On behalf of Ace, I apologize for our absence of late. We've been busy. Very busy...

Busy bringing spectacularity to the world!

And apparently someone else has been busy, too — busy scaling walls and jumping on cars and down stairwells and onto conveniently placed gymnastic bars in beautifully lit parking garages. I speak of Little J herself, Ms. Taylor Momsen, seen in the video above escaping a horde of paparazzi (Aaaaaand no) by masterfully channeling her inner Nastia Liukin.

The star of Gossip Girl — the greatest thing to happen to my TV since Zack Attack — is also filmed sporting a totally inconspicuous pair of not-at-all-fluourescent Nike tennis shoes.... that Ace suddenly must have.

10. Becki Newton and MIchael Urie - Ugly Betty

9.  Joshua and Katee, So You Think You Can Dance - "No Air" - Not only did the routine, choreographed by stand-out SYTYCD newcomers Tabitha and Napolean, become a YouTube sensation, it also commenced a 10-week run that established the unlikely favorites as the two to beat on 2008's season of the most legitimate dance competition on TV.

8. Sandra Oh and Kevin McKidd (Drs. Yang and Hunt, respectively) - Grey's Anatomy.Because they're the only reasons we're still watching. And because we're hanging on every word they say despite the fact that they've used a combined total of four monosyllables since they began swapping spit back in episode 2 of the new season. 

9. The Cast of The Paper

One of the little known gems of the 2008 season, the red-headed step child of MTV's The Hills tracked a class of high school seniors through their final year in Journalism class. Awkward, pretentious and oozing of self-importance, these real life teenagers evoked curious similarities to their elder statesmen at MTV. But told through the point of view of over-achiever and Editor in Chief Amanda  — an outsider looking for an in to the cool clique — the sorta-documentary gave us a sometimes-embarrassing but mostly just hilarious reminder of our own days working for the student newspaper. 

7. Jimmy Smits - Dexter - HIs Season 3 arc gave the show a much-needed injection of thespian style. As Smitts chewed his way through Dexter's back-alley MIami scene scapes, star Michael C. Hall rose to his first real challenge since the show began shooting: going head-to-head with an actor who knows how to own a scene as well as he does.

6. Amy Ryan and Steve Carell (Holly and Michael) — The Office - Perhaps the most clever comic pairing since Carrell and Rain Wilson on, well, this show, their inside jokes, intermitent rap sessions and middle school-like courtship had us asking 'What's a Jan?' Here's hoping the show reconsiders her move to a new office and brings her back sooner rather than later.

5. Christian Siriano - Project Runway -  Who knew the endless bitchery of this diminutive diva would turn endearing halfway through the show's most engaging season yet? Seriously, who else could convince your mom that "fierce" is an appropriate word for casual conversation? That ain't easy. Ask Tyra  — she had tried, y'all. This miniature-sized caricature of a fashion designer not only proved to possess talent far beyond his years, his quick wit and quotable one-liners might just have earned him enough good will to keep a few of us watching as he attempts to prove himself as more than a 15-minute distraction.

4. The Olympics -- Highlights: Michael Phelps; Eight gold medals; Illogical scoring of Mens/Women's Gymnastics; Alicia Sacremone; Chinese toddlers as gymnasts; Swimming; Michael Phelps; his mother Debbie. Debbie Phelps. Michael. Phelps. Nastia! Keebler Elf. And last, but most certainly not least, Ryan Lochte!! And oh yeah, Debbie Phelps. 

(For the record: We love Debbie. We want her to read us a bedtime story and tuck us in at night.)

3. Chelsea Handler - We don't know where she's been all our lives, but we're glad we found her this year. Handler rudely takes us where no late night host has taken us before, devouring celebrity culture as if it were a fresh bag of vodka-soaked Cheetos on her E! talkshow Chelsea Lately. With a rotating panel of comedians to set 'em up, she spends every weeknight hittin' 'em straight at the very celebutards her network lives for. Good thing she's shackin' up with the head honcho there at E!...! (We point that out only because we know she'd love us for it.)

