Top TV moments: 'Roseanne,' Oprah's speech, message funerals

It was a remarkably dramatic year on television, with much of it unscripted.

While prime-series including "This Is Us" and "Atlanta" reached notable emotional and provocative highs, TV impressively fulfilled its role as witness to gripping real-life events.

We had the chance to see it all unfold: today's barbed politics in unlikely settings; a woman essentially saying MeToo to U.S. senators; the suitably extravagant goodbye to an American queen.

This image released by NBC shows Milo Ventimiglia as Jack in a scene from "This Is Us." The time-shifting series revealed in season one that Jack Pearson was destined to die young. In episodes airing in January and February, we learned it was a faulty slow-cooker and Jack's boundless sense of duty. America's tears flowed even as we turned a fearful eye toward our kitchen appliances. (Ron BatzdorffNBC via AP)

Here are some of the moments with staying power:

OPRAH'S SPEECH

Winfrey's rousing call for social justice in the name of the MeToo movement drew wild cheers in the ballroom at the Golden Globes in January and reverberated across the land. Pundits and Oprah-whisperers proclaimed it a first step toward a presidential run, and #oprah2020 trended. It's would be a true Hollywood script: an entertainment mogul challenges a reality-show host for the Oval Office. Oprah said no way; the chatter continues.

In this image released by ABC, Roseanne Barr, left, and Laurie Metcalf appear in a scene from the comedy series "Roseanne." The comedy about the blue-collar Conner family and its brassy matriarch returned in March as a success for ABC and Roseanne Barr. The magic evaporated in May after Barr’s racist slam of Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett. ABC called her tweet “abhorrent” and canceled the series. (Adam RoseABC via AP)

JACK'S SACRIFICE

The time-shifting series revealed in season one that Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) was destined to die young, leaving a grieving widow, his unmoored children and viewers tortured by the mystery of what did him in. In episodes airing in January and February, we learned it was a faulty slow-cooker and Jack's boundless sense of duty. America's tears flowed even as we turned a fearful eye toward our kitchen appliances.

THE RISE AND FALL OF "ROSEANNE"

FILE - In this Sept. 6, 2018 file photo, people walk by a Nike advertisement featuring Colin Kaepernick in New York. In his "Just Do It" spot for Nike that marked the campaign's 30th anniversary in September, the sidelined-by-kneeling NFL quarterback somberly challenged viewers to "believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything." Some responded with anger, cutting or burning Nike gear and calling for boycotts. President Donald Trump slammed the company's move, while LeBron James defended it, saying he stands for those who believe in change. (AP PhotoMark Lennihan, File)

Three decades after it ended, the comedy about the blue-collar Conner family and its brassy matriarch returned in March as a success for ABC and Roseanne Barr. The revival hit the sweet — or sour — spot of politics and culture today, with a polarizing star whose character mirrored her backing for President Donald Trump. The magic evaporated in May after Barr's racist slam of Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett. ABC called her tweet "abhorrent" and canceled the series.

"ATLANTA" IN WHITE

Donald Glover, whose reimagination of the TV comedy challenges viewers, tested them with a truly unsettling character, Teddy Perkins, depicted in mask-like whiteface (an uncredited performance by Glover, though it remains a mystery who made Teddy's cameo appearance at the Emmys). Was the episode in April a riff on the sad life of a Michael Jackson-like celebrity? A slap at the insulting blackface used by white entertainers past? We're still mulling.

In this Dec. 10, 2018 photo, Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby poses for a portrait in Los Angeles. The Australian standup was little known in America when her Netflix special "Hannah Gadsby: Nanette" arrived in June, dissecting culture and the very artform she practices. (Photo by Chris PizzelloInvisionAP)

GADSBY'S REVOLUTION

The Australian standup was little known in America when her Netflix special "Hannah Gadsby: Nanette" arrived in June, dissecting culture and the very artform she practices. She was heralded as a major new voice and her work was labeled "transformative" and "game changing," the kind of awe and admiration granted to enduring comedy greats such as Richard Pryor, George Carlin and Dave Chappelle.

ARETHA'S FAREWELL

This Oct. 23, 2018 photo released by NBC shows guests, from left, Melissa Rivers, Jacob Soboroff, Jenna Bush Hager and host Megyn Kelly during a Halloween segment on "Megyn Kelly Today," in New York where Kelly defended the use of blackface. NBC announced on Oct. 26, that "Megyn Kelly Today" will not return. (Nathan CongletonNBC via AP)

The Queen of Soul's memorial was one for the ages, with preachers, Motown and gospel legends and political and religious leaders offering speeches and songs in praise of Franklin's life, artistry and activism on behalf of African-Americans and women. Stevie Wonder sang, and so did Smokey Robinson and Chaka Khan and Shirley Caesar and Gladys Knight and Ariana Grande and ... plenty of others, since the service ran eight hours. Franklin's voice was stilled, but her spirit resonated.

COLIN KAEPERNICK'S STAND

In his "Just Do It" TV spot for Nike that marked the campaign's 30th anniversary in September, the sidelined-by-kneeling NFL quarterback somberly challenged viewers to "believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything." Some responded with anger, cutting or burning Nike gear and calling for boycotts. President Donald Trump slammed the company's move, while LeBron James defended it, saying he stands for those who believe in change.

FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2018 file photo, Meghan McCain, daughter of, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. cries at the casket of her father during a memorial service at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix. At Sen. John McCain's September memorial, daughter Meghan issued a sharp rebuke to his nemesis President Donald Trump, who was left off the invitation list. (AP PhotoJae C. Hong, Pool)

A SUPREME BATTLE

In schools, at work, in coffee shops, Americans watched on phones, laptops and any available screen as U.S. Supreme Court appointee Brett Kavanaugh and sexual-misconduct accuser Christine Blasey Ford made their emotional cases in September to a Senate committee. The hearing reinforced the extraordinary power of TV to present an event as it unfolds, allowing us to judge it for ourselves before it's filtered and packaged for consumption and "Saturday Night Live" satire.

BLACKOUT FOR KELLY

FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2018 file photo, Stevie Wonder performs during the funeral service for Aretha Franklin at Greater Grace Temple in Detroit. Franklin died on Aug. 16, of pancreatic cancer at the age of 76. (AP PhotoPaul Sancya, File)

Megyn Kelly argued the case for dressing up in Halloween blackface, telling her morning show viewers it was OK when she was a kid if it was an impersonation. The backlash was immediate, with critics accusing Kelly of ignoring the ugly history of white entertainers applying blackface to demean African-Americans. The former Fox News Channel host offered a tearful on-air apology, but NBC fired her in October from the 9 a.m. "Today" slot after just a year.

DEATH AND POLITICS

Funeral services were for mourning and messages. At Sen. John McCain's September memorial, daughter Meghan issued a sharp rebuke to his nemesis President Donald Trump, who was left off the invitation list. "The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again because America was always great," she said. President George H.W. Bush's memorial in December was kinder and gentler and Trump attended, but he was the first sitting president in 45 years not asked to eulogize a predecessor.

In this combination photo, Christine Blasey Ford, left, and U.S. Supreme Court appointee Brett Kavanaugh testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018. Americans watched on phones, laptops and any available screen as Kavanaugh and Blasey Ford spoke. (AP Photo)

Lynn Elber is a national television columnist for The Associated Press. She can be reached at lelber@ap.org and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lynnelber .

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian court on Friday ordered the detention of the country’s farm minister in the latest high-profile corruption investigation, while Kyiv security officials assessed how they can recover lost battlefield momentum in the war against Russia.

Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court ruled that Agriculture Minister Oleksandr Solskyi should be held in custody for 60 days, but he was released after paying bail of 75 million hryvnias ($1.77 million), a statement said.

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau suspects Solskyi headed an organized crime group that between 2017 and 2021 unlawfully obtained land worth 291 million hryvnias ($6.85 million) and attempted to obtain other land worth 190 million hryvnias ($4.47 million).

Ukraine is trying to root out corruption that has long dogged the country. A dragnet over the past two years has seen Ukraine’s defense minister, top prosecutor, intelligence chief and other senior officials lose their jobs.

That has caused embarrassment and unease as Ukraine receives tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid to help fight Russia’s army, and the European Union and NATO have demanded widespread anti-graft measures before Kyiv can realize its ambition of joining the blocs.

In Ukraine's capital, doctors and ambulance crews evacuated patients from a children’s hospital on Friday after a video circulated online saying Russia planned to attack it.

Parents hefting bags of clothes, toys and food carried toddlers and led young children from the Kyiv City Children’s Hospital No. 1 on the outskirts of the city. Medics helped them into a fleet of waiting ambulances to be transported to other facilities.

In the video, a security official from Russian ally Belarus alleged that military personnel were based in the hospital. Kyiv city authorities said that the claim was “a lie and provocation.”

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that civic authorities were awaiting an assessment from security services before deciding when it was safe to reopen the hospital.

“We cannot risk the lives of our children,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold online talks Friday with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which has been the key international organization coordinating the delivery of weapons and other aid to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said late Thursday that the meeting would discuss how to turn around Ukraine’s fortunes on the battlefield. The Kremlin’s forces have gained an edge over Kyiv’s army in recent months as Ukraine grappled with a shortage of ammunition and troops.

Russia, despite sustaining high losses, has been taking control of small settlements as part of its effort to drive deeper into eastern Ukraine after capturing the city of Avdiivka in February, the U.K. defense ministry said Friday.

It’s been slow going for the Kremlin’s troops in eastern Ukraine and is likely to stay that way, according to the Institute for the Study of War. However, the key hilltop town of Chasiv Yar is vulnerable to the Russian onslaught, which is using glide bombs — powerful Soviet-era weapons that were originally unguided but have been retrofitted with a navigational targeting system — that obliterate targets.

“Russian forces do pose a credible threat of seizing Chasiv Yar, although they may not be able to do so rapidly,” the Washington-based think tank said late Thursday.

It added that Russian commanders are likely seeking to advance as much as possible before the arrival in the coming weeks and months of new U.S. military aid, which was held up for six months by political differences in Congress.

While that U.S. help wasn’t forthcoming, Ukraine’s European partners didn’t pick up the slack, according to German’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which tracks Ukraine support.

“The European aid in recent months is nowhere near enough to fill the gap left by the lack of U.S. assistance, particularly in the area of ammunition and artillery shells,” it said in a report Thursday.

Ukraine is making a broad effort to take back the initiative in the war after more than two years of fighting. It plans to manufacture more of its own weapons in the future, and is clamping down on young people avoiding conscription, though it will take time to process and train any new recruits.

Jill Lawless contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Ukrainian young acting student Gleb Batonskiy plays piano in a public park in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)