Ox Notes: March 31, 2009

Entertainment Tonight has a new reporter on the Dancing with the Stars beat: Maksim Chmerkovskiy. The ousted pro interviewed the couples after last night's exciting DwtS Performance Show.

Access Hollywood's cameras were also backstage with the couples last night, and Samantha Harris turned over her "Insider Sam Cam" to the contestants so that she could rest her ailing voice. OK! chatted with the couples as well.

DwtS 6 champ Kristi Yamaguchi spoke with People about the current season. The magazine sought out some expert opinions on why this season's cast has so many injuries.

The revamped version of Rob Thomas's Cupid premieres on ABC tonight after Dancing with the Stars. Zap2It and The Chicago Tribune gave the new series okay reviews, and Zap2It interviewed Thomas about getting to make Cupid a second time.

Disney/ABC/ESPN signed a deal to bring original programming to YouTube.

Sunday night's episode of The Amazing Race was watched by about 13 million people. TV Guide has an enlightening interview with the eliminated pair, Mel & Mike. I'm gonna miss those guys.

The Chicago Tribune has an interview with comedian Ricky Gervais.

Top Chef: The Tour hit the road last week. In other food TV news, NBC canceled The Chopping Block after just three episodes.

FOX is developing a dating show for "average-looking people." The network also announced that the new season of So You Think You Can Dance will premiere on Thursday, May 21.

Ox Notes: March 30, 2009

It's Monday, which means another Dancing with the Stars 8 contestant is injured. Holly Madison visited the doctor late last week complaining of a pain in her side, resulting from inflamed muscles around her ribs. She will be able to tango tonight with Dmitry Chaplin.

Also dancing tonight is Steve Wozniak, whose fan base grew after he received a total score of ten points from the judges last week. The Woz and partner Karina Smirnoff stopped by the set of The Insider, where Steve revealed that he may walk Karina down the aisle when she weds Maksim Chmerkovskiy this summer.

When he's not out doing publicity with Karina, Steve Wozniak spends his time going out to dinner and riding Segways with fellow contestant Steve-O.

Another DwtS duo heavy on the publicity circuit are Chuck Wicks & Julianne Hough who recorded two interviews (here and here) with Entertainment Tonight and showed off their Lindy Hop moves for MySpace.

Ty Murray & Chelsie Hightower spoke to TV Guide about the dangers of the Lindy Hop.

Shawn Johnson's DwtS contract, which is a matter of public record because she's a minor, reveals that she -- and presumably the other celebrity cast members -- receive a base salary plus weekly bonuses starting in Week 3 that increase as the season progresses. If Shawn makes it to the Finale, she'll earn $365,000 for the season.

In non-DwtS news, host Phil Keoghan blogged about the latest episode of The Amazing Race. Turns out that none of the Season 14 production crew knew sign language and couldn't communicate with Luke when his mother, Margie, passed out from heat exhaustion.

CBS's TAR website has new videos featuring the losing teams shopping in Thailand and Phil working out in a Russian hotel.

Ox Notes: March 26, 2009

Leading off with Dancing with the Stars news, an armed man was arrested on Monday after trying to break on to the set to see Shawn Johnson. A restraining order has been issued against the suspect.

Tuesday night's DwtS Results Show was watched by 15.7 million people, finishing second in its timeslot to an episode of NCIS. People has a backstage report from the set. Samantha Harris recorded a post-show video diary for The Insider with camera work so bad that I couldn't stand to watch the whole thing.

After the first three weeks of competition, oddsmakers have recalculated the couples' chances to win Dancing with the Stars 8. Gilles Marini & Cheryl Burke and Melissa Rycroft & Tony Dovolani lead with 3-1 odds.

If you'd like to attend the DwtS 8 Finale, judge Carrie Ann Inaba put two tickets up for bid at charity auction site Clothes Off Our Backs.

This Saturday, Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan starts a 40-day, 39-city bike trip from Los Angeles to New York City to raise money for Bike MS. People has Phil's full itinerary.

People also has an interview with Christie & Jodi, the team most recently eliminated from The Amazing Race. As the Pit Stop footage showed, they finished just two minutes behind Mark & Michael.

Family Guy cartoon character Stewie Griffin will make a cameo appearance on Bones on May 7.

For my brother's sake, I'm posting a link to Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi's sexy new Carl's Jr. commercial.

This is a big week for British comedy series The Mighty Boosh. The show makes its U.S. TV debut on Sunday, March 29 on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, and it was just announced that the first season of the show will be released on DVD in the U.S. on July 21.

My knowledge of The Mighty Boosh is limited to one of their sketches: Old Gregg. It is the most bizarre thing I've ever seen. I defy you to watch the sketch and not, at some point during the course of your day, spontaneously shout, "I'm Old Gregg!" (Note: The video may be inappropriate/too weird for work):

Ox Notes: March 25, 2009

Denise Richards made the interview rounds after being eliminated from Dancing with the Stars last night. She spoke with OK!, Us, E! and People and joined her fellow castmates in an interview video for Access Hollywood. Only in Denise's video interview with ET does she seem truly surprised to have been booted before Steve Wozniak.

DwtS judge Carrie Ann Inaba explained in her EW blog what happened during last night's scoring mix up and clarified how each season's songs are chosen.

Prior to last night's DwtS Results Show, Jewel interviewed her husband, Ty Murray, who gave good technical descriptions of the challenges of the Foxtrot and what happens to him physically when he's nervous.

Despite the claims in CBS's commercials, tonight's special episode of Survivor: Tocantins isn't "all new." It's mostly old.

Bad news for Veronica Mars fans: the feature film version of the canceled show is on indefinite hold.

Bob Barker returns to The Price Is Right on April 16 to promote his new autobiography.

Discovery has scheduled a Deadliest Catch convention for April 25 in Seattle.

If you haven't had your fill of Dancing with the Stars news, check out Denise Richards on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night:

Ox Notes: March 24, 2009

Backstage at last night's Dancing with the Stars 8 Performance Show, the stars chatted with ET and Access Hollywood. They were also ambushed by Samantha Harris for her Insider video diary, in which Sam proves that she has no business operating a video camera.

Us Magazine and OK! also interviewed the contestants after the show, and People filed a report about What You Didn't See behind the scenes. Diane Mizota and Joey Lawrence recapped the performances for their Yahoo! Buzz Session.

Reality Blurred reports that the $200,000 per celebrity fee DwtS supposedly shells out each season may be a little low.

A Survivor stage show could be coming to a theme park near you.

EW has a photo gallery of shows that were canceled prematurely. I appreciate the nods to sci-fi shows Invasion and Firefly, but I can't understand the fondness TV critics have for Wonderfalls. That show was terrible.

Ox Notes: March 23, 2009

This might be the final week for one of the Steves on Dancing with the Stars 8, only not for the Steve you might think. Steve-O has a hematoma in his back but plans to dance in tonight's Performance Show. Steve Wozniak, however, may not be able to after he pulled a hamstring on Friday.

On tonight's DwtS Performance Show, Gilles Marini & Cheryl Burke will dance the Samba, while Ty Murray & Chelsie Hightower, Shawn Johnson & Mark Ballas and Melissa Rycroft & Tony Dovolani will dance the Foxtrot.

Nancy O'Dell is recovering after surgery to repair her own DwtS-induced injury, and contestants Lawrence Taylor, Holly Madison, Denise Richards, Shawn Johnson and Julianne Hough all confessed their own DwtS-related woes.

An article at Yahoo! revealed that the celebrities who participate in Dancing with the Stars are paid a base salary of $200,000 for the entire season. They only earn bonuses for finishing in first, second or third place. That means that Belinda Carlisle, the first contestant booted this season, gets paid as much as the contestant that finishes the season in fourth place.

In other reality show news, The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan blogged about last night's episode and posted a video diary about the stylish boots favored by Russian women.

CBS's TAR website also features a video showing the drama at Elimination Station as the younger, fitter teams socially isolate Linda & Steve. It's a whole other show within the show.

Ox Notes: March 19, 2009

I'm delighted to start this Ox Notes with a link to an thought-provoking post my husband, Greg, wrote for MOIB's sister site, Elf Needs Food. Greg's article is about TV writers' unfortunate habit of using past victimization as a substitute for character development. In its early seasons, Lost was a prime example of this kind of lazy storytelling (think John Locke and his untrustworthy father).

Lately, Battlestar Galactica has fallen into the same pattern. Greg's post addresses how BSG's retroactive continuity ruins its characters. Given that the series finale airs on Friday night, it's frustrating that the writers have spent so much time in recent episodes dwelling on the past instead of showing the characters dealing with their dire present-day problems.

In other TV news, there's no Survivor: Tocantins tonight due to college basketball. People has an interview with the latest castaway voted out, Spencer.

I'm just now catching up on all of the videos CBS posts at The Amazing Race 14's website, including host Phil Keoghan's video diary and the Elimination Station videos shot at the beautiful lodge in Thailand where the eliminated teams are sequestered.

NBC announced that it's scrapped most of its summer reality TV lineup.

Project Runway's Kenley Collins was arrested for throwing a cat at her fiance.

Anthony Bourdain recently critiqued TV food shows.

In Dancing with the Stars news, Steve Wozniak apologized for questioning the integrity of the DwtS voting system.

Chuck Wicks & Julianne Hough recorded an interview with TV Guide, and the camera work makes it clear which one of the pair TV Guide thinks is the real star (hint: it's not Chuck).

Melissa Rycroft told Us that she and Tony Dovolani will dance the Foxtrot next week.

People has a report on What You Didn't See backstage at Tuesday night's DwtS Results Show. The Results Show was watched by a record low audience of only 12.4 million, down from 21.1 million viewers the night before. Maybe going head-to-head with American Idol wasn't such a great idea.

Why, oh why, must Sony tamper with my childhood memories by releasing a horrible-looking animated movie version of the wonderful book "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"?

Ox Notes: March 18, 2009

Backstage after last night's Dancing with the Stars 8 Results Show, ousted couple Belinda Carlisle & Jonathan Roberts and the rest of the cast recorded video interviews with ET and The Insider and spoke to E! and OK!.

New this season, DwtS judge Carrie Ann Inaba is blogging after every Results Show for EW.com. She clarified the rules for the dance-off and offered her thoughts on the performances thus far.

People wants to know what you thought of the dance-off.

I was excited to discover that the Yahoo! Buzz Session featuring Diane Mizota and Joey Lawrence is back after taking Season 7 off. Check out what the snarky duo thought of Monday night's performances.

Nancy O'Dell offered her thoughts on Monday's dances to TV Guide, and People posted a backstage report on What You Didn't See.

Looking ahead to next week on Dancing with the Stars, Gilles Marini told E! he's anxious to start rehearsing his Samba. And Holly Madison enthused to Us, "I'm obsessed with these freakin' costumes! I don't care about the Mirror Ball. I don't give an eff about winning. I
just want to wear as many costumes as I can!"

President Obama's televised speech next Tuesday night won't interrupt the Dancing with the Stars Results Show.

DwtS pros Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff chatted with ET about their sexy TV Guide photo shoot.

In TV news that's not about Dancing with the Stars (there is such a thing?), FOX cancelled Hole in the Wall for good, with four hours of the lame game show left unaired.

One of my favorite Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes, Zombie Nightmare starring Adam West, is coming to DVD on July 7. I've always loved this line about the lumbering title zombie: "John Goodman on Hume Cronyn's back could outrun this guy." (If you're too young to get the references, go here for an explanation).

To bring things full circle, here's a clip of Belinda Carlisle's exit interview last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Is it just me, or does Belinda sound a little dismissive when she says her picks to win DwtS 8 are Gilles or "the girl from The Bachelor"?

Ox Notes: March 17, 2009

OK! reports that injured Dancing with the Stars 8 contestant Steve-O is resting at home and expects to continue in the competition. After last night's Performance Show, two-time champ Cheryl Burke told OK! that the couples are pushing themselves too hard this season. She told Access Hollywood previously that pairs should rehearse no more than four hours each day.

Access Hollywood stirred up trouble backstage, asking the professional dancers about an interview Maksim Chmerkovskiy did with TV Guide in which he said that Melissa Rycroft has an "unfair" advantage over the other contestants because of her dance background.

Us Magazine caught up with Melissa after the show, while E! chatted with Denise Richards. The Insider and ET interviewed all of the contestants backstage.

Catching up on older DwtS news, here are links to interviews with Lil' Kim & Derek Hough, Gilles Marini, Steve Wozniak, Shawn Johnson and Ty Murray & Chelsie Hightower.

Ox Notes: DwtS Injury Edition

I wasn't planning on posting Ox Notes today, but MOIB reader Amy alerted me to three new injuries to Dancing with the Stars 8 cast members. The three wounded stars say they plan to compete on Monday night, but their injuries sound pretty serious.

Gilles Marini, who was already hampered by tendinitis in his groin and shoulder, suffered a separated shoulder. It's unclear if the new injury is to the same shoulder affected by tendinitis.

Steve Wozniak was spotted leaving rehearsal with his foot in a removable cast, evidently to protect a fractured bone in his foot.

Steve-O is pained by pinched nerves in his back which are causing muscle spasms. The Jackass star says, "I'm still rehearsing every day, but walking through my salsa routine rather than practicing the physical stunts and tricks that are incorporated into it."

I wouldn't be surprised to see one or more of these guys bow out of the competition under doctors' orders. It's too early in the season for any of them to try any Cristian de la Fuente-like heroics and risk long term injury.

In other DwtS 8 news, Maksim Chmerkovskiy told People that Denise Richards brings him coffee and homemade sandwiches every morning when she comes to rehearsal.

The New York Times and EW.com have very different takes on the outcome of last night's Jim Cramer-Jon Stewart showdown on The Daily Show.

Finally, Jeff Probst posted his thoughts on last night's Survivor: Tocantins in his EW.com blog. While Probst's beloved Coach didn't give him much material to work with in last night's episode, Probst jokingly referred to Coach's faulty weather-predicting skills as "shaman-like."

Ox Notes: March 12, 2009

I caught the premiere of The Chopping Block last night, and I was disappointed. Greg was more blunt in his assessment: "It sucked." The show's premise is good, but it's edited horribly, making it hard to get a sense of what was really happening. Of the dozen or so dishes made for the final challenge, only four were discussed -- not cool on a food competition show. Variety has a similarly dismal take on The Chopping Block.

Also at Variety, Brian Lowry noticed the gradual creep of ads for personal injury lawyers, hard liquor and other kinds of ads you'd normally only see during the day or late at night, into primetime television.

In Dancing with the Stars 8 news, The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Denise Richards has already earned a bad reputation on set. ET caught up with Holly Madison & Dmitry Chaplin in rehearsal.

Heidi Klum sounds pessimistic about the chances of Project Runway 6 making it to the air any time soon. PR mentor Tim Gunn told OK! that he has a crush on Anderson Cooper, but who doesn't?

Heidi will appear on CBS's April Fools Day celebrity prank show I Get That a Lot, where she'll work in a pizza shop while trying to convince patrons that she's not Heidi Klum.

TCM announced Alec Baldwin as the new co-host of the network's Saturday night movie showcase, The Essentials.

Iron Chef Cat Cora and her lesbian partner are both pregnant.

George Clooney makes his not-so-secret return to ER tonight on NBC at 10 ET, along with Julianna Marguiles, Eriq La Salle and special guest Susan Sarandon.

Also tonight, Jon Stewart takes on Jim Cramer in "Cramer vs. Not Cramer: Basic Cable Personality Clash Skirmish '09" on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11 ET. If you haven't been following the cross network feud between Stewart and Cramer, get caught up with this clip from last night's episode of The Daily Show:

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Basic Cable Personality Clash Skirmish '09

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Economic Crisis

Ox Notes: March 11, 2009

There's still plenty of Dancing with the Stars news to catch up on two days after the Season 8 premiere. Access Hollywood and ET recorded video interviews backstage with the contestants after their debut. People has an article about What You Didn't See behind the scenes at the premiere.

Samantha Harris recorded a video blog for The Insider just before the season premiere, which includes a shot of the tiny piano bench inside the confessional room where the contestants sit as they rant about the judges' scores.

Access Hollywood has more DwtS video interviews with Melissa Rycroft and Jewel, who commiserated with Nancy O'Dell about having to leave the competition due to injury. Nancy O'Dell will be sharing her thoughts on the performances with TV Guide after each episode.

ET caught up with Gilles Marini & Cheryl Burke and Chuck Wicks & Julianne Hough the morning after the premiere. Julianne told Us that Chuck is still working on trying to smile while he dances.

The cast of E!'s Girls Next Door shared their thoughts on castmate Holly Madison's opening night performance. Hugh Hefner and Kendra Wilkinson spoke to People about Holly's dancing, and Bridget Marquardt talked to Us.

Engaged pro dancers Karina Smirnoff and Maksim Chmerkovskiy talked about DwtS and their wedding preparations with ET. I like Karina's plan: "I want a small wedding but the biggest honeymoon in history."

Fox Sports has a photo gallery of all of the athletes and sports figures who've appeared on Dancing with the Stars.

New culinary competition The Chopping Block premieres on NBC tonight at 8 ET. The show stars eccentric celebrity chef Marco Pierre White, who conducted a phone interview with several media outlets recently. The Futon Critic and Zap2It feature some of White's quotes in their articles about the show.

I'm curious to watch The Chopping Block if only to see Chef White. Here's Mario Batali's account of his brief time working under White in London:

Ox Notes: March 10, 2009

Dancing with the Stars 8 premiered last night to an audience of 22 million. TV Guide recapped the episode, and Us Magazine and OK! caught up with the contestants after the show.

EW interviewed Melissa Rycroft about her last-minute addition to the show, while E! interviewed the other replacement star, Holly Madison.

DwtS co-host Samantha Harris shot an interesting video for The Insider about the production work she and Tom Bergeron do before the show airs, including recording their voice overs.

Before the DwtS 8 premiere, Us filmed Gilles Marini & Cheryl Burke in rehearsal where Gilles admitted to having a "man crush" on fellow contestant Steve-O.

In other reality show news, TV Guide interviewed the latest team kicked off The Amazing Race, Amanda & Kris.

Fans of TAR can get the scoop on each episode in host Phil Keoghan's blog, which appears Monday mornings at EW.com in their PopWatch blog. The PopWatch blog is also where you can find Survivor host Jeff Probst's blog, which appears on Friday mornings.

People interviewed Sandy Burgin, the most recent Survivor: Tocantins evictee, who poked fun at Howie Mandel and said that she wants to appear in Playboy.

Survivor: Tocantins' youngest contestant, Spencer Duhm, is apparently dating Survivor: China winner Todd Herzog.

In honor of last night's Castle premiere, Zap2It compiled a Cop Show Taxonomy of the different types of police serials. Did you stick around after DwtS to watch Castle? What did you think?

Ox Notes: DwtS 8 Premiere Edition

Dancing with the Stars 8 debuts tonight on ABC at 8 ET. Here's some last minute news before the big two-hour premiere.

Last week, it was reported that Holly Madison would take the place of Jewel, who had to drop out of the competition after fracturing both tibias during rehearsal.

Now People reports that the spot left open by Nancy O'Dell, who has a torn meniscus in her knee, will be filled by Melissa Rycroft, the woman who got dumped by The Bachelor last week. O'Dell spoke with Access Hollywood about her injury.

A source inside DwtS confirmed to People that Madison and Rycroft will dance during tonight's premiere, even though they've only had days to practice. Since there is no Results Show this week, Madison and Rycroft won't be penalized for having had less time to rehearse than the other couples.

What do you think of the latest additions to DwtS 8? Melissa Rycroft was certainly cast because she dominated headlines last week, and Holly Madison has had her fair share of publicity recently as well, leaving Hugh Hefner and dumping Criss Angel. If newsworthiness was the main casting requirement, I assume that Rycroft and Madison were cast only after Rihanna and the Octomom rejected ABC's offers.

EW.com ranked the DwtS 8 contestants before Jewel and O'Dell confirmed that they'd be leaving the show; TV Guide's reader poll ranks the contestants without them. Which of the dancers do you think will burn out early, and who's in it for the long haul?

ET caught up with Steve Wozniak & Karina Smirnoff in rehearsal and recorded a video interview. Us Weekly has a photo gallery of all of the couples in rehearsal.

In another video, The Insider filmed DwtS co-host Samantha Harris, Denise Richards and the female pro dancers as they enjoyed a pre-show spa day. Is it just me, or did Edyta Sliwinska seem a little nervous about her chances this season?

If you're still hungry for more Dancing with the Stars news, feast upon these interviews with Shawn Johnson, Gilles Marini, Derek Hough and the wonderful Tom Bergeron.

A link to the MOIB chatroom is already posted on the homepage; feel free to gather there during the East Coast live broadcast of DwtS to chat with other fans. Greg and I may check in on the chat, but we won't be watching the show live as we have in the past. I've been disappointed in the last two seasons, so I plan to record it and watch the routines later.

Consequently, I won't be posting full recaps of the show this season. After the East Coast broadcast airs, I'll post a thread with the night's scores (thank you, Wikipedia) and space for comments. Tuesday morning, I'll post what videos of the routines I find on YouTube.

Here's hoping Dancing with the Stars 8 returns the show to its former glory.

Ox Notes: March 5, 2009

Maybe it's time to rethink the way celebrities train for Dancing with the Stars. Nancy O'Dell joins Jewel and Gilles Marini on the list of pre-season wounded, suffering from a right knee injury. O'Dell told TV Guide that she thinks she'll be ready for Monday night's DwtS 8 premiere.

Jewel's knee tendinitis may be severe enough to have forced her out of the competition already. US Weekly reports that Holly Madison of E!'s Girls Next Door is ready to take Jewel's place in the DwtS 8 cast on Monday night.

Belinda Carlisle told People that she's struggling with her spins, although she looked pretty good in her Access Hollywood rehearsal video.

Variety's Brian Lowry offers advice to actors in this sluggish economy: "If you say things like 'I'll get this to the lab right away, boss' on a crime procedural, this isn't the year to try renegotiating that contract."

Just what every nerd needs: Star Trek cologne.

After watching last night's Top Chef New York reunion, EW's Christine Spines wonders if the judges gave Hosea the title simply because he's less obnoxious than Stefan.

Top Chef judge Toby Young blogged about how the gay rights movement made Stefan & Fabio's "bromance" possible. The blog post also includes a story about Toby and Stefan going to a lesbian bar after filming the reunion special.

Ox Notes will be back on Monday, March 9 with a special Dancing with the Stars 8 news roundup. Let's see who else gets injured between now and then.

Ox Notes: March 4, 2009

With the Dancing with the Stars 8 premiere less than a week away, the contestants are all over the Web. Here are links to rehearsal videos of Lil' Kim & Derek, Denise & Maks and Steve-O & Lacey.

In retrospect, I should've known that Belinda Carlisle was going to be on DwtS 8 on January 28. That's when she became a spokeswoman for NutriSystem, following in the footsteps of DwtS alums Joey Fatone and Marie Osmond. The former Go-Go spoke with E! and TV Guide about her DwtS training.

With spring around the corner, networks are rolling out their green initiatives. FOX's 24 was able to reduce its carbon footprint by 43% during the production of Season 7. And Discovery announced two new shows debuting this month that deal with green energy and climate change.

NBC release a list of guest stars appearing on its shows in March.

In May, Food Network will debut Sandra's Money Saving Meals starring Sandra Lee. First money saving tip: stop spending all that money on those stupid tablescapes she features on Semi-Homemade.

Weeks after getting out of a contract due to alleged mercury poisoning acquired by eating too much sushi, Jeremy Piven was spotted dining on calamari salad and tuna tartare. Well played, Mr. Piven. Well played.

Spike TV is bringing back '80s comedy legend Super Dave Osborne for a limited series this summer. If you've never seen the master of fake stunts gone awry, check out his failed attempt to jump off of Toronto's CN Tower:

Ox Notes: March 3, 2009

Monday night's After the Final Rose special proved last week's rumors true, and Jason Mesnick proved to be one of the biggest jerks in Bachelor history. Bachelor host Chris Harrison blogged that Melissa wasn't blindsided by what transpired on the ATFR special, and Jason told People that he was contractually obligated to crush Melissa in front of the cameras.

Speaking of huge tools, Gilles "The Naked Guy from the Sex and the City Movie" Marini is concerned that the tight pants he'll be wearing for Dancing with the Stars 8 might show his "thing." He should be more concerned that he has tendinitis in his groin and shoulder.

Access Hollywood's website posted videos of Nancy O'Dell and Shawn Johnson rehearsing for DwtS 8.

In TV development news, ABC canceled Life on Mars, and CBS renewed Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory.

Ubiquitous TV ad men Billy Mays and Anthony "Sully" Sullivan are getting their own reality show on Discovery called Pitchmen starting on April 15.

Survivor: Tocantins' Jerry told People that eating uncooked beans cost him his chance at $1 million.

In an interview with TV Guide, eliminated Amazing Race duo Brad & Victoria revealed that Brad recently learned that he has cancer, and that Victoria needs surgery to repair a hip injury she sustained on the race. The married couple also mentioned that their missed connection in Amsterdam allowed them to watch the results of the U.S. Presidential Election on a TV in a cushy hotel room.