2. The Women of SNL - Tina fey, Kristen Wiig and Amy Poehler - If we have to say any more than that, you deserve to be sassed by the Target (pronounced: ter~git) lady.


1. Ed Weswick and Leighton Meester (Chuck Bass and Blair Waldorf) - Gossip Girl - I'll let them doing the talking...

Yes, that's the Best Show Ever up there, but will it be number one? Read on to find out.

Without further adieu and with a subtle tribute to one of the iconic shows of our generation, here are our picks for the best episodes of our favorite TV shows in 2008: 

10. 
Weeds - "The Three Coolers" - the one when they sit shiva, nancy beats the crap out of Celia and the show (temporarily) taps into the comic heart that made us love it three years ago.
Season 4, Episode 3

9.
Office - "Weight Loss" - the one when Kelly passes out. That is all. 
Season 5, Episode 1

8.
Fringe - “The Equation” - the one when it finally got interesting. 
Season 1, Episode 8

7.
Dexter - "Sí Se Puede" - the one when Dexter tests Miguel and Miguel proves his salt. So we think. 
Season 3, Episode 6 

6.
Secret Diary of a Call Girl - "Pilot" - the one that convinced us we wanted to know a lot about high class call girls. 
Season 1, Episode 1

5.
30 Rock - "Rosemary's Baby" - The one where Alec Baldwin achieves pop cultural immortality with a five minute reenactment of Tracy's childhood.
Season 2, Episode 4 

4.
Lost - "The Constant" - The one when Despond reunites (in real time..?) with Penny. 
 Season 4, Episode 5

3.
Mad Men - "A NIght to Remember" - the one when Joan gets to work like a man and Betty kicks Don out. Finally. 'Nuff said. 
Season 2, Episode 8

2.
We have a tie! Between the Best Show Ever and the Best Show Ever!

Gossip Girl - "Chuck in Real Life" - the one where Blaire won't say it and so Chuck won't give it up; the "long" joke I'm still not sure I get; the second, most excruciating "3 words, 8 letters" ever spoken; and the note-perfect homage to "Cruel Intentions" (but not Dangerous Liaisons). 

Gossip GIrl -  "Summer Kind of Wonderful" - the one in the Hamptons, with all the green; "Papparazi"; the first "3 words, 8 letters"; and the introduction of Vitamin water as the go-to beverage for all Gossip Girlers worlwide.
Season 2, Episodes 7 and 1, respectively

1.
The Office - "Customer Survey" - the one with the tiniest bluetooth; Kelly sabotages Jim and Dwight's Reviews; and Dwight freaks the eff out on a fake customer call.   
Season 5, Episode 6

Photoshop Victim and woman-scorned Jennifer Aniston topped off a banner month yesterday, scoring the best Christmas day opening ever at the box office.

Marley and Me (which, a few journalists have noted, also stars Owen Wilson) opened to $14.5 million yesterday, beating Anniston ex-husband and ageless superhuman Brad Pitt's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which grossed an estimated $11.5 million.

...All of this, despite Aniston's admitting to the ladies of "The View" this week that a recent GQ cover, in which she was featured nude, had been  — gasp! — Photoshopped. On top of all that, In Touch headlines read "The Feud Gets Worse: Angelina is Furious as Jen Makes Fun of her Kids" and OK announces to the world — as if we weren't already aware — that Jen is "Obsessed with Angie!"

Somebody's publicist has been working overtime to make sure her name stays planted firmly in the fore of your mind through 2009 (I'll tell you why later). So, hats off to you, Mr. Huvane, for embracing such a Clintonian approach to media relations at exactly the time your girl needed it most.

TBC...

Happy Holidays,
- Blitz(en)

(From Comcast)


(And Blitz...)

Because tomorrow, my dear, we say goodbye

The singer of "Santa Baby," Eartha Kitt, died on Christmas.... of all days.  Kitt also was known for her role as Catwoman on the TV version of Batman in the 1960s.

Video of Kitt performing the famed hit, which JUST went gold last week, included below.

--Ace