Our thoughts are prayers are with Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Judge John M. Roll, the other 16 people injured or killed in Saturday’s shooting in Arizona and their families.

The day has arrived.  On Friday’s Late Late Show, we’re going to share in the experience that is “Secretariat in New York”.  As Craig pointed out, the last time they promoted something like this, it was Salman Rushdie at a party at Elton John’s house.  As Geoff Petersen tweeted:  From Bony, re: the Pony. You won’t believe what our Secretariat got up to in NYC! Don’t miss tonight’s @craigyferg. Neigh, don’t.

The newest Doctor Who tribute episode got lots of media attention for the musical opening number and Alex Kingston befuddling Craig about “rabbits”.  Among those covering the show were doctorwhotv.co.uk, anglotopia.net, BBC America, New York Magazine and TVSquad.com.  And we must say, pound for pound, Thursday’s LLS was one of the funniest shows in recent memory.

There is yet another online award that Craig could be nominated for, although this one is a bit higher in visibility than most.  The Shorty Awards honor the best microbloggers on Twitter, Tumblr and elsewhere.  There are various categories but this contest has an interesting twist if you look carefully at the rules.  Voters are allowed to come up with their own category.  If enough people cast votes in that category by the end of January, it could be declared official and be eligible for an award in March.

A modest proposal:  If the RSA is going to vote like crazy in this contest, may we suggest starting a category and voting for Craig in it?  Perhaps Talk Show Host?

Here’s why:  There are many different categories and Craig could fit in at least five of them:  Author, celebrity, entertainment, humor and television.  However, “author” invites all sorts of people from Stephen King to Snooki.  In categories like “celebrity” or “entertainment”, the relentless Twitter forces of Justin Bieber may eventually swamp other competitors.  In “humor”, there are hundreds of non-celebrity daily wits with big followings and in television, Conan O’Brien is already number three in the nominations but he could quickly be overwhelmed by shows like American Idol, Glee or others.

Among the existing categories, Craig’s best chance may be in the television category.  But if enough people vote in a #talkshowhost category, there could be some momentum created.  Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.  Worth a try?  Just another web contest?  Custom category or use the existing ones?  We welcome your feedback.

Friday on the Late Late Show, just days after the story broke that she was no longer dating Macaulay Culkin (don’t worry, we had no idea either), Craig talks with Black Swan actress Mila Kunis, and we’ll see a performance by comedian Geechy Guy from the Dirty Joke Show at Hooters Casino in Las Vegas.  He tweeted:  Tonight. 12:30 a.m. Me: Craig Ferguson. CBS. Late Late Show. You: Watch? DVR? @CraigyFerg @eonline

Tonight is the night Doctor Who fans will get to see the opening musical number originally recorded for the show in November featuring the eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith.  Due to pesky music rights issues, the segment had to be delayed until tonight.  But the timing is good because one of Craig‘s guests tonight is none other than actress Alex Kingston, who plays the character of River Song in the long-running British science fiction series.  If you just can’t wait, the clip was “leaked” online in late November.  Craig retweeted Bridger to remind us:  On tonight’s Late Late Show with @CraigyFerg, what once was lost now is legally cleared to air on television. Bring along your sonic screwdriver and dance!

Geoff Petersen brings up a good point about Craig’s other guest tonight:  So excited to have CSI’s @GarySinise on @craigyferg tonight. No telling what his lab’s blacklight would find in this place. Geoff also thanked Mythbusters‘ Grant Imahara:  Gotta say @grantimahara is super. Not only provided the splat mat under my seat for cocktails, turns out he’s a check grabber. Thanks Grant!

Is it official?  Is the island upon which the Hollowed Out Volcano is located known as Craigtopia?

A blog called StitchKingdom.com has a first look at the new teaser poster for the Winnie the Pooh film, due out in the summer, featuring Craig as the voice of Owl.

New York Magazine caught Craig’s anticipation of his new arrival and all the comes with it.

Craig renewed his offer to Larry King that he’s welcome on the show:  @kingsthings Larry you have my personal invitation to be on any time. I love you man. I’d bump Saget for you. Actor Craig Bierko added:  I’ve bumped Saget, he’s very generous

The RSA’s @bgrhubarb reminds us that Craig’s sister Lynn Ferguson is producing a pair of one-woman shows in Los Angeles January 17, 18 and 19.  As we’ve reported here before, the shows are part of the One Hour Theater project at the Stella Adler Theatre.

Enjoy a nice sunrise?  Here’s one from the RSA’s @KarlynMyJournal who caught the sun rising over the Mississippi River at Natchez.

