Young and the ousted cheftestant.

In Dancing with the Stars news, The National Post reviewed the DwtS Tour when it stopped in Toronto. Season 2 contestant Lisa Rinna recently released a dance fitness DVD with DwtS pro Louis van Amstel.

Charity site Clothes Off Our Back is auctioning off dresses worn by DwtS co-host Samantha Harris and former contestant Monique Coleman, as well as a wine bottle signed by pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

Tomorrow, I'm going to review the Hindi film Chandni Chowk to China for MOIB's sister website, AccessBollywood.net. Ox Notes will return on Tuesday, January 20. Until then, enjoy a performance by Russian soloist Maria Kochetkova from this week's Superstars of Dance:

Ox Notes: January 14, 2009

The identities of the sixteen Survivor: Tocantins contestants have been revealed. CBS.com posted interview videos with all of the cast members. The new season premieres on Thursday, February 12.

Matthew Fox told TV Guide that it will be "a relief" when Lost is over. The show returns on Wednesday, January 21.

Sit Down, Shut Up, FOX's new animated series by Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz, will feature the voices of AD vets Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Henry Winkler when it premieres on April 19.

Michael Cera is the only cast member who hasn't signed on to do an Arrested Development movie.

The second round of auditions for So You Think You Can Dance 5 begins on February 3 in Miami, with more auditions scheduled for Los Angeles, Denver, Memphis and Seattle. The first round of auditions for this summer's season were held earlier in New York.

Superstars of Dance, the latest endeavor by SYTYCD creator Nigel Lythgoe, lost viewers in its second week. The first half of the semi-final round was watched by 7.1 million viewers on Monday night, landing the show in fourth place.

Here's a terrific solo performance by one of the dancers representing India from that low-rated episode of Superstars of Dance:

Ox Notes: January 13, 2009

TV Guide's print magazine has dropped listings for shows on MTV and The CW from its programming grid in order to free-up space, though it kept the listings for shows on QVC. Is the magazine acknowledging that it's not reaching young people, or is it simply giving preference to networks who buy ad space within the magazine?

Reality Blurred says that tonight's American Idol 8 premiere is actually pretty entertaining.

Variety reports that a 20th anniversary Moonlighting reunion TV movie may be in the works (hooray!). Click this link only if you want to have the theme song from the show stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

Several Veronica Mars cast members are reuniting for VM creator Rob Thomas' new show on Starz, Party Down.

People interviewed ousted Top Chef: New York contestants Gene and Melissa.

Members of the Kardashian-Jenner clan have no plans to leave reality TV any time soon.

I skipped the semi-final round of Superstars of Dance last night. If you watched it, how did the show hold up in its second week? Here's a video of the performance by the American group The Groovaloos:

Ox Notes: January 8, 2009

PBS is warning that low-income families could suffer if the federal government's digital converter box rebate program runs out of money. The publicly-funded network also announced a new reality series about the Big Apple Circus, debuting in Fall 2010.

EW posted a video tour of the Real World: Brooklyn house. In recent seasons, the tricked out houses have been more interesting than any of the contestants.

EW also has a satisfying rant about why the People's Choice Awards are stupid and meaningless.

Zap2It has the info on the new cast of The Celebrity Apprentice.

CBS pulled Million Dollar Password from its winter schedule with two episodes yet to air.

Dancing with the Stars 2 contestant Lisa Rinna says she looks "like a freak" after some recent plastic surgery.

I was happy with the results of the double elimination on last night's episode of Top Chef: New York, which introduced new permanent judge Toby Young. Bravotv.com has blog posts by Tom Colicchio and the new judge, as well as the judge he replaced, Gail Simmons.

I'll be back on Tuesday, January 13 with a new Ox Notes. Until then, enjoy the Shaolin Monks' performance from this week's Superstars of Dance:

Ox Notes: January 7, 2009

In an appropriately democratic gesture, HBO will broadcast the inaugural kickoff ceremonies from Washington D.C. on January 18 free to anyone with cable or satellite service, not just HBO subscribers.

CBS also announced its broadcast plans for Inauguration Day, January 20.

Following in the footsteps of her sister, Kim, Khloe Kardashian is expanding her reality TV ambitions beyond the E! network. The younger Kardashian has signed on for the upcoming season of The Celebrity Apprentice.

A&E is developing a new reality documentary series called Paranormal Cops. The show will be filmed in the Chicago area, a hotbed of ghost-related crimes. Unless the cops are the ghosts. Wait a minute...

