We're on a mission to post one best-of-2007 list each day in December.
That's 31 lists, reviewing all of the greatest, worst and most memorable
entertainment moments of the year.
In the end, only one can hold the title of entertainer of the year. It wasn't an easy choice for The Monitor — you can imagine all of the heated closed-door meetings and gnashing of teeth — but we have picked our shining star of 2007, who leads the nine worthy runners-up on our final entry in The 31 Lists of December.
Harry Potter:
The world practically stopped for a couple of days there to read the seventh and final book chronicling the young wizard's adventures — all that just days after the fifth movie hit theaters, leaving fans with little time to catch a breath. And when news that a fictional character has been outed is the biggest entertainment story of the week, you know you're dealing with something pretty serious. Now the British media is reporting (yet again) that J.K. Rowling may have said something about writing an eighth book. Expect to hear that story a lot more over the next year and beyond.
Timbaland:
His name is not to be confused anymore with Justin Timberlake or Timberland boots. 2007 officially placed composer/producer/entertainer Timbaland on every single map in every genre. Whether he was doinghisownmusic, making a cameo in someone's video, writing/producing someone's album or simply getting props from an artist that he's made a star, he's now known solely by Timbaland, no explanation needed.
Animals:
Fuzzy, ferocious, cuddly, cute, ugly, heroic, sad, real or simply a cartoon, animals of stage and screen made quite an impact in 2007. Some of these guys were digitally created in a studio, others were made famous thanks to the shutterbugs who capture their LOL cats at home and some rose to stardom thanks to the numero uno performance stage in the world — mother nature. We salute our furry, feathered and scaly friends.
We're on a mission to post one best-of-2007 list each day in December.
That's 31 lists, reviewing all of the greatest, worst and most memorable
entertainment moments of the year.
Proving that no one is safe from The Monitor's list-making mania, we present the top 10 of our 31 Lists of December.
12/1: Top Five Songs I Hope To Never Hear Again
Looking back, we should've called it Top Five Overplayed Songs of 2007, but it was our first of these lists. We were so young then.
12/10: The Top 10 10ths Points to us for style and brevity, and points to our crack research team for finding entertainment headlines from the 10th day of each month of the year.
12/13: 2007's Greatest Internet Sensations The Monitor was on FIRE this week. This list stands as a collection of the five most diverting ways to kill time on the internet.
12/16: Top 7 Actually Funny "SNL" Skits "SNL" is a fickle mistress: the sublime, the profane and the excruciatingly boring all surface in that 90-minute timeslot. This list reminds us why we keep hooking up with the show.
12/18: Top 7 Celebrity Make-ups Kinda makes The Monitor's problems seem less sordid in comparison.
12/22: 2007's Best Music Videos This list was posted the Saturday before Christmas, when you were barely online, but give it a look now.
12/23: 2007's Most Memorable TV Dance Moments
The number one video on our list may not be Peyton Manning's most dignified moment, but it's proof that the guy really does not take himself too seriously.
We're on a mission to post one best-of-2007 list each day in December.
That's 31 lists, reviewing all of the greatest, worst and most memorable
entertainment moments of the year.
The Monitor knows it isn't the only game in town. Our 29th list highlights the best of the other 2007 year-end rundowns out there:
Forbes Top Earning 20 Under 25
The Monitor loves that Forbes counts Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen as one person (at number 5).
Best Week Ever's Top 10 Fiercest Things of 2007 We will forgive them for biting our list-a-day concept because this is the only end-of-year list where the number one item is something we've never heard of.
Cinematical's 25 Lamest of 2007
Ignoring The Monitor's maternal advice not to say anything if you don't have anything nice to say, Cinematical lets loose with spot-on takedowns of Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba and Penguins.
Pitchfork Top 50 Albums of 2007 (Individual Lists)
The Monitor can and will spend hours pondering how Amy Phillips can put M.I.A.'s Kala at number one while Andy Battaglia put it at number 3 and Dave Maher didn't even rank it in his top 25. PS: Would it kill Pitchfork to hyperlink the album and artist names?
Culture Bully's 15 Favorite Mashups of 2007
Some mashups are only fun the first time, but the better ones destroy and rebuild song fragments like a liberating pop particle accelerator. This list celebrates the latter.
Mashable's Top 7 Coolest Web Apps of 2007
The beauty of this list is that it interprets "coolest" the way Oscar Wilde interpreted "art": quite useless, and therefore intensly admired.
What year-end lists make your year-end list? Spill 'em right here.
We're on a mission to post one best-of-2007 list each day in December.
That's 31 lists, reviewing all of the greatest, worst and most memorable
entertainment moments of the year.
They may be often overshadowed by reality shows, but game shows are still going strong — and providing plenty of cash, prizes and memorable moments. Here's The Monitor's five favorite videos captured from game shows in the past year.
1. "The Price Is Right"
Drew Carey's first show makes one woman want to cry ... and go to the bathroom.
2. "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?"
Kellie Pickler is not smarter than a 5th grader. Or a 3rd grader. Or a preschooler, for that matter.
Pickler bonus clip: P is for?
3. "The Singing Bee"
Joey Fatone goes from *NSYNC to these dazzling moves. Joey, oh Joey. It's your "Final Countdown."
4. "Sábado Gigante"
Univision's weekly game-show spectacular has always been odd, but we're really beginning to question that strange angry face that Don Francisco makes at contestants.
5. "Family Feud"
Name a country that begins with the letter A. Simple, right? Not when it's a family tradition to confuse countries with continents and cities.
What did we miss? Share your favorite game-show moments right here.
We're on a mission to post one best-of-2007 list each day in December.
That's 31 lists, reviewing all of the greatest, worst and most memorable
entertainment moments of the year.
Are we not in a new golden age of television? The quantity of quality entertainment on the air makes The Monitor almost want to give up books altogether.
NB: This list gets a spoiler alert tag for the highly spoilerphobic, but we've tried to be elliptical so as to preserve the surprise for all those who missed "Mad Men" the first time around. However, read at your own risk.
We're on a mission to post one best-of-2007 list each day in December.
That's 31 lists, reviewing all of the greatest, worst and most memorable
entertainment moments of the year.
Sure, they brought it on themselves to some extent, but there was no way they were expecting this. Here's our list of the top five people who found fame beyond their expectations in 2007 — just not in a way that most people would want.
1. Miss South Carolina Teen USA Caitlin Upton: Tried to: Be a beauty queen. Became Known For: Delivering like, such as, one of the worst interview responses in U.S. American.
2. Sanjaya Malakar Tried To: Bring some real personality to "American Idol." Became Known For: His hair. And unintentionally turning the competition on its ear. The "just OK" singer was staying alive while arguably more talented competitors were being axed. The media credited/blamed VoteForTheWorst.com and Howard Stern, who weren't rooting for Sanjaya so much as using him in an attempt to derail the "American Idol" runaway train.
4. "Big Brother 8" 's Amber Tried To: Win a bunch of money and America's heart.
Became Known For: Spouting offensive and just plain stupid Jewish stereotypes (and, her far lesser evil, dissing New Yorkers). That won her plenty of attention — just not the good kind.
5. The Times Square streaker Tried To: Not be naked in Times Square, according to his side of the story. Josh Drimmer insists that the au naturel outing was not a stunt, and was rather brought on sleep deprivation and a panic attack. Became Known For: A nude stroll up Seventh Avenue, cell phone in hand, immortalized on the cover of the New York Post. Oh yes, and denying that he's a hipster.
We're on a mission to post one best-of-2007 list each day in
December. That's 31 lists, reviewing all of the greatest, worst and
most memorable entertainment moments of the year.
For our 25th list, and in the spirit of the season, we offer some of our favorite New York celebrities presents that they could have really used this year.
To rapper 50 Cent, we give a roll of Scotch Double-Stick Tape, so maybe next time he'll stick to his word.
To Tina Fey, star of the hilarious, beloved "30 Rock," we give an ATM card, so that we never have to watch her AmEx ("No, the other kind of German Shepherds!") ad again.
To Rachael Ray, we give a personal assistant. In her inescapable commercial she reveals that Dunkin' Donuts coffee gives her the energy to do all her Christmas shopping. Rachael Ray: You are an important celebrity with brilliant, important endorsement deals to court. Let your assistant buy the gifts.
Ready to share what you gave and got this year (real and imaginary)? Tell us!
We're on a mission to post one best-of-2007 list each day in
December. That's 31 lists, reviewing all of the greatest, worst and
most memorable entertainment moments of the year.
For better or worse, 2007 may be most remembered for all of the TV we're missing during the WGA strike — late-night talk shows most of all. But cheer up. While we won't be getting them back this year (Will we know it's Christmas without Darlene Love and Dave?) they will be on again for the first days of '08. Here is our list of the Top Five TV Shows Set to Return Despite the Writers Strike:
We're on a mission to post one best-of-2007 list each day in December. That's 31 lists, reviewing all of the greatest, worst and most memorable entertainment moments of the year.
Sometimes in the office we're feeling a little footloose and fancyfree. So in honor of those who think they can dance, make us want to dance and should never, ever dance again for the rest of their lives -- here is our countdown to the Most Memorable TV Dances of the Year: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.<p><p>
5. The Bad: Kate Walsh shows some 'Private' Dancing
4. The Ugly: Marie Osmond Hits the Deck
3. The Bad: Fox 5 NY's Good Day team does the Bad Day:
2. The Good:So You Think You Can Dance's Lacey & Danny made us take dance lessons:
1. The Really, Really Good: Peyton Does the Halftime Jig:
We're on a mission to post one best-of-2007 list each day in
December. That's 31 lists, reviewing all of the greatest, worst and
most memorable entertainment moments of the year.
You may be thinking, "Do they still even make music videos?" Sure. Now that it's so easy to do, there are more of them than ever — just don't expect to see them on MTV. But while quantity is way up, quality seems to have plateaued somewhere around the big-budget song-and-dance clip. Sure, it looks great, but it's nothing new.
With the 23rd list in the series, we salute the five videos that actually made us say "Wow!" this year.
The Go Team: "Junior Kickstart"
How do you make a compelling video for an instrumental? Exactly like this:
Snoop Dogg: "Sensual Seduction"
This may be the greatest thing that Snoop has ever done. And that is certainly saying a lot.
We're on a mission to post one best-of-2007 list each day in
December. That's 31 lists, reviewing all of the greatest, worst and
most memorable entertainment moments of the year.
Whether their reasons are religious, social or none of our business, plenty of people won't be celebrating Christmas over this long weekend — and a whole lot of them will be going to the movies. As a tribute to those who will be hitting up the cinemas instead of hitting Grandma's egg nog, we present a top-five list of 2007 films currently in theaters that we'd totally pay to see over the holiday weekend if we weren't too busy shopping/celebrating/crying/etc.
"Juno"
In the light of Jamie Lynn Spears' pregnancy revelation, talk about this movie is more popular than ever. We were sold by the trailer alone, but all this Ellen Page Oscar buzz makes it even more intriguing. Sounds like a can't-miss movie.
"There Will Be Blood"
If for no other reason than to understand why it's called that — besides the fact that it's a super awesome four-word combination.
"Sweeney Todd"
I'm not sure that I'll ever be ready for a singing, murdering Johnny Depp, but if they build it, I must go.
Spending your days off at the movies? What do you plan to check out? Tell us!
We're on a mission to post one best-of-2007 list each day in
December. That's 31 lists, reviewing all of the greatest, worst and
most memorable entertainment moments of the year.
Our 20th list in the series focuses on all the shocking, appalling, insightful, funny and just plain golden things that celebrities have said in the past 12 months.
"I want to be like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, John Lennon, Jesus. But I want to stay alive" — Madonna in an interview with Sirius' OutQ, February
"Is the world flat? I never thought about it." — Sherri Shepherd on "The View," September
"I used to act dumb. It was an act. I am 26 years old, and that act is no longer cute." — Paris Hilton speaks to Barbara Walters from jail, June
"I'm the Ali of today. I'm the Marvin Gaye of today. I'm the Bob Marley of today. I'm the Martin Luther King, or all the other greats that have come before us. And a lot of people are starting to realize that now." — R. Kelly to XXL's Hip-Hop Soul magazine, May
"For people that dress super-good, this is the music that we listen to. If you don't like it, you probably can't dress that good." — Kanye West explains using a Daft Punk sample for "Stronger," June
"I was preparing a character for a possible movie role where the husband doesn't play his part so they swap places. Unfortunately I didn't get the part. I'm sorry I got carried away with my role! — Britney Spears apologizes for her umbrella attack, July
"Generally, you're attracted to women who look like you, because the most beautiful thing in nature is your own reflection." — Terrence Howard in Elle magazine, September
"I am truly not one to give advice. I'm divorced and I stole my best friend's husband." —
Denise Richards, answering "Extra" 's request to offer words of wisdom to Paris Hilton, July
"Married?! Nooooooooooo! Now I'm going to howl: Oooowwwwwwwwwww!" — Dame Elizabeth Taylor says she has no plans to wed, September
"Let's glorify this day in your sluttiest tops and your tightest pair of tsubi jeans, even though we have no ... clue what Memorial Day really means!! ... There will be a scale at the front door. No girls over 100 pounds allowed in. Start starving yourself now." — Nicole Richie invites friends over for a barbecue, May
We're on a mission to post one best-of-2007 list each day in
December. That's 31 lists, reviewing all of the greatest, worst and
most memorable entertainment moments of the year.
New York is a great place to be if you're famous, as so many people here are way too cool to make a scene over a celebrity. "Ugh," they say, eyes rolling. "Brad Pitt again?"
But many New Yorkers are watching and going out of their way to tell all, sometimes describing in detail the movements of people you wouldn't generally give a second thought.
For a taste of that, check out our list of 2007's Best Random Gawker Stalker Sightings:
January 8, 2007 Fabio at Ono at the Hotel Gansevoort
Fabio really wants to eat someplace that charges $7 for a bowl of steamed rice? Doesn't he know you can get rice free with a $7 lunch special at any corner Chinese?
April 21, 2007 Joey Lawrence at Norma's
Not only did someone manage to recognize Joey Lawrence, but they then took the time to write to Gawker about it. And then someone at Gawker took the time to write up this post. All this time spent on Joey Lawrence: Astounding!
April 28, 2007 Vanilla Ice at McFadden's
All this only seven days after Joey Lawrence ate at Norma's!
May 15, 2007 Billy Crudup in a phone booth
If you're in a phone booth for privacy, Billy Crudup, face AWAY from the street, or else everyone can hear you. To put it in theaterspeak: for once, upstage yourself!
July 24, 2007 Renée Zellweger gives gum to a homeless guy
What, exactly, does she think the homeless guy is going to do with the gum? Wouldn't actual food be a better act of altruism?
August 13, 2007 "The Hills"' LC in a cab
I can't believe Teen Vogue sent that whiny princess to Paris. Where's your backbone, Lisa Love?
September 27, 2007 Carrot Top buying a salad
No, I'm sorry. At this point, I actually feel bad for this guy. Whatever drove him to the 'roids and the plastic surgery and the overfamiliarity with a Tweezerman, it must haunt his dreams nightly.
October 22, 2007 Steve Guttenberg on 50th and 7th
Please, Quentin Tarantino, by all that is holy: give the Gutes a Travolta-style career makeover. Insert "Cocoon" joke at your discretion.
November 4, 2007 Michael Cera on Greenwich St
Gawker is worried he might be the next Zach Braff; The Monitor shows its age by worrying he might be the next Robby Benson. Not that Robby Benson is unhappy, but he is a vegan living on a farm in North Carolina writing books about how messed up Hollywood is.
