Part 2: Pop Culture and Technology
Let's all raise our glasses for a great 2011 in the world of pop culture: Couples of British royalty and teen royalty becoming the center of attention, a song about the joys of the last day of the work week becoming the latest YouTube sensation, erratic behavior from someone who thinks he's "winning" while dousing on some tiger blood, the end of one box office saga while another is still clawing along, a new wave of tablet computers trying to out iPad the iPad with Steve Jobs gone, one family giving new meaning to the term "family values", and sexting scandals that would stump Siri to a tee.
"The King's Speech", which was the verbal answer to "Rain Man" dominated the 83rd Annual Academy Awards with four including Best Actor (Colin Firth) and Best Picture, while an expectant Natalie Portman claimed Best Actress ("Black Swan") and a few months later, a baby boy. The ratings with hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway (who would be the only one busy as a bee this year filling out the Catwoman suit for next year's "The Dark Knight Rises") weren't something worth talking about: A 10 percent drop from last year. Eddie Murphy was slated to front next year's show with Brett Ratner as producer, but Ratner's unflattering remarks would lead to them bolting; Brian Grazer would step in, followed by getting Billy Crystal on speed dial.
At the 53rd Primetime Emmy Awards, "Mad Men", "Modern Family", and "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" continued their streak, while "The Amazing Race" reclaimed their prize after loaning it to "Top Chef" last year. Melissa McCarthy beat out the likes of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler for Best Actress-Comedy honor, and with "Bridesmaids" to go along with "Mike & Molly", she was one of this year's breakout stars.
Oprah Winfrey, Mary Hart (after 29 years at "Entertainment Tonight), Canadian news anchor Lloyd Robertson, and Regis Philbin all bid a fond farewell this year, though we'll be seeing them again in the forseeable future. "American Idol" with Scotty McCreery as this season's winner remained the top television show for the seventh year in a row thanks to some infusion from Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, but they're going to face an epic ratings battle next year with "The X Factor" (the inaugural U.S. season just won by Melanie Amaro), and why? Former judges Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul, the latter who briefly returned to TV earlier this year with "Live To Dance."
We also saw Pittsburgh Steeler Hines Ward and war veteran turned soap opera actor J.R. Martinez tango their way to the "Dancing With The Stars" mirror ball trophies, the end of both "All My Children" and Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, Christina Aguilera rebounding from her Star-Spangled screwup with a stint on "The Voice"; "Once Upon A Time", "Revenge", and "New Girl" among the new shows filling up our DVR drives; and the small screen returns of Claire Danes, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Rachel Bilson with "Homeland", "Ringer", and "Hart Of Dixie" respectively. Oh, and viewers didn't care about "The Playboy Club" (even if you live in a certain part of the country where you were not allowed to see it) or the new "Charlie's Angels."
But the big television story of 2011 was Charlie Sheen and the future of "Two And a Half Men." Apparently, his ego went straight to his brain as he bickered with the show's creator/producer Chuck Lorre, demanding a pay increase. From there, he verbally went psycho calling Chuck names, which didn't sit well with him. Sheen got the pink slip, while Charlie's next move? Twitter, where he reached 1 million followers on the first day. That would be followed by his "Torpedo of Truth" tour criss-crossing the country which got mixed reviews...except for the first night in Detroit, where most fans walked out on the show in utter disappointment and wanting a refund.
While all that was going on, producers scrambled to fill Charlie's shoes; I on this blog even suggested the unlikely name of former NBA player turned actor Rick Fox, given his history of ladies from Vanessa Williams to now Eliza Dushku. Well, they didn't listen to me, and the cattle call would end with Ashton Kutcher signing on the dotted line. When the new season hit, the new "Two And a Half Men" continued its dominance as TV's #1 comedy; but behind the scenes, Ashton's marriage to Demi Moore was about to falter. More on that (and other celebrity couples) later.
In the world of technology this year, new legions of tablet computers were in a bid to outdo the almighty iPad 2, which came out in the spring. One of them, HP's TouchPad, had potential as a serious competitor; but star power like Lea Michele, Russell Brand, and boxer Manny Pacquiao didn't convince us to buy one. After only two months of poor sales, the TouchPad would go in the way of the Edsel, New Coke, McDonald's Arch Deluxe, and the XFL. Other tablets by Blackberry, Motorola, Samsung, and Acer would use the same Android OS for smartphones and they are doing modestly well. And in November, just in time for the holidays, Amazon debuted the Kindle Fire, which costs half the price of the iPad except that it doesn't shoot video or take pictures like the iPad.
