We hope that we have managed to entertain you over the past year and we look forward to continuing to do so in 2012.
2011 was a terrific year for the fan of people watching, from a wrestler in the hospital to a British Royal wedding there was something to keep just about everyone entertained and our top 10 entertainment story list for 2011 is proof positive of that.
As we compiled this list there were some stories that we just knew would make the list and others that surprised even us. Then there were those stories that we thought would be a shoe-in (Where are those Kardashians?) that didn't make an appearance at all. Check out the listing and let us know if we missed any of your favorite entertainment stories from 2011 in the comments down below.
10. Saying goodbye to WRNX, innovative western Massachusetts radio station
Local music reviewer Donnie Moorhouse weighed in on his old job as a DJ for WRNX radio as they closed their doors and shut down their signal and said their final on-air farewell. Our readers weighed in as well with over 100 comments sharing their stories and memories of the popular station.
9. Glee: A look at Santana and Karofsky’s struggles
The television show Glee proved popular not only on television but The Republican’s blogger, Samantha Stephens built quite a following for her reviews, interviews and insight into everything ‘Glee.’
8. Valley Food Championship Burger Battle: Help us pick which restaurants to review
Everyone loves a good burger, well, almost everyone, and you came out in force to help The Republican decide which local restaurants have your favorite burger on their menus. Stay tuned with this one folks, the winner of the best burger is still to be determined!
7. ‘Big Brother’ spoilers: Final head of household competition
Apparently Ray Kelly did a terrific job of spoiling the final 'head of household' competition for a lot people because this post came in at number 8 and a couple of other ‘Big Brother’ stories also came in within the top 20 headlines. Go figure.
6. Wrestler Scott Hall hospitalized for health issues, not overdose
Despite rumors indicating a drug overdose, professional wrestler "The Bad Guy," Scott Hall, was hospitalized in Fall River, Mass. for a legitimate health issue. Wrestling since the ‘80s, Hall has a large following of wrestling fans that waxed nostalgic upon the news of his illness.
5. Donna LaCroix debunks the Ghost Hunters
The paranormal community is becoming more well-known for its internal feuds every day and nothing is more indicative of this than a piece written by producer Laura Merwin way back in 2009 that is still drawing in huge numbers of readers. Can you blame them? Everybody loves to read about a messy family feud and the TAPS team over on the Ghost Hunters former researcher and ‘little sister’ Donna laid it on thick with the plumbers wrench in an internet ‘talk show.’ A nice friendly game of ‘Clue’ did not ensue but word is that the producers of the show nearly did.
4. Miss Universe 2011 winner is Miss Angola Leila Lopes
Popular opinion here at MassLive.com is that everyone was intrigued that such a far-flung country such as Angola would take the Miss Universe title, well that, or it was the fantastic photo galleries that accompanied this story that made it so popular with our readers. Either way, Miss Angola got a lot of attention in 2011. A lot of attention.
3. New Microsoft Xbox 720 rumored for 2012 release
This story has everything going for it, from video games, to Microsoft, to an ‘anonymous source.’ There was no way this one was going to lose and the video gamers out there gave a rousing huzzah of ‘All your base are belong to us!’ Or it will in 2012.
The fate of the royal family has begun looking up. So much so that the royal wedding took number two on our 2011 Year in Review of top 10 entertainment stories.2. TV coverage of Royal Wedding begins before dawn
Not everyone loves a good wedding but a Royal wedding will bring even the hardcore wedding haters out of the back of the little white chapel to get a peak at the bride’s dress. Our favorite writer, The Republican Entertainment Desk, nailed the festive aura around this most auspicious occasion with their roundup of coverage of the nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
1. Valley Food Championship Pizza Playoffs: Help us pick which restaurant to review
Garnering over 400 comments it has become exceedingly clear that Western Massachusetts takes their pizza seriously. Very seriously. When The Republican started their first ever Valley Food Championship the readers responded in a big way. Whittling the field down in tournament fashion, you the readers voted and sent the judges to your favorite pizza parlors. In an extra-ordinary competition the top pizza crown was awarded to ‘The Pizza Guy’ in Agawam. It was a long road filled with lots and lots of cheese but it was definitely worth it.
That about covers the top 10 entertainment stories of 2011 -- we here at MassLive.com and The Republican sincerely hope that we have managed to entertain you over the past year and we look forward to continuing to do so in 2012, unless of course we once again have to explain to certain readers that this is indeed the ‘entertainment’ section and that if you are looking for the actual ‘This is news?’ stories, that you can find the news section over here.