Was this the year where fact and fiction tended to blur together?
In the book world, one author claimed his memoirs were valid even if they weren't literally true. In film, we laughed at the antics of a randy, offensive, anti-Semitic journalist - we knew Borat was fake, but his co-stars didn't (or did they?) When two celebrities drew attention for truly offensive comments - anti-Semitic in one case, racist in the other - they told us it wasn't the "real them," in essence. And on YouTube, fans were crushed to learn that a lonely girl they'd come to love was just an actress playing a role.
Perhaps it's impossible to enforce a theme upon a whole year of popular culture. But it's fun to look back. Join us for a chronological journey of things that made us talk in 2006...
January
In the first seconds of Jan. 1, we're greeted by a beloved icon, Dick Clark, ringing in the New Year at Times Square as he has so many times - only now he's struggling from aftereffects of a stroke. His words are slurred, his posture stiff, but his cadence is brisk and assured. Some critics imply he shouldn't have shown up, but many people - fellow stroke survivors especially - are inspired.
Inspiring isn't the word to describe author James Frey's halting, remorseful appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." But it's riveting television: Winfrey, angry, tearful and embarrassed, lambasting Frey for fabricating chunks of "A Million Little Pieces," his so-called memoir and her book-club choice. He says the book felt true to him. "I feel duped," she says, and apologizes to viewers for having defended Frey at first: "I left the impression that the truth is not important."
February
Late-night comics must feel like it's Christmas and their birthday all rolled into one when Vice President Dick Cheney has his famous hunting accident, shooting a friend in the torso, neck and face. If you believe in karma, this marks the beginning of a bad year for the GOP.
March
"Crash" wins the best-picture Oscar in a surprise victory over "Brokeback Mountain." Other best-picture nominees were "Capote," "Good Night, and Good Luck" and the assassination thriller "Munich."
Lead-acting prizes went to Philip Seymour Hoffman as author Truman Capote in "Capote" and Reese Witherspoon as country singer June Carter in "Walk the Line," while corporate thrillers earned supporting-performer Oscars for George Clooney in "Syriana" and Rachel Weisz in "The Constant Gardener."
April
Those who dreaded the day they'd do a movie version of Sept. 11 breathe a sigh of relief: Paul Greengrass' "United 93" turns out to be a harrowing but honest and skillful portrayal of one of that day's horror stories. In other words, it's real - a refreshing affirmation that some things need no adornment at all. A key FAA operations manager even appears as himself.
On a different note, the celebrity baby craze hits a new high with the birth of Suri Cruise. The infant immediately drives gossip editors crazy by not appearing in public for months. Some ask: Does Suri even exist? Later in the year, she finally bursts forth on the cover of September's "Vanity Fair."
May
The genetically blessed Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, offspring of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, is born in Namibia, instantly raising the profile of this small African nation and briefly sparking (false) rumors that Britney Spears will also give birth there.
June
How do you get yourself booked onto every talk show in town? Insulting women who lost their husbands at the World Trade Center is one way. The brash, blond conservative pundit Ann Coulter outdoes even herself in "Godless: The Church of Liberalism," where she writes: "I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much." The book spawns a new trend in revenge literature: "Soulless," "Brainless" and "I Hate Ann Coulter" all come out later in the year.
July
An inebriated movie star spews anti-Semitic slurs at the cop who pulled him over for drunken driving - but that wasn't really me, Mel Gibson says in one of the year's many nonapology apologies; it was the booze talking.
August
The movie "Snakes on a Plane" debuts after much Internet buzz. It's nice to have buzz; what the film doesn't have, though, is "People in the Theaters."
September
Speaking of buzz, Katie Couric finally makes her debut on the "CBS Evening News," the first female sole anchor of a network evening newscast. But after big ratings driven by curiosity, Couric sinks into the program's usual third-place slot, where it remains.
Some YouTube followers of the young Lonelygirl15 are crushed to discover that she isn't the authentic teenager whose life they'd been following, but actually an actress hired to play the part. But isn't that the point of Internet fame - it's democratic (it could be you or me tomorrow) and it's heady, but sometimes it just isn't ... real?
October
Speaking of YouTube, it's only fair that one of the biggest business stories of the year is the wildly popular online video site - after all, it was YouTube that captured so many of the year's other stories for the world to see. It's a marriage of two of the most indispensable names on the Web when Google Inc. agrees to buy the site for $1.65 billion.
November
Britney Spears - let's face it, folks, she's our pop culture champion, hands down. She's in the news this year for every mommy foible imaginable, down to almost tripping on her espadrilles and dropping little Sean Preston. But in November, she tops it all by finally leaving Kevin Federline.
Then there's Michael Richards, aka Cosmo Kramer of "Seinfeld," whose racist rant at heckling black fans shocks everyone. "I am not a racist," he says in an awkward appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman," while pundits debate whether his remarks could come from someone who isn't.
And when is an apology not an apology at all, but a cynical act of self-preservation? Some are saying that about a chastened Rupert Murdoch, head of News Corp., who bows to a universal wave of disgust and shelves a TV interview and book by O.J. Simpson entitled (speaking of cynical) "If I Did It."
December
The phenomenon that is "Borat," which started in November, continues as the movie keeps drawing in audiences and gets a Golden Globe nomination. Star Sacha Baron Cohen, continues to make TV appearances in character.
The movie, a surprise hit, falls into that murky space between truth and fiction. We know Borat is fake, but what of all the secondary characters drawn into his wacky, R-rated world? Were they playing along, or were they in the dark? Some have sued Cohen's film company, saying they were duped. Others, like "Baywatch" star Pamela Anderson, won't say whether they knew or not.
And as the year comes to a close, there's comfort for those who crave consistency. Tune in on Dec. 31 and you'll see - who else? - Dick Clark, greeting the new year for the 34th time.
