Special Coverage Pop Culture Classics (The EW 1000)Sound BitesSummer TVBox Office Game

O'Brien Enters Rehab MARCH 20
It's scandal for The Insider's Pat O'Brien, who announces he's checked into rehab around the time his voice-mails begging a woman for a three-way with him and his girlfriend are posted on the Web. You couldn't find a better example of gossip-TV karma blowback if Angelina Jolie stole Billy Bush's wife.

Sin Opens Big APRIL 1
Sin City's $29.1 million opening weekend is a triumph for arty-looking black-and-white movies. However, the fact that the comic-book anthology is a hyperviolent mix of whores, gore, and decapitation pretty much nips any ''classy'' trend in the bud.

Spears Announces the Federletus APRIL 12
Britney Spears confirms that she is expecting a baby. A month later, UPN debuts her and hubby Kevin Federline's overly confessional reality show, Britney and Kevin: Chaotic. While watching the show, Spears will think she is in early labor, but it is just the fetus shuddering. Son Sean Preston arrives on Sept. 14, which thrills K-Fed, as his new rap track, ''Y'all Ain't Ready,'' is leaked online seven weeks later — and it's good to have someone around who soils his pants listening to the tune and isn't making an editorial comment.

Carey's CD Drops APRIL 12
Mariah Carey releases her 10th studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi, and it goes on to bounce 50 Cent off the top of the charts, selling 404,000 copies. It's marketed as ''the return of the voice,'' as opposed to the Glitter soundtrack, which was dubbed ''the return for store credit.''


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Posted Dec 23, 2005 | Published in issue #856-857 Dec 30, 2005 | Order Article Reprints