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It was a very productive year if you were a movie cannibal, the publisher of a tell-all biography, or an expectant mom on television. It was a very embarrassing year if you were obsessed with playing Catwoman in Batman Returns or had ever slept with Geraldo Rivera. And it was a very strange year if your first name was La Toya or Pee-wee. The most memorable moments of 1991, whether planned or accidental, reflected the world of entertainment through a fun- house mirror: Men signed up for encounter groups and women took target practice. Movie bad guys were our most-loved entertainers. The Terminator became a child's bodyguard and Mary Hart's voice became a medical hazard. Michael Jackson pretended to be Spike Lee, Kevin Costner pretended to be a Brit, and The Education of Little Tree pretended to be an autobiog raphy. We giggled, we gaped, we rolled our eyes. On these pages, we bring it all back.
Best Exorcise Video
The devil made them do it. On second thought, it was probably just Nielsen. ABC's 20/20 aired an exorcism on April 5 and drew an audience of 29 million -one of the largest in the show's history-as well as a hell of a lot of media attention. The tormented soul belonged to a 16-year-old Floridian named Gina who screamed, writhed, spoke in an unidentifiable language, and called herself ''Minga.'' Coverage of the event ranged from Nightline to David Letterman's ''Top 10 Ways to Tell You're Possessed'' (No. 1: When the Father Dowling show comes on, your eyes start to sting). There's no word yet on whether Minga got a book deal.
Now It Can Be Tolled ...
Vital statistics from Geraldo Rivera's autobiography, Exposing Myself:
* Number of pages before Geraldo mentions his first conquest: 28 * Number of pages his first marriage lasts: 12 * Number of times he likens himself to Edward R. Murrow: 1 * Number of times he compares himself to William Kunstler: 1 * Number of women, identified by name, he says he slept with: 19 * Number of times sex with more than one woman (usually at the same time) is cited on the same page: 5 * Number of married women he mentions having flings with: 4 * Number of Geraldo marriages: 4 * Number of days he waited after the birth of his son to have a fling with a pair of coeds, whom he dubs ''the twins'': 2 * Number of times he fantasizes about Barbara Walters naked: 1 * Number of photos of the author included: 46
Turner Broadcasting
She can fly a plane, repair a roof, bag a deer, and build a shrine to one dearly departed boyfriend after another. She can think fast, talk back, hit hard, do anything-except open her eyes wide enough to realize that the perfect guy for her is a prickly little city mouse who gets under her skin and into her fantasies. As Northern Exposure's Maggie, Janine Turner offered radiantly ! annoyed befuddlement in counterpoint to Rob Morrow's jittery wisecracking; they were the year's most romantic couple-that-doesn't-know-it's-a-couple. With a courtship this tantalizing, a consummation is inevitable isn't it? As Maggie might tartly respond, ''In your dreams, Fleischman!''
