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CNN Live Event/Special
CNN Special Report, All the Best, All the Worst 2017. Aired 9- 10pm ET
Aired December 28, 2017 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: The following is a CNN Special Report.
TOM FOREMAN, HOST: From the outer limits of the world unlike any ever known comes a spine tingling, hair raising, bone chilling tale of horrifying headlines, political intrigues, mayhem, majesty, music, and more, with an all-star cast, including sports analyst, Brian Jones.
BRIAN JONES, HOST, BETTER MAN SHOW: Run, run. They're coming.
FOREMAN: Comedian, Helen Hong.
HELEN HONG, COMEDIAN: Oh no, it's alive.
FOREMAN: CNN's own, Van Jones and John Berman.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This time, it's a person.
FOREMAN: Radio host, Bethany Watson.
BETHANY WATSON, CO-HOST, ELVIS DURAN AND THE MORNING SHOW: It wasn't me. It wasn't me.
FOREMAN: HLN commentator and anchor, S.E. Cupp, YouTube sensation, Jessie Paege, and comedian, Kiran Deol. It's "All the Best, All the Worst 2017".
Welcome. I'm Tom Foreman. And in so many ways, the last 12 months have played out like a bad movie. We had week-after-week of outlandish characters and unexpected developments, and outrageous behavior in big news and in entertainment, and in pop culture, and most of all, in politics, where one name overshadowed everything else, and it came from D.C.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump.
BERMAN: The biggest overarching story of the year is certainly the Trump presidency.
WATSON: It was bananas how completely divided this country became.
S.E. CUPP, HNL COMMENTATOR AND ANCHOR: B-A-N-A-N-A-S.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, the president-elect of the United States, Donald John Trump.
FOREMAN: For some voters, the New York billionaire was the best thing to come to Washington in decade with his promise of shaking things up, shooting straight and draining the swamp.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I, Donald John Trump --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If anybody in this country is against anything he said he's going to do, I really worry about their judgment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's laying a ground work for the future, for us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love him.
FOREMAN: But the reality for others.
KIRAN DEOL, COMEDIAN: It was like a garbage fire rollercoaster.
B. JONES: It's been so strange. It's been unnerving most of the time.
FOREMAN: The best win for the President, the stream of conservative judges he has flowing into federal courts coast-to-coast and the justice he's seen on the Supreme Court.
TRUMP: And that got it done in the first 100 days, that's even nice.
VAN JONES, CNN COMMENTATOR: They've got lifetime appointment to the federal court. These guys are like nine years old and they're going to become cyborgs and live forever. They're going to be on the court in like 2,200 and we are even talking about it.
FOREMAN: Worst judgment, his decision again and again to take to Twitter almost 2,500 times in the year following his election, taunting foreign leaders, making policy, announcing staff changes, and pouring insults on his posts.
JESSIE PAEGE, YOUTUBE SENSATION: It's definitely new that, you know, the President has such a strong Twitter-branding, yes, put it that way. CUPP: This is not a person of nuance. So for him, it's perfect.
FOREMAN: His Twitter feed helped push a torrent of misleading deceptive, offensive and downright false statements out of the White House, starting on day 1.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period.
HONG: There were more people at my butt. It's small than on that inauguration and I'm not even Jewish.
FOREMAN: When Trump was called out, he always had the best response from his fans' point of view.
TRUMP: Some of fake news said, the fake news, you are fake news.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of the news is fake and has been for years.
FOREMAN: But that gave rise to the best counterpunching handed to major news outlets for vigorously chasing down and reporting facts despite the badgering from the Oval Office, hashtag, factsfirst.
CUPP: It's the sign of line.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not a lie if you believe him.
FOREMAN: It was all the best fodder for political satire.
Best power play. The GOP came into the year holding the Oval Office, controlling the House and Senate and dominating Democrats in most state legislatures and governor's offices too, something few expected.
JONES: It's been surreal. You know, you ran out of adjectives to describe what it's been like on the political landscape.
FOREMAN: The best flame-to-fame for the President and his party, it's the economy stupid, employments, house values and the stock market have all continued to climb started under President Obama.
[21:05:10] BERMAN: By every traditional measurement, the economy is doing well.
FOREMAN: Worst follow-up aside from a late charge of tax reform, the party pretty much failed to pass any major legislation, no infrastructure makeover, no wall with Mexico. The Republicans could not even repeal Obamacare despite repeated tries and years of promises.
CUPP: And it almost seemed like they were caught by surprise. Like, wait, now, we've got to do this thing?
FOREMAN: Not that Democrats did any better.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you ready?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm ready.
FOREMAN: Worst family feud, the survey says the bitter blame game over why Hillary Clinton lost last year. Dueling books and interviews kept nerves raw and voters seeing red.
B. JONES: Why are we looking backwards? Look forward. That's in the past. There's water under the bridge.
BERMAN: The Democratic Party is trying to find itself, and so far, I'm not even sure it knows where to look.
FOREMAN: Best news for the so-called resistance, Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian meddling in the U.S. election, producing indictments despite team Trump's insistence, they had no improper contact with the Kremlin.
HONG: Apparently, no one in this administration had seen Rocky IV or Red Dawn, or Air Force I, but news flash, Russians are evil.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get off my plane.
V. JONES: The one thing that liberals and progressives were holding onto, do you think tomorrow he's going to be impeached? Do you he's going to be impeached by lunch? Is he -- he wasn't. He wasn't.
FOREMAN: Worst masters of the photo-op, multimillionaire Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and his wife, Louise Linton. Mnuchin is also a member of the worst frequent flyers club, those Cabinet members who came under scrutiny for questionable trips on private and military jets paid for with taxpayer dollars.
BERMAN: Everyone knows you could walk faster between Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia than taking a private jet. It just didn't make any sense at all.
FOREMAN: Best short-timer, Anthony Scaramucci. The Mooch was just 10 days on the job as White House communications director before getting the boot. Worst numbers, any and all polls about the popularity of the President and Congress.
B. JONES: It does not shock me that since confidence in the country and leadership is low.
FOREMAN: Worst losers, voters left and right who were hoping for a breakthrough in the D.C. gridlock.
WATSON: It felt like a war. And so, I think anybody who was moderate and was trying to take good pieces from both sides were just trampled by the vitriol and the screaming and the anger.
V. JONES: And it just makes it very, very hard to have a conversation.
DEOL: Immigrants want rights. Women want rights. It's like don't touch my boobs unless I said so. And everyone at the top of like the system is like what are you talking about? This is crazy. FOREMAN: The most visible action came at the state level where local governments in several places took down statutes of confederate leaders even in the face of some angry voters.
And the most amazing, unexpected outpouring of political activism you've got to give it to the women's march, which filled streets across America.
HONG: There were an estimated like four million people that took part in the women's march. And if you used Trump's inauguration math, that was 100 bajillion people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tell me what democracy looks like.
MULTIPLE SPEAKERS: This is what democracy looks like.
FOREMAN: They gathered to protest on equal treatment, on equal rights, on equal pay, and to share a message that resonated across generations.
PAEGE: It's not women are better than men. It's just we deserve the same pay for doing the same work, which is 100% valid.
WATSON: This is the year of women really finding our voice and saying we're not going to put up with this. It was one of the most powerful moments of my entire life.
FOREMAN: We'll have more on this amazing year for women later along with our looks at sports, music, television, and many other topics, one please. But right now, get ready. We're going to dim the lights and cue the action.
Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Right now, I've got to tell you about the movies were more fun than a barrel of monkeys this year.
[21:10:07] So send in the clowns and grab your popcorn. "All the Best, All the Worst 2017" rolls on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: Movie fans were once again saying hi to lots of super heroes this year.
V. JONES: I love every single super hero movie. I don't care how bad they are. I don't care what the tomato people say. I love them all because it means my culture is winning.
BERMAN: I just saw "Thor: Ragnarok" and it was the best movie about Ragnarok of the year.
FOREMAN: The box office raked in receipts for the latest adventures of the "Transformers".
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Show time, a-holes.
FOREMAN: The "Guardians of the Galaxy", even "Lego Batman" held his own.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Batman, we love you.
[21:15:03] FOREMAN: And Logan stood strong for the "X-Men".
HONG: Logan was so good. It had heart. It had action and it had my favorite, Patrick Stewart.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait a minute, you guys aren't the real "Avengers", hope gives it away.
FOREMAN: Spidy senses were tingling over Peter Parker's latest identity crisis.
PAEGE: I love "Spider-Man: Home Coming". I think that was great and it was just adorable and think of very cool new perspective for the story of Spider-Man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was nice.
FOREMAN: And the best super film was the one that seemed to have every one sharing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Wonder Woman" I saw that.
BERMAN: I loved "Wonder Woman".
WATSON: This was such a high point I think in a year that I thought really fraught for women.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Steve, let's go.
HONG: I think the reason why "Wonder Woman" made so much money is that finally we got to see women kicking butt on the screen.
FOREMAN: The "Star Wars" franchise once again sailed into our galaxy. Action and crime movies had a good run. But "Kong: Skull Island" roaring. And "Fate of the Furious" on the roll. But the best car chasing came from "Baby Driver". The story was goofy but, wow.
PAEGE: Insane. Agreed. And I'm not normally into those types of movies but I really enjoyed it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do they know black.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Should they?
FOREMAN: "Get Out" was a kind of crime flick kind of science fiction, kind of just odd, but a smash.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out.
DEOL: Loved it. I loved get "Get Out".
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did I like it? No.
CUPP: I thought it was fantastic. Great, great, great film.
B. JONES: It was creepy. I like the way it ended. The black guy won, so yes, I like, that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do they want?
FOREMAN: The most divisive film of the year was the Uber creepy "Mother", some called it a masterpiece, others, a mess.
WATSON: Dude, I saw that movie "Mother", that was wild. I walked out of that movie thinking I was high.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw something.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The clown.
FOREMAN: Best remake of a classic, "It" which gave us the most memorable character too.
B. JONES: No, no, no.
FOREMAN: Oh, yes, Pennywise the clown.
PAEGE: I couldn't watch it. I feel like I'm literally seen the whole movie on social media. Well, I haven't actually watched it.
HONG: That guy Stephen King can really write a story. Somebody needs to give that guy a book deal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who's there?
FOREMAN: For the more tender hearted sequels and remakes ruled. "Beauty and the Beast" brought the magic back to life so the "Despicable Me 3" and "Cars 3" as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome. Anything to declare?
FOREMAN: However, an original, "Coco" really filled the seats.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been dating this girl. She's white.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A white girl?
FOREMAN: Best romantic comedy, "The Big Sick".
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did see that, that was really cute.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that lady still looking at me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just go for it.
FOREMAN: Best road romp, "Girls Trip".
DEOL: I love the "Girls Trip". I had a glass of wine and I was just drinking and watching and laughing, and it was awesome.
FOREMAN: Best historic drama, give it to "Dunkirk" or maybe "Darkest Hour", they're both about pretty much the same thing. Worst historic moment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "La La Land."
FOREMAN: Announcing the wrong best picture at the Oscars.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, there's a mistake. "Moonlight", you guys won best picture.
PAEGE: He was like almost like second-hand embarrassment like that's how I felt at least.
V. JONES: It's funny. The movie that I wanted to win actually won. So I was actually very happy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladybird, is that your given name?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
FOREMAN: And while "Lady Bird" and some other later rivals in the year may well be Oscar worthy, the best long shot Oscar should be looking at and you should too is the stunning captivating heart- breaking "Good Time".
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a nice dream. It's a nice dream.
FOREMAN: Amid all the turmoil of the year when people were not escaping to the movies, many turned to sports where they also found a lot of action, some amazing performances, and, yes, a little drama.
WATSON: Sports were awesome this year. All of the sports were phenomenal. I don't follow sports, Tom.
FOREMAN: Well, plenty of people do. And in baseball, the World Series gave them some games for the ages as the Houston Astros met the Los Angeles Dodgers.
PAEGE: I played baseball for a while recreationally, not a big deal.
FOREMAN: It was a slugfest from start to finish with the Astros finally taking the prize.
BERMAN: And they were both really, really good baseball teams. And they played really well in the World Series. And that's such a wonderful thing to see.
[21:20:05] FOREMAN: Best headline, this 2014 "Sports Illustrated" cover that predicted the Astros would win this year.
In basketball, for the third time in three years, the Cleveland Cavaliers clashed with the Golden State Warriors. And King James could not withstand the twin attacks from Kevin Durant and the amazing Steph Curry. The trophy went west. JONES: He is just unbelievable athlete. He's a great guy. He's the last of the pure role models.
FOREMAN: In hockey, the Pittsburgh Penguins throws out the Nashville Predators skating all for the Stanley Cup for the second year in a row.
Football is still the most popular game, but viewership has gone into a free fall even as player protests against police treatment of African-Americans has remained divisive.
B. JONES: This was never about the national anthem. This was never about the flag. This was never about our military. This is about everyone in this country enjoying equal rights, equal treatment. That is it.
FOREMAN: Worst wait in the unemployment line that goes to Colin Kaepernick, who started the protest and now isn't playing for anyone.
Worst collapse. That's the Atlanta Falcons old stadium blowing up, which is exactly what the team did in the Super Bowl. For most of the game, the Falcons who have never won a championship, made the vaunted New England Patriots look like amateurs. Then the Pats launched a record setting 25-point come back.
CUPP: They win it anyway because that's what they do.
FOREMAN: And grabbed the Lombardi trophy for the fifth time.
BERMAN: I have rewatched the fourth quarter and overtime of the Super Bowl now several times, and I still don't believe that that it happened.
HONG: So it turns out the Patriots can win without cheating.
FOREMAN: The best American male marathoner in a generation, Meb Keflezighi, retired at the New York marathon just as Shalane Flanagan became the first American woman to win in 40 years, with the time just under two hours and 27 minutes.
PAEGE: That's so cool. That's amazing.
WATSON: That's my personal best nap time, for sure.
FOREMAN: And the worst match-up, almost everyone thought it would be Connor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather. Expert predicts that the mix martial arts star would fold like cheap suit under the pounding of a legendary boxer. But --
B. JONES: Connor McGregor actually shows he showcased some boxing skills.
FOREMAN: McGregor held on to the tenth round before a TKO, pocketing an estimated $75 million. No wonder he was smiling even as he congratulated the champ.
CONOR MCGREGOR, BOXER: When I get my hats off, but he's a composed man.
FOREMAN: We still have plenty of rounds to go here as we take on the biggest news stories, the most exciting music, afar out astronaut, and even stranger things.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe all of this is happening for a reason.
FOREMAN: Yes, and the reason is, this is "All the Best, All the Worst 2017".
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:27:03] FOREMAN: What's happening in the news? Often, this year, that answer seemed to be changing by the hour. There were just so many huge news stories, so much conflicts, at times, it felt less like a bad movie, more likely.
The worst wildfires at least in the modern history of California, swept the northern end of the state, leaving dozens of fatalities, close to 9,000 structures in ashes and hundreds of thousands of acres scorched. Then fires hit again in the south.
HONG: It was apocalyptic. I live in California and marijuana cannot be legalized fast enough.
FOREMAN: Not to be outdone, the vicious storms that flattened Puerto Rico, battered Florida, and in the Bible Belt of Texas drop almost biblical rains.
BERMAN: Ferocious winds, like 50 inches at once. Fifty inches of rain. It was unbelievable. It was something we just haven't seen before.
FOREMAN: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says when all is said and done, this will likely be the second hottest year on record with only last year a little hotter.
B. JONES: I just don't recall another year like this one where there's been so much terrible, turbulent destructive weather.
V. JONES: When you have floods and fires and biblical stuff going on, you might, at some point, want to talk about these weather patterns and whether or not we're in deep, deep trouble, because I think we are.
FOREMAN: Also terrible and turbulent, the worst continuing trend, the mass shootings that ripped across the country.
BERMAN: Each one is a tragedy in and of itself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to get people over to the hospital, OK?
FOREMAN: With 58 people killed, Las Vegas became the worst in modern times.
WATSON: Is this our new normal? Is this just something that we assume is going to happen now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Multiple units are on scene.
FOREMAN: And mass shootings in a Texas church, a Mississippi town, a Florida business, and other places raised the persistent alarm over gun violence.
PAEGE: It's something that happens so often and that's horrifying, that like kids are going to grow up and that's going to be like just away of the world.
B. JONES: What I'd like to do is have a grown-up conversation with you about how we can have more control, who gets a gun and who doesn't. That's it.
FOREMAN: Violence in other forms also rocked communities. In Charlottesville, Virginia, a march of white supremacists turned violent. Dozens were hurt and one woman died when police say a driver purposely rammed into counter protesters.
[21:30:06] V. JONES: I can't believe the president of the United States is having a hard time denouncing them. And I also felt tiki torches?
FOREMAN: It all took a toll. A poll by the American Psychological Association found two-thirds of American stressed about America's future.
DEOL: I was surprised that like tuning out became self care.
FOREMAN: Terrorism continued close to home in the form of that truck attack along a bike path in New York, and a shooting attack on members of Congress at baseball practice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's going on?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my god.
FOREMAN: And even more so overseas, at an Ariana Grande concert in England, on a boulevard in Spain, and then plenty of other places in the Middle East and beyond.
V. JONES: It used to be very shocking when something would happen in the overseas. Now, it's like, oh, another one? You know, I'm trying to -- you know, I'm trying find something, you know, more fun to look at on my feed, and that's scary by itself.
FOREMAN: The best development, ISIS driven out of its self-proclaimed capital of Raqqah, Syria.
CUPP: Definitely a positive sign and something that this administration should be getting credit for.
BERMAN: Doesn't mean ISIS is gone. ISIS still has many different ways to manifest its evil around the world, but it's still a significant step. FOREMAN: Worst saber rattling. The steady expansion of North Korea's missile and nuclear programs, worst guy to have a finger on the trigger, Kim Jong-un.
HONG: What kind of kimchi are they making in North Korea that keeps churning out these crazy, chubby leaders?
B. JONES: First of all, that flat top, he's got new hairstyle. I mean, that fade is a little bit too high.
FOREMAN: Best images out of the hermit kingdom, a young soldier running to freedom under a hail of gunfire. He was hit, but he made it.
Worst story back on the home front, the relentless march of powerful men caught up in accusations of grabbing, groping, sexual assault and harassment. The allegations hit power players in Hollywood, men on Capitol Hill, and men hoping to get there, trusted names in the news media, and other people in other businesses too.
DEOL: You just have dude after dude being like, I just didn't realize it wasn't appropriate to whip my (beep) out in front of a room full of fully clothed women. Why wouldn't that be cool in a workplace?
CUPP: It blows my mind that in 2017, men still behaved this way, and in so many numbers. Just gross, you guys. You guys are gross.
FOREMAN: Best hashtag, metoo. Worst reality, how many women can post it?
HONG: I'm a female standup comedian. Which one of the 400 stories would you like to hear? Hey, guys, keep your (beep) in your pants.
B. JONES: Terrible, terrible for those folks, but the courage that they've displayed coming out and naming names and also dealing with those episodes, they are to be commented.
FOREMAN: Other news, tipping the scales, in Morocco, the remains of the earliest homosapiens were unearthed.
HONG: I didn't even know that pre-human was a thing, although I can tell you I've definitely gone on a few dates with some.
FOREMAN: In Lovelock, Nevada, after nine years in prison --
WATSON: Congratulations to O.J. Simpson on being the only one who had a good year. He is free.
FOREMAN: And in London, bad boy, Prince Harry getting hitched, engaged to American actress Meghan Markle and ready to make party plans.
DEOL: Does it involve 3,000 models and a thousand bottles of vodka? Yes, this won't do at all.
FOREMAN: Stay put in a little bit. We'll have the miracles of coffee, a big noise from the Amazon, and we'll strike up the band. From the Killers to Kendrick Lamar, we'll check out what was hot and not in music. Plus, TV gets steamy with dragons, Desperados.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm bad luck.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have that in common, you know.
FOREMAN: And danger. It's All the Best, All the Worst 2017.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:38:06] FOREMAN: There was plenty to like in music in 2017 from the cool funk of Bruno Mars --
WATSON: I think this is a good year for music.
FOREMAN: -- to the slick pop of Portugal the man, to the captivating country sound of Sturgill Simpson.
PAEGE: There was a lot of new music this year.
FOREMAN: The reigning queen of pop, Taylor Swift, shocked fans by deleting most of her social media and taking on a new tougher character.
HONG: We like Taylor with a little bit of bitterness but she's jumped the shark with the bitterness. Pull it back, Taylor. Pull it back.
FOREMAN: Beyonce did pull back on the music but dominated Instagram.
V. JONES: Beyonce is somebody who even when she does stuff that has been done for 10,000 years like, oh, I don't know, being pregnant, it's still fascinating.
FOREMAN: Even as Kendrick Lamar proudly saying be humble.
DEAOL: Kendrick Lamar, the greatest rapper alive, it's like I'm listening to a psychotherapist.
FOREMAN: Best old school, Selena Gomez is a sample of a talking hedge (ph) rift. Best new face still rising, Halsey. Ed Sheeran kept a solid place on the charts, so did Miley Cyrus.
CUPP: The new stuff, Malibu, that's a great tune.
FOREMAN: Best catch race, Demi Lovato.
[21:40:00] Worst heart break, saying goodbye to Tom Petty, Fats Domino, Glenn Campbell, Chuck Barry, David Cassidy, Walter Becker, and more. Best come back from a hard time away, Kesha.
Another big return --
WATSON: I have loved the journey that Lorde has been on and the fact that she came back this year was I think a huge gift.
PAEGE: Music this year has been very diverse. One song I really liked in particular was a song by Logic.
FOREMAN: Best band you should know, The Killers. Best collaboration, Hailee Steinfeld and Florida Georgia Line. And biggest hit of the year, like it or not.
BERMAN: Oh, "Despacito", no.
HONG: "Despacito" is so damn edgy.
B. JONES: Everyone jumped on that. Despacito was worn out. Good video though. I like the video.
FOREMAN: Now, we're turning to television where plenty of shows were smoking hot, but none burned brighter than the one with the dragons.
WATSON: "Game of Thrones" did not last nearly as long as I wanted it to, but we did finally get John Snow and our Khaleesi meeting up, getting some actual tension, getting some long, smoldering gazes on.
BERMAN: Now that the dragons are grown, I think they're much more interesting.
V. JONES: I guess now, they're making so much money. They have like dragons in every scene. They're going to start giving dragons like, you know, talking lines and stuff, and I love it.
FOREMAN: "The Walking Dead" kept devouring viewers and truthfully, so did "Pretty Little Liars". But the best show about not telling the truth was, "Big Little Lies".
DEAOL: It was excellent. I mean, wealth and ocean and domestic violence. I mean, that's very impressive.
CUPP: Talk about real estate porn, my god, those houses were unbelievable.
FOREMAN: Best new cop show, "Mindhunter".
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can't like everything we do. We're talking about to serial killers.
FOREMAN: Serial killers. Worst add for a vacation timeshare, the riveting, jaw-dropping, "Ozark."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mom, what are we doing here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your father's laundering money from a Mexican drug cartel.
WATSON: Jason Bateman was phenomenal. Who knew that he could be that dark and a little scary and I love it when actors got a chance to show that side of them.
FOREMAN: Spooky was en vogue (ph).
PAEGE: Oh, Riverdale was pretty big this year. FOREMAN: "Twin Peaks" raised some pulses, and "The Handmaid's Tale" had plenty of fans squirming.
HONG: There were times watching "The Handmaid's Tale" where we, as women, were like, is this a documentary?
BERMAN: The best TV I watched this year was the Ken Burn's Vietnam series on PBS. I watched the crap out of that.
FOREMAN: The crown and the empire deserve shoutouts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why are you speaking clown?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are you speaking English?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why making so much kiss?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is wrong with you people?
FOREMAN: While the "Big Bang Theory" gave us what looked like the worst spin-off, but a show that did well, "Young Sheldon".
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go play.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There, I played.
FOREMAN: It helped lead the way for a slew of successful comedies having a great year, including unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you sure the other guy was gay?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody is gay, Kimmy. It's the '90s.
FOREMAN: The masters of none, better call Saul.
B. JONES: Ballers, I have to catch balers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Curb your enthusiasm, glad that's back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, BoJack.
FOREMAN: Animation was galloping along, led by the wildly inventive "BoJack Horseman".
DEOL: I like the horse. I like the horsey.
FOREMAN: "Bob's Burgers" kept cooking, and for Rick and Morty's cult- like following there was nothing bigger.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I call that progress.
WATSON: Are you a Rick and Morty fan? Yes? Should I get into it?
FOREMAN: Best sort of game show, "Shark Thank".
CUPP: I just love it. So aspirational. FOREMAN: Best show to make you wonder what else you should do, "The Good Place".
HONG: It really makes you think about what it takes to be a good person on this planet, and I feel like we could all use a little bit more of that right now.
FOREMAN: And best follow-up to a first season hit by far, "Stranger Things II".
PAEGE: I had very high expectations because I did enjoy the first season so much. And I can say I actually was so incredibly surprised and pleased with the second season.
WATSON: I was equally turned on and grossed out at the same time which hasn't happened to me since college, really. So that was a fun experience.
[21:45:00] HONG: I was like, don't even try and reach me for the next 12 hours because I'm busy.
FOREMAN: Don't step away from your TV because in just a moment, we'll keep up with the Kardashians, the sky will go dark.
And brace yourself, it's happening. Robots are taking over the world or maybe it's just Amazon. "All the Best, All the Worst 2017" keeps moving.
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FOREMAN: Nothing was more hair raising in the world of pop culture than the two French wing-suit divers who jumped off of a mountain and flew into an airplane.
The best high flyer could be the voyager spacecraft, now way beyond our solar system, which came to light and fired its engines on command for the first time in 37 years. But we're giving the award to Peggy Whitson, a NASA astronaut who touched down with a record, 665 total days in space, more than any other American.
HONG: Peggy Whitson heard what was going on down here on earth and she was like, oh I'm never coming back.
[21:50:02] FOREMAN: Worst turbulence, the clashes between airlines and passengers that shook up the headlines.
DEOL: I hate them all. Do you think that like the laws of the land ends just because you're on this craft that's going to be in the air?
FOREMAN: The best technology trend this year was the rapidly accelerating use of robots. Most dazzling demo, the back flipping Atlas robot, of course, not everyone is ready for the rise of the machines.
CUPP: No, no. I don't want strange robots in my house. Absolutely not. The machines are going to take over one day and I'm not going to help them.
PAEGE: I don't like. Oh, that's creepy maybe just because I fee like the Terminator and things like that.
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, TERMINATOR MOVIE: My CPU is in tact but I cannot control my other functions.
FOREMAN: Artificial intelligence also took a big leap forward.
WATSON: I have Alexa, and I got her because everybody told me you need to get Alexa, this is amazing. I never use her, and I'm also mostly convinced that she is spying on me.
FOREMAN: Worst plan apps and license give it to mobile phone makers.
HONG: There's a new iPhone coming out, which means my old iPhone will stop working in five, four, three, two, yes.
BERMAN: Well, I'm -- I have bought but not yet received my iPhone 10. So I reserve the right to be blown away by it. And if I'm not, then there's going to be some issues.
FOREMAN: And yet, with voice and face recognition, global tracking and more, there's some creepiness there, too.
V. JONES: I just don't think your phone should know more about you than your friend.
FOREMAN: Best and worse waist of time. Fidget spinners at one point has committed to account for 17% of online toy sing (ph).
B. JONES: I don't get it because how is not made this twirl.
DEOL: I've never heard of this in my life. It looks like a hubcap.
FOREMAN: Best thing that looked like a hubcap, the total eclipse visible for a few moments coast to coast.
V. JONES: I got gypped on the eclipse. I was in Las Vegas for the eclipse, and it was overcast, and I couldn't see it.
FOREMAN: Best news to wake up to. New studies which say drinking more coffee can lead to a longer life.
WATSON: Coffee may prolong your life-span, you say. I have no opinion.
FOREMAN: Best news for animal rights activists and worse for a nostalgia buss. After more than century of clowning around, the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey, circus folded its tents.
B. JONES: I'm OK with circus being done. Be done with the circus. Let the animals be free. Go be free animals.
FOREMAN: Best movement in media, the amazing resurgence of podcasts.
HONG: Podcasts are bigger than TV shows now. Podcast are bigger than movies. Podcasts are it.
FOREMAN: Worst mayhem for shopping malls. The steady decline of some mainstream stores pushed into financial straights by online competition.
JONES: Toy R Us, toys are not us anymore. Everyone is buying things online. No one really goes in the store anymore.
PAEGE: Yes, that blew my mind. Because Toys R Us like, what, my child.
BERMAN: I'm not sure whether or not Amazon will own the universe, but if it does, you know, they'll do it in less than two days and will arrive in your doorstep in that time frame.
FOREMAN: Worst pop culture problem. Keeping up with the Kardashians amid news of multiple pregnancies as fall rolled in. Best way to save up for your kids' college, maybe bitcoin, the online currency which saw a huge bites and value this year. Worst word, although also the most hilarious, covfefe. Best decoration for the den this painting by Da Vinci, which win for a record breaking $450 million.
CUPP: If someone somewhere has that kind of money to spend on art, that's nice. That's nice. I'm proud of you.
FOREMAN: Worst delivery. The potato chip cans authorities say were used by a California man to smuggle king cobras. And best hero for our times, that guy in South Carolina who went to waffle house late, found everyone asleep and cooked his own breakfast creating an internet sensation.
Keep your waffles warm. We will be right back with some excellent wishes for next year in the final reel of "All the Best, All the Worst 2017".
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[21:58:20] FOREMAN: Well, the bad movie that was 2017 is done. It's time to roll the credits and sweep the floor. But we have just enough time for a few wishes and predictions from our soothsayers.
WATSON: My wish for 2018 is that even if people from different sides can't come to an agreement, at least we can walk away from a discussion feeling like we understood where the person is coming from even if we don't agree with it.
PAEGE: I would like to see more happiness among American people.
BERMAN: My wish for America would be, you know, a couple of gold medals in the luge. We can achieve that, who knows. There's no limit to what we can achieve as a country.
V. JONES: My wish is that we remember we can vote against each other but we don't have to hate each other.
CUPP: I think my wish for America for 2018 would be to be a bit nicer on social media.
HONG: My wish for next year is for world peace and harmony and an absolutely blistering report on the Russia investigation.
B. JONES: Let's get along. How about that?
DEOL: OK, this interview is over. This is the rest of the interview now.
FOREMAN: And so is our show. We would like to say thanks to our guests and to you for watching. On behalf of everyone at "Anderson Cooper 360", and the CNN family worldwide, I'm Tom Foreman wishing you all the best and none of the worst in 2018.
