Ox Notes: September 29, 2009

Ox Notes is back from hiatus, so it's straight on to Dancing with the Stars 9 news. TV Guide recapped last night's Performance Show. Access Hollywood interviewed the contestants backstage and People filed a What You Didn't See report.

Lacey Schwimmer will continue to dance while undergoing treatment for injured hip flexor muscles. And Louie Vito vowed to TV Guide and in his People blog that he won't cut his hair to please Len Goodman.

The Amazing Race premiered on Sunday night. Both of the eliminated teams -- Eric & Lisa and Garrett & Jessica -- spoke with TV Guide.

If you wondered why Eric & Lisa aren't featured in the first Elimination Station video with Garrett & Jessica, it's because the yoga instructors skipped out on the show and went to India. I'd say I don't blame them since they were eliminated before the race even began, but they were so grating during their brief time on the show that I do blame them for bailing.

TLC is renaming their former ratings juggernaut Kate Plus 8. The latest episode was watched by only 1.7 million people.

The CW pulled the plug on The Beautiful Life after two episodes, making it Fall 2009's first canceled show.

Heidi Montag, Lo Bosworth and Audrina Patridge make $100,000 per episode of The Hills. Seriously.

Ox Notes: September 17, 2009

Dancing with the Stars 9 has its first injuries to report. Kathy Ireland needed stitches after a surfing accident, and Tom DeLay has a pre-stress fracture in his foot that is limiting his rehearsal time.

ABC posted videos of the couples in rehearsal. The video titled "Don't Let Go!" showcases Mark Dacascos nearly launching Lacey Schwimmer during a move.

Stars Ashley Hamilton, Louie Vito and Melissa Joan Hart blogged about their progress so far.

DwtS will pay tribute to Patrick Swayze during the September 23 Results Show.

In DwtS-related news, married pros Alec Mazo & Edyta Sliwinska will take part in GSN's revival of The Newlywed Game. And the big dance number on Sunday night's Emmy Awards -- featuring Maksim Chmerkovskiy & Karina Smirnoff -- will be choreographed by So You Think You Can Dance's Tabitha & Napoleon.

SYTYCD promoted Adam Shankman to permanent judge.

Survivor: Samoa premieres tonight on CBS at 8 ET. Reality Blurred has pre-season interviews with all of the contestants, and People hired Survivor: Tocantins runner-up Stephen Fishbach to blog about the new season.

EW posted a gallery to help you remember where you've seen the actors of The CW's Vampire Diaries before. Everyone knows that the actor who plays evil brother Damon was Boone on Lost, but did you know that BFF Bonnie was one of the Fantanas?

The Watcher has a spoiler-filled interview with Supernatural creator Eric Kripke and actor Jim Beaver.

Tim Gunn told People about the gross way Ra'mon dyed his challenge-winning neoprene dress (hint: producers showed him dyeing it in the sink, but that wasn't the first vessel he used). Yuck!

I'm sad that my favorite contestant got booted from Top Chef Las Vegas last night, while he's most upset about being separated from his beloved Padma. Gail Simmons blogged about the challenge, and Tom Colicchio wrote a great explanation of the judging criteria.

If you've got a few minutes to kill, try this Reality TV Trivia game at MSN. Just be sure to turn down the volume on your speakers if you're at work.

I'll be on a road trip next week, so Ox Notes will return on Tuesday, October 6.

Ox Notes: September 15, 2009

The Creative Arts Emmys were awarded over the weekend. A&E's Intervention won Outstanding Reality Show, while So You Think You Can Dance's Tyce Diorio picked up the award for Outstanding Choreography.

The first group of presenters announced for the Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony on Sunday, September 20 includes Gossip Girl stars Blake Lively and Leighton Meester.

If you watched the Gossip Girl season premiere last night, you probably noticed the Target commercials featuring a line of clothing inspired by the show, designed by Anna Sui. As of this morning, many of the items in the line have already sold out.

On the topic of TV-related clothing lines, have you seen the shoes Project Runway winner Christian Siriano designed for Payless? The designer told Us that Kate Gosselin is copying his hairstyle.

Vampire Diaries actress Kayla Ewell told EW that she and her co-stars weren't flashing motorists when they were arrested in Georgia last month.

In Dancing with the Stars news, TV Guide has an interview with Cheryl Burke, while People interviewed Mark Ballas.

The ACLU is trying to free Survivor winner Richard Hatch from jail.

ABC says that while Defying Gravity isn't canceled, the network isn't sure when the final five episodes of the season will air.

Variety's Brian Lowry writes that even though most tributes to Patrick Swayze will focus on his roles in Dirty Dancing and Ghost, the actor's real legacy is Road House.

