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CNN Live Event/Special
All the Best, All the Worst 2013
Aired December 31, 2013 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): From spy guy scandals to health care chaos.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We fumbled the rollout on this health care law.
FOREMAN: From an electric car that went zoom to a falling star that went boom. From Miley gone mad to Canadians gone crazy.
ROB FORD, MAYOR OF TORONTO, CANADA: The stress is largely of my own making.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ain't nobody got time for that.
FOREMAN: 2013 was a bumpy road. And for the next hour, we will take a wild ride through the year with our guests, from MTV and SiriusXM Sway Calloway, the one and only Miss America, Nina Davuluri, chef and restauranteur Marc Forgione, record-holding Jeopardy champion and author of "Because I Said So" Ken Jennings, from CNN's "Crossfire," swerving to the right, S.E. Cupp, veering to the left, Van Jones, and from "NEW DAY" Michaela Pereira.
Buckle up. It's A.C. 360's "All the Best, All the Worst 2013."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: Welcome. I'm Tom Foreman.
And there is just no road map for a year like this one. In politics, international affairs, sports, music, movies and so much more, it seemed at any moment like we were going to spin completely out of control, but it is fun to look back on. So start your engines. Here we go.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NINA DAVULURI, MISS AMERICA: Oh, my goodness. I don't even know where to begin.
SWAY CALLOWAY, SIRIUSXM RADIO: 2013 was a roller coaster year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Felt like a lot of things were happening, like a tectonic plate was shifting.
FOREMAN: Let's start with some of the best big news, especially for the planet's one billion Catholics, a new pope.
KEN JENNINGS, FORMER "JEOPARDY" CHAMPION: The pope's a rock star now.
FOREMAN: Benedict bowed out to make room for former nightclub bouncer Pope Francis, who quickly won the hearts of Catholics and non- Catholics alike.
S.E. CUPP, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": In this age of Kim Kardashian and Anthony Weiner, it was incredible to celebrate humility for a moment.
VAN JONES, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": I wish the Republicans would look at the new pope and say, hey, look, here's a good way. You can be conservative, but you don't have to like make everybody mad.
CUPP: Suddenly I'm aware I'm in a see-through dress talking about the pope, but we can put that aside. I'm sure he would forgive me.
FOREMAN: So much seemed unforgivable or at least unforgettable in the world, from train crashes to the raging civil war in Syria to the Nairobi mall attack and the typhoon that ripped through the Philippines. But the worst surprise came closer to home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Something just blew up run. Go.
FOREMAN: The Boston Marathon bombings.
MARC FORGIONE, RESTAURANTEUR: I'm a New Yorker. So, it was very reminiscent of that same kind of eerie kind of 9/11 feeling of shock and you can't believe this is happening and why is always the biggest question.
FOREMAN: The manhunt for the Tsarnaev brothers gave few answers, even as it produced the worst magazine cover, "Rolling Stone"s depiction of a younger suspect, tousled hair, piercing eyes and all.
CALLOWAY: Made him feel like he was a rock star. I just thought it was a little bit of sensationalism. And it was a cheap way to grab people's attention.
FOREMAN: But that didn't stop the best comeback.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is our (EXPLETIVE DELETED) city.
CALLOWAY: When the Boston Red Sox won the World Series, I felt like that region really needed that up -- that boost, that upliftment. And still to this day, I really salute Boston.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There she is.
FOREMAN: Worst and best crime story, the escape of three women in Cleveland after years of being secretly held captive and tormented in the home of Ariel Castro.
JENNINGS: I am glad they got the guy, but the victims are never going to be the same. What a terrible story.
FOREMAN: Castro killed himself and the house was torn down, not soon enough for many.
JONES: I think people just wanted to go over there and just stomp on the dirt. To have that kind of thing happening inside an American city was the -- was just shocking.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Hannah Anderson is a 16-year-old girl who has lost her mother and brother. We don't know what she endured before her rescue.
FOREMAN: Shocking too were all the headline-grabbing abductions and manhunts, the fatal shootings at the U.S. Capitol, in malls, schools and the D.C. Navy Yard.
CUPP: And I think all of these stories are united by one common principle, which is that we need to fix our mental health system. Healthy, happy people don't shoot up a school. Healthy, happy people don't shoot up a Navy Yard.
COOPER: The story is what is happening right now in the woods in Big Bear. The cabin was said to be empty when Christopher Dorner went in.
DAVULURI: But I think the silver lining with everything is that when terrible tragedies like this happen, it really unites us more as a country.
FOREMAN: Worst bad run, give it to South African athlete Oscar Pistorius, accused of gunning down his girlfriend. He says he's innocent, but he's still awaiting his day in court.
Worst bad breakup? Jodi Arias.
DAVULURI: I can't speak for the verdict, but I definitely can understand why that verdict was made from watching the coverage that I saw.
FOREMAN: For weeks, witnesses told captivating tales about her relationship with Travis Alexander, whom she was accused of killing.
CALLOWAY: It's really weird, but you can't help but notice that the girl is a beautiful girl.
JENNINGS: The only thing I remember about the trial was they -- her lawyer tried to get her off by putting glasses on her. Your Honor, I'm afraid I have glasses now. OK. We move for immediate dismissal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guilty.
FOREMAN: The jury couldn't see that. She was found guilty. JONES: My concern about a lot of this kind of true crime stuff is that it tends to leaves people with the impression that America is a much more dangerous place than it is. Crime rates have actually been going down. People forget that.
FOREMAN: Best crowning achievement, the first appearance of Kate and William's royal baby, Prince George.
PEREIRA: How about that? Nothing like a baby to like reinvigorate a family. And what family needs reinvigoration more than the royal family?
FOREMAN: Worst unexpected arrival? The meteoroid that exploded over Russia.
PEREIRA: OMG, did you see that? That video was insane, terrifying.
JONES: I'm like, holy crap. Is NASA ready for this?
FOREMAN: Best close call, the asteroid that in cosmic terms nearly collided with Earth.
FORGIONE: Sooner or later, it's got to happen, right?
PEREIRA: It's a big, big, big universe.
CUPP: Part of me wants this to happen. It looks amazing in movies. I would like to be able to see it, but in a non-devastating way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is in the direct path of where the tornado moved through.
FOREMAN: Worst devastation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is anyone here? Where you at? We're going to get you.
FOREMAN: That came much closer to the ground from flooding, tornadoes and many more natural disasters.
FORGIONE: It's kind of, in my opinion, Mother Nature's way of kind of saying you better start paying attention or I'm going to continue to slap you around.
JENNINGS: Lots of freak weather this year. I guess depending on which news channel you watch, it's either climate change or gay marriage. I got to go climate change here.
FOREMAN: And before we go on to other subjects, best thing North Korea did this year, taking Dennis Rodman off our hands for a while.
JONES: North Korea, capturing tourists, throwing missiles around, none of that is as crazy as bringing Dennis Rodman over there as the representative of American culture. FOREMAN: And the worse thing? They sent him back.
DENNIS RODMAN, FORMER PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER: Why, Obama, are you afraid to talk to Dennis Rodman?
FOREMAN: We will also be right back with Miley's hot music, "Breaking Bad"'s cool groove and a good kid gone bat when "All the Best, All the Worst 2013" continues.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: We saw some exhilarating highs and some astonishing lows, as pop culture tried to make its way through all of the events rocking through the world.
But the best artistic shakeup came from, of all places, Montana.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNINGS: I guess Miley Cyrus isn't Hannah Montana anymore?
DAVULURI: I just remember twerking taking off this year, more than anything, sadly.
FOREMAN (voice-over): The former Disney star turned in her P.G. rating, dirty dancing through the Video Music Awards, smocking pot on stage, and if Victoria wore outfits like Miley's, she wouldn't have any secrets.
CUPP: Well, as embarrassing and uncomfortable as it was to watch Miley Cyrus twerking, it was that much more embarrassing to have to explain to my mother what twerking was, which may or may not have included a demonstration. I'm not saying.
FOREMAN: But, hey, it worked.
FORGIONE: I mean, look at us. We're talking about her. I don't think people have stopped talking about her since it.
JONES: I like Miley Cyrus. I'm going to say it. I like Miley Cyrus. Everybody is like -- I'm serious.
FOREMAN: The music world gave us plenty to talk about, including Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines," which sounded so much like an old Marvin Gaye hit, some critics called it a worst blurred line between a tribute and a ripoff.
FORGIONE: There's a blurred line between kind of sampling and using something as inspiration. You know what I mean? It's tough. I think it's arguable either way.
PEREIRA: I think they may have borrowed the essence of what Marvin Gaye's music was about. JENNINGS: I watched the video very carefully 60 or 70 times, and after all that hard work, I have come to the conclusion that the song is not very nice to women.
FOREMAN: No arguing that other artists broke ground, some with newer sounds, like Drake.
CALLOWAY: I truly believe that drake is the future of hip-hop, because if you saw the crowd that he attracts, it's people from every walk of life.
FOREMAN: Some with classic grooves like Pearl Jam.
FORGIONE: I think that it was one of their better albums in a long time. So, that was exciting for me.
FOREMAN: And some that combined musical styles with great success, like Florida Georgia Line's "Cruise."
CUPP: That song really was like the summer anthem "Cruise," such a great song. I like the Nelly version, too, the sort of more suitable for pop audiences version with Nelly. I don't know why you needed Nelly, but great song anyway.
DAVULURI: Right now, my favorite song is Katy Perry "Roar." It's constantly being played on my iPod.
FOREMAN: Best video, Anna Kendrick's cover a Carter Family hit from 1931.
Worst video of the year, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian's "Bound 2," although it gets points for setting up the best parody by Seth Rogen and James Franco.
Best song, the crown goes to the 17-year-old phenom New Zealand, Lorde, who released "Royals" in 2012, but saw it shoot up the charts this year.
JENNINGS: And it's actually like I, as an old person, like, which is great. It makes me feel very hip.
FOREMAN: Best runaway success, Beyonce's latest album that rewrote the record books for sales. But that didn't keep her from also capturing the oh, say can you sing award for lip-synching the national anthem.
FOREMAN: The out of this world prize goes to Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who covered David Bowie's "Space Odyssey" in orbit.
And the worst song of 2013, who cares if Ylvis was kidding? "The Fox" bit. The parody was so bad, it even spawned other parodies like "Saturday Night Live."
(MUSIC)
FOREMAN (on camera): Bad taste and animals running amok were certainly not confined to music in 2013. Indeed, as we turn our thoughts to television, those two came together to give us the worst idea for a thriller since "Snakes on a Plane."
(voice-over): "Sharknado" was a high flying-hit for the Syfy Channel, even if it was a cultural low point. Contrast that with what many fans clearly thought was the best series on network TV, "Scandal."
CALLOWAY: Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope and "Scandal." Oh, man, "Scandal," my number one show.
JONES: There must be some unmet need on the parts of a lot of people to have an affair with a president. I don't know why this show works, but it works.
KEVIN SPACEY, ACTOR: Power is a lot like real estate. It's all about location, location, location.
FOREMAN: Worst trend, the overwhelming number of programs playing to that same audience.
CUPP: There are like a million of them, these shows trying to make something of these amazing Washington stories that you can't write, you can't script, because reality is better than fiction when it comes to politics right now.
FOREMAN: Politics aside, several shows continued to enjoy strong runs, including competitions like "American Idol," "Dancing With the Stars" and "The Voice." Worst idea on that front? The diving competition for B-grade celebrities, "Splash."
Crime shows once again burned up the ratings in all sorts of forms. In reality TV, "Duck Dynasty" swam on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, let me tell you something. You hit the jackpot.
FOREMAN: Even if they did end up in hot water by year's end.
CUPP: This family is so incredible, such good people.
FOREMAN: "Orange is the New Black" made good a powerful start, and comedies like "The Big Bang Theory" kept laughing all the way to the bank.
DAVULURI: I actually really love "The Mindy Project," as well as "Modern Family" I think as a good family show. And we don't tend to have many those, so I like that one as well.
FOREMAN: Worst way to get a laugh? "Family Guy" killing off Brian the dog.
PEREIRA: I think that sometimes change for the sake of change is just folly, my friends. Brian was like the only rational character on that show. I could relate to Brian.
FOREMAN: Best return from the afterlife, same character.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: You're alive, my friend!
FOREMAN: For those who want their stars to stay on ice, "The Walking Dead" is a huge hit and plenty of other shows came up with big, successful finishes.
BRYAN CRANSTON, ACTOR: Cooking 100 pounds a week.
DAVULURI: OK, so I watch way too much TV, but I love "Breaking Bad."
FOREMAN: "Game of Thrones" also roared to a triumphant season finale, but give it to "Dexter" for best unexpected ending.
JENNINGS: Spoilers: He becomes a lumberjack. Last episode of "Cheers," nobody becomes a lumberjack. Last "Sopranos" 100 percent lumberjack-free. I don't know what they were thinking.
FOREMAN: And finally best commercial, we could have given it to Van Damme and his Volvos or the Geico camel.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, what day is it, Mike?
CUPP: Hump Day.
FOREMAN: But at the last moment, Joe Boxer rushed in to claim the prize for Kmart with bells on.
PEREIRA: I can't talk with it. I can't talk with those bells. I can't even talk about it. I blush like 18 times just thinking about each of those bells.
FOREMAN: When we return, we will be ringing in the new year with the best in lawmaking.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: I would not like them here or there. I would not like them anywhere.
FOREMAN: And the worst in law-breaking.
FORD: Have I tried it? Probably in one of my drunken stupors.
FOREMAN: As "All the Best, All the Worst 2013" runs on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: In terms of politics, last January, everyone was saying, at least it can't get any worse. But now, with winter bearing down again, well, let's just say expectations are falling faster than the temperature.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you stand for your country, or do you want to take it down?
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: They will say it was the mean old Republicans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like I'm serving in the nation's largest kindergarten.
CRUZ: Harry Reid and President Obama want a shutdown.
JONES: If you care about politics, this has, like, got to be one of the crappiest years ever. OK? It just is like, no matter what team you are rooting for, at some point in politics, you just put your head on the desk and cry.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Barack Obama's second presidential inauguration brought high hopes for some, but they were short-lived. Call it the worst disappointments for his own followers. One by one, big issues like immigration, gun control and energy development were pushed aside.
CUPP: He set out a big agenda and has not accomplished much of it. And I know he would blame Republicans for that. But, in some sense, he's got to take responsibility for not being able to lead the country or the Congress toward the kind of solutions that he's asking for.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: This law is not ready for prime-time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lost their minds.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: Every single member of the Republican Conference here in the Senate is prepared to appeal Obamacare right now.
FOREMAN: Budget issues were a perpetual pain.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Keeping the people's government open is not a concession to me.
FOREMAN: Bringing us the fiscal cliff, the sequester and a Texas senator reading Dr. Seuss.
CRUZ: I do not like green eggs and ham.
DAVULURI: I think it really comes down to that classic debate of guns vs. butter. And it's really sad to say we immediately will cut from education, Medicare, Social Security.
FOREMAN: The worst budget blunder, according to many voters, was the government shutdown.
JENNINGS: The Democrats didn't want to shut down. Most Republicans didn't want to shut down, but once the ball gets rolling, it's just too big and unwieldy a thing to stop.
FOREMAN: Hundreds of thousands of workers were furloughed, government contractors put out of work.
CRUZ: Why is the federal government spending money to keep veterans out of this memorial?
FOREMAN: With national parks and monuments fenced off, veterans were left to break in. And at the National Zoo, even the panda cam went dark.
CUPP: Watching my government barricade national monuments was a particular low point, but, on the other hand, there was more drinking. So it balanced out.
JONES: I think you this kind of a game of chicken that was being played by both sides all year long. And then at some point, it is like, wait a minute. These aren't chickens. These are turkeys. There's no judgment.
PEREIRA: Boy, this has been a year.
FORGIONE: Politics to me is just a game. And it's more of an arm wrestle, see who can win. And then, when you win, you pat yourself on the chest. And the real politicians out there that are actually doing something to help, I think, are far and few between, personally.
FOREMAN: Oddly enough, they didn't help themselves much either. Worst case of tripping over your own feet, the White House's unveiling of the calamitous Web site healthcare.gov.
JENNINGS: I guess it was very funny to me that the Republicans spent all this political capital on this kamikaze move to sabotage Obamacare, not knowing that the Democrats were already busy doing that.
OBAMA: That's on me.
FOREMAN: It cost the president momentum, headlines, and took the whole country away from considering parts of reform that remain popular, keeping young adults on their parents' policies, no denial of coverage for preexisting conditions.
JONES: We spend all of our time in this town arguing about the 15 percent of stuff that we will never agree on and ignore the 85 percent of the stuff that we already agree on. It's totally nuts.
FOREMAN: The continued turmoil over Benghazi and the NSA spying scandal did not help restore any confidence either. Best and worst whistle-blower, Edward Snowden, the federal contractor who went on the lam and spilled embarrassing secrets about whom the government is keeping tabs on. Some call him a traitor, some a patriot.
CUPP: Well, the first rule of spy club is don't get caught. And the idea that the United States is spying on the personal phone and e- mail records of world leaders, including allies, I think was a lot for people to take.
FOREMAN: It all added up to the worst-case of plummeting polls. Congress watched its already terrible approval rating go into the basement.
CUPP: We proved between 2008 and 2012 that you can't win by just making the other guy look bad. We still have to offer alternatives.
FOREMAN: And public faith in President Obama also sank to new lows, pretty much on par with the man he replaced. And despite some late-year cooperation, the fighting generally went on.
JONES: I think in terms of entering an era of goodwill and bipartisanship, we put the car in reverse and slammed on the gas.
PEREIRA: People, I think, are really frustrated with how things are going in D.C. You feel it. And people just kind of shake their heads, like, what is going on?
FOREMAN: Still, you had to go outside of Washington for the best political scandals of the year. And they belonged to the mayors.
BOB FILNER (D), MAYOR OF SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: The behavior I have engaged in over many years is wrong.
FOREMAN: San Diego's Bob Filner had to give up his seat amid allegations he was grabbing at those of others.
ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Where do you -- where do you get the morality to judge me?
FOREMAN: In New York, one-time sexting Congressman Anthony Weiner
WEINER: Now, sadly, we did not win this time.
FOREMAN: ... lost a bid for the mayor's office. Couldn't put his finger on the reason.
MARC FORGIONE, CHEF AND RESTAURANT OWNER: I think entertaining is the best word, but I wish him all the best in his endeavors.
FOREMAN: But the worst mayor on the continent? Give it up for Toronto's Rob Ford.
ROB FORD, TORONTO MAYOR: These allegations are ridiculous.
FOREMAN: He denied smoking crack.
FORD: I do not use crack cocaine.
FOREMAN: Then admitted it.
FORD: Yes, I have smoked crack/cocaine.
FORGIONE: Just a little bit of crack. FOREMAN: Then he ran around like a lost moose in a mall.
CUPP: I look at him as I look at most things Canadian and just think, "You're adorable." You know, it sounds bad but, like, even Canada doesn't take Canada seriously.
PEREIRA: Oh! S.E. Cupp. Oh, S.E. Cupp, I'm going to smack you.
And to have this kind of scandal going on when I'm a Canadian in a group of a bunch of other Americans, you know -- you know they're going to give me the business about it. I always tell them that I'm from the west coast of Canada. That's an important distinction to make.
FOREMAN: Coming up, we'll turn our attention to the most distinctive movies of the year. And those that were just stinkers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, that's cold.
FOREMAN: We'll look at a very long ball...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And going to hold on and win -- hold on one second...
FOREMAN: Very close call. And that's not all, as all the best, all the worst continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm talking to you, Katniss.
FOREMAN (voice-over): "Catching Fire" the latest course in "The Hunger Games"...
JENNIFER LAWRENCE, ACTRESS: I didn't know what to do.
WOODY HARRELSON, ACTOR: Katniss, what were you thinking?
FOREMAN: ... burned up the box office as the year wound down.
RICHARD ARMITAGE, ACTOR: You will have enough gold to rebuild Esgaroth ten times over!
FOREMAN: "The Hobbit" saga once again warmed the theaters. And "American Hustle" also brought the heat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Another fire!
LAWRENCE: No, Edie (ph), not that one. That one's eensie. We've got to use the big one.
FOREMAN: But all of that could not stop the worst trend in Hollywood...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no, get off me!
FOREMAN: ... remaking classics like "Carrie" and "The Great Gatsby."
CUPP: I saw that. Terrible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gatsby doesn't exist.
FOREMAN: Although a lot of fans don't seem to mind.
FORGIONE: "Great Gatsby"? I loved, actually.
NINA DAVULURI, MISS AMERICA: I actually saw that on a flight to London. I saw it on the way there and on the way back, because I loved it so much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next stop, Fruitvale Station.
SWAY CALLOWAY, MTV NEWS/SIRIUS XM: My favorite movie of 2013 would have to be "Fruitvale Station."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get off the train now!
FOREMAN: There were plenty of sequels and returns of favorite characters. "Iron Man 3" showed his mettle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The great ones always return.
WILL FERRELL, COMEDIAN/ACTOR: We haven't seen you in a while, America. You haven't changed a bit.
FOREMAN: "The Anchorman" kept it classy. And the man of steel came out of the phone booth once again.
KEN JENNINGS, "JEOPARDY" CHAMPION: I was very disappointed with Superman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're just pretending I'm your son?
JENNINGS: He's just constantly agonizing about, "Oh, you know, I never met my real daddy and, oh, you know, I can't be on the track team." And I'm like, get your head out of your butt, Superman.
FOREMAN: Space movies blasted off all year.
DAVULURI: I'm a huge "Star Trek" fan. So I loved the new "Star Trek" movie that came out.
FOREMAN: "Ender's Game" also came to play.
SANDRA BULLOCK, ACTRESS: I can't breathe!
FOREMAN: And even Sandra Bullock took flight.
CUPP: The movie "Gravity" showed us what not to do in space. What I hope never happens in space.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's completely frozen.
FOREMAN: It was a big year for animation with "Frozen," "Planes"...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got to stop!
FOREMAN: ... "Monsters University"...
STEVE CARELL, ACTOR: Gru's back in the game.
FOREMAN: ... and "Despicable Me 2".
PEREIRA: I am a big fan of animation. And it's weird, because I don't have children.
IDRIS ELBA, ACTOR: We are all angry. I am angry. You are angry.
FOREMAN: Best and most timely biopic, Mandela.
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR, ACTOR: I was born a free man, lived with my family in New York until the day I was deceived.
FOREMAN: Best message movie? For many it was "12 Years a Slave."
JENNINGS: It's a lot of white guilt for a Friday night. So I'm working my way up to that.
FOREMAN: Worst movie that still made good money: "Now You See Me."
So bad that Morgan Freeman, who is in it, fell asleep during a promotional interview.
CUPP: Yes, that was terrible, too. No, no. Terrible. I was excited for that one. It was bad. Yes, it was really bad.
FOREMAN: Worst movie almost everyone saw: "Oz the Great and Powerful," and the best movie almost no one saw.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You never said your name.
MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, ACTOR: Mud.
FOREMAN: "Mud."
(on camera): We did not see a lot of sports movies this year, which is kind of strange, because sports almost always gives us some of the most dramatic moments in the year, and 2013 was no exception.
(voice-over): In baseball's World Series, the Red Sox crushed the Cardinals, even if it did involve the worst fashion choice.
JENNINGS: The facial hair, like a team full of barnstorming hobos.
FOREMAN: In basketball's championship, The Heat scorched the Spurs, although the biggest news came from a Washington Wizard. It's something no active athlete in a major sport has ever done before.
CALLOWAY: Jason Collins coming out of the closet, that was monumental. I think he will open the door for a lot of people who are homosexual.
FOREMAN: In hockey, the Blackhawks froze out the Bruins to take the Stanley Cup. And in football, the Ravens edged the 49ers to win the Super Bowl, despite a nerve-wracking power failure. Just a technical problem, but it could have been a sign the NFL was heading into one of its worst seasons ever.
CUPP: Lots of bad news.
FOREMAN: The league was haunted with accusations of real crimes, real abuse and real head injuries.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know what it is, but it just seems like there's a concussion every single game you watch.
FOREMAN: The NFL reached a $765 million settlement with players that could cost the game even more. Participation in youth football appears to be plummeting.
JONES: I think this is the year that 80 percent of moms, in the quiet of their own heart, without telling their husbands or partners, said, "My kid is not playing football."
FOREMAN: Best return of an old favorite: the New York Marathon was washed out in 2012 by Superstorm Sandy but came back with a record 50,000 plus finishes.
CUPP: For marathoners, I'm sure that was a big deal. For me it was why is my street closed?
JENNINGS: Marathons are very inspiring to me. The fact that somebody could just get up one day and run 26 Miles, like to me that's like throwing a magic hammer at aliens.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One hundred fifteen thousand spectators.
FOREMAN: Best new sport: downhill ice cross, or full contact skating, or whatever you call this insanity from Red Bull.
Worst way to lose a close basketball game with an even closer last-second impossible shot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold on. He got it! My goodness, are they going to count that?
FOREMAN: Take your pick. Best way to get to the corner office in Reno in record time. Tag along with wing suit flier Jokke Sommer.
Worst way to wreck a racket. Give it to Serena Williams right before she double faults to lose a big match.
Best way to get in the game: the dance off between an usher and a young fan at a Pistons game.
And worst guy to go to the boards with: Magnus Carlson, 22 years old, the world's newest chess champ. Check him out. Hello, ladies.
(on camera): In a moment we'll check out the latest high-tech and Internet trends, plus the kid who cleaned up the city, the woman who pranced across the country. And this guy.
LOGAN PAUL, STUDENT COMEDIAN: Hey, Mom. Look what I'm doing in college.
Excuse me, man in the muscle shirt, did you get any muscles with that shirt?
No, Val. I don't care. I don't care, Val.
I need friends.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: Technology showed no signs of slowing down in 2013. For many innovators, entrepreneurs and Internet moguls, it was full- speed ahead.
(voice-over): Best breakthrough of the year -- and it's a high- end one -- Tesla Motors. Their stock has been up; it's been down. But after years of talk about electric cars, everyone is watching Tesla go, go, go.
JONES: I think we hit a tipping point on electric cars. I think 20 years from now, you'll look back and this will be -- this will be the year that Tesla took off.
FOREMAN: Worst breaking point, BlackBerry. Yes, the president still uses one. But this year, the company took a beating.
CUPP: I have been a BlackBerry loyalist for the past, like, six years. I was so loyal I was like, OK, I'm like a captain. I'm going down with the ship. Everyone, save yourselves. I will be buried with this thing. But it just got too -- it got too difficult. So I caved, and I got this very handsome -- again, it's an iPhone.
FOREMAN: Worst mixed reviews: the iPhone 5s and 5c: not bad but in Apple land, that is fair praise indeed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dick Tracy calling Hemlock Holmes. Calling Hemlock Holmes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go ahead, Dick Tracy.
FOREMAN: Best imitation of the old Dick Tracy: Samsung's brand- new Galaxy Gear. Worst result of all of this: Hey, we're even more connected.
FORGIONE: I know it makes -- it benefits life in ways, but it's also affecting human beings in a negative way, as well. FOREMAN: Best technology battle: the competition between tablet makers to drive features up and push prices down, all while maybe helping people read more.
DAVULURI: It was very hard for me to make the transition to e- readers, but now that I did, it is so convenient, especially with traveling as much as I do. It's so nice to have multiple books in one little device.
FOREMAN: Best game played for keeps: the war between PlayStation 4 and Xbox One for the gaming crowd.
PEREIRA: On the interweb, I became a fan of Pinterest.
FOREMAN: The best app to pass the 1 hundred million active users mark: Instagram.
CUPP: Someone thinks, wouldn't it be cool to take that photo you just took look old-timey, and that's a billion-dollar idea. Amazing. I love that.
FOREMAN: Worst trend connected to it: people posting endless pictures of their food.
FORGIONE: It's funny. The dining room is now like the red carpet. It's, you know, the paparazzi at the red carpet.
I tell people, enjoy your food, please. You know what I mean?
FOREMAN: Best invention with no obvious purpose: the robotic cubes that came tumbling out of MIT. They move; they bounce; they assemble themselves into all kinds of shapes.
Worst invention with a very specific purpose, Shreddies. Don't ask.
Best discovery: evidence from the Curiosity rover of an ancient lost lake on Mars that really might have supported life.
Worst place to get a summer tan: Scientists say in July, Antarctica dipped to 135 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. That's cold enough to freeze your penguins off.
And best way to get excited about technology and science: give it to engineering student Nick Selby.
NICHOLAS SELBY, GEORGIA TECH STUDENT: If you want to play theme music during your convocation speech like a bad ass, we're at Georgia Tech. We can do that! I am doing that!
FOREMAN: On the Internet, technology, practicality and pure goofiness ran rampant. Best extension of her 15 minutes: Sweet Brown.
SWEET BROWN, INTERNET STAR: Ain't nobody got time for that. Ain't nobody got time for that. FOREMAN: She rose to fame as a witness to a fire in 2012 but stayed in the headlines by suing over sales of an autotuned version of herself.
Worst trend that really seemed fun for a while: All those "Harlem Shake" videos.
FORGIONE: Yes, that I liked. I liked very much. In particular the one the Miami Heat did. I thought it was great.
FOREMAN: Best exercise plan, whether or not it works: Joanna Rohrback's Prancercising.
JOANNA ROHRBACK, CREATOR, PRANCERCISING: Let's stop talking and do some walking.
PEREIRA: I am -- I'm going to stand on the side of anti- Prancercising. But baby, let your freak flag fly. Whatever floats your boat. You do you. I'll do me. And I choose not to Prancercise.
FOREMAN: Best use of Vine videos: Logan Paul, who's raising the goofy college dude character to an art form, six seconds at a time.
PAUL: Let's go. Wrestle. Come on, give me some.
FOREMAN: Worst case of artistic inflation: a triptych by Francis Bacon which sold for the never-before-seen auction price of $142.4 million.
Best artwork on an iPad: Kyle Lambert's absolutely mind-blowing rendering. And no, that is not a photo.
Worst flight plan: The stunt flier who buzzed a photographer and wound up online...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!
FOREMAN: ... then got an FAA investigation for his efforts.
Best commute: Ed Bolian drove from New York to Los Angeles in 28 hours, 50 minutes. That's a record.
Worst commute: Dog on a Roomba. That's not a record, but it's really fun to watch.
Worst bad habit we really need to break, even if it did give us the word of the year: selfie.
JENNINGS: Everyone wants to think they look like they do in a mirror. And selfies teach you no, no, other people see you with many more chins that that. You know?
FOREMAN: Best judge: the one who gave the woman 30 days after she flipped him off in court.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I find you in contempt. Thirty days in the county jail.
FOREMAN: Worst would-be criminal: the guy who tried to break into this store, then tried to run and then -- oh, well.
CUPP: I love dumb criminal stories. I love dumb criminals. Keep at it, dumb criminals. Can't wait to see more.
FOREMAN: And best crime fighter, five-year-old Miles Scott in remission from leukemia. The Make-a-Wish Foundation helped him enjoy a day as Bat Kid in the streets of San Francisco while the whole city played along.
JENNINGS: He really cleaned up the city. I would vote for Bat Kid, frankly.
CUPP: That was amazing. Loved seeing, like, an entire city come together for one kid, just to make one kid's day. That was great. Loved that kid.
FOREMAN (on camera): So when you consider all that has happened, what would you change going forward? In a moment, our panelists will give us their wishes for all the best, all the worst in the year to come. Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: Our tour through 2013 is just about done. So let's wrap up, as we always do, by asking our panelists what they wish for the year to come.
CALLOWAY: My wish in America for 2014 is that Americans become less preoccupied with gossip, and gossip loses his value and doesn't matter as much to us.
FORGIONE: What we do has a huge influence around -- around the world globally. And I think we need to understand that.
JONES: On the trivial side, my big hope is that, Cee Lo notwithstanding, guy liner does not become popular. I just don't see the appeal of mascara on guys.
DAVULURI: My top goal is celebrating diversity through cultural competency. That's a change that I hope to see and I hope to be a part of making.
CUPP: My wish for 2014? That Rob Ford gets U.S. citizenship. Right? Am I right? Who doesn't want to see more Rob Ford?
JENNINGS: I just wish that people would look up from their screens and actually, you know, enjoy the world and engage with each other and help each other, be kind to each other.
PEREIRA: America, what I wish for you for 2014 is that we can all link hands and take a big collective, cleansing breath and just take a moment to remember who we are. FOREMAN: And with that, we are done. I'm Tom Foreman. On behalf of everyone at AC 360 and CNN, we wish you all of the best and none of the worst in 2014.
