» Top TV Moments of 2009

Oh, 'Battlestar Galactica,' how dearly we miss you. Ever since Ronald D. Moore and David Eick's re-creation of the '70s cheesefest concluded earlier this year, we've been searching in vain for a sci-fi show that's as sharply intelligent and utterly engrossing. Sure, 'Lost' is still good, but viewers need a compendium of plot points in order to follow it. 'FlashForward' means well, but it's handicapped by poor writing and weak characters. And 'V,' well, we can't offer much in addition to what we've already said.

'BSG,' on the other hand, offered incisive social commentary on a wide range of modern-day problems such as terrorism, discrimination, race relations and human rights. It was also thoroughly steeped in mysticism and gave us heavy philosophical musings on religion. We haven't seen its like before or since, and we were there when the show came to a close on March 20.

For four seasons, the TLC reality series 'Jon and Kate Plus Eight' offered viewers a glimpse into the busy lives of Jon and Kate Gosselin, parents of adorable sextuplets and two older siblings.

The series was popular but never penetrated the pop culture like 'American Idol' or 'Survivor' -- at least until the tabloids began speculating about Jon's alleged cavorting with women who weren't his wife. Within weeks, the state of the Gosselin marriage was a cover story on every magazine at the supermarket checkout stand, and a topic of discussion on 'Entertainment Tonight' and its countless clones.

Rihanna's first sit-down interview after her breakup with Chris Brown stirred h-diane-sawyeralmost as much attention as the initial scandal.

Diane Sawyer scored the exclusive for a hotly anticipated, hard-hitting episode of '20/20,' which revealed for the first time exactly what happened on that heated February night when Rihanna's then-boyfriend Brown struck her, and why Rihanna briefly returned to him.

In the ratings-busting segment of '20/20,' a still-shaken Rihanna recounted in detail how an otherwise uproarious night quickly turned into a nightmare after she spotted a questionable text from Brown's cell phone. The picture-perfect pop star was clearly broken by the event, and it was moving, and humbling, to watch her in the seat opposite Sawyer confessing, "I just wanted it to stop."

"Yo Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time."

Words that will live forever in infamy. Sort of. In one of the most baffling awards show moments ever, Kanye West stormed the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards just after Taylor Swift was awarded Best Female Video. Swift, and the rest of America, looked on awkwardly.

Was this really happening? Once everyone remembered who was doing the interrupting, it didn't seem so shocking. Kanye had pulled this sort of act before, once even a couple of years ago at the MTV Europe Music Awards when he crashed the stage after losing an award to French duo Justice.

It wouldn't be a new season of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' without Larry David doing something with a self-serving purpose.

After running into Cheryl and discovering that she liked things better when Larry had a job, Larry becomes enthusiastic about a 'Seinfeld' reunion, though he has a hard time convincing Jerry of his change of heart.

When the reunion gets picked up, Larry comes up with another one of his wacky schemes -- this time, to cast Cheryl as Amanda, George Costanza's ex-wife. This weaves in the running gag that barely any of that cast, especially Jason, realize: that George is based on Larry. Luckily for Larry, the scheme doesn't blow up in his face like it usually does.

FX's wild west motorcycle series 'Sons of Anarchy' had a killer sophomore season, in more ways than one. Shortly after the finale, it was green-lit for season three, and it's easy to see why. Story arcs touched on gun-running cartels, an explosive porn business, and tensions both inside and outside of SAMCRO.

One of the best scenes of the season, perhaps the entire series, occurred in episode ten, 'Balm'; it was the culmination of an arc that actually began in the season premiere, 'Albification.'

The sudden death of 'Desperate Housewives'' Edie Britt, a fixture on the show since day one, was indeed a shocker, but only in the most literal sense, since she died of electrocution, In other ways, it wasn't shocking at all, since the slutty realtor's impending demise had been confirmed weeks before in the entertainment press.

Given the longstanding reports of tension between Nicollette Sheridan and 'Housewives' creator Marc Cherry, her abrupt departure was not a surprise. In a way, however, it was fitting, as the backstage drama matched the on-screen drama, with Sheridan the locus of whispered gossip, just like her character. As Edie herself put it, in a patented 'Housewives' post-death omniscient voiceover, she died as she'd lived, as the the town's pleasure center.

It's one thing to cancel a show that isn't performing as well as expectations. It's quite another to cancel a show that's well into production on their new season before that season even begins to air.

But that's exactly what NBC did in early October 2009 to drama series 'Southland.' The gritty cop show was looking to head into its sophomore season, riding higher critical acclaim than ratings.

In a statement published in the New York Times following his sudden Nov. 11 announcement that he'd leave CNN immediately, Lou Dobbs blamed the country's changing political direction for forcing his hand. "Over the past six months," he said, "it's become increasingly clear that strong winds of change have begun buffeting this country and affecting all of us, and some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond the role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem solving as well as to contribute positively to the great understanding of the issues of our day."

Yet the events that led to Dobbs' abrupt departure were months, even years, in the making.

Medical drama 'Grey's Anatomy' is renowned for its shocking revelations and cliffhanger endings, and the season 5 finale was no exception. Following a rocky season that courted accusations of jumping the shark after the controversial decision to bring back fan-favorite Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the guise of Izzie's ghostly lover Denny Duquette (actually the result of a brain tumor -- who knew?), the show went out with an undeniable bang.

From Mer and Der's typically low-key wedding (on a Post-It note), to Izzie's heartbreaking short-term memory loss, the episode was already packing an emotional punch. But it was the seemingly Romeo and Juliet story of a man who was hit by a bus while saving the life of a stranger that proved the most compelling thread in the episode's narrative.