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 .

TOKYO (AP) — The American envoy to the United Nations called Friday for countries armed with atomic weapons to pursue nuclear disarmament as she visited the atomic bomb museum in Nagasaki, Japan.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who became the first U.S. cabinet member to visit Nagasaki, stressed the importance of dialogue and diplomacy amid a growing nuclear threat in the region.

“We must continue to work together to create an environment for nuclear disarmament. We must continue to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons in every corner of the world,” she said after a tour of the atomic bomb museum.

“For those of us who already have those weapons, we must pursue arms control. We can and must work to ensure that Nagasaki is the last place to ever experience the horror of nuclear weapons,” she added, standing in front of colorful hanging origami cranes, a symbol of peace.

The United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people. A second attack three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000 more people. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II and its nearly half-century of aggression in Asia.

Nagasaki Gov. Kengo Oishi said in a statement that he believed Thomas-Greenfield's visit and her first-person experience at the museum “will be a strong message in promoting momentum of nuclear disarmament for the international society at a time the world faces a severe environment surrounding atomic weapons.”

Oishi said he conveyed to the ambassador the increasingly important role of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in emphasizing the need of nuclear disarmament.

Thomas-Greenfield's visit to Japan comes on the heels of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's official visit to the United States last week and is aimed at deepening Washington's trilateral ties with Tokyo and Seoul. During her visit to South Korea earlier this week, she held talks with South Korean officials, met with defectors from North Korea and visited the demilitarized zone.

The ambassador said the United States is looking into setting up a new mechanism for monitoring North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Russia and China have thwarted U.S.-led efforts to step up U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its ballistic missile testing since 2022, underscoring a deepening divide between permanent Security Council members over Russia’s war on Ukraine.

She said it would be “optimal” to launch the new system next month, though it is uncertain if that is possible.

The U.N. Security Council established a committee to monitor sanctions, and the mandate for its panel of experts to investigate violations had been renewed for 14 years until last month, when Russia vetoed another renewal.

In its most recent report, the panel of experts said it is investigating 58 suspected North Korean cyberattacks between 2017 and 2023 valued at approximately $3 billion, with the money reportedly being used to help fund its weapons development.

The United States, Japan and South Korea have been deepening security ties amid growing tension in the region from North Korea and China.

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, right, speaks to Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, second right, as they wait for a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, right, walk to meet Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, talk prior to a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, prepare to talk during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)