A look back at the best (and worst) of the year that’s nearly over.
Top 10 TV Shows
For a critic’s take on the best TV of the year, Washington Post’s Hank Stuever weighs in with his list (ranging from The Office on NBC to Downton Abbey on PBS).
— The Nielsen Company will release its report of the most popular programs later this month — but of the 11 shows to hit the top 10 last year, singing (American Idol), dancing (Dancing with the Stars), and football (NBC Sunday Nights) were America’s favorite pastimes. Only two hour-long scripted shows hit the list: NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles.
Top 10 Political Gaffes
Time Magazine has 54 lists making up its “Top 10 Everything of 2011,” including a list of the worst gaffes of the year.
— Michelle Bachmann makes the list at #4 for placing the “shot heard ‘round the world” in New Hampshire; the shots symbolizing the start of the American Revolution were fired in Lexington, MA.
— Rick Perry, at #6, also stumbled over American history when he noted that “we fought the revolution in the 16th century,” some 200 years prior to the actual revolution. At #7,
— President Obama also did a little time travel, signing the register at Westminster Abbey in the UK “24 May 2008.”
Top 10 Fascinating People
Every year, Barbara Walters puts together her personal list and we all wait with bated breath. This year she included the entire Kardashian family, the most famous sister in the world, Pippa Middleton, and Simon Cowell, among others. The most fascinating person of 2011? According to Ms. Walters, that honor goes to Steve Jobs, the first time the title was given posthumously. To see the full slide show, click here.
Top 10 Books
There is no shortage of “Best Books of 2011” lists — the editors of The New York Times Book Review have one, Publishers Weekly has one, and Amazon has a multitude.
— The editors at the NYT chose four fiction debut novels as well as Stephen King’s 52nd novel and five non-fiction books. As a side note, Stieg Larsson’s Girl With The Dragon Tattoo has spent 128 weeks on the NYT’s bestseller list.
— Amazon has compiled its editors’ picks across categories including Biographies & Memoirs; Fiction; Cooking, Food & Wine and more. Its number one editors’ pick across all categories is “Lost in Shangri-La” by Mitchell Zuckoff, who tells the tale of a WWII plane crash into New Guinea: the three members of the US military stranded in the jungle, the paratroopers who attempted to rescue them and also became trapped on the jungle floor, and the final, perilous plane rescue that was their last hope for rescue.
Top 10 News Events
It was a big year: weddings, disasters, trials, revolutions, deaths…
The Forbes Magazine slideshow presents the top news stories (as ranked by Yahoo), starting with Casey Anthony, moving through the Royal Wedding, the overthrow of the Libyan government, and ending with Occupy Wall Street
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