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.