Well, 2008 has certainly been an exciting year for entertainment. There’s been an end to the writer’s strike but the looming threat of one for actors. There’s been box office records and bombs. Struggling numbers for TV that make many question how ratings are calculated and wondering if the Neilson system needs to go. There have been celebrity births and deaths, weddings and divorces, hookups and breakups. So where does one go to remember all of this? What’s Hot has got it covered.
MSNBC’s Year in Review is quite extensive with stories, slideshows and videos wrapping up the year. TV Guide’s Best of the Year is an easily accessible guide of photo galleries summing up what they loved best. People’s The Best of is a little more eclectic but still fun nonetheless. And then Entertainment Weekly has massive photo galleries of their Best and Worst of everything from movies to television to books and video games.
As for this blogger, it really has been an interesting year. The writer’s strike abbreviated a lot of seasons and some shows fared better than others. In my opinion Bones tried to do too much with the Gormagon story and the resolution to that left many fans (from what I’ve seen) flailing in disbelief. The returning fourth season has left a lot of fans cold with its uneveness. House had a two-parter that left a lot of fans in tears. Heroes made a mess of it’s second season and despite a promising beginning to the third, it’s still struggling. Maybe the return of Bryan Fuller will make a difference. Fuller’s Pushing Daisies never found favor with ABC executives despite a rabid fanbase. Desperate Housewives and Lost both used a flash forward storyline to revive interest. Let’s hope the new year is better for all.
Movies, well, I only got to see two in the theater so I really can’t comment on the success of certain flicks (The Dark Knight) versus others (The X-Files: I want to believe). But the year in celebrity news showed the true power of the internet to me. I remember sitting here at my computer in January when my best friend IMed me about Heath Ledger. It started a frenzy on LiveJournal and other blogging sites before the major news networks had a hold of this story. News in action, mourning in progress. It was a heady experience.
So, what’s in store for What’s Hot in 2009? Possible liveblogging of the Globes and Oscars first off. More of the scoops and gossip you’ve come to expect. Here’s to a fun and exciting new year!
