TVSquad

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Criss Angel wants people to know that he is not a ladies man. He also wants to talk, a lot, about how people are talking about how he is a ladies man.
  
• David Bowie isn't actually an alien but he does have natural alien good looks.
  
• Oprah and David Letterman are soooo not feuding anymore.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can subscribe to this podcast via our feed. Plus, you can also download the file directly.

The celebrity cameos are getting ridiculously funny on Extras, which is airing season two right now in Britain (HBO hasn't announced an air date for season two in the U.S.). Last week, it was Orlando Bloom trying to convince 'Maggie' that he's more famous than Johnny Depp. This week, it's David Bowie in a restaurant, singing a song about Andy and his pug nose face. It's completely over the top and, in true Ricky Gervais style, it's uncomfortably hilarious.

Video is after the jump.

Wow, I remember this ad like it was yesterday (though I don't drink coffee, I'm a tea guy), and looking back at it now, it's quite deranged.

It's the "Coffee Achievers" commercial from the mid 80s. It's all about how everyone - including famous celebrities! - can get things done in life by just drinking coffee! The celebrities include David Bowie (he really did look like a fashion mannequin back then, eh?), Kurt Vonnegut, Heart, and...Cicely Tyson? I guess she was one of the top stars of 1984. Or maybe just someone who really likes coffee.

How odd is this ad? Replace the word "coffee" with the word "caffeine" or "speed" and see what you think. It's basically saying, "hey, take this legal stimulent and you'll succeed!"

It's f#$in hot! How hot is it here on the East Coast? Well, it's so hot that . . . .well, it's hot! So, in order for you, the adoring TV Squad fan-base, to feel just a tad bit cooler while you watch an egg fry on the pavement I thought I'd spread a little early Christmas cheer around.

If you look back at the history of television Christmas specials perhaps the weirdest pairing of two individuals appeared in 1977. This was when Bing Crosby invited a young British singer named David Bowie to appear on his Christmas special. According to the David Bowie FAQ site Bowie was invited to the show after several people, including Crosby's kids, mentioned him. Bing decided to duet with David on Little Drummer Boy, but then added Peace on Earth for Bowie because he felt that it matched the younger man's singing voice. Bing took an immediate liking to Bowie and even gave him his phone number after the show's taping.

One month after the special finished taping Bing Crosby died, and the public didn't see the performance until after his death. However, once it aired it became a best-selling single (on a 45-rpm, you remember those) and a perennial music video. And now, thanks to the newfangled Internet, you can see it as many times as you want. So, put on that turtleneck sweater, grab a cup of hot chocolate, and snuggle up in your flannel blanket for this chilly Christmas treasure.

How's this for a fantastic premise: a driven and ambitious young British detective is determined to keep the streets of 21st Century Manchester safe. But after a near fatal car accident, he wakes up, dazed and confused, in 1973.

David Bowie's Life on Mars is playing on his iPod when he crashes, hence the title.

That's the background on a new series, Life on Mars, starting on BBC ONE in the U.K. on Monday 9 January, starring John Simm (24 Hour Party People) as Sam Tyler and Philip Glenister (Calendar Girls) as DCI Gene Hunt.

As you can imagine, poor Sam is like a fish out of water, with obscure moralities and strange views on the tough attitudes of tough-nut British detectives in the 1970s.

TV Squad will be watching the bizarre time-travelling cop drama, so expect some updates when the series kicks in.