Speaking of smartphones...the Apple iPhone 4S, a slightly updated version of the world's #1 smartphone, would be introduced just a day before Steve Jobs' passing. The biggest new feature: Siri, which acts as a personal assistant. I know many of you had fun playing with that.
Despite "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" ending the franchise with a new opening weekend record while "Twilight: Breaking Dawn" proved that franchise still has bite, the box office this year was anything but fun. The only other films that garnered a lot of buzz was "The Help" and George Clooney's double whammy of "The Ides Of March" and "The Descendants", but "Your Highness", "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark", and "Mars Needs Moms"? They did garner some buzz as well...on Netflix queues everywhere! Even Netflix themselves had a rocky year as they upped the monthly fees, which led to unsatisfied customers bolting to Redbox, their local libraries, and a resurging Blockbuster. An attempt to rename their mail DVD rental service as Qwikster crashed and burned.
Music's biggest chart-toppers this year were by Pink with "Raise Your Glass" (which also got the "Glee" treatment), Nicki Minaj who at one point gave a very eye-opening performance on "Good Morning America", Britney Spears becoming a "Femme Fatale" with her latest offering (and capping it all off with her engagement to Jason Trawick), Adele hitting blackjack with "21", Lady Gaga continuing to push the envelope even further, and new tunes from Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and Rihanna as they've played the globe. We also saw Beyonce showing her baby bump to the world at the MTV Video Music Awards, pulling in both ratings and Twitter records...not to mention some unknown teenager named Rebecca Black paying homage to the end of the work/school week with "Friday."
No year would be complete without a bountiful of scandals. Among them: Leaked cell phone pictures of Scarlett Johansson and Blake Lively having us reaching for the hand lotion and Kleenex, congressman Anthony Weiner showing his...well, you know; the acquittal of Casey Anthony while Amanda Knox experienced freedom once again after years of standing trial in Italy, a phone hacking scandal with Piers Morgan and Hugh Grant among the targets costing Rupert Murdoch the "News Of The World" paper, the iPhone/tablet game Words With Friends getting some unexpected publicity thanks to Alec Baldwin's refusal to pause the game while on an American Airlines flight (and thus being booted off), Conrad Murray guilty of ending Michael Jackson's life, Hank Williams Jr.'s comments about President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner, Hitler, and the Israeli Prime Minister in the same sentence costing him his "Monday Night Football" gig; and of course, Lindsay Lohan from another brief time in jail to her community service job at a morgue to her much ballyhooed "Playboy" spread just recently.
The other most-talked celebrity couple of 2011 besides Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez? George Clooney and former WWE sexpot Stacy Keibler, as thanks to the praise he's been getting with the two films I already brought up, we could be seeing the two together (especially Stacy) next year at the Golden Globes and maybe...the Oscars!
And Kate and William wasn't the only big "I do" of the year, as Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo, Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth, Paul McCartney (in his third marriage) and Nancy Shevell, Brooke Burke and David Charvet, Prince Albert II and Charlene Wittstock, and LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian were among those tying the knot along with them. And among those headed to divorce court: Ashton Kutcher/Demi Moore, Jennifer Lopez/Marc Anthony, Arnold Schwarzenegger/Maria Shriver, Elizabeth Hurley/Arun Nayar (Liz would be engaged to Shane Warne), Olivia Wilde/Tao Ruspoli, and Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn. Meanwhile, Hilary Duff and Mike Comrie celebrated their one-year anniversary saying that baby will make three, and Jessica Simpson's will be popping out next year as well after Eric Johnson popped the question to her. (UPDATE (12/30): After only one year, Russell Brand and Katy Perry are no more as Russell has filed for divorce)
So...who's my pick for Entertainer of the Year? How about Entertainers of the Year: The Kardashians!
Let's face the facts, folks: They were infectious all throughout 2011, keeping the tabloid publishers and gossip sites happy week after week. We had Rob on the aforementioned "Dancing With The Stars" as perhaps the good Kardashian, but Kim had such a year that was both memorable and forgettable: Memorable because she starred in what I called the sexiest Super Bowl commercial ever for Skechers, and forgettable because her marriage to NBA star Kris Humphries lasted longer than...well, the HP TouchPad! (UPDATE: As of publish time, we've just learned that Sinead O'Connor's marriage to Barry Herridge is over after only eighteen days)
What will the forecast be for 2012? With Billy Crystal back in the saddle as Oscars host, could George Clooney take the stage yet again? Madonna will be headlining the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show; will she also be wardrobe malfunction-proof like Fergie this year? And how will "Hunger Games" and "The Dark Knight Rises" fare, as they are two of the year's most-anticipated films? We'll answer these questions and so much more in the year ahead.