ABC is working on a reality competition series called Superstars, in which regular folks are paired with pro athletes to compete for prizes. Perhaps to avoid confusion, they could rename it something like Superstars of Sports and Their Bumbling Sidekicks.

Speaking of shows with "superstars" in the title, here's a performance by American dance troupe The Groovaloos from this week's Superstars of Dance:

Ox Notes: January 6, 2009

If you were planning on getting a government rebate check to cover the cost of buying a converter box so that your old analog TV set will work after the switch to digital on February 17, act quickly: the program is running out of money.

HBO is working on an adaptation of the British comedy series Shameless. The first season of the British version is the only one available in US DVD format.

Samantha Harris has joined The Insider as a correspondent (thanks for the tip, Jen C). You can now stop watching The Insider.

The Chicago Tribune's The Watcher blog has a handy list of shows debuting or returning in January.

A fascinating new series premiered last night on PBS. The Story of India is a six-part series that traces the history of Indian civilization, which has surprising ties to the West both culturally and linguistically. The show looks beautiful in HD, too.

The first hour of Superstars of Dance finished in third place in the Sunday night ratings, while the show moved in to first place during its second hour. It averaged just over 10 million viewers across both hours, but we'll see if those numbers hold up in the coming weeks.

After watching last night's episode, I've decided to bail on Superstars of Dance. There's not enough content to justify the two-hour run time, and the editing of the dance numbers is so poor that it makes them hard to enjoy.

Take for example the Indian group bhangra dance. The routine lasted for 2 minutes 50 seconds. During that time, there were at least 49 different camera shots (I may have missed a few). That averages less than four seconds per shot. How are you supposed to follow a performance when the angle you're watching from changes every four seconds?

In addition to the comparatively worthless shots of individual dancers' faces and feet and shots of the studio audience, the routine was occasionally shown from a viewpoint above or behind the dancers, even though the routine was choreographed for a seated studio audience. Why can't we just see the performance from the studio audience's perspective, the way the routine is supposed to be viewed?

During the longest continual shots (which were maybe ten seconds long), the camera moved, sometimes in the opposite direction of the dancers. That made it hard to get any sense of where the dancers were on stage or where they were going, and it made the choreography appear less impressive. Again, why can't we just watch the performances the way they were meant to be watched?

Superstars of Dance seems to be edited for people with exceptionally short attention spans (shorter than three minutes, evidently), for whom constant motion is more important than continuity -- as if the constant motion of the dancers isn't visually stimulating enough. I'm not one of those people, so I'm out.

Ox Notes: January 5, 2009

Ox Notes is back! Throughout 2009, I'll be posting new Ox Notes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, instead of the daily posts I've done in the past. Today's is a special Monday post because...

Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff got engaged on New Year's Eve! A tasteful ceremony in the Dancing with the Stars ballroom (officiated by Tom Bergeron, of course) sounds appropriate for the DwtS pros.

In other Dancing with the Stars news from the past month, Mark Ballas left the DwtS Tour after he suffered a groin injury. He expects to recover in time for the show's eighth season debut on March 9.

DwtS alum Marissa Jaret Winokur will host a new weight-loss show on Oxygen called Dance Your Ass Off.

The New York Times ran an interesting piece on why many foodies are annoyed that Rocco DiSpirito left the kitchen to pursue mainstream popularity on shows like Dancing with the Stars.

I watched an episode of Rocco's new cooking show on A&E, Rocco Gets Real, and wasn't impressed. The format -- professional chef helps struggling home cooks prepare meals in their own kitchens -- has been done before on shows like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Take Home Chef and Food 911.

The international dance competition Superstars of Dance debuted on NBC last night, and I was pleased with the quality and variety of the dancing on the show. The production value could use some work, however. The massive stage dwarfed the soloists and pairs, and every time bland host Michael Flatley approached the cheesy judges' dais, I thought I was watching a PBS pledge drive.

On the positive side, I'd be happy if Superstars co-host Susie Castillo took over Samantha Harris's job on DwtS. And producer Nigel Lythgoe was smart to showcase some So You Think You Can Dance vets like Robert Muraine and Pasha Kovalev & Anya Garnis.

The show moves into its permanent timeslot tonight at 8 ET. Tonight's episode is two hours long, which means I'll be recording it and watching it later to skip over the copious commercials and Flatley's flatly delivered lines. Will you be tuning in?

Check out Pasha & Anya's performance from last night's Superstars of Dance premiere: