The Top 5 - The best of the Best in Pop Culture for the Week of November 23, 2008

November 23, 7:20 PMPop Culture ExaminerDominic Patten

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          Jack Bauer is a haunted man in a harrowing world

Big big week ... big big day. Guns'N'Roses' long awaited Chinese Democracy is finally out, Stephen Colbert has his Christmas Special on tonight, lots of great TV is wrapping up for the year, the American Music Awards is set to rock out, with some surprises, and supermarkets are full with families and friends stocking up for Thanksgiving later this week. Whew! Such busyness. Oh, and Twilight is still packing 'em in as the teen vampire drama has all weekend to the tune of $70.6 million, a box office figure that so doesn't suck. So, being that it looks like a done deal that Hilary Clinton is going to be Barack Obama's Secretary of State, with all that what could come along this week that could possibly compete? Oh, yee of little faith...

If you missed it, catch Dominic Patten's Top 5, with a Chinese Democracy tribute, for the week of Nov. 16, 2008.

Check out Dominic Patten's pick of the Top Pop Culture Icons of all Time here.

1. Jack's Back - Tonight at 8PM/7 central 24: Redemption sees the two hour return of the Era of Terror's hardest hitting US government agent on Fox as Jack Bauer once again gets thrown in the middle of the possible end of the world. The thing is the world has changed, the occupant of the White House has changed - in real life and on 24, where idealistic Allison Taylor is America's first female President - and Jack is now in Africa doing missionary work to ease his troubled soul. Now you know, that the set up for tonight and for the seventh season of the spy series, which hits the small screen on January 11th and 12th, means that nothing will be or stay as it seems. Yet, in addition to one of the best timing gimmicks in TV history, that's what's made 24 so eminently compelling all these years and looks to go one more. Yep, Jack's back and it is about time. 

2. Get Cooking - Some Top 5 items need very little seasoning to make their lip licking’ point. It's Thanksgiving this week and on November 25 Black Lantern Studios is releasing Iron Chef America" Supreme Cuisine for the Wii and Nintendo DS. Perfect timing, which cuts at lot of Pop Culture cloth. And it'll be tasty too.

3. Who Doesn't Love the Parade? - Even if you don't really like parades, you have to check out the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade live from NYC starting at 9AM EST on November 27th on NBC for sheer giant sized spectacle. And I don't mean the nude shots of Adrienne Bailon of the Cheetah Girls that were all over the net recently. The band may have been dumped from the family friendly parade, but even with Miley Cyrus, who if I remember properly had some racy pics of her own out there not too long ago, bringing her not-so-melodic tones to the proceedings, the debut of Horton the Elephant, a Keith Haring inspired balloon and Smurfs will mean fun for all in the sky. And there are also floats, marching bands and the odd celeb joining the three-hour event ... the only thing to ask is if we can have ice cream too? After watching the parade, after having your feast, don't forget to settle in for some more holiday viewing with the classic A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on November 27th on ABC at 8PM/7 Central. Now, if you like to plan ahead, watch it on Tuesday November 25th on ABC at 8PM/7 Central - think of it like having seconds first.

4. Blood Runs Deep - It's the season finale of HBO's True Blood tonight at 9PM. If you saw Twilight this weekend but haven't seen this show, take a peek and learn what real blood lust is all about. If you can, watch 24:Redemption and tape this or visa versa, but ya gotta watch both. If you have been watching the show the past few months - and why wouldn't you, the Alan Ball series is one of the best things on TV – come and get your last bite until next year, it’s downhome refreshing. Check out the True Blood site here

5. Got Milk? - Director Gus Van Sant and star Sean Penn has a lot of chutzpah bringing Milk out this Wednesday. Not because the film is about assassinated gay San Francisco city supervisor, which is a story that has cried out to be told by such talented hands since the first openly gay politician in America's death in 1978. The true courage, intentional or not, of bringing out Milk this week is because in post-Prop 8 victory in California, which changed the state constitution to define marriage as being exclusively between a man and a women and stopped the right of same sex couples to wed, the film is a political statement in what is turning into a culture war in the Golden State. Also such a film is going right up against Baz Luhrmann’s historical epic Australia, starring local boy and girl made good Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman. As good as the tale of Oz will be, because let's be honest, Baz Luhrmann seems almost incapable of making a less than stellar movie, Milk gets my vote because it is a bit of history of our own that in these time reminds us of how far we have come and how far there is yet to go ... and with a combo cast of Penn, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna and Emile Hirsch, there's just too much talent, sorry Hugh and Mrs. Urban, to turn away for a second. So on November 26th, don't.

Holiday Alert! - next week it's time for some Pop Culture picks for Christmas, so get ready for the Top 5 for your stocking or the stocking of those you really love.