AML Top 10 Pop Culture Moments of 2007

My faithful readers will know that I’ve gone nuts with the Top 10 lists lately to close up the year 2007. We’ve gone over the best Christmas movies, the best Network TV shows and my favorite Cable shows.

And in the words of Al Pacino from Scent of a Woman…”I’m not FINISHED!”

Now it’s time for a fun little overview of the Top 10 moments in Pop Culture this year.

What do I define as a pop culture moment? Well, anything that was in movies, television, books or music that stood out or was a stupendous achievement. An actor, a scene, a song, a book, a music video, an episode of a TV show, etc. None of this Britney, Lindsey Lohan crap.

I’m talking good stuff.

It was such a blast to try and remember everything awesome that has happened this year and I really hope some of these items bring back fond memories.

Enjoy.

Top 10 Pop Culture Moments of 2007

10. Hey There Delilah - Plain White Tees

I don’t know why, but this little love song from the Plain White Tees was really a big hit with me. I hate to like it because I heard it played everywhere, but frak, I can’t help it. Great little song. The lyrics are meaningful, the tune quiet and sorrowful. Right up my alley.

You can watch the video below:

[youtube EbJtYqBYCV8]

9. The rooftop chase in Bourne Ultimatum

The entire movie was an exciting thrill ride, but the scene in which Jason Bourne chases an assassin, who is after Julia Stiles, across the rooftops of Tangier was stomach wrenching fun. Just the work that went into choreographing that entire sequence must have been daunting, but they pulled it off so well, it’s one of the best ever.

8. 30 Rock product placements

30 Rock has been one of the most cleverly written comedies on TV lately, always witty and smart. Tina Fey has done a remarkable job in keeping it fresh and funny, yet this season they took it to another level.

Product placements are usually annoying, which makes us turned off to the whole idea of advertising. But 30 Rock changed all that by not only making it totally and beyond obvious what they were doing, but by making them a comedy bit in of itself.

See the below YouTube video for what I mean. There were more of these this season, but this was the funniest.

[youtube d36wUmJGzvA]

7. Ted Danson as Arthur Frobisher

I wrote a lot about Damages this past summer and fall, and all if it was warranted. The writing was awesome, the pace of the show always seemed to be like a John Grisham novel and the outcome was completely satisfying.

Damages had a great cast too, with Glenn Close, Rose Byrne and Tate Donovan, but it really seemed like it was Ted Danson who made the season. I’m putting him at #7 for basically changing my whole opinion of him and totally blowing away the stereotype I placed on him before the show started of being a pretty lame actor who makes bad choices.

He was cast perfectly as a corrupt CEO who sold his company’s stock before informing the stockholders, thus creating a lawsuit of massive proportions. Danson balanced perfectly the air of fake innocence with the reality of being an evil man.

6. Glen Hansard and Market Irglova singing Falling Slowly in Once

Once just came out on DVD this past week and I oozed love for it all over the place. I talked a bit about the scene in the movie towards the beginning where the man and woman who star in the film, meet for the first time and then decide to play some music together over a lunch hour.

The results are one of the most amazing scenes in all of 2007 cinema.

If you are planning on renting the movie, I suggest skipping the video below, because the overall effect of it may be better experienced for the first time in the flow of the film.

[youtube XzQRuTwaFI8]

5. Discovering Four of the Five Cylons

The season finale of Battlestar Galactica was a two-hour thrill ride, culminating in the discovery of Four of the Final Five Cylons. The method of revelation was pretty cool and the way they all met in the same place and knew what they were was chilling.

Here’s to discovering the Fifth and Final Cylon this coming final season.

4. Jan’s boob job on The Office

There was hardly a better moment this year on The Office than when Michael Scott tried to stay broken up with Jan, but when he went in to say no, she presented him with two new “arguments” in her favor.

It was one of the most hilarious scenes of the year, leading to one of the best lines ever uttered by Michael:

“Your advice was good, hers’ were bigger.”

3. The Sopranos series finale

I’ve never seen more than half an episode of this show, but it was obvious what the finale of the series did to all their die-hard fans out there, how it was abrupt and caused endless speculation and discussion.

And I’ve seen the final moments at least half a dozen times and it’s been replicated all over the place, even on The Mayne Event on Sunday NFL Countdown. It was obviously a huge moment this past year in the television world. Heck, I feel like I was a part of it and never even saw the episode.

2. Reading The Deathly Hallows

One of the greatest events this year was the release of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, the conclusion of the Potter story, the seventh and final book. It was absolutely fantastic, a great read and one I did the weekend it came out. It was one of the most fun things I did this year, hunkering down for a long weekend of book reading, unable to put it down and going straight for hours at a time.

A perfect ending to the series, one I’ll never forget.

1. The finale of Lost, season 3

The end of the first season of Lost was great. They look down the hatch, with no clue what’s in store for them. Then the season premiere of the second year blew your mind. You had a tough time thinking it could be topped, but then season two ended with the realization that people were looking for them. One in particular.

So you get floored once again. And you don’t think it will happen a third time.

But then they go and give us probably the best season finale to date. The final moment with Jack and “someone else” brought to light a shocking fact about what you had been watching for the last two hours and had no clue. They flipped the series upside down and changed everything.

And now I think there is nothing they can do to compare with it again.

I’m sure I’ll be wrong.

 — 

There you go with another Top 10 list to satisfy your cravings. What were the best moments for you this year? Do you agree with my list?

(Oh, and expect one more list…if I can find the time to do it. We’ve done a lot of GOOD things this year…now it’s time for the BAD. )