  We review some of the characteristics of irradiated extrasolar giant planets
(EGPs), in anticipation of their direct detection from the ground and from
space. Spectral measurements are the key to unlocking their structural and
atmospheric characteristics and to determining the true differences between
giant planets and brown dwarfs. In this spirit, the theoretical spectral and
atmospheric calculations we summarize here are in support of the many searches
for EGPs to be conducted in the coming decade by astronomers from around the
world.