A note to Topeka and Eastern Kansas viewers: The first half of the Late Late Show will not be seen tonight “in your region” due to maintenance on the WBIW-TV digital channel 44.1 tower.  The work being done will boost the signal to make it possible for more viewers to see the channel in the future but you may have to wait to catch up with the opening musical number, monologue and tweetmails tomorrow on the googly-web.  The station is expected to be back on the air at approximately 12:05am CT.  You may also want to point your antenna northeast and try to pick up KCTV digital channel 5.1 out of Kansas City.

Thursday on the Late Late Show, Craig welcomes actor Gary Sinise and will broacast the famous Doctor Who musical number in honor of actress Alex Kingston. On Friday, Craig’s guests are actress Mila Kunis and Las Vegas comedian Geechy Guy.

Secretariat‘s road trip to New York continues on the Late Late Show as Craig posts more preview clips on Twitter:  http://twitvid.com/N3TJN – The first rule of Horse Club…  http://twitvid.com/DQA0Q – Hoof pimpin’ Where will our favorite horse show up next?  Watch the Late Late Show and find out! In case you missed Craig’s Ford “commercial” and the Horse Club “doorbell” trailer in Tuesday night’s show, enjoy them here thanks to the RSA’s General @Malinky2Stoatir.  As a bonus, we learn what a “Jeremy” is in Australia during the tweetmails.

Video courtesy: TVsCraigFerguson

Geoff Petersen is enjoying the essence of Craig:  One more thing to like about @CraigyFerg. Ever since that Ford Explorer commercial he’s got that New Car Smell. Love ittt!!

The RSA’s @Kate_Bastow reminds us that we can rate Craig in the Huffington Post‘s poll for the funniest person of the decade.

Wednesday on the Late Late Show, Craig welcomes back actor/author Henry Winkler and chef Paula Deen.  On Thursday, watch for actor Gary Sinise and Doctor Who actress Alex Kingston… and don’t forget, on Thursday will be the Doctor Who musical number!

Two more shows have been added to Craig‘s Denver tour stop.  After quickly selling out a Thursday and Friday show, the Comedy Works added two Friday shows.  Now that they’ve sold out, they’ve added two Saturday shows on March 19th.  This is a great chance to see Craig live and up close in a smaller venue.  Get ’em while they’re hot!  Thanks to the ever-alert @Colleen_Byrne for the heads up!

Monday night, Geoff Petersen tweeted this:  That Secretariat has been up to a lot of stuff lately. And not just on our stage. Clue in tonight’s @CraigyFerg. Uh-oh! Craig re-tweeted it on Tuesday, and then added this:  http://twitvid.com/E0WGH – I’m so excited that I peed a little bit. Then I saw this trailer. Watch Tuesday’s Late Late Show to see the first installment!

Reminder: The People’s Choice Awards will be Wednesday on CBS at 9pm ET/6pm PT.  How To Train Your Dragon is nominated for Best Family Movie and Kick Ass is nominated for Best Action Movie, both of which feature Craig.

In case you missed Craig’s appearance on the George Lopez show on TBS, that episode will be repeated Tuesday night at midnight.  Some tweets we’ve seen say Thursday night but the website says Tuesday night.

New York Magazine include Craig in its wrapup of late night highlights.

Vancouver’s The Province newspaper picked up on the plan to air the Doctor Who musical number on Thursday’s show.

As we reported overnight, the tenth Doctor, Scottish actor David Tennant, is engaged to his girlfriend of the past two and a half years.  Stories are in the Daily Mail, the Sun and Scottish Television.  Tennant’s fiancée, Georgia Moffett, is the daughter of the fifth Doctor, Peter Davison.  Tennant and Moffett met on the show’s set, when she appeared in an episode as his daughter.

Randy Kagan has his thinking cap on:  Football: There is The Fight Hunger Bowl and The Chick-Fil-A Bowl. Get together and solve the problem!

Josh Robert Thompson has added a new Twitter account for his latest project: Follow my flowery other self on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/morethanfreeman

Thanks to everyone who took some time to visit the RSA live chatroom on Monday evening.  We had 20-30 people in the room at a time for much of the night, chatting about Craig, his books, his live tours, the Late Late Show and more.  We’ll look for more opportunities to open the chatroom so roboskellies can get together.  We appreciate your feedback on the chat sessions… it helps us make them better each time.

On Tuesday’s Late Late Show, Craig welcomes back actress Julie Bowen, and discusses clothing and more with fashion expert Carson Kressley. On Wednesday, two favorites drop by:  Actor Henry Winkler and chef Paula Deen.

Monday night’s Late Late Show marks the sixth anniversary of Craig‘s debut as permanent host of the Late Late Show, January 3rd, 2005.  He had guest hosted the show seven times in 2004 after the departure of Craig Kilborn.  If you haven’t already sent a congratulatory tweet to @CraigyFerg, please do.  And let’s hope for many more years of Craig to come!

