If Mad Men is any indication of what its like to work in the real advertising world, then the writing process alone must cause more migraines than swimming in radioactive sewage.

That's still no excuse for stealing material, if that is in fact the case with this British ad. UK comic Micky Flanagan claims an ad agency stole a joke from his act for a phone service commercial and is a stone's throw away from filing a lawsuit. Punchline Magazine posted videos of the joke and the ad. Is this just a coincidence or is the ad pulling a Carlos Mencia?

First, listen to Flanagan's joke...



And now, watch the ad, which is after the jump.

Should we go to Mars next or go back to the moon? That's one of the debates that's going on now as the space shuttle program nears its end (in 2010). According to Space: 1999 and UFO, we should definitely make a base on the moon. That way we can wear groovy outfits, fire lasers, and listen to swingin' music (and possibly be able to turn into cats).

Can we talk ... without using curse words? Comedienne and home shopping pioneer Joan Rivers was removed from a live British talk show for swearing.

Well, OK, it's not like she was dragged off kicking and screaming during the live broadcast (like this guy), but she was asked to leave the set during a commercial break. Rivers was on the show Loose Women (ahem) and they were talking about Russell Crowe and Rivers said that he was "f***ing shit." I think she meant the phrase as an adjective, not a verb.

Rivers is actually over there doing a one woman show on the West End, Joan Rivers: A Work In Progress By A Life In Progress. She has apologized for what she said, the host of the show apologized for what she said, and ITV apologized to viewers for she said.

Just to be safe, TV Squad also apologizes for what Rivers said. Thank you.

Update: Video added after the jump.

This sounds like a Saturday Night Live sketch, but it's true (I think).

A new British reality show, Band in a Bubble, will encase a band in a giant block of glass, near Trafalgar Square, and force them to write and record an album in one month. The Darkness has been approached to participate, but there's no word yet on whether or not they will do it.

I think this sounds ridiculous. I mean, maybe if it was The Who or something, a band that we would be interested in watching anyway, whether it was a reality show about being inside a glass box or just a straight documentary. But what's the real attraction here, other than a basic "wow, look how far reality shows have gone?"

[via TV Tattle]