Ox Notes: July 30, 2009

There's exciting stuff happening on TV this weekend. Saturday marks the start of TCM's month-long Summer Under the Stars. Each day in August will feature the films of a different actor, starting with Henry Fonda. The ad campaign for the event, featuring new posters for old movies, is getting some positive press.

Sunday, August 2, marks the return of Shark Week to Discovery.

Sunday's also the last day to bid on a package of tickets to see Dancing with the Stars' Samantha Harris perform in the musical Chicago.

In other DwtS news, judge Carrie Ann Inaba has been hired to host TV Guide Network's red carpet coverage alongside Bachelor host Chris Harrison.

Karina Smirnoff told People that she hopes Vera Wang participates in DwtS 9 so that she can beg the designer for a wedding dress.

When Who Wants to Be a Millionaire returns to primetime on August 9, it will feature an "Ask the Expert" lifeline. Among the celebrity "experts" available for help are Al Sharpton and Connie Chung.

Starting in October, ESPN will air an ambitious film project called "30 for 30", which will feature 30 short films about sports topics like BMX racing and Marion Jones' steroid use. Some of the filmmakers already attached to the project include director Peter Berg and my favorite Canadian point guard, Steve Nash.

Maureen Ryan, better known as The Chicago Tribune's The Watcher, wrote about a day in the life of a TV critic.

My brother will appreciate this Where Are They Now post about the cast of Night Court since I'm pretty sure he still carries a torch for Markie Post.

Ox Notes: July 28, 2009

Reality Blurred has an interview with Deadliest Catch creator Thom Beers. Last night, Discovery featured a fascinating special about the producers who work aboard the crab boats, which was more or less a chronicle of greenhorn cameraman Josh Silberman's battle with seasickness. I have no idea how he was able to blog between his frequent bouts of vomiting.

Reality Blurred also reviews this season's new dating shows, More to Love and Dating in the Dark.

In case you missed last night's Bachelorette finale, ABC reorganized its schedule to give you a second chance to see it tonight.

FOX reorganized its fall schedule, giving the next season of So You Think You Can Dance a twelve-day head start on Dancing with the Stars 9.

Pure DwtS compiled a list of all of the credible Season 9 cast rumors thus far.

American Idol 8 made $50 million less in ad revenue than AI 7, but $850 million is still a pretty good haul.

Paramount is working on a feature film version of the book Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Why bother when the 1982 animated version, The Secret of NIMH, is so good and features such a pretty theme song?

Ox Notes: July 23, 2009

So You Think You Can Dance celebrates its 100th episode tonight. Variety has a bunch of articles about the show, including an update on what past winners are up to. Cat Deeley interviewed Katie Holmes about tonight's special tribute to Judy Garland.

MOIB reader Katy pointed out the rumor that Ashley Hamilton may compete in Dancing with the Stars 9. Ashley's best know as the son of DwtS 2 contestant George Hamilton, as well as the ex-husband of both Shannen Doherty and Angie Everhart.

In other DwtS news, Gilles Marini's new calendar belongs on the top shelf at the newsstand, wrapped in a foil cover. Don't click on the link if you're at work.

Variety has an article on the increasing number of Hollywood prop and costume auctions.

Before the sixth season of Project Runway debuts in late August, Lifetime will air a special All-Star Challenge featuring past competitors Santino Rice, Daniel Vosovich, Uli Herzner, Jeffrey Sebelia, Mychael Knight, Chris March, Sweet P and Korto Momolu.

Survivor's upcoming all-star season may feature some contestants for a third series appearance, including Rupert, Cirie, Stephenie and Jonny Fairplay.

Wipeout has been officially renewed for a third season. Sadly, I Survived a Japanese Game Show probably won't be back next summer.

As soon as Japanese Game Show's run ends this summer, its timeslot will be filled by another reality competition. Crash Course will feature couples doing stunts with cars. I'm not sure it will be as entertaining as watching people bob for frozen fish in a tub of ice water:

Ox Notes: July 21, 2009

Tom Bergeron will reveal the identities of the Dancing with the Stars 9 cast members on Good Morning America on August 17. MOIB reader Deb noticed a rumor that DwtS 9 may feature 16 couples. I'm cool with the change if it means that couples won't start doing two dances per week so early in the season, but something tells me that won't happen.