BREAKING NEWS:  Two more shows have been added to Craig’s Denver tour stop.  After quickly selling out a Thursday and Friday show, the Comedy Works added two Friday shows.  Now that they’ve sold out, they’ve added two Saturday shows on March 19th.  This is a great chance to see Craig live and up close in a smaller venue.  Get ’em while they’re hot!  Thanks to the ever-alert @Colleen_Byrne for the heads up!

Live chat Monday night:  We opened the live chat room for a few hours on Monday night, so roboskellies could have a chance to meet up and talk about the first new show of the year.  We’ll look for more opportunities to use it.

BBC America is reminding its viewers that Alex Kingston will be Craig’s guest on Thursday.

UPDATE: Craig tweeted:  Finally cleared Dr Who cold open. I’ll broadcast it on CBS Thurs when River Song is on the show. #apologiestothosewhodontknowdrwho

FURTHER UPDATE: And for all you Doctor Who fans out there, British media are reporting that the tenth Doctor, Scottish actor David Tennant, is engaged to his girlfriend of the past two and a half years.  Stories are in the Daily Mail, the Sun and Scottish Television.  We first saw RSA night owl @SariesWick‘s tweets about it and @Fanny57 had retweeted a davidtennantontwitter.com tweet earlier.  Tennant’s fiancée, Georgia Moffett, is the daughter of the fifth Doctor, Peter Davison.  Tennant and Moffett met on the show’s set, when she appeared in an episode as his daughter.

Chris Hardwick, the @Nerdist offered up this question on the tweety box:  I’ve heard a lot of debate how to say ‘2011’. Two thousand eleven? Twenty eleven? I propose “two hundred tens, eleven”. And Craig responded (with a new variation on Hardwick’s hashtag #LeTitsNow):  @nerdist twenty-tenty-one? Twenty-eleventy? #LeTitsThen

Craig’s assistant Rebecca Tucker is enjoying some new-ish surroundings:  we’ve redecorated our little corner of the LLS offices. new year, new used CBS furniture!

LLS assistant producer Andrea Wayland reminded us to start sending in questions for Craig to read on the show:  The Late Late Show is back from break! Send your Twitter Q’s to @CraigyFerg w/ name & town and see if yours gets picked. #LLS #CraigFerguson We refer you to the RSA’s @bgrhubarb‘s extensive FAQ Page for tips on submitting questions and her growing collection of examples of tweets that will get you blocked by Craig.  Nice tweets that are good questions and don’t try too hard to be funny have the best chance!

Geoff Petersen wonders about one of Craig’s guests:  Social network dilemma for your robot skelly. Lisa Kudrow is on tonight’s @CraigyFerg. Is it possible to friend her or is that redundant?

Geoff’s voice, Josh Robert Thompson tweeted a new link:  Watch my new TV commercials here: http://www.youtube.com/user/morethan #morethanfreeman

Craig tweeted about Monday’s show:  Can two priceless Ming vases survive on the same stage as a rogue pantomime horse. Of course not. Yup we’re back & I for one am delighted.

Monday night is the first new Late Late Show of 2011.  Craig’s guests are actress/producer Lisa Kudrow and actor Matt Braunger.  On Tuesday, Craig will talk with actress Julie Bowen and fashion expert Carson Kressley.

Welcome back, roboskellies!  We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas holiday and a great New Year’s Day.  With the start of the new year, we’re looking forward to new and fun episodes of the Late Late Show!  Meanwhile, it is snowing in Southern California.  Wasn’t snow in Southern California one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?  The others were Conquest, Dopey and Smurfette, right?

LIVE CHAT MONDAY EVENING! To celebrate the return of Craig Ferguson and new episodes of the Late Late Show, we’re hosting a live chat here on the site:

• 2am-5:35am GMT
• 9pm-12:35pm ET
• 6pm-9:35pm PT

We’ll open the special event live chat room a couple of hours before the start of the show on the east coast, then close it down so everyone can enjoy the first new show of the year!  Watch for the “live chat” button in the upper left-hand corner of the site at the times listed.  Click on it and sign in (using your Twitter handle so your fellow roboskellies know who you are) and let’s talk!

UPDATE:  As the RSA’s @sjump54 pointed out, Monday’s show is the 6th anniversary of Craig’s official debut as host of the Late Late Show.  Some congratulatory tweets to @CraigyFerg would be in order on Monday.

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So what’s been happening in the past week?

Craigy fans in Australia have a big reason to celebrate the new year.  The Late Late Show will debut on the new Eleven network on January 11 at 10:30pm EST (check listings for the specific time in your region).

The folks over at the A.V. Club named the April 5th, 2010 episode of the Late Late Show, which introduced the world to Geoff Petersen, among their favorites of the year.  TVGuide.com names Craig among the celebs on Twitter everyone should be following.  411maina.com says the Late Late Show is among the top 30 shows on television.  And The Oakland Tribune says the Late late Show is one of the top ten shows on TV.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal names Craig’s stand up comedy performance to its top ten events of 2010.  And the Huffington Post says Craig is one of the fifty funniest people of the decade!

How To Train Your Dragon makes IMDB‘s top five user-recommended movies of 2010 as well as the favorite movies list on Huffington Post, the top ten for the Atlantic City Weekly and the top twenty for the Craig, Colorado Daily Press.  Yes, there really is a town called Craig, Colorado.

The German version of Yahoo Movies interview Craig and Gerry Butler a while back about the movie How To Train Your Dragon.  The RSA’s @AnnieSunshine84 was kind enough to translate the interview into English.  Thanks Annie!

A sports blogger for the Houston Press put together a list of things he was thankful for in 2010 and included the Late Late Show for some reason.

Three of Craig’s monologue jokes made the OhMyGov! blog’s best political jokes of 2010.

TVSquad.com is polling readers to see which was the best Betty White moment of 2010 and mentions the Late Late Show.

Comedy writer/producer/director Ken Levine says Geoff Petersen is the best talk show sidekick on television.

Craig was among the people paying tribute to the late Scottish actor Gerard Kelly in a BBC Radio Scotland special broadcast.  The audio will be available until January 6th.  Thanks to the RSA’s @bgrhubarb for spotting the clip.

When Bobby Farrell of the band Boney M passed away on December 30th, the RSA’s @DariaBilowus reminded us of Craig’s show ending segment of December 8th, 2008.

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Craig officially has two live stand up comedy performance locations already on his 2011 calendar.  The first is at the Winstar Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma along the Texas border.  The show will be on Saturday, February 5th.  The next location is in Denver for four shows March 16-18.  Since much of the comedy material Craig has used over the past year on tour was recorded in Nashville for a future television special, it is likely he will be working on new stuff in these smaller venues and give fans a great chance to see him up close.  We’ll continue to update you on new tour dates as they are announced.

There have been lots of tweets over the past week.  Late Late Show assistant producer Andrea Wayland wished everyone a Happy New Year:  I wish everyone a safe celebration ringing in the New Year. 2011 here we come!

LLS producer Michael Naidus sent word of his Christmas in Egypt:  Christmas Day 2010: Rode a camel in the Sahara. Sailed on the Nile. Played with kids from Mozambique. Had dinner with Mom. He later sent some great pictures:  The Nile River as seen from a hot-air balloon at dawn. http://twitpic.com/3m50ra // Hard to believe you’re seeing this up close rather than on TV or in the movies…. http://twitpic.com/3m50rr // The outdoor “suk” — or market — at Luxor. http://twitpic.com/3m51u9

Did you wonder why the RSA’s esteemed general @Malinky2Stoatir tweeted:  010111 Lucky White Rabbits and Craig re-tweeted it?  Check out this Wikipedia entry for an explanation.

Geoff Petersen tweeted frequently during the holiday break.  Click on his name to read them all #inyourpants.

Geoff’s voice, Josh Robert Thompson has a video chronicling his recent gig in London:  For those wondering what I was up to in London, here’s the answer: http://tinyurl.com/25l6agj

Late Late Show writer Joe Strazzullo took at trip to Scotland during the break and went to a Glasgow pub well known to Craig.  Check out his tweets from there and you’ll understand Craig’s response:  Read the sad 5 tweets of @Longshotjoe. The cautionary tale of an American writer who walked into the wrong bar. A bar I used to tend.

Craig himself sent a traditional greeting as 2010 ended and 2011 began:  Happy Hogmanay & a guid New Year tae ane an aw. An’ mony may ye see, our fearless leader.

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All new episodes of the Late Late Show return on Monday, when actress/producer Lisa Kudrow and actor Matt Braunger are in the house.  On Tuesday, Craig will talk with actress Julie Bowen and fashion expert Carson Kressley.  Wednesday, actor Henry Winkler and chef Paula Deen stop by for some fun.   Actor Gary Sinise and actress Alex Kingston are Craig’s guests on Thursday.  And on Friday, watch for actress Mila Kunis and comedian Geechy Guy.

On the following week’s taping schedule, we see names like actress/comedienne Roseanne Barr, foot analyst Joe Theismann, comedian Dave Attell, TV personality Paula Abdul, actor David Duchovny, actor/comedian Denis Leary, comedian Maz Jobrani and actress Emily Dechanel.  We’ll post specific dates for these guests as they are confirmed.  And we know that in November and December, some segments were taped for future use, including a performance by comedian Matt Kirshen plus interviews with TV personality Greg Warren, actress Shannon Woodward and (we haven’t forgotten) actor Ewan McGregor.  We’ll keep an eye on the schedules and keep you up to date.

Did we miss anything Late Late Show or Craig-related during the holiday break?  Just let us know by tweeting us @RSA_News or use the Contact Us form on this page and we’ll include it in a future post.