Flashback 2004

Enormous tsunami devastates Asia; 200,000 killed (Dec. 26).

Gay marriages begin in Massachusetts, the first state in the country to legalize such unions (May 17).

Florida hit by hurricanes Bonnie (Aug. 12) and Charley (Aug. 13).

George W. Bush is reelected president, defeats John Kerry (Nov. 2).

Martha Stewart, diva of domesticity, was sentenced to five months in prison in July after being found guilty on four counts of obstruction of justice and lying to federal investigators. She began serving her sentence in October. She was also fined $30,000. The charges stem from her December 2001 sale of 3,928 shares of the biotech stock ImClone. She made the trade the day before the FDA announced it had declined to review ImClone's new cancer drug-news that sent shares tumbling.

Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake created an enormous scandal when Timberlake ripped the bodice of Jackson's costume during the halftime show of February's Super Bowl XXXVIII, exposing her right breast, which was pierced and adorned with a brooch. Timberlake promptly apologized for the "wardrobe malfunction." The Federal Communications Commission fined CBS, which broadcast the Super Bowl, $550,000 for the incident.

American Idol remained one of the top-rated shows on television. Judging by the number of reality shows up and down the dial, viewers still want their entertainment to be "real."

Movies

• The Aviator
• Collateral
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
• Friday Night Lights
• The Incredibles
• Kinsey
• Maria Full of Grace
• Million Dollar Baby
• Sideways
• Spider-Man 2