Derek & Julianne Hough spoke with People about being nominated for an Emmy for their DwtS choreography. E! compiled a list of videos of the four So You Think You Can Dance routines nominated for choreography Emmys.

Reality Blurred has a list of all of the Emmy nominations earned by reality shows.

Paula Abdul may not judge American Idol next season.

What's the point of new episodes of Futurama without the original voice actors?

Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi may get her own sitcom on NBC about "a woman working in the culinary world."

NBA star Shaquille O'Neal is set to take on other athletes in the series Shaq Vs. starting August 18 on ABC. The Big Aristotle will swim against Michael Phelps and play tennis against Serena Williams. This I've got to see.

ABC, CBS and NBC will broadcast President Obama's speech to the nation on Wednesday night at 8 ET. ABC will air new episodes of Wipeout and I Survived a Japanese Game Show one hour later than their normal broadcast times.

I'm excited about casting news from the set of A Game of Thrones, the new HBO series based on George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire book series. Sean Bean was cast in a pivotal role, and several other roles have been filled as well. This series can't come to cable soon enough.

Ox Notes: July 16, 2009

Emmy nominations were announced this morning, including a nod to the best host in the biz, Tom Bergeron.

In other Dancing with the Stars news, the show is being sued by a couple of disabled men after a cameraman threatened to run over their service dog at a show taping.

There's no DwtS Tour this summer, but you can catch "Shawn Johnson and Friends: An Evening of Music, Dance and Shawn" in Des Moines, Iowa on July 26. Gilles Marini, Cheryl Burke, Steve-O, Kristi Yamaguchi and The Ballas Hough Band are all scheduled to appear.

Fans of I Survived a Japanese Game Show can get the inside scoop on the show from Executive Producer Kent Weed at his MSN blog.

EW graded the outfits So You Think You Can Dance host Cat Deeley has worn this season.

Speaking of outfits, actress Mayim Bialik talked to Starpulse about what it was like to be made over on What Not to Wear.

British judge Toby Young promised to tone it down a bit for the sixth season of Top Chef.

Lifetime revealed the identities of the models appearing in the new season of Project Runway. The gals also get their own show this season, called Models of the Runway. It's about time someone showed the models some respect for putting up with those crazy PR contestants.

Harper's Island stars Elaine Cassidy and Christopher Gorham spoke with TV Guide about the series finale.

MSN featured a couple of interesting lists recently: TV's Best Shows About Showbiz and Best and Worst Travel Shows. Kudos to the "Travel Shows" author for saying of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives host Guy Fieri: "When the most interesting part of your personality is your spiky bleach-blond hair, it's time to relinquish your hosting duties."

Last week, MOIB reader Jen C and I couldn't stop commenting about how goofy we thought it was for The Sci-Fi Channel to change it's name to SyFy. Network exec Michael Engleman offered the silliest rationale for the name change to date: "The Y's feel like they're smiling at you."

Ox Notes: July 14, 2009

I have to start by acknowledging the end of my beloved Harper's Island.

Okay, it wasn't the best show ever, but it delivered on its promise. It proposed to be a creepy serial killer mystery that wrapped up in exactly 13 episodes, without the typical the-killer-might-not-really-be-dead gimmick show creators use in the hope of getting a second season. The show did what it set out to do, and it was fun and occasionally touching along the way.

Zap2It recapped the final two episodes, making an apt comparison to the way The Lord of the Rings film series ended. EW posted some thoughts on the finale and confirmed that there is no chance the show will be back for a second season. Show producer Karim Zreik blogged about the finale for Television Without Pity.

TV Guide posted an interview with Harper's Island's Sully just before the finale aired. And if you're a real geek like me, check out these FearNet interviews with cast members conducted after their characters died. The producers kept the cast in the dark and didn't tell them until right before they were going to get killed off. Heck, John Wakefield's accomplice didn't even know he was one of the killers until they were halfway through filming.

Moving on.

Horrifying Dancing with the Stars news: Michael Flatley may take over Len Goodman's spot at the judges' table for Season 9. A cardboard cut-out of Len would have more interesting things to say than Flatley.

ET ambushed Julianne Hough in a drugstore to ask her about the Footloose remake.

