Part 2: Entertainment and Pop Culture

From "Star Wars" to "Jurassic World"; from "Empire"s and another royal baby being born to a former Olympic gold medalist telling the world, "Call me Caitlyn"; and from saying "Hello" again to Adele to bidding David Letterman adieu...2015 in the world of pop culture had us whipping and nae-naeing on Periscope!

It was a lackluster 87th Academy Awards to say the least; favorite "Boyhood" was expected to walk away with a few Oscars but won only one (Supporting Actress for Patricia Arquette). The two they were gunning for, Best Director and Picture, both went to "Birdman" instead, while Eddie Redmayne picked up Best Actor for "The Theory of Everything" and Julianne Moore finally collected her first Oscar in the form of Best Actress ("Still Alice"). Why lackluster, you ask? Host Neil Patrick Harris failed to capture the same kind of ratings magic Ellen DeGeneres left behind last year, though he would later redeem himself with NBC's "Best Time Ever".

While we're sticking with movies...this year we had two mega-hits, several regular hits, and many misses. "Jurassic World" literally owned the summer box office, as it grossed $208 million in its opening weekend. But that all-time record would be short-lived, as the wait for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" was really worth it, just earning $40 million more to eclipse the dinosaurs; as of publish time, it has quickly surpassed the $1 billion mark.

"Magic Mike XXL", "Straight Outta Compton", "The Hunger Games Mocking Jay: Part 2", "Minions", "The Martian", "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (opened on the same mega-weekend as the birth of the royal baby, Kentucky Derby, and Mayweather-Pacquiao), "Spectre", "Fifty Shades of Grey", and "Furious 7" were among the many regular hits that attracted casual moviegoers; while Helen Mirren in "Woman in Gold", Julianne Moore in "Freeheld", Eddie Redmayne in "The Danish Girl", and Jennifer Lawrence in "Joy" had some of them sending a clear message to the Oscar voters: "For your consideration."

And there were many moviegoers going, "What the (expletive) was that?!" in response to "Rock the Kashbah", "Our Brand is Crisis" (which may or may have not doomed Sandra Bullock's career fresh off of "Minions"), "Pan", "Fantastic Four", and what I think is perhaps the biggest steaming pile of turd since "Howard The Duck" almost 30 years ago: "Jem and the Holograms" (both films were by Universal)!

"Modern Family's" long streak was snapped at the 57th Primetime Emmys, as HBO's "Veep" walked away with Comedy Series with "Game of Thrones" claming Drama Series. Jon Hamm finally winning for AMC's "Mad Men" was the ultimate closer to the former Emmy darling, while "How To Get Away With Murder's" Viola Davis became the first African-American Outstanding Actress-Drama recipient. 

Other 2015 television highlights include David Letterman hanging it up after 35 years with Stephen Colbert inheriting the Ed Sullivan Theater, HBO (back to them again) to be the new home for "Sesame Street", Fox about to say goodbye to former ratings dynamo "American Idol" while saying hello to new powerhouse "Empire", Jon Stewart passing "The Daily Show" fake anchor desk to Trevor Noah, Brian Williams's pack of lies that cost him his "NBC Nightly News" job (Lester Holt would assume it while Williams would be demoted to MSNBC), Lady Gaga injecting new life to the ailing "American Horror Story", and Steve Harvey's Miss Universe flub as the franchise changed owners (Donald Trump to IMG). Among the new shows: "Supergirl", "Blindspot", "Agent X", "Life in Pieces", and "Quantico" (introducing Indian actress Priyanka Chopra to the western world) filled up our DVRs; the aforementioned "Best Time Ever" lasted a few episodes longer than "Knock Knock Live"; and "Wicked City" crashed and burned.

In music, all ears were on Adele in her first album since becoming a mom and that tickets to her upcoming tour next year were all but gone within seconds. In its first two weeks of release, "25" sold more than 1 million copies in the U.S., even though it came a little too late for Grammy consideration this year (oh, just wait till 2017). Taylor Swift's "1989 World Tour" packed venues with surprise special guests in every show, from the U.S. women's soccer team to Selena Gomez, one of the many co-stars in her "Bad Blood" video. In addition, there were new tunes by The Weeknd, One Direction (minus Zayn Malik, who suddenly quit the group this year to millions of girls bawling in their pillows and on social media), Carrie Underwood, and Selena Gomez among others. 

20 years after the death of Jerry Garcia, the remaining surviving members of the Grateful Dead played their last ever shows together in Chicago in July; three of them would still be touring as Dead and Co. with John Mayer as Garcia. The terror attacks in Paris catapulted the little-known Eagles of Death Metal into the spotlight; the following month, the band returned to Paris, this time joining U2 on stage. And at the MTV Video Music Awards, while verbal fisticuffs were flying between Nicki Minaj and a nearly naked Miley Cyrus, Kanye West announced his 2020 presidential run.

Apple may have been on a technological tear this year with the releases of the Apple Watch, iPhone 6s, iPad Pro, and new iPod Touch (the latter one came without any fanfare); but the hot app this year was Periscope. It was like watching a never-ending episode of "Big Brother"...except that we get to see countless glimpses of the outside world live as it's happening!

Relationships came and went this year; among those that went down the aisle: Sofia Vergara and Joe Manginello, Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, Amy Adams and Darren Le Gallo, Geri Halliwell and Christian Horner, Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder, David Arquette and Christina McLarty, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden, Stephen Fry and Elliott Spencer, Daisy Fuentes and Richard Marx, and Billy Joel and Alexis Roderick. 

Then there were those that had enough of each other: Kate Beckinsale and Len Wiseman, Olivia Culpo and Nick Jonas (and later Tim Tebow), Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez, Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green, Kaley Cuoco and Ryan Sweeting, Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn, Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, and the one that nobody saw it coming: Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy!

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West may have welcomed Saint West to the world, but that (and many others) paled in comparison to what was the year's biggest celebrity baby birth: Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, born on May 2 as a kickoff to what would be the biggest 24 hours in the world of sports and pop culture (see fourth paragraph)!

The new "Star Wars" film was without question the top entertainment news story of the year, but of course, there were tons more that shared the spotlight. One of them in particular, was Bruce Jenner now Caitlyn Jenner, as the transformation from a he to a she shone a gold medal for the transgender community. Josh Duggar's sex scandal and his use of the infidelity website Ashley Madison led to the cancelation of TLC's "19 Kids and Counting", while the allegations continue to mount against Bill Cosby as more women stepped forward claiming that he was "all over" them as well. Bobbi Kristina Brown, the only child of Bobby Brown and the late Whitney Houston, was clinging on to dear life after submerging in a bathtub at her Atlanta home; she would die in July after several months in a coma. Charlie Sheen announced he contracted HIV a few years ago, while Justin Bieber was captured frolicking naked in Bora Bora. Former NBA star Lamar Odom was too in a coma for three days after being found unconscious in a Nevada brothel where he partied and took way too much drugs'; concerned for his well-being, estranged wife Khloe Kardashian shredded the divorce papers. 

With eveything that has went on, my Entertainer of the Year for 2015? Amy Schumer, and here is why: Her "Trainwreck" wasn't anything but that, becoming a box office smash (partly thanks to LeBron James, Bill Hader, Daniel Radcliffe, and WWE wrestler John Cena among the few co-stars) and putting her on the map. Then there was her Comedy Central show "Inside Amy Schumer", which claimed the inaugural Variety Sketch Series Emmy (beating the venerable "Saturday Night Live", which she hosted to spectacular ratings); her HBO special taped at the Apollo Theater; and of course, a sold-out comedy tour. Oh, not to mention being BFFs with Jennifer Lawrence.

What's in the horizon for 2016? It could be deja vu at the Oscars as far as Eddie Redmayne and Julianne Moore are concerned, while "The Angry Birds Movie", "Independence Day" Resurgence", and the all-female "Ghostbusters" starring Kristen Wiig are expected to collect millions at the box office. Whatever else happens, we'll be keeping our eyes peeled.

Tomorrow...we conclude with the Top 15 Things That Were Trending in 2015, and you-know-who will be on there! Also, a personal note.