Spike (formerly Spike TV) is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network (TNN), a joint venture of WSM, Inc. (a subsidiary of National Life and Accident Insurance Company) and Group W Satellite Communications; Gaylord Entertainment Company acquired the channel a few months later. After several changes of ownership and name, Spike currently operates as part of MTV Networks, owned by Viacom.

Spike is available in 98.7 million American homes. It features re-runs of popular shows such as CSI, CSI: NY, Unsolved Mysteries, and The Ren and Stimpy Show, along with various original programs and movies, all targeting males 18-34. It is also the home of Impact Wrestling, the flagship show of professional wrestling organization Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. As of 2006, Spike's viewership was almost half women (45%), although many of them are reported to be watching it with male partners or family members, or were watching the CSI franchise. The average age of the channel's viewers was 42 years old.

Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos (born December 19, 1967), better known by the stage name Criss Angel, is an American magician and illusionist. He is best known for starring in the television show, Criss Angel Mindfreak and his live performance illusion show Criss Angel Believe in artistic collaboration with Cirque du Soleil at the Luxor casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Angel is also the creator of the MagicPlace.com.

Angel's childhood interest in magic grew as he aged and by the time he graduated from East Meadow High School, he decided to pursue a career as a professional magician instead of attending college as his parents wanted. Angel is of Greek descent.

Criss Angel was the creator, director, and executive producer of the A&E Network show Criss Angel Mindfreak. Seasons 1 and 2 were filmed at The Aladdin in Las Vegas, with Season 3 at the Luxor Las Vegas. Premiering on July 20, 2005, the show's illusions have included walking on water, levitating, walking up the side of Luxor Hotel (in the light of 39 focused lamps that can be seen from space), floating between two buildings, causing a Lamborghini to disappear, surviving in an exploding C4 Crate, cutting himself in half in full view of an audience and getting run over by a steamroller while lying on a bed of broken glass. While making season 3 Angel was injured jumping out of a moving car and stopped production for 2 weeks.

Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983.

Lee's movies have examined race relations, the role of media in contemporary life, urban crime and poverty, and other political issues. Lee has won numerous awards, including an Emmy Award. He has also received two Academy Award nominations.

Spike Lee was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Jacqueline Carroll (née Shelton), a teacher of arts and black literature, and William James Edward Lee III, a jazz musician and composer. Lee moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York when he was a small child. (The Fort Greene neighborhood is home to Lee's production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, and other Lee-owned or related businesses.) As a child, his mother nicknamed him "Spike." In Brooklyn, he attended John Dewey High School. Lee enrolled in Morehouse College where he made his first student film, Last Hustle in Brooklyn. He took film courses at Clark Atlanta University and graduated with a B.A. in Mass Communication from Morehouse College. He then enrolled in New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts in Film & Television.

David Andrew "Andy" Samberg (born August 18, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, rapper, and writer best known as a member of the comedy group The Lonely Island and as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2005 to 2012. On Saturday Night Live, he and The Lonely Island have been credited with popularizing the Emmy-winning SNL Digital Shorts, the comical short films and music videos starring Samberg and other members of the SNL cast. As a film actor, Samberg has appeared in Hot Rod; Space Chimps; Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist; I Love You, Man; Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs; Friends with Benefits; and What's Your Number?

Samberg was born in Mill Valley California, the son of Joe Samberg, a photographer, and Margi (née Marrow), an elementary school teacher who taught at Old Mill School. Samberg also has two sisters, Johanna and Darrow. He was raised in a Jewish household. His maternal grandfather, Alfred J. Marrow, served as the executive chair of the American Jewish Congress, although Samberg describes himself as "not particularly religious." Samberg discovered Saturday Night Live as a child while sneaking past his parents to watch professional wrestling on television. He became "obsessed" with the show, and his devotion to comedy became frustrating to teachers who felt he was unfocused on his schoolwork.

Norman Mark Reedus (born January 6, 1969) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Murphy MacManus in the 1999 film The Boondock Saints as well as its 2009 sequel The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day and for the character of Daryl Dixon in the AMC television series The Walking Dead. He has also directed several videos and modeled for various fashion designers.

Reedus was born on January 6, 1969 in Hollywood, Florida and months later moved to Los Angeles, California. He also spent some time living in Japan, England and Spain.

While in Los Angeles, he worked at a Harley Davidson shop in Venice and at the same time contributed artwork to various shows as a painter, photographer, sculptor, and video artist. He got his first taste of acting in the play Maps for Drowners at the Tiffany Theater on Sunset Boulevard. He was first discovered at a party in Los Angeles where he started screaming with giant sunglasses on, until someone asked if he wanted to be in a play.

His first film was in 1997 the Guillermo del Toro horror thriller film Mimic, where he played the character Jeremy. He was 28 at the time. He has also played roles in the films Floating, Six Ways to Sunday, Deuces Wild, Blade II, Gossip, 8mm, American Gangster, Hero Wanted and Moscow Chill. In 2005 he had a bit-part in the Christian Alvart German film Antibodies as a German Polizist (policeman). In 2008 he starred in the film Red Canyon as the character of Mac.