Rumor is that Survivor 20 will feature heroes and villains from past seasons. Season 1 winner Richard Hatch was invited to participate, but a judge won't let him.

In other reunion news, Lifetime is gathering past Project Runway contestants together for an all-star competition.

Ryan Seacrest just signed a contract to host three more seasons of American Idol for $45 million.

Billy Mays commercials won't be going away any time soon. A new commercial the deceased pitchman shot for Mighty Tape debuts on July 20.

The latest Harry Potter movie releases tomorrow, so Daniel Radcliffe has been making the talk show rounds. EW thoughtfully complied a set of clips of his recent appearances to satisfy all of us older women with inappropriate crushes on the boy wizard.

Ox Notes: July 9, 2009

I enjoyed last night's episode of Top Chef Masters, but I was less intrigued by the food than I was by the venue where they held the tasting: The Magic Castle in Los Angeles. I'd be bummed that I can't get in, but I don't own anything that meets the club's dress code anyway.

Bravo revealed the identities of the Top Chef Las Vegas contestants. The new season premieres on August 26.

Lifetime introduced the contestants for its first season of Project Runway, which starts August 20.

After only one episode, NBC booted the reality show The Great American Road Trip from Tuesdays to Monday nights at 8 ET, in favor of a rerun of America's Got Talent.

My beloved Harper's Island comes to a close this Saturday night with two back-to-back episodes starting at 9 ET on CBS. Voters in an EW poll overwhelmingly chose 9-year-old Madison as the character they'd most like to see get whacked before the end.

WFMU.org has a great video compilation of one-liners from '80s action movies, including clips from my dad's favorite movie to quote, Hard to Kill. The creation of the video was inspired by the writer's viewing of Commando. I watched it recently, too, and man, oh, man is that a good movie.

AMC will air Commando on July 21 and 22, so mark your calendar accordingly. Until then, here's a clip from the movie, featuring my brother's favorite character actor, David Patrick Kelly:

Ox Notes: July 7, 2009

Cable channel Sci Fi officially changes its name to Syfy today. The Watcher has the scoop on the network's attempt to rebrand itself.

Cameramen on The Deadliest Catch have an innovative way of getting their footage to their editors: they put their recorded footage into a waterproof case and chuck it overboard.

Choreographer Mia Michaels told People that the performance Katie Holmes shot for the 100th episode of So You Think You Can Dance is "brilliant."

Kathy Griffin will emcee the roast of Joan Rivers on Comedy Central on August 9.

ABC has begun making its shows available on Hulu, starting with Grey's Anatomy.

MSN posted a slideshow of the best TV rich kids.

Throughout the summer, Zap2It will post new weekly polls seeking to find the greatest TV characters. This week's polls include Best Mom, Best Co-Worker and Best Reality Personality.

Finally, Lucha Libre is coming to TV in the United States. Not sure what Lucha Libre is? Check this out:

Ox Notes: July 2, 2009

Former TV Hulk Lou Ferrigno is apparently in the running for a spot on Dancing with the Stars 9. Other DwtS 9 rumors so far include Vera Wang, Dominique Moceanu and Danny Gokey: not exactly the A-listers fans are hoping for.

DwtS alum Denise Richards makes her Bollywood debut this weekend in the film Kambakkht Ishq (the title translates to something like "Crazy Love"). The movie is set in Hollywood and features American actors Sylvester Stallone and Brandon Routh alongside Bollywood megastars Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor.

Zap2It recapped last night's new episodes of I Survived a Japanese Game Show and So You Think You Can Dance.

SYTYCD producer/judge Nigel Lythgoe finally confirmed that Katie Holmes will perform on the 100th episode of the show, scheduled to air July 23.

Starting tonight, ABC has yanked the remaining episodes of In the Motherhood from its lineup, filling the slot with a bonus episode of Samantha Who?.

ABC is also working on a mystery novel tie-in for the series Castle.

PBS's Antiques Roadshow made its first $1 million appraisal.

Ever wondered what actors are actually snorting when they do a line of cocaine in a TV show? It's usually powdered sugar, baking soda or baby laxative.

On July 21, Discovery will debut a new series reality series called The Colony. The premise is that ten people have to rebuild a functional society after a global catastrophe. I'm looking forward to it, given my fondness for all things post-apocalyptic. Heck, I even enjoyed the ridiculous Doomsday: