There were goodbyes (Jon Stewart, David Letterman, “Mad Men”) and hellos (Adele!). “Star Wars” reawakened, and a ballerina and an unheralded Founding Father both hit the zeitgeist. But the pop-culture moment that fascinated us most? That had to be the emergence of Caitlyn Jenner.
Herewith, our annual, very selective trip down pop culture memory lane:
January
Remember we began the year talking about North Korea? At the GOLDEN GLOBES, Tina Fey welcomes the TV audience to honor “all the movies that North Korea was OK with” — a reference to the Sony hacking story striking fear across the land (or at least La La Land.) But by next month, we’re talking about …
February
… #OscarsSoWhite. The Twitter hashtag protests the fact that all the Oscar acting nominees are white; “Selma” director Ava DuVernay is snubbed along with star David Oyelowo. At the ceremony, prominent honorees speak out for voting rights, gender equality in Hollywood, and privacy from government snooping. Meanwhile on TV, the swift downfall of “NBC Nightly News” anchor BRIAN WILLIAMS begins when he’s suspended for making misleading statements about his role in news stories.
March
We’ll still have our nightly JON STEWART fix till August, but we learn that a little-known, 31-year-old South African comic, TREVOR NOAH, will succeed him. In Hollywood news, HARRISON FORD, 73, crashes his vintage plane into a golf course. Luckily for him — and for “Star Wars” fans — dashing Han Solo will make a full recovery.