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The year’s Top TV moments

Updated: Kerry quits The 7:30 Report? Hey Dad sex claims? Marion booted from MasterChef? Here is TV Week's top 10 list.

Today’s TV Week has a bit of fun with a list of Australia’s top television moments of 2010.

“They are moments that have fuelled debates, arguments, emails, blogs and articles, and imprinted themselves on our own lives in the process,” notes editor Emma Nolan.

“Some are fiction, some are real, some involve lives in the balance – and nearly all have had some sense of drama.”

From the overall list of 100 moments, TV Week selected the top 10. These were then ranked by a poll on leading website Ninemsn.

Here are a few select picks:

97) Paul the psychic octopus dies
88) B*tchy Mel on My Kitchen Rules
82) Talkin’ ’Bout Your Generation 3D episode
76) The diner goes up in flames on Home And Away
67) Ellen joins Idol… then quits!
63) Happy Days star Tom Bosley dies
58) Geoff Huegill’s Delhi comeback
51) Miley Cyrus quits Hannah Montana
44) Kerry O’Brien bows out of The 7.30 Report
31) The Independents announce their decision
29) The Storm gets exposed and stripped in the NRL
27) Torah’s Winter Olympic gold
20) The Stig unmasked
14) Hey Dad! sexual abuse revelations

UPDATED: TV Week has since supplied the following:

10. Oprah comes on down
“Maybe I should take you all with me to the Other. Side. Of. The. World!” Oprah announced to a hysterical studio audience of 300 in Chicago in September. “We’re going to… Australia!” In came a prop Qantas jet, out popped John Travolta (who seemingly lives in one), and everyone hyperventilated.

9. Justin Bieber’s Sunrise concert is cancelled

Around 4000 excitable teens had camped out for Justin’s only Aussie show in April, a three-song gig in front of Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal. But at 2am the crowd began surging dangerously, and over the next few hours many were trampled – leading police to can the show.

“I love my fans… I love it here in Australia… and I want to sing,” tweeted Biebs. The teen heart-throb belted one out in Sunrise’s Martin Place studio instead.

8. Marion gets knocked out of MasterChef

She was the favourite from the start, so the whole nation was shocked when MasterChef’s shining star, Marion Grasby, was eliminated before the final week on the back on a near-perfect satay sauce.

Marion, however, seemed far more accepting of her fate than the viewing public.

“I have to admit, I did feel an enormous sense of relief that I was going home and I was going to get started on a whole heap of things,” said the 27-year-old, who has since been developing her own range of sauces.

The fuss died down a couple of weeks later when Adam Liaw was crowned the season two winner. A few months later we had a Junior MasterChef winner on our hands in the name of Isabella, 12.

7. Sarah Murdoch’s winner gaffe

It was dubbed the “ultimate blonde moment” and became an instant internet sensation worldwide. Despite pulling off a perfectly polished performance for the majority of the live finale, it all fell apart for Australia’s Next Top Model host Sarah Murdoch in the closing moments, when a production glitch meant she mistakenly announced Kelsey Martinovich as the winner instead of Amanda Ware.

“I don’t know if I love live TV so much anymore,” Sarah said the next day. “I might go for pre-recorded [next year]!”

6. Grey’s Anatomy hospital shoot-out and siege

We thought Grey’s could never top its past finales when Denny (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) died at the prom or when George (TR Knight) and Izzie (Katherine Heigl) met on the elevator to heaven. We were wrong. The sixth season finale, in which a gunman went on a bloody rampage along the hospital corridors, outdid anything that had come before.

From the heart-stopping shooting of McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) and the shock deaths of Reed (Nora Zehetner) and Charles (Robert Baker) to Meredith’s (Ellen Pompeo) tragic miscarriage at the end, it was television at its best.

5. Chilean miners rescued

We couldn’t tear ourselves away from the TV as we anxiously watched as 33 Copiapó copper miners were rescued following a mineshaft collapse. After spending 69 days 700m underground, all 33 of the miners emerged safely – to a worldwide media frenzy.

“We are not pop stars or anything, we’re just ordinary people,” said one survivor, who’d literally fled a throng of photographers gathered outside his hospital.

4. Kevin Rudd steps down as PM

Flanked by his family, K-Rudd turned on the waterworks on June 24 as he delivered his concession speech. Just seven months earlier, his approval rating topped 70 per cent.

“What I’m less proud of is the fact that I have now blubbered,” he said.

Julia Gillard – who ousted Kevin – then addressed the nation as our first female PM.

3. The AFL Grand Final is a draw

“An ideal result for the AFL would be a draw, and we do it all again next week,” laughed Andrew Demetriou prior to the first, non-deciding Collingwood versus St Kilda decider. The AFL boss got his wish, in a dramatic (if eventually deflating) 68-all nailbiter. The Pies destroyed the Saints the following Saturday – while the league pocketed a cool $20m windfall.

2. Ray Meagher’s Gold Logie win

“It was such a great moment for the show – and for Ray,” said co-star Ada Nicodemou (Leah). “The whole Home And Away cast stood up and cheered. It was a very emotional moment that I won’t forget. I’ve worked with Ray for 11 years and he is a true class act, a gentleman and a professional with a great sense of humour.”

1. The death of Mel Rafter

There was no stopping the tears when newly widowed Ben (Hugh Sheridan), alongside his father, Dave (Erik Thomson), and with his mother, sister and brother behind him, walked down the hospital corridor to identify Melissa’s (Zoe Ventoura) dead body. Her death was the most shocking TV accident of the year.

“It was so difficult,” Hugh said of shooting the scenes. “We all had tears in our eyes knowing Zoe was going, and the way Melissa died was just awful. It was tough to film.”

Source: TV Week

18 Responses

  1. Is this a ranked list or a chronological list? It seems that they’ve compiled every TV event and put them from what happened at the start of the year, and put the most recent one at #1. And really? The Grey’s Anatomy shootout scene? ER’s episode where they went into Lockdown because of a smallpox outbreak was a sign that they were desperate for storylines, Greys’ shooting was a sign that the writers don’t have Any creativity, granted I’m not going to list a bunch of great storylines, but cmon…

    And how is it possible that The Independents announcing their decision not in the top 10 if not #1, this is news that not only effects the three illiterate, mornic viewers that watch their favourite show every day/week, but effects millions if not billions of people across the world.

    There are so many adjustments that should be made to that list it isn’t even funny, or worth crediting for that matter, whoever compiled this should seriously take a good hard look at the list and re-do it.

  2. I was in front of the telly for the independents announcement and the miners rescue, both on ABC News. Not a channel I watch much, but serves a purpose (should be just SD though – make ABC1 or 2 HD). Perhaps we should have a vote for the best secondary channel, as distinct from ratings. For me it’s One and ABC News (both of which are genre-specifc – hint, hint to the other networks).

  3. I can’t believe John Stamos ‘performing’ Hot Patootie, Bless My Soul on the Rocky Horror ep of Glee didn’t make the top 10!!!!

    Btw, what was the outcome of the Hey Dad scandal? That one seemed to vanish pretty quickly.

  4. So glad they included Grey’s in there – that was such a powerful episode – Spoiler Alert – Derek being shot and Christina allowing him to “flatline” – that moment with Meredith – I was Howling sobbing. Killing off some regular characters meant that there was every possibility of McDreamy leaving too. So good!! Felt like I’d been hit by a bus after, but it was so good!! Will definitely be investing in that season on dvd!!

    And Mel’s death on PTTR was amazing as well – just a shame Channel 7 milked it so much with the ad campaign. Other than that – beautifully acted, beautifully written, very real.

    Justin Bieber – nobody annoys me more!! His stupid hair!! I’d love to get to him with a razor – teenage boys these days use hair straighteners more than girls and he is a big reason for it (I’m a high school teacher).

  5. i cried when miley cyrus quit hannah montana. it was like the world ending.. marion being eliminated from master chef was a joke. it was if they wanted her out of the comp, so that they wouldn’t be shown up by a amateur

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