Ox Notes: September 10, 2009

The big TV news of the moment is that Ellen DeGeneres is the new permanent judge on American Idol. I think Paula Abdul's decision to leave the show can now be officially classified as a bad career move.

In Dancing with the Stars news, pros Maksim Chmerkovskiy & Karina Smirnoff have called off their engagement. Given how producers hyped the couples' relationship leading up to last season, I wonder if they'll use the breakup as a plotline this season or just gloss over it. I'm hoping the latter.

DwtS 9 contestant Ashley Hamilton is writing a blog for People, in which he compares DwtS rehearsals to his high school prom: "I sit against the wall and hope that no one will ask me to dance."

Fox is turning the website Texts From Last Night into a TV show. Huh?

Big Brother has been picked up for a 12th season. I've yet to meet one of the 8.1 million people who watch the show.

Big Brother's Tuesday night ratings far outshone those for the debut of The CW's revamped Melrose Place, which was only watched by 2.3 million people. That doesn't bode well for the show given that the other networks haven't even rolled out their fall shows yet.

The CW should expect better ratings for tonight's Vampire Diaries series premiere, as well as the return of Supernatural.

CBS announced the teams competing on The Amazing Race 15, which will bring back challenges from past seasons.

Last night's episode of Top Chef Las Vegas was devastating for the two eliminated chefs. One thinks that appearing on the show could be a career killer, while the other is considering giving up cooking for a living.

Judges Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons blogged about the French-themed episode, as did several past competitors.

Ox Notes: September 8, 2009

The Fall 2009 season informally kicks off tonight with the premieres of 90210 and Melrose Place on The CW. TV Guide wrote about the cast of Melrose 2.0, which The Watcher describes as "empty calories."

Another new fall show debuting this week is Season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance. FOX is going ahead with the premiere on Wednesday while the other networks broadcast President Obama's address to Congress on health insurance reform.

The SYTYCD 6 Top 20 dancers won't be revealed until October 21.

Due to the President's speech, ABC is moving Wipeout back to 9 ET, bumping Crash Course for the night.

Brian Lowry writes that Jay Leno's new primetime show has inadvertently made the comic an enemy of TV screenwriters.

In Dancing with the Stars news, Maksim Chmerkovskiy is having a great time with celebrity partner Debi Mazar, and Louie Vito is blogging about training with Chelsie Hightower for People.

Ox Notes: September 3, 2009

Access Hollywood did a series of interviews with Dancing with the Stars 9 contestant Kelly Osbourne and, based on this one, I'm rooting for her to win.

ET has a photo gallery of the couples in rehearsal and an interview with Donny Osmond.

E! caught up with Derek Hough, who thinks 62-year-old Tom DeLay is this season's dark horse.

Pure DwtS is following the Season 9 cast on Twitter and posted collections of recent tweets and pics.

After last night's new episode of Top Chef Las Vegas, Bravo's website posted blog posts by Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons and several former contestants.

Variety's Brian Lowry writes about the notion of "reality stars," about whom one former network exec quipped: "Just like all porn performers are 'porn stars'."

Speaking of dubious reality "stars," Project Runway's Tim Gunn bagged on Jon Gosselin for his ridiculous, oversized Ed Hardy shirts, describing them as emblematic of "the slobification of America."

No plans for Labor Day weekend? Plunk yourself in front of the TV for one of the many marathons available on cable. Thank goodness I don't get the channel ActionMax, or I'd be glued to their Saturday Jaws marathon.

Ox Notes: September 1, 2009

Dancing with the Stars 9 contestant Michael Irvin's dance rehearsal schedule will have to accommodate his new duties as an NFL Network analyst.

Other DwtS 9 cast members in the news include Chuck Liddell, Mark Ballas and Tom DeLay. ET posted the official photos of the couples, and Macy Gray could not look more uncomfortable.

Normally, People waits to interview Project Runway contestants until after they've been kicked off the show, but Mitchell Hall is off to such a bad start that People's editors must have thought, Why wait?

Thursday's and Friday's respective reruns of Fringe and Glee on FOX will feature live, onscreen Twitter commentary by each show's cast and crew.

Variety writes about what happens to completed shows when they're pulled from the air due to tragic circumstances, as with VH1's Megan Wants a Millionaire. The fate of MTV's Gone Too Far, which starred DJ AM, remains undecided.

Reality Blurred is posting preseason interviews with all of the Survivor: Samoa castaways.

The same website also has a list of fall reality show premiere dates. TV Guide posted its recommendations for eight new scripted shows to watch this fall.

I'm not usually interested in medical dramas, but I might have to NBC's Mercy a shot now that Kate Mulgrew has joined the cast. She was Captain Janeway, for crying out loud: