Backtrack: The Best and Worst of December Entertainment

The year is over, and so is December — and it was quite a memorable one in terms of entertainment. While some incredible movies came out, many more also emerged, and our favorite TV shows were also shaking things up. We've got the best and worst of December from a supereventful month right here.

Most Mediocre Holiday Special: The Sound of Music Live!
NBC

Most Mediocre Holiday Special: The Sound of Music Live!

The good reviews weren't really alive for The Sound of Music Live!, despite some heartfelt performances by Stephen Moyer, Carrie Underwood, and the rest of the cast. Underwood's acting took a lot of the heat, but whatever it was, I think we can just keep the original movie with Julie Andrews as one of our favorite things.

Best Hair: American Hustle
Sony Pictures

Best Hair: American Hustle

American Hustle has already been showered with award nominations, but in our eyes, it's already won a very important category: best coifs. There's Christian Bale's epic comb-over, Amy Adams's curls, Jennifer Lawrence's dancing updo, Bradley Cooper's tight perm — the acting is good, but those 'dos deserve a supporting award for their performance.

Best Holiday Gift: Jimmy and Justin's SNL Episode
NBC

Best Holiday Gift: Jimmy and Justin's SNL Episode

The buildup for Jimmy Fallon's episode of Saturday Night Live with Justin Timberlake as musical guest was pretty big, since the duo's past performances on the show had been so good. They didn't disappoint, reprising The Barry Gibb Talk Show, and delivering skits like "Wrappinville." Merry Christmas to us, indeed!

Best Twist: Once Upon a Time's Winter Finale
ABC

Best Twist: Once Upon a Time's Winter Finale

Once Upon a Time went out for its Winter hiatus in a spectacular fashion, and we couldn't be more stoked about the twist. In the midseason finale, everyone from Fairy Tale Land went back, while Emma and Henry were left to make a new life in the real world. Like Hook says, Emma has to remember, so we can't wait to see what happens when the show picks back up in March.

Boldest Award Season Movie: The Wolf of Wall Street
Paramount Pictures

Boldest Award Season Movie: The Wolf of Wall Street

Who knew Martin Scorsese could deliver this many laughs? The director's Wolf of Wall Street is earning award nominations and praise for its star, Leonardo DiCaprio, and it's well deserved — his acting is great, but what you won't be able to forget are the scenes in which he's overindulging in drugs and raunchy sex and putting a candle where the sun does not, incidentally, shine.

Biggest Shake-Up: Golden Globe TV Categories
NBC

Biggest Shake-Up: Golden Globe TV Categories

This year's Golden Globe nominees had quite a few surprises in the TV categories. We're still scratching our head at the exclusion of heavy hitters like Mad Men and Homeland, but we're happy that there was so much room made for deserving nominees like Parenthood's Monica Potter.

Best-Kept Secret: Beyoncé's "Visual" Album
Getty | Kevin Mazur

Best-Kept Secret: Beyoncé's "Visual" Album

It's crazy that anyone can keep anything a secret in this age of the Internet, but Beyoncé pulled it off when she released her latest album on iTunes. There were no leaks, no murmurs about it — just a nice surprise of a great new album.

Craziest Death: Brody on Homeland
Showtime

Craziest Death: Brody on Homeland

Brody had had a target on his back since day one of Homeland, and he was finally hit (so to speak) in the season three finale. Brody was killed off in a graphic scene, leaving Carrie pregnant and distraught. Now we're left wondering where the show will go from here.

Hairiest Controversy
NBC

Hairiest Controversy

The charm of A&E's hit reality show Duck Dynasty hit a low note earlier this month when star Phil Robertson made some homophobic comments to GQ. He was suspended by the network, his supporters cited free speech, and things got hairier than a Robertson beard. The suspension has been lifted, but it remains to be seen whether this dynasty will remain one of TV's most popular.

Source: A&E