Did you spot David Paymer at Grey's Papaya? Was the mom from "Mr. Belvedere" sitting in front of you at a screening of "No Country for Old Men?" Don't keep it to yourself!
We're on a mission to post one best-of-2007 list each day in December. That's 31 lists, reviewing all of the greatest, worst and most memorable entertainment moments of the year.
Yesterday, we highlighted the year's biggest splits, but goodbye isn't always forever. Today, here's a happier look at the Top 7 Celebrity Makeups. Thanks, guys. You've reunited and we feel so good.
Isaac and Shauvon, "The Real World Sydney"
OK, I admit that Isaac from "The Real World: Sydney" is my favorite of the seven strangers in a very long time. But I promise, his "let's make up" speech (seriously, watch it) redefines apology, and you don't have to know who any of these people are to enjoy it.
And don't forget the musicians!
The Police Wow, was it only January that this was still a probably-maybe-we're-almost certain rumor? By February, they took it to the Grammys and then the road. And look how happy their fans are!
We're on a mission to post one best-of-2007 list each day in December. That's 31 lists, reviewing all of the greatest, worst and most memorable entertainment moments of the year.
Every year, a bunch of people hook up and a bunch of people break up. And sometimes, just sometimes, we actually care. For our 17th list in the series, we take a look back at the top 7 breakups that captured our attention in the past 12 months — some scandalous, some strange, some just sad.
1. Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz
But they seemed so good together! After close to four years as a couple, JT and Cam called it quits early this year. And a nation's celebrityreporters rejoiced.
2. Joe Torre and the Yankees
Whether you thought the longtime manager's exit was inevitable or not, the sight of Joe in a Dodgers uniform was still a shocker.
5. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams
They met while making "The Notebook." How perfect is that? "People do Rachel and me a disservice by assuming we were anything like the people in that movie," Gosling said in an interview with GQ after the split. "Rachel and my love story is a hell of a lot more romantic than that." And a lot shorter, too.
7. Lauren and Heidi of "The Hills" Lauren hates her roommate Heidi's boyfriend, Spencer. Heidi moves out. Spencer probably spreads a sex-tape rumor about Lauren. The former BFFs now appear to be irrevocably over. If you don't think this one counts, you've never lost a best friend — even a pretty bad one.
What's your favorite celebrity breakup of 2007? Is there an ex-couple that you'd love to see reconcile? Are you way too involved in other people's personal lives too? Spill it!
We're on a mission to post one best-of-2007 list each day in December. That's 31 lists, reviewing all of the greatest, worst and most memorable entertainment moments of the year.
Full disclosure: I am one of those people who watches "Saturday Night Live" every week and laughs. If there weren't a writers strike on, and NBC had aired a new show last night instead of repeating last year's magical Justin Timberlake Christmas episode, I'd surely spend too much of today talking about something hilarious that happened during the broadcast. Instead, I'll take this opportunity to call out the Top 7 Actually Funny SNL Moments of 2007.
January 17, 2007
Jake Gyllenhaal's "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" monologue:
February 3, 2007
"Body Fusion"
March 24, 2007
"Maraka"
April 21, 2007
"Roy Rules"
September 29, 2007
Kanye West Spoofs His Own Award-Show Tantrums
October 13, 2007 "Iran So Far"
November 3, 2007 "The Brian Diaries"
What made you laugh this year? Don't keep it to yourself!
12/1: 
12/23: 
"The Office"
2. Sanjaya Malakar
3. "American Idol" 's Crying Girl, 
4. "Big Brother 8" 's Amber 
5. The Times Square streaker
September 27, 2007
Jessica Alba and Cash Warren
Pamela Anderson and Rick Salomon
Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler
Isaac and Shauvon, "The Real World Sydney"
Led Zeppelin
Spice Girls
1. Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz
2. Joe Torre and the Yankees
3. Kate Moss and Pete Doherty
4. Dita Von Teese and Marilyn Manson
6. Hulk Hogan and Linda Bollea
7. Lauren and Heidi of "The Hills"