The year in pop culture: Television

One of the biggest TV spectacles
of 2012 focused on a chubby redneck jacked up on Mountain Dew who is
prone to throwing tantrums. But enough about Toronto Mayor Rob Ford (we kid!). The
description also fits Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson, whose TLC reality
show was the year’s guilty pleasure.

Former reality train wreck Jersey Shore was put out of our misery in 2012 after six seasons of GTL and, undoubtedly, STDs.

The
thought of a Kardashian-free year was too much to hope for. Kim, fresh
off her long and fulfilling marriage to Kris Humphries, heated things up
with new boyfriend Kanye West (the rapper even showed up at The Bay in
downtown Toronto in May to support Kim’s jewelry collection launch) and
capped off the year by announcing they’re having a baby. Kourtney had
another child, daughter Penelope, with Scott Disick. Khloe remained with
basketball player Lamar Odom and got a job co-hosting The X-Factor.

Fans of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette had plenty to talk about in 2012. Why the long face, Brad Smith? Canada’s first Bachelor
found love with nurse Bianka Kamber. South of the border, Ben Flajnik
and Courtney Robertson called off their engagement, as did Emily Maynard
and Jef Holm. The show’s host Chris Harrison split from his wife of 18
years.

Here are some other memorable moments from the year on TV:

Sunny day, dark days… 

Not everything was A-OK on Sesame Street in 2012. In August, the man who voiced Sesame Street’s Count Von Count and, err, countless characters on The Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock, passed away after years of suffering from emphysema. Jerry Nelson was 78.

Big
Bird had his feathers ruffled in October when U.S. presidential
candidate Mitt Romney vowed to kill funding for PBS, which airs Sesame Street.
A lot of people took it as a declaration of war against the loveable
oversized canary even though Romney actually said: “I love Big Bird.”

And speaking of puppet love, Kevin Clash – the voice of Elmo – resigned from Sesame Street
in November after several men came forward alleging Clash asked them to
do a lot more than tickle him when they were underage. “Personal
matters have diverted attention away from the important work Sesame Street
is doing and I cannot allow it to go on any longer,” Clash said in a
statement. “I am deeply sorry to be leaving and am looking forward to
resolving these personal matters privately.”

Clearly, Sesame Street was brought to us in 2012 by the letters W, T and F.

If anyone knows how to act like a woman in peril… 

Ashley Judd, who came to Toronto in March to promote her moribund show Missing,
took to Twitter to criticize a local blogger who accosted her at the
airport. “I am sorry you think it appropriate to find out someone’s
personal travel details and then show up & harass them,” the actress
tweeted, calling the blogger’s behaviour “a total boundary violation
and inappropriate.” Snap!

I believe you’re talking too much… 

The
opening ceremonies of the London Olympics were a spectacle, indeed, but
Americans had to watch them online because NBC decided not to broadcast
them live. In Canada, CTV showed the ceremonies in real time but
sparked a social media furor by allowing co-hosts Lisa LaFlamme and
Brian Williams to interrupt performances and talk over each other during
the parade of nations. “They forgot to turn off Lisa LaFlamme and Brian
Williams mics,” tweeted Darren Menezes (@DarrenMenezes). Added Scott
Feschuk (@scottfeschuk): “I will give you $20 to make Brian Williams and
Lisa LaFlamme just stop.” Mark Connolly (@MarkConnollyCBC) chimed in:
“Does Lisa LaFlamme realize she has a co-host in the booth with her?
Just askin’.” The co-hosts also struggled with facts. LaFlamme called
London 2012 the “first Twitter Games” even though the social media tool
was widely used during the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. She also
claimed Britain’s Sir Tim Berners-Lee “invented the Internet”. In fact,
he invented the World Wide Web. Things didn’t improve during the parade
of nations. LaFlamme suggested the athletes from Angola had only two
days to adjust to the time zone difference – despite the fact Angola and
London are currently in the same time zone. Tweeted Guy Spurrier
(@grspur): “It actually sounded like she knew it was wrong just as she
said it.”

Wait, this isn’t your homeland… 

There was plenty of buzz around actress Claire Danes in 2012 thanks to her role on the acclaimed TV series Homeland.
But the Golden Globe and Emmy-winning actress decided to avoid the
Hollywood spotlight by staying in Toronto, where hubby Hugh Dancy has
been filming the forthcoming TV series Hannibal. The great Danes’ year ended with the December 17 birth of the couple’s first child, Cyrus.

Big losses for the small screen… 

A
lot of very talented TV personalities were lost in 2012, notably: Jack
Klugman, James Farentino, Sherman Helmsley, Don Cornelius, Dick Clark,
Winston Rekert, Gary Collins, Mike Wallace and Larry Hagman.