First up, the critics at The New Yorker.
Anthony Lane, Richard Brody, and David Denby each took a look back at the best films of the year. Among his top ten, Denby selected Adventureland, a film that I really loved and meant to write about when I first saw it, but which I somehow never managed to get around to mentioning!
Last year, I seem to recall that I'd only seen one of the films picked by these guys, so I'm doing better this time around since I also saw Up, another of Denby's selections, and Star Trek, which Lane mentions.
Nancy Franklin has a look back at the year in TV. While discussing everything from President Obama's inaguration to Tom Delay on Dancing With the Stars, Franklin also mentions the over the top reaction to Adam Lambert's AMA performance:
The “American Idol” runner-up, not the first gay contestant but the first to “do” anything gay, performed on the American Music Awards, on ABC, and went a little over the top, kissing a male dancer and mimicking oral sex. Then, on CBS’s “Early Show,” a replay of the kiss was fuzzed out (as was the oral-sex bit), as if this were 1909 and not 2009. Then ABC disinvited Lambert from Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show (sorry if I’m laughing at the idea that Kimmel’s show upholds any standard other than mediocrity) and “Good Morning America,” and a tentative booking on “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” was scotched. No one knows exactly where the line is anymore when it comes to what you can say and show on TV, but, wherever it is, it’s already been a crossed many times in recent years by headline-hungry heterosexuals acting in terrible taste. There’s a word for CBS’s and ABC’s hot-potato treatment of Lambert, and it’s either “hypocrisy” or “homophobia.”
James Wood covers the year in books, none of which I've read. But then, I don't tend to read all that many books the year they come out. I think the only books I've read in 2009 that actually came out this year were Judy Shepard's moving book, The Meaning of Matthew and The Angel's Game, Carlos Ruiz Zafon's follow up to Shadow of the Wind. The latter only counts as a 2009 book in its English translation, of course.
Hilton Als has a look at the year's best in theatre and Claudia Roth Pierpoint has a list of the top ten cultural events of the year, which includes a range of things from short story collections to ballet performances.
There is a comprehensive list of all the year end picks in many other categories if you'd like to check that out.
Playbill has a list of the Top Theatre Stories of the year as well as a look back on the Broadway stars who left us this year.
Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello picks his Best Of in Television for the year, including Glee's Jane Lynch as Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy. Ken Tucker made his picks for the ten best shows on TV this year (Glee was at number 9, while Modern Family was at number 3) and also the five worst shows.
Roger Ebert picks the year's best films, and once again I've seen none of them! What was I doing all year?
If you're a soap fan, Daytime Confidential has their picks of this years 10 Best Soap Couples (with LGBT couples leading the pack, Kish at number 2 and Guiding Light's Otalia at number 1) and 10 Worst Soap Couples. Semi-LGBT couple Rafe and Adam from The Young and the Restless made this list as the number 1 worst soap couple of the year.
Michael Fairman picked the year's 20 Worst Soap Moments and they included several LGBT related stories. Coming in as the number one worst soap moment of the year? The Z Twins on As the World Turns. Also making the list was the much bemoaned Bianca and Reese storyline on All My Children and the badly executed Rafe and Adam storyline on The Young and the Restless. Y&R also made the list for the botched return of Philip Chancellor III.
Fairman also picked the 20 Best Soap Moments, of course. Number 2 on that list was Olivia confessing her love to Natalia on Guiding Light, while Kyle telling Fish he loved him at the gay group wedding on One Life to Live made number 12. Philip's initial return and revelation that he was gay on The Young and the Restless made number 17 on Fairman's best of list, even though the subsequent story made the Worst of list.
That's probably enough list-mania for now!
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