"The King's Speech", which was the verbal answer to "Rain Man" dominated the 83rd Annual Academy Awards with four including Best Actor (Colin Firth) and Best Picture, while an expectant Natalie Portman claimed Best Actress ("Black Swan") and a few months later, a baby boy. The ratings with hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway (who would be the only one busy as a bee this year filling out the Catwoman suit for next year's "The Dark Knight Rises") weren't something worth talking about: A 10 percent drop from last year. Eddie Murphy was slated to front next year's show with Brett Ratner as producer, but Ratner's unflattering remarks would lead to them bolting; Brian Grazer would step in, followed by getting Billy Crystal on speed dial.
At the 53rd Primetime Emmy Awards, "Mad Men", "Modern Family", and "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" continued their streak, while "The Amazing Race" reclaimed their prize after loaning it to "Top Chef" last year. Melissa McCarthy beat out the likes of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler for Best Actress-Comedy honor, and with "Bridesmaids" to go along with "Mike & Molly", she was one of this year's breakout stars.
Oprah Winfrey, Mary Hart (after 29 years at "Entertainment Tonight), Canadian news anchor Lloyd Robertson, and Regis Philbin all bid a fond farewell this year, though we'll be seeing them again in the forseeable future. "American Idol" with Scotty McCreery as this season's winner remained the top television show for the seventh year in a row thanks to some infusion from Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, but they're going to face an epic ratings battle next year with "The X Factor" (the inaugural U.S. season just won by Melanie Amaro), and why? Former judges Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul, the latter who briefly returned to TV earlier this year with "Live To Dance."
We also saw Pittsburgh Steeler Hines Ward and war veteran turned soap opera actor J.R. Martinez tango their way to the "Dancing With The Stars" mirror ball trophies, the end of both "All My Children" and Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, Christina Aguilera rebounding from her Star-Spangled screwup with a stint on "The Voice"; "Once Upon A Time", "Revenge", and "New Girl" among the new shows filling up our DVR drives; and the small screen returns of Claire Danes, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Rachel Bilson with "Homeland", "Ringer", and "Hart Of Dixie" respectively. Oh, and viewers didn't care about "The Playboy Club" (even if you live in a certain part of the country where you were not allowed to see it) or the new "Charlie's Angels."
But the big television story of 2011 was Charlie Sheen and the future of "Two And a Half Men." Apparently, his ego went straight to his brain as he bickered with the show's creator/producer Chuck Lorre, demanding a pay increase. From there, he verbally went psycho calling Chuck names, which didn't sit well with him. Sheen got the pink slip, while Charlie's next move? Twitter, where he reached 1 million followers on the first day. That would be followed by his "Torpedo of Truth" tour criss-crossing the country which got mixed reviews...except for the first night in Detroit, where most fans walked out on the show in utter disappointment and wanting a refund.
While all that was going on, producers scrambled to fill Charlie's shoes; I on this blog even suggested the unlikely name of former NBA player turned actor Rick Fox, given his history of ladies from Vanessa Williams to now Eliza Dushku. Well, they didn't listen to me, and the cattle call would end with Ashton Kutcher signing on the dotted line. When the new season hit, the new "Two And a Half Men" continued its dominance as TV's #1 comedy; but behind the scenes, Ashton's marriage to Demi Moore was about to falter. More on that (and other celebrity couples) later.
In the world of technology this year, new legions of tablet computers were in a bid to outdo the almighty iPad 2, which came out in the spring. One of them, HP's TouchPad, had potential as a serious competitor; but star power like Lea Michele, Russell Brand, and boxer Manny Pacquiao didn't convince us to buy one. After only two months of poor sales, the TouchPad would go in the way of the Edsel, New Coke, McDonald's Arch Deluxe, and the XFL. Other tablets by Blackberry, Motorola, Samsung, and Acer would use the same Android OS for smartphones and they are doing modestly well. And in November, just in time for the holidays, Amazon debuted the Kindle Fire, which costs half the price of the iPad except that it doesn't shoot video or take pictures like the iPad.
Speaking of smartphones...the Apple iPhone 4S, a slightly updated version of the world's #1 smartphone, would be introduced just a day before Steve Jobs' passing. The biggest new feature: Siri, which acts as a personal assistant. I know many of you had fun playing with that.
Despite "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" ending the franchise with a new opening weekend record while "Twilight: Breaking Dawn" proved that franchise still has bite, the box office this year was anything but fun. The only other films that garnered a lot of buzz was "The Help" and George Clooney's double whammy of "The Ides Of March" and "The Descendants", but "Your Highness", "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark", and "Mars Needs Moms"? They did garner some buzz as well...on Netflix queues everywhere! Even Netflix themselves had a rocky year as they upped the monthly fees, which led to unsatisfied customers bolting to Redbox, their local libraries, and a resurging Blockbuster. An attempt to rename their mail DVD rental service as Qwikster crashed and burned.
Music's biggest chart-toppers this year were by Pink with "Raise Your Glass" (which also got the "Glee" treatment), Nicki Minaj who at one point gave a very eye-opening performance on "Good Morning America", Britney Spears becoming a "Femme Fatale" with her latest offering (and capping it all off with her engagement to Jason Trawick), Adele hitting blackjack with "21", Lady Gaga continuing to push the envelope even further, and new tunes from Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and Rihanna as they've played the globe. We also saw Beyonce showing her baby bump to the world at the MTV Video Music Awards, pulling in both ratings and Twitter records...not to mention some unknown teenager named Rebecca Black paying homage to the end of the work/school week with "Friday."
No year would be complete without a bountiful of scandals. Among them: Leaked cell phone pictures of Scarlett Johansson and Blake Lively having us reaching for the hand lotion and Kleenex, congressman Anthony Weiner showing his...well, you know; the acquittal of Casey Anthony while Amanda Knox experienced freedom once again after years of standing trial in Italy, a phone hacking scandal with Piers Morgan and Hugh Grant among the targets costing Rupert Murdoch the "News Of The World" paper, the iPhone/tablet game Words With Friends getting some unexpected publicity thanks to Alec Baldwin's refusal to pause the game while on an American Airlines flight (and thus being booted off), Conrad Murray guilty of ending Michael Jackson's life, Hank Williams Jr.'s comments about President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner, Hitler, and the Israeli Prime Minister in the same sentence costing him his "Monday Night Football" gig; and of course, Lindsay Lohan from another brief time in jail to her community service job at a morgue to her much ballyhooed "Playboy" spread just recently.
The other most-talked celebrity couple of 2011 besides Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez? George Clooney and former WWE sexpot Stacy Keibler, as thanks to the praise he's been getting with the two films I already brought up, we could be seeing the two together (especially Stacy) next year at the Golden Globes and maybe...the Oscars!
And Kate and William wasn't the only big "I do" of the year, as Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo, Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth, Paul McCartney (in his third marriage) and Nancy Shevell, Brooke Burke and David Charvet, Prince Albert II and Charlene Wittstock, and LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian were among those tying the knot along with them. And among those headed to divorce court: Ashton Kutcher/Demi Moore, Jennifer Lopez/Marc Anthony, Arnold Schwarzenegger/Maria Shriver, Elizabeth Hurley/Arun Nayar (Liz would be engaged to Shane Warne), Olivia Wilde/Tao Ruspoli, and Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn. Meanwhile, Hilary Duff and Mike Comrie celebrated their one-year anniversary saying that baby will make three, and Jessica Simpson's will be popping out next year as well after Eric Johnson popped the question to her. (UPDATE (12/30): After only one year, Russell Brand and Katy Perry are no more as Russell has filed for divorce)
So...who's my pick for Entertainer of the Year? How about Entertainers of the Year: The Kardashians!
Let's face the facts, folks: They were infectious all throughout 2011, keeping the tabloid publishers and gossip sites happy week after week. We had Rob on the aforementioned "Dancing With The Stars" as perhaps the good Kardashian, but Kim had such a year that was both memorable and forgettable: Memorable because she starred in what I called the sexiest Super Bowl commercial ever for Skechers, and forgettable because her marriage to NBA star Kris Humphries lasted longer than...well, the HP TouchPad! (UPDATE: As of publish time, we've just learned that Sinead O'Connor's marriage to Barry Herridge is over after only eighteen days)
What will the forecast be for 2012? With Billy Crystal back in the saddle as Oscars host, could George Clooney take the stage yet again? Madonna will be headlining the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show; will she also be wardrobe malfunction-proof like Fergie this year? And how will "Hunger Games" and "The Dark Knight Rises" fare, as they are two of the year's most-anticipated films? We'll answer these questions and so much more in the year ahead.
Next time...we wrap up the Year in Review with the Top 20 Things That Were Trending in 2011!
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