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Schools are charged with instilling a lifelong love of reading in their students. When musty books written hundreds of years ago are the required reading, sometimes the opposite occurs. Some students may relish the thought of digging into Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales from the 14th century, or one of the epic Russian novels like Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, but for many, those books bear little relevance to life today. Here are 10 modern American classic novels, listed in alphabetical order, which can reinvigorate a love for the classic novel.

Always searching for cheap, buzz-worthy TV programming, network officials have been on the prowl for reality shows that will get people talking and tuning in on a regular basis. But as viewers tire of one type of reality format after another, producers have been tempted to create more outlandish and risqué scenarios. Some have developed reality shows that are so over-the-top, they backfire. Case in point: All My Babies’ Mamas. This reality show was to have aired on the Oxygen channel in 2013 and chronicled rapper Shawty Lo and his dealings with the 10 women who birthed his 11 children. Protests grew before a single episode aired and network executives finally opted to cancel the series. While not all of the below shows sparked similar controversy, each has garnered its share of criticism in recent years.

The progressive rock band Rush finally gets some long overdue recognition with its 2013 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It’s a great source of pride to fans of the group, not to mention millions of Canadian music fans that claim the band as their own. Dozens of successful musical groups hail from Canada, from seminal legends such as The Band to popular divas like Celine Dion and current pop stars like Justin Bieber. But in honor of Rush’s classic rock roots, we’ve decided to take a look at Canada’s 10 best classic rockers. The hardest part of this is deciding what fits the description of “classic rock,” but hopefully, that somewhat ambiguous term is understood well enough that fans of Nickelback, Arcade Fire, The Band, Joni Mitchell and a few other performers won’t be upset their favorite artist didn’t make the cut.

The International Association for Near-Death Studies reports up to 15 percent of those surveyed in the U.S., Germany and Australia have had a near-death experience. Those who have gone through an NDE usually report similar experiences: they may have seen and felt a brilliant white light, encountered dead loved ones, watched their entire life flash in front of them (the “life review”) and hovered outside their body (the aptly-titled “out-of-body experience”). While some people who have these near-death experiences are afraid to talk about them, others are more than happy to share their story. The 10 celebrities on this list have all publically talked about going through a near-death experience, and they insist that their experiences were very real — not simply the hallucinations of an oxygen-starved brain, a common theory used to explain NDEs. And, as with so many others, the following celebrities assert their near-death experience forever changed their outlook on life, mostly for the better.

The movies are in trouble. Hollywood has beaten a variety of challenges before, but those were different; they were external threats. This time the danger lies within the film industry itself. To remain vital as an art form, movie companies need to carefully examine the current state of the business, and how executive decisions are affecting everything from box office revenue to profitability. The American movie industry isn’t going away anytime soon, but if some of these troubling trends aren’t reversed, it could look much different in the future.

Scores of companies have mascots or corporate icons. You can probably name dozens off the top of your head: Ronald McDonald, Tony the Tiger, the Morton Salt Girl, Mr. Peanut, the Jolly Green Giant, etc. Then there are the corporations that create an ad campaign establishing a person as the “face” of the company. It’s not an easy task, but for those companies that succeed, the commercial stars sometimes become household names, even beloved cultural icons. And the company ends up earning higher sales and good publicity, sometimes for decades after the original advertising run ends. Here, in no particular order, is a look at 10 somewhat ordinary individuals who became the face of some of the world’s most famous brands.

So much has been made of so-called “one-hit wonders” that VH1 dedicated an entire series to those bands that rose to fame with one hit single in the U.S. and then flamed out. But what is truly wondrous about the following 1980s “one-hit” artists is that they are still making new music and/or touring. Whether supported by a loyal cult following, or pursuing new music with their original groups or as solo artists, these performers are proving that their 15 minutes of fame didn’t expire three decades ago.

Remember the first time you heard the song Bohemian Rhapsody? If you’re in the over-45 age set, you recall this as a popular 1970s song by the colorful band Queen. If you’re a bit younger, you probably remember hearing it for the first time in the 1991 flick Wayne’s World. That’s just one example of a classic rock song that has achieved cult status far exceeding its original popularity, whether through appearances in movies or TV shows, in commercials or in the video game Guitar Hero. Since “cult” has some very negative connotations, we’ll define it here as a song that appeals to a mass audience, when many of the fans who like it have no clue about the song’s origins.

It’s a sad but not-too-surprising fact: most Americans that suffer from mental health issues, from depression to schizophrenia to PTSD, receive little or no treatment. While incidents such as the Sandy Hook shootings in 2012 raised awareness of mental health concerns, the stigma often remains. Many simply live with their conditions as best they can, knowing that the diagnosis of a mental disorder could cause them to be shunned by their family, lose their job and even be feared by society. But while there is reluctance by many to talk about mental health issues, Hollywood has been raising awareness for years. While portraying some of the most tragic afflictions we face, movies with mental health themes also show us true triumph, along with flashes of brilliance that represent the best of what it means to be human.

An ability to stand the test of time isn't the only measure of a great motion picture. But the list of films that have garnered high praise one year only to be virtually forgotten a few years later is a very long one indeed. Some of the best movies of the 1980s, listed in alphabetical order here, were commercial hits, and some weren't. But they all still hold up very well, several decades later. This is the third in a five-part series on the best 50 movies of the past 50 years.

Cover songs have been around since the beginning of the music business. Some covers turn out very well, racking up sales and earning the respect of the original artist. On the other hand, this list of 10 cover songs makes it excruciatingly clear that some renditions should never have been done. You’ll see what we mean if you dare check out these selections, which consist mainly of classic rock hits, although we couldn’t resist throwing in a Nancy Sinatra ditty and a remake of a disco tune (just to prove disco could indeed get worse). Here they are in an order that starts at a bad level and escalates to worse than listening to a cat in heat.

When you’re a novelist and Hollywood makes a movie featuring megastar Tom Cruise as your main character, you’ve hit the big time. Cruise, the star of the 2012 film Jack Reacher, will certainly inspire many potential new readers to check out author Lee Child’s books. Child — a pen name for British writer Jim Grant — has written 18 novels featuring Reacher, a 6-5, 230-pound former U.S. Army policeman who drifts around exploring America. Unfortunately, Reacher keeps stumbling across all sorts of misdeeds and corruption that he uncovers using his investigative skills. The bad guys begin meeting terrible fates as Reacher gets closer to the truth. I accidently discovered one of Child’s novels around 1999 and quickly became hooked, reading the entire series. It’s an odd yet fulfilling feeling to start reading books by an obscure writer you enjoy, then watching through the years as millions of others discover his work. For those movie fans that have caught Jack Reacher fever, or others who recently discovered Child’s books, here are five must-read Lee Child books.

Long before shows like American Idol and The X Factor came along, the Miss America pageant was the ultimate TV reality show — several dozen beautiful, intelligent young women from around the U.S. brought together in the ultimate competition, with only one winner emerging. While the pageant no longer captivates the American public the way it did in its 1960s heyday, the title “Miss America” is still synonymous with beauty, grace, talent and all-American wholesomeness. As a new Miss America accepts her crown Jan. 12 in Las Vegas, here are a few reasons to appreciate this annual event.

Robots have long been a classic element of science fiction lore. The first robots in the modern sense appeared in Czech writer Karel Čapek’s 1920 morality tale Rossum’s Universal Robots. Since that time, robots have embodied our hopes and fears in the best of science fiction tradition. Some people believe robots will ultimately free us from the drudgery of work and other tedious chores; others worry robots will acquire sentient intelligence and attempt to enslave/exterminate all of mankind. Either way, each passing year brings numerous advances in the booming field of robotics. Will your Roomba continue to obediently vacuum up the house, or will it link up with your toaster in a bid for world domination? We can’t answer that question, but here are 10 of the most memorable robotic characters in modern science fiction.

Television executives, long in search of big ratings and big profits, all too frequently cast their eyes on big-name stars in a never-ending attempt at launching the next successful TV series. But as the below examples prove, signing a blockbuster star to headline a sitcom or drama on the small screen does not guarantee ratings success. This has proven true whether the star is new to TV or previously headlined a successful series. Looking back, it’s hard to believe some of these entertainment stars were ever considered a good fit for the small screen.

While some people love to ridicule the following products popularized through the years in infomercials, admit it — you or your family members probably have some, if not many, of these products tucked away. Somebody is certainly buying these products, most of which have sold millions of units. As the inventors laugh all the way to the bank, the rest of us can laugh at spoofs of these products on YouTube, and quirky pop-culture references. Really, where else could a late-night TV pitchman become a household name once satirized on SNL. Here’s looking at you, Ron Popeil.

As Baby Boomers and Generation X members get older and grayer, gone are the wild rock ’n’ roll concerts of their youth, in favor of more cultured events, like symphony orchestra concerts. It didn’t take a marketing genius to figure out that by combining aging rockers with orchestras in concert, rock groups could sell tickets to a show, and then sell the recording on DVD, CD and iTunes. So in recent years a number of hard-rock bands have collaborated with symphony orchestras in concert, creating a strange juxtaposition of music worlds: electric guitars and cellos, leather and tuxedos, tattoos and tubas. We hope you enjoy some of these more surreal collaborations.

So another Christmas is at hand, and you’re hearing Christmas songs everywhere you go — in the mall, on the radio, on TV specials … maybe even in your dreams. But what do we know about these songs that now fill two to three months of our lives? As it turns out, some of these songs have been around much longer than you might imagine, and have far different origins than the cheery “holiday spirit” image you might have in mind. Here’s a brief look at the history of some of the most popular Christmas songs, along with a few alternate versions you may not have heard before.

Where were you the first time you heard Michael Jackson’s Thriller? Or how about when you first heard Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit? Chances are, you didn’t realize you were listening to a song creating a revolution in music. It’s much simpler to look back at more than a half-century of pop music and identify the songs that changed everything. These songs either introduced a new musical style or production technique, and in many cases launched a number of subgenres, not to mention artists. Here’s a look at 10 songs that rocked the music industry.

Enough time has passed now for us to get a good read on the best movies of the 1990s. Some classics have emerged, along with fan favorites. A handful of both appear on this list. Even the Academy Awards, notorious for giving the Oscar for Best Picture to the wrong movies, got it right a few times during the decade. The below films are listed in alphabetical order. This is the second of a five-part series on the top motion pictures of the past five decades.

Horror themes are a big part of modern pop culture. We enjoy classic horror movies such as The Thing and Silence of the Lambs, and newer offerings, like 28 Days Later. Stephen King and other modern horror authors follow in the proud tradition of masters such as Edgar Allen Poe and H.P. Lovecraft. But songs with a horror theme aren’t nearly so prominent. There are plenty of songs dealing with occult and horror themes in heavy metal, but not so much in classic rock, pop and country. And many popular tunes featuring spooky titles, such as Warren Zevon’s Werewolves of London, Boris Pickett’s Monster Mash and Ray Parker Jr.’s Ghostbusters, are more tongue-in-cheek humor than horror. That said, here are five pop songs with dark themes that are worth another listen.

Many companies think nothing of spending millions of dollars for celebrity endorsements. But a great advertising campaign can turn an ordinary citizen into a celebrity. In a few rare cases, these commercial stars go on to become cultural icons, with TV and movie appearances, book deals and other endorsements. Here’s a look back at some classic commercials that earned their stars a measure of fame.

Cult films are the rejects. These are the movies nobody went to see when they came out, presumably because they weren't any good. They've become cult films not just because those nobodies were wrong, but also because at least some of the early audience members have since changed their minds. All of the motion pictures on this list were either released within the past 40 years or achieved their following in that period, as cult status is a distinctly modern cultural phenomenon.

I remember as a kid trying to figure out just how old I would be when the year 2000 rolled around. That year seemed impossibly far off, a time straight out of the pages of science fiction. Would we live on Mars and commute via jet pack? Now that we’re well into the 21st century, it’s a bit strange that many red-letter dates from the science fiction of my youth have already come to pass, and many more are just around the corner. While the infamous Skynet computer network from the Terminator movies series is not operational yet — more on that later — I now carry in my pocket far more computing power than was available to the Apollo space missions. That said, here are 12 significant fictional dates in sci-fi history.

Youth rules in Hollywood. That’s been the case since the earliest days of silent films, and it’s still true today. Even the best actresses, no matter how accomplished, receive fewer roles, and less prestigious roles, as they move into middle age and beyond. Leading men and character actors can hang on to the limelight a few more years, but even they eventually begin losing those roles to younger actors. Then there are those performers who somehow manage to buck the youth trend and continue landing prime roles well into their later years. Here’s a look at five timeless stars who are still going strong well into their sixth, seventh, eighth or even ninth decade in entertainment. They haven’t been around forever … but it sure seems like it.

Film critics may serve a valuable purpose for moviegoers, but even more helpful is hindsight — especially for critics. Not one of the motion pictures listed below as the best of the ’00s won the Oscar for Best Picture, although most were at least nominated for something. But these are the movies people are still talking about, and watching, years later. The below films are listed in alphabetical order. This is the first of a five-part series on top films of the past five decades.

During the course of its 37 years spanning more than 700 episodes, Saturday Night Live has inspired some of the best-loved characters (Church Lady, Wayne and Garth), as well as the worst movies (Coneheads, MacGruber) of all time. It’s surprising how many familiar faces got their showbiz starts on SNL; Janeane Garafalo, Ben Stiller, Paul Shaffer, Robert Downey Jr., Randy Quaid and Joan Cusack all had blink-and-you-missed-it stints on the one of the longest-running shows in TV history. Other ex-cast members are still associated with the groundbreaking sketch comedy program, despite going on to bigger and better things. Still others are frozen in time, having had their comic careers cut short by personal demons, illness and other tragedies. Here we pay homage to the five funniest casts to grace Studio 8H in Rockefeller Center.

Be it morning, noon or night, these TV personalities came into our homes and captivated us with their own stories — and the stories of the guests they featured from one show to the next. The talk show is a genre that began during the dawn of TV and has been strong ever since. Some of these talk show hosts used their fame and TV show platform to make us laugh. Others took a different route and chose inspiration. Others decided to put the spotlight on sleaze and the degenerative aspects of society. Regardless of the format, here are 10 talk show hosts who have made their imprint in the TV landscape.

It's hard to break through as an actor. The vast majority of hopefuls never make it, and an even smaller number go on to become movie stars. Acting has always been an unfair business, but it's especially so for those actors who should be on the A-list but aren't, or who briefly were and then dropped off of it for a variety of reasons, or sometimes no reason at all. Here are 10 talented performers who have appeared in some popular films, and may have even won a major award or two, but for some reason haven't achieved major stardom.

Science fiction is the modern mythology of our era. And along with documenting our hopes and dreams, science fiction also captures our fears of the future. At best, these nightmarish visions may serve as a warning of a worst-case scenario, a dystopian future world where our ambitions outstrip the cautions unheeded. From a shiny, antiseptic future free of care to a brutal Big Brother techno-totalitarian state or a collapse into a new Dark Age, the eventual reality probably lies somewhere in between. What would a citizen from 100 years ago think of modern society? Would they be amazed by our conquest of many diseases and our comfortable lifestyle, or be alarmed at our modern views on liberty and freedom? Here are 10 modern films, some classic, some relatively unknown, that depict the warnings of dystopian futures.

If one didn't know any better, it could easily be assumed that virtually every one of the most financially successful movies of all time has been released within the past 10 years or so. Actually, not a single one of them has. Hollywood studios have long had a tradition of announcing their films' box-office figures without adjusting them for inflation, simply because it makes the movies appear to be bigger hits than they really are. And the entertainment media have repeated the practice, simply because they're lazy. Here are history's real top 10 movies (domestic grosses), with ever-rising ticket prices taken into account.

An audition can make or break an aspiring actor or singer, and entertainment history is full of instances where one performer’s audition overpowered all others and landed them a starring role. These tryouts were once rarely seen outside the studio, but in recent years, auditions have evolved into one of the most popular parts of reality shows such as American Idol and The X Factor, and they’ve become standard features in many special DVD releases. Of course, countless auditions have been uploaded to YouTube … and in some cases, the person posting their song, comedy act or stage performance didn’t even realize it was an unofficial “audition” that would land them their dream job. Here are some interesting auditions and screen tests found on YouTube.

The big break. In Hollywood, success hinges on being noticed. Any actor can work his or her way into movies slowly, incrementally, but becoming a major motion picture star requires the kind of star turn that will be remembered for years. Sometimes talent wins the day, but just as often being in the right place at the right time — or simple, dumb luck — can lead to a breakthrough performance. Here are the 10 most notable among living actors.

The city of Austin, Texas, unveiled a statue of country music legend Willie Nelson on April 20, and the 78-year-old musician was on hand to enjoy the ceremony. Too often, music stars are only honored in such fashion after their death. And what fun is that? Here are 10 interesting statues or sculptures around the world honoring music legends who met their demise much too early.

For more than 100 years, motion pictures have not just survived, they've thrived, both as a storytelling device and an art form. The titles have changed with the fashions of the times, of course, but more importantly, the medium has adapted, embracing new technologies and forms of presentation to remain vital. Here, listed in chronological order, are 10 movies that gave Hollywood new life.

Movies based on real events and persons have been around since the dawn of the film industry, but the genre has been on a roll in recent years, with films such as The Blind Side, Moneyball, 127 Hours and Into the Wild enjoying great critical acclaim and/or commercial success. Given the media coverage surrounding the release of those movies, we know about the fate of the subjects of those films, but what about the real-life inspirations for older biopics and other reality-based movies? Here’s a brief update on 5 people whose stories inspired popular movies.

When two people hit it off, it usually isn't because efforts were made to get them together. Yet when it comes to movies, that's exactly what casting professionals are charged with doing. Naturally, it doesn't always pay off. Here are 10 examples of acting duos in movie history that did find that special something, no matter what got them together in the first place.

In case you somehow missed the news, the world is supposed to end in December 2012, at least according to an ancient prediction by the Mayans. In the meantime, as you’re stockpiling food, water, weapons and other supplies, it might help to check out a few of these classic end-of-the-world books just so you’ll know what to expect when the end draws near. Seriously, doomsday literature is as old as the written word, but became more topical in the United States as the threat of a nuclear holocaust arose in the 1950s. Since then, many authors have found a way to end the world through nuclear war, disease, floods, meteor impacts, alien invasions and, yes, zombies. Here are 10 great doomsday books, covering a variety of scary scenarios.

Many journalists and political observers in recent years have been asking the same question: “Where have all the protest songs gone?” It seems so few contemporary musicians have tackled the big issues of our time. Yet political expression in music has a rich history, and many songs have famously highlighted social discontent and injustice. Some of them became powerful anthems, such as Mahalia Jackson’s rendition of We Shall Overcome, while others are simple calls for peace, like John Lennon’s Imagine. Politically motivated songs can stir passion, and provoke anger. Just think how the words of Billie Holiday’s 1939 version of Strange Fruit (a song about lynchings) affected Southern audiences at the time. All of them have a message, a purpose, and the power to move us through words and music.

Many musicians have thrived on protest songs over the decades, too numerous to include on this list, so we’ve picked 12 of them, representing various genres, including country, rap, pop, rock, folk, and reggae.

Friendships can be fragile, but when you add fame, fortune, drugs, groupies and rock and roll, even the best friendships can turn toxic. Rock music history is full of bands that rose to great fame, only to see band members turn on each other in sometimes very public fashion. In some cases, bitter disputes that began 40 years ago continue to this day. Here are five of the most divisive breakups in classic rock music history.

The popular culture of today has done away with the term "sex symbol." Maybe the idea of a celebrity, usually female, exuding desire is sexist, or maybe just attaching a name to the phenomenon is what riles, because we definitely still have sex symbols. And they have much to teach us about accepted notions of sexuality. The following chronological list, featuring female film sex symbols across the decades, reveals just how much those notions have changed.

Remember how your parents told you to never talk politics or religion in polite company? Well, many of the following TV shows didn’t take that advice, with a few adding taboo topics such as sex and race. Some shows are so controversial, they last only a few episodes before network executives bow to public pressure and cancel the series. Take The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer, which aired on UPN in 1998. Really, someone thought it would be a good idea to air a comedy about slavery, complete with jokes about hangings, cotton picking and so-called black dialect. That show aired only four times, the same number as the 2006 NBC show The Book of Daniel, which featured a pill-popping priest.

The following shows all attracted controversy, but for the most part, managed to survive longer than a few episodes. Some shows are now legendary for their jaw-dropping moments (South Park). Others, once seen as quite controversial, now seem almost tame given the passage of time (we’re talking about you, Married … with Children).

Determining the success of a TV series is hardly an exact science. Even a well-written, star-powered show doesn’t guarantee ratings gold. Actors fortunate to find steady work in a long-running hit series rarely replicate the scenario. But there are a few actors who have managed to buck the trend by headlining two or even three successful series during their careers. This list is not all-inclusive, but here are some of the most notable performers who hit it big more than once.

Adele caught many American music fans by surprise in 2011, as her Grammy-Award-winning single Rolling in the Deep and album 21 launched her to fame in the U.S. But Adele has been no secret in her native Great Britain, where her 2008 debut album, 19, hit No. 1 in the UK and made her a sensation in that country. Yet as many previous UK musicians have shown, success on that side of the Atlantic doesn’t automatically translate into fame in the U.S. For every Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton or other British import that finds stardom in America, there are many other British stars that fizzle in the U.S. Even some of the UK’s biggest stars found mediocre results across the Big Pond. Take Sir Cliff Richard. Touted as Britain’s answer to Elvis Presley in the late 1950s, he influenced The Beatles, Elton John and other music legends, has sold 18 million albums in the UK, yet he barely made a dent in the U.S. market.

Here are the top 10 British performers in terms of album sales in the United States, based on statistics from the Recording Industry Association of America.

The Oscars wouldn't be the Oscars without the snub, an annual ritual in which the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences overlooks deserving movies and performances in its nomination process. A recent decision to expand the number of Best Picture nominees from five to as many as 10 has addressed part of the problem, but actors, actresses and directors continue to be snubbed every year, with too few nominations to go around. Some snubs are worse than others, however. The following 10 people generally earned a few nominations, but have mostly gone home empty-handed on Oscar night.

It’s hard to believe now, with dozens of popular films under his belt, but Morgan Freeman was in his 50s before landing his first major movie roles in Hollywood. Today, after many high-profile award nominations and a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his work in Million Dollar Baby, Freeman is considered by many to be one of the greatest living actors. In honor of his 75th birthday this year, here’s a list of the top 10 Morgan Freeman films. As always with a film list of this type, a spoiler alert is in effect.

One important thing to note about great casting in a biographical film is that it does not always result in a great biopic. One of the strengths of film is that it's such a collaborative medium, but this is also why uninspired directing or a staid screenplay can so easily threaten an inspired performance. There are a few examples of that on this list, but in every case the exceptional work of the star still makes the picture worth watching. It’s also worth noting that while Hollywood has a long history of producing biopics, there are many more instances of actors portraying real people in films that aren't strictly about that person. This list is limited to genuine biopics.

Like a fine wine, Jane Austen never goes out of style, as Austen’s imagination, wit and love of love created some of the most beloved literature of all time. Her real life mimicked many of the women in her novels. She enjoyed socializing, dancing and the company of family and friends, although unlike several of her famous heroines, Austen never married. Her life did not have a happy ending, either, as she died in 1817 at age 41, possibly the victim of arsenic poisoning. In her relatively brief life, Austen turned out several novels that are now regarded as literary classics, many of which have been adapted for film or TV. Shirley MacLaine’s character, Ouiser Boudreaux, pretty much sums up the reasoning behind every Austen film adaptation in another classic “chick flick,” Steel Magnolias, “… And I don’t read books, ’cause if they’re good, they’re gonna make ’em into a miniseries.” In that spirit, here are the top five Jane Austen-inspired films and miniseries.

Do you hear what I hear? Christmas songs, 24-7 on the airwaves. Even classic rock stations have been hijacked by Jingle Bells and Rudolph. And they seem to start earlier each year. Halloween decorations hadn’t even been put away when Bing Crosby started crooning White Christmas. On the radio, in malls, grocery stores, cafes, and coffee shops, we’re accosted by an endless barrage of festive tunes. There are good ones among them, of course … I’m not a complete Grinch. The classics can be moving and there are a handful of modern gems. But hearing some holiday jingles once per season is quite enough. So for a change, here’s a list of great Christmas songs with a different twist. Sorry, there will be no mention of Rudolph, sleigh bells, silver bells, or jingle bells. Nor will there be any figgy pudding, holly jollies, or gay apparel. You might, however, hear the words Africa, war, bum, scumbag, punk, and collard greens. Here are 5 popular Christmas songs with an unusual twist.

What Twilight has done to resurrect the popularity of vampires, the hit TV series The Walking Dead is doing for zombies. A post-apocalyptic world where the dead have risen to hunt and devour the living is hip again. Zombies have come a long way since Bela Lugosi’s 1932 White Zombie and the clumsy, shuffling creatures first created by the “Godfather of all Zombies,” George A. Romero. The slow, “you couldn’t even catch my grandma” monsters have been replaced by lightning-quick, dead guys on speed. Could it be the hormones in meat? GM frankenfoods? Call it the rise of the modern zombie.

The definition of zombies has also expanded to incorporate unfortunate victims of viruses turning into vicious, raging killers. In the past, a movie zombie was usually a corpse coming back to life for whatever reason. The rules are flexible for vampires, and so they should be for zombies, despite what purists may think. But unlike vampires, these films are about the human survivors, not the monsters, who, let’s face it, are never going to develop personalities or invoke our sympathy. There may also be some loose metaphors about the state of humanity thrown in, the brainless consumerism of “mall zombies” for example. That said, here are the top 10 zombie movies.

For many of us born in the latter half of the 20th century, Sesame Street provided our first introduction to the alphabet, numbers and other need-to-know stuff. Through the years, the show has hosted a number of high-profile guests to help Elmo and the gang in their mission, and some of these special appearances actually turn out to be more interesting for parents than their children. Here are five classic guest star appearances from the show’s 42-year history.

Making a movie entails great risk. Not only does the filmmaker run the risk of his movie not being liked, it may not even be seen by more than a few dozen people. In an effort to improve the odds, filmmakers often attempt to make the kind of movie that's been made before, replete with all the elements that made those earlier pictures hits. This is how movie clichés are born. Eliminating today's most tiresome clichés wouldn't put a dent in the phenomenon; new clichés would just take their place. Nevertheless, elimination is what they deserve. Here are 10 movie clichés that wore out their welcome long ago.

The day the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its inaugural class for 1986, music fans started complaining — “Hey, they picked Fats Domino, why did they leave out B.B. King?” Twenty-five years later, controversy resurfaces every time the hall of fame announces its new class of inductees. The hall will announce its 2012 inductees in a few weeks, and once again, many music fans will complain that their favorite group has been overlooked. These fans look at some of the musicians who are already in the hall of fame, and think, “You can’t be serious.” Here are 10 groups that deserve a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, based on several factors, including their influence, popularity and critical acclaim. Finally, there’s the ultimate litmus test — are they more talented and deserving of a spot than artists already in the hall?

War movies have always been a controversial subject in Hollywood, with many asking the question: do such movies glorify violence and death? Some filmmakers have tried to answer this by making their war movies gritty and horrible, trying to accurately portray the violence and mayhem on film. But realistic war movies do not necessarily send an anti-war message, even if that is the filmmaker’s intent. The terrible spectacle that is war can be entertaining and exciting even when realistically depicted on the big screen.

Hollywood remakes motion pictures for essentially one reason — their money-making potential. Some remakes perform quite well financially, but most fail to meet their expectations. Often helping to heighten those expectations is the stature of the original movie. The more fans a film has, all the more reason there is not to revisit it years later. Although the list grows shorter every year, most of our best-loved movies have generally been left untouched. Rather, it's remakes of mediocre, obscure or even bad pictures that more frequently lead moviegoers to ask, "Why in the world did they go there?" Actually, filmmakers' reasons for doing so are sound. Titles in the horror genre, for instance, are routinely revisited since there are only so many ways to scare people, as well as for their franchise possibilities. If Hollywood were willing to widen its horizons and peruse other genres for remakes, it could easily identify several movies from the past that, while intriguing at the time, haven't stood the test of time, or were good but could've been better. In addition, there are many classic motion pictures that have through no fault of their own become dated and could benefit from an update. So, as a recommendation, here are five films, crossing decades and genres, that studios might want to take a look at instead of dumping many millions of dollars into the latest sure thing.

The realm of science fiction is a tight-knit community. While other genres have a wide appeal, science fiction has been, until very recently, solely a fan-driven genre. Although movies and TV have brought sci-fi to a wider audience and Internet sites and blogs have replaced fanzines, science fiction novels and short stories are still the mainstay of cutting-edge science fiction. The following list contains essential writers old and new who are well respected in the genre but aren’t as universally known (at least yet) as perhaps, say, Robert Heinlein or Isaac Asimov in the science fiction universe.

Filmmakers love to compliment other filmmakers. Critics make a living at it. Add in the general public's generous word of mouth, and it becomes easy to believe everything you hear about someone. For every film director whose talents go unsung, there are probably five more whose true abilities become lost in a tidal wave of praise long before they deserve such attention, if ever. No two movie fans are likely to agree on who those five may be. In fact, it's not uncommon to find the same names on lists of both overrated and underrated filmmakers — and not surprising, either. Every movie director on this particular list has made at least one great motion picture. But if it's true that one should be judged by his worst work, not his best, then these five movie directors (six, technically) have a lot to answer for.

From best-selling, critically acclaimed novels to manuscripts so obscure no more than a dozen people ever read them, filmmakers have searched through good books, bad books and everything in between looking for new stories to tell, or sometimes just dramatize. The more pedestrian movies do only that, taking what was on the printed page and transferring it to a new medium that, even with movement, color and sound, still requires fresh inspiration. Many great works of fiction have fallen victim to this indifference. But several others have benefited from the vision of directors and screenwriters who saw new possibilities in them. The movies on this list have either done full justice to prominent fiction, or made something exceptional of lesser-known works. They are all classics in their own right.

Many of today’s top Hollywood stars have been in show business a lot longer than you might imagine. Encouraged — if not pushed — by their parents to pursue commercial and acting roles, some landed their first commercial gigs while still toddlers. Here’s a look at five young future stars honing their skills in commercials.

With so many new movies hitting theaters every time we turn around, it's difficult for any one picture to stand out from the cinematic crowd. But one thing we never forget is a surprise ending, a movie that dares to be different before the final credits roll. Looking back at the 10 movies on this list, it may be easy to see those endings coming now, but we shouldn't flatter ourselves — these endings shocked us at the time. The majority of these movies are relatively recent, and there’s a reason for that — the more exposure we have to a film's ending, the less surprising it comes to seem over the years. And obviously, this list is prefaced with not just one, but 10 spoiler alerts. If you haven't seen these flicks and intend to, stop reading now. Better yet, see them and then come back later.

Big hair, bigger lapels and avocado-colored kitchen appliances are just some of the fun stuff from the 1970s – but the real fun comes from the music. It was all over the place: raucous rock, softer rock, smooth jazz and disco tunes. The decade’s music scene was also amazing for the crop of extraordinary one-hit wonders it sprouted. These top 10 one-hit wonders are particularly extraordinary because they had a huge hit and seemingly had the talent to make it big. But instead of becoming superstars, they instead are remembered for a single song.

Looking to laugh? Or curl up to a good tearjerker? Maybe you want to learn a new recipe, or find inspiration to remodel your home. You’ll find TV shows offering all that in your cable or satellite TV lineup. More than 30 years into its maturity, cable TV offers programming for every taste — provided you are willing to shell out money each month for cable or satellite service. In a crowded programming landscape, a few channels stand out from the pack as trailblazers impacting pop culture. Here are 10 cable networks that have introduced us to new shows and personalities and changed our viewing habits.

Horror films have been scaring and delighting audiences for more than 100 years. In the early days they were silent and Gothic in style, developed from folklore, fables, literature, and myths. Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922) was the very first vampire movie, and remains to this day a disturbing adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic tale. Horror has come a long way since then, with special effects, new concepts and big budgets. But themes haven’t changed all that much, and the goal remains the same — to frighten the pants off the viewer. Here are the top 10 horror movies of the new millennium.

Tom Hanks is a rarity. Movie stars today don't achieve, and then maintain, his level of fame for almost 30 years. There are too many movies these days, too many movie stars, and too many new ways for us to spend our leisure time. Celebrity has become a more diffuse phenomenon. So how has Hanks' profile remained so large for so long?

In today’s fast-paced world, the TV theme song is all but extinct. If viewers are lucky, they might be treated to a 20- or 30-second theme to their favorite show. But more often, a quick title sequence with the show’s name serves as the remnants of a practice that at one time offered musical openings lasting as long as two minutes. From the dawn of TV well into the 1990s, blockbuster TV theme songs were common. In some cases, the music took on a life of its own and surpassed the TV series in popularity. In other cases, the themes worked alongside the shows and gained the affection of viewers and music aficionados. Here’s a look at the top 10 TV theme songs of all time, based on several factors, including their commercial success, their recognition factor and their cultural impact.

Think of the image that comes to mind when someone mentions your favorite classic rock band. Chances are it’s an image from the group’s peak years, maybe cover art from an album or CD, or a poster. No one ever recalls their favorite band’s pre-fame days, when hairstyles were radically different and band members who have long since departed held key roles. But sometimes it’s fun to take a look at the past. Here are five interesting videos of classic rock groups before they became famous.

It’s a sitcom staple that’s as old as the genre itself. Television executives, eager to bring in hordes of viewers to the networks signing their paycheck, pull out whatever stops possible to try and bring in lofty TV ratings. One way of doing this, based on conventional wisdom, is creating a sitcom around a familiar personality. Through the years, many successful stand-up comedians have received their own series. There have been plenty of duds, but some of these laughers actually turned out to be smash hits and have endured the test of time through the TV afterlife known as reruns — not to mention lucrative sales of DVD box sets.

High school English assignments aside, Americans have always loved to read. A good book can be a lesson, an adventure, and an escape rolled into one. The authors on this list have soothed, instructed and entertained generations of Americans with their stories of romance, horror, success, and adventure. Some may be familiar, some may not, but one or two may have already changed your life. Exact sales figures are impossible to verify, but according to various sources, here are the top 10 best-selling American authors of all time.

Stephen King has been churning out one bestseller after another since the Nixon Administration, and although he’s now in his 60s, he’s shown no sign of slowing down. He’s written many classics, but also a few stinkers, with most of his career work rating somewhere toward the high end of that range. Picking King’s 10 best books is a tough task, but after having read every book in his arsenal at least once, and in some cases two or three times, I feel up to the task. Here are the Top 10 Stephen King books.

Blessed are the filmmakers who don't care about recognition, for there's always a good chance they won't get it. If they do, it may come too late — when they're dead, for instance, never a convenient time. They may receive praise from the critics, but not from their peers (i.e., the Oscars), or vice versa; it's always nicer to get both. Perhaps the cruelest recognition is that which doesn't last, which is probably also the most common. Lists like this are intended to right those wrongs. Their inevitable subjectivity raises questions such as, "Shouldn't these be the five most overrated directors?" or "what about these 20 other underrated ones?" Fair questions, both of them, but see if this list doesn't persuade you.

It can be all too easy to forget, but TV is a business. While network executives frequently acknowledge and tend to appreciate viewer feedback and critical acclaim, a series with low ratings will likely get yanked from the airwaves sooner, rather than later, if the numbers do not improve. Broadcasters are able to fund programming because of advertising, and a show with high numbers brings in the best ad rates. This reality is little consolation to fans when their favorite show is canceled.

Despite their short lives, some canceled series continue to garner buzz years after their early demise, begging the question of whether they should have been given more time to gain an audience. Here are 10 TV shows that were canceled too soon.

Movies and television have been strange bedfellows from the very beginning, when the latter arrived on the scene in the middle of the 20th century and appeared to threaten the very existence of the former. Nothing of the sort ever came to pass, and in fact the two entertainment mediums have come to complement each other ever since in a variety of intriguing, often incestuous, ways. They've stolen ideas from each other, and actors and actresses cross from one medium to the other.

Although it's become common these days to see movie stars with fading careers migrate back to TV, for the majority of its history TV has served as a proving ground for actors with aspirations for the larger screen. That said, here are the top 10 TV actors and actresses who found fame in movies.

Every year, Queen Elizabeth II awards knighthoods to certain individuals, which allows them to use the title “Sir” or “Dame” (for women) before their names. Modern knights have no actual responsibilities — fighting crusades, seizing castles, or jousting, for instance. The title merely conveys status and bragging rights.

So how does one join the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire? It helps if you become a successful musician and do some highly visible charity work. Hip gyrations and a bad-boy image don’t seem to hurt, either. Here are some music stars who have been knighted by the Queen.

As a medium, television has shaped our culture for six decades. Most shows, even successful ones, come and go with little fanfare. Yet every now and then, an innovative producer, and a network executive willing to take a chance, ignore conventional wisdom and create a groundbreaking new show unlike anything else on the air. Here are 10 innovative sitcoms and dramas that resonated with viewers, charted up the Nielsen ratings and, yes, ushered in a wave of similar programs.

Periods of significant social upheaval in the United States have produced many films that might be considered emblematic of the times in which they were made. Here are 10 films, in chronological order, from the past half-century that many would agree define the era in which they were made. Not surprisingly, most of the films listed here came from the 1960s and 1970s, periods of great social unrest in the U.S.

The Academy Award for Best Picture is the highest honor the film industry can bestow on a movie, but it doesn't necessarily bestow greatness. Only the passage of time can do that, which is what makes a perusal of history's Oscar winners so remarkable. The academy almost always gets it right.

The exceptions, however, are glaring. Voters have gone with distressingly safe choices too many times through the years, and even when they've grown daring the results haven't always stood the test of time, or have been canceled out (In the Heat of the Night's win in 1967 was an astute reading of where America stood on the issue of race at the time; Driving Miss Daisy, in 1989, not so much).

Any list of the most controversial Academy Award winners for Best Picture is necessarily subjective, but the consensus on Oscar's biggest "huh?" moments is nonetheless solid. What were they thinking, indeed?

Nothing embodies the American spirit so much as the image of a cowboy riding across an open range atop his trusty steed, so when the first truly American art form came into being — the motion picture – what could have provided a more natural focus for the camera lens than the genre that came to be known as the western? If the British had Robin Hood, we had the Lone Ranger. We had western musicals, western comedies and traditional western gunfights. And over time, we had westerns that changed along with the landscape of the country. Since 1980, the western film has taken on a multitude of themes and settings. Here are the Top 10 contemporary Westerns, rated for audience appeal, critical acclaim and originality.

Jack Nicholson has made hundreds of millions of dollars and won worldwide fame for a film career in which he’s often played the same character, Jack Nicholson, over and over again. When you’re as interesting a person as Jack Nicholson, that’s OK, though. Seriously, in his 50-year career, Nicholson has tackled some intriguing roles. Here’s a look at the top 10 movies starring Jack Nicholson.

Gene Hackman toiled in obscurity as an actor until he reached middle age. But after establishing himself as a star in the early 1970s in films such as The French Connection and The Poseidon Adventure, Hackman quickly became a fan favorite. His roles in legendary films such as Hoosiers and Unforgiven ensure his legacy will live on for years to come. Here are the top 10 Gene Hackman movies.

Have you ever watched a great movie and been so impressed with the lead actor or actress that you thought they were “perfect” for the role? Such casting usually doesn’t happen by accident. The movie studio, producer, director, casting agencies, agents, actors and actresses all vie to fill key movie roles through auditions, networking and other methods. Often, fate intervenes in the process. An actor everyone thinks is perfect for the role wants too much salary. Or an actress rejects the role because she doesn’t like the script.

Hollywood history is full of instances in which an actor or actress took an Academy Award-winning role that another performer passed up. Here’s a look at 10 famous movie roles rejected by other stars.