Disappointments of 2006

Briefly, here are my biggest disappointments from the entertainment industry. I won't brand these the "worst" of the year, since I try to be pretty selective in what I watch and buy, so hopefully I've avoided the real crap.

Disappointing album and single: Janet Jackson - 20 Y.O. and "So Excited."

I used to love Janet Jackson. Rhythm Nation 1814 was my favorite album for a long time, and I loved Janet, especially "If." Even The Velvet Rope was a favorite, but her career has been in a decline now for years. All For You was a commercial success, but not as compelling as her earlier stuff. Damito Jo was a real disappointment, but it at least had a handful of good tracks. Sadly, I could find only one worthy song on 20 Y.O. ("Enjoy" - should be a single, it's fantastic). Everything else sounded so tepid, especially "So Excited," where she sounds...so bored.

Disappointing new TV show: Ugly Betty

Admittedly, there were surely far worse shows that I completely avoided, but I was really excited about Ugly Betty, and it let me down. It played out like a TV version of The Devil Wears Prada, but without Meryl Streep. The same thing again and again, eventually I quit watching.

Disappointing movie: Bobby

It's got an A-list cast including Oscar winners (Anthony Hopkins, Helen Hunt) Oscar nominees (William H Macy, Laurence Fishburne, Sharon Stone), and lots of other big names, including Demi Moore and her husband Ashton Kutcher along with Lindsay Lohan, Joshua Jackson, Martin Sheen, Freddy Rodriguez, Heather Graham, Elijah Wood... I could go on and on. And its an interesting subject--what happened the day Bobby Kennedy was killed. But with too many characters and meaningless subplots, the movie completely lacks focus and provides little reason to care about most of the stories. Too ambitious for Emilio Estevez's first major outing as director.