The ladies continue to prove that they hold all the search power. This marks the first time in the history of The Lycos 50 year-end list, that three women make up the top three most-searched terms of the year. Paris Hilton generated more searches than any other search term this year, as she consistently seems to mesmerize web users. Whenever Paris makes headlines offline, search activity skyrockets for her online. And 'get your mind out of the gutter,' people continue to search for more than just the infamous Paris Hilton sex tape. Paris couldn't turn her head without folks searching for her. Then again, she's offered enough fodder to fuel a dozen search engines: Her brief fling with an exotic pet kinkajou (she is again toting around her tiny Chihuahua, Tinkerbell); her real feature film debut, (not that video!) House of Wax, in which she bites it; her not-my-best-friend-anymore feud with Simple Life co-star Nicole Richie; her fashion, perfume and even a watch line. That doesn't even touch her revolving door love life, from her engagement to Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis, then the inevitable break up and on and on...And there is more on the horizon for the hotel heiress when she drops an upcoming music album. Right behind Paris is Pamela Anderson, who recently won acclaim as the most popular search term of the past decade, when we announced the top 50 search terms of the past 10 years in September. Paris and Pam routinely jump in and out of the top spot on our Lycos 50 weekly list and Britney Spears is never far behind.

Eminem is the most-searched man of 2005, generating 25 percent more searches than his protégé 50 Cent, and 36 percent more popular than Usher. Some of the top men who normally appear on the year-end list are missing this time around. George W. Bush, Orlando Bloom, and Kobe Bryant have been replaced by Brad Pitt, Andy Milonakis and Bow Wow. Due in part to his break-up with Jennifer Aniston and his relationship with Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt makes the top 10 list of most-searched men for the first time ever.

The Simpsons dethrones American Idol this year, taking over as the most-searched television show of 2005. Search interest in American Idol dropped 63 percent compared to this time last year. Former American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson sees the biggest jump in search interest over the past year, although shy of making the top 10 women list.

Hurricane Katrina is the most-searched news event of 2005, edging out the Tsunami which came in at number 15 on the overall list. This marks the first time since 2001 that a news event makes the top 10 list of most popular search terms. This also marks the first time in three years that the War in Iraq did not generate enough search interest to make it the number one news event of the year with web users. Search activity for the Iraq War has dropped 90 percent over the past year. Searches for President George W. Bush also decreased 82 percent, with the president dropping from number 81 in 2004, to number 359 this year, generating less interest online than Scooby-Doo.

ONES TO WATCH IN 2006:
The following terms had strong showings in 2005. Based on growing search queries, The Lycos 50 predicts these are the ones to watch in 2006: Bird Flu and the fear of an Avian pandemic...Reggaeton rapper Daddy Yankee is leading the new music charge online...Bow Wow's girlfriend and singer Ciara...the 2006 movies already generating buzz online are all based on comic books including, Superman Returns, starring the relatively unknown, Brandon Routh...Ghost Rider, starring Nicholas Cage, the man who, along with his wife, welcomed the birth of their son and took the honor of wackiest celebrity child name of the year. The couple has named their son Kal-El, Superman's birth name but we digress...and X-Men 3...Recycle craze, Freecycle.org...video game Kingdom Hearts 2...singers Pharrell Williams and Natasha Bedingfield...Rap group Threesix Mafia...rapper Young Jeezy...golf phenomenon Natalie Gulbis...and teen TV drama, Degrassi, The Next Generation.

Believe it or not, there was very little disagreement between Sid Smith and myself about this list of 2005’s top TV series. Sure, there were a few discussions about whether a top-notch procedural such as "Without a Trace" or an inventive comedy such as "Arrested Development" should occupy a slot, but in truth, we had very little trouble coming up with a list we both agreed on. There was so much to choose from in this excellent TV year, the most trouble we had was paring much-loved also-rans from our final tally.

But in the end, without too much bloodshed, we came up with our 10 favorite shows, and here they are, in alphabetical order (nominate your own faves in the comment area):

"Battlestar Galactica," Sci Fi: There’s no antiseptic, morally upright future on display here. Just a lot of confused, conflicted people, in a battle to the death with "others" who look exactly like humans — and who say they are representatives of the one true God. The real joke on those who think "Galactica" is just another sci-fi show is that this gripping drama is, in fact, television’s most topical, incisive commentary on current events in our very troubled world.

"Deadwood," HBO: A slimy mix of Shakespeare, Dickens and "The Sopranos" in the Old West, this drama got deeper and uglier in its second season. Calamity Jane may have donned a dress, but Deadwood itself seemed even more mired in animalism, corruption and, thanks to the gut-wrenching death of young William Bullock, a world incapable of sustaining innocence.

"Everybody Hates Chris," UPN: Somehow the words "sitcom family" have come to mean dumb, dumpy dad, needling mom and sassy, irritating children. Thank goodness this refreshing half-hour comedy came along to redeem the prototypical sitcom family and help rescue the genre from clichés and tired joke-telling. The jokes work on "Chris" because the characters, based on comic Chris Rock’s real family, feel entirely real, and the situations that young Chris goes through — as a black kid at an all-white school — are fresh and compelling.

"Grey’s Anatomy," ABC: One of TV’s most delicious treats, a habit-forming mix of romantic hanky panky — call it intern swapping — and sometimes outrageous, almost surreal medical black comedy and moral debate. Wrap the entire cast up as Christmas gifts, including believable everywoman Ellen Pompeo, lovably cantankerous Sandra Oh, scary-strict Chandra Wilson and Patrick Dempsey, the neurosurgeon who’s all too accurately nicknamed "Dr. McDreamy."

"House," Fox: If it wanted to, this medical drama could rest on its significant strengths — its magnetic lead, Hugh Laurie, and its ability, each week, to wrap a compelling moral quandary inside a dramatic medical mystery. But "House" often finds a way to upend expectations; stellar episodes have played with timelines, points of view and the notion of who is a "hero" — any medical drama that does not automatically make a kid with cancer a sappy saint is certainly an audacious and ambitious piece of work.

"Lost," ABC: Sometimes hokey, sometimes silly, sometimes confounding in its flashbacks, it’s TV’s most original, deservedly Emmy-winning offering, irresistible watching that just about doubled its stash of castaways this second season and just about doubled the pleasure. Fantasy, adventure, thriller suspense, romance, comedy and even, at times, profound human drama amid blue skies, aquamarine seas and a not-so-friendly paradise.

"My Name Is Earl," NBC: The winning new saga of a likable rogue once destined for hell and now hell-bent on redemption. The always interesting Jason Lee wins a long overdue star turn and, as low-brow and low in principle Joy, Jaime Pressly is turning in one of the smartest, funniest performances this season. The sitcom, if that’s what this original show is, survives.

"Rome," HBO: Epic, seductive storytelling blending history, tragedy and murky melodrama, played out alternately on dazzling sets and in the grimiest of alleyways, echoing its themes of the sublime and carnal in human nature. Great writing, great acting, great cliffhangers and the grandest of passions.

"The Shield," FX: "The Shield" was already one of TV’s boldest dramas when it brought Glenn Close to the party. Close went toe to toe with charismatic star Michael Chiklis and the rest of the top-notch "Shield" cast last season, and the results were simply incendiary. When the show returns in January, Forest Whitaker will play an investigator who threatens to take down Vic Mackey’s Strike Team; Whitaker has some pretty big shoes to fill, but you can bet we’ll be watching every twisted minute.

"Veronica Mars," UPN: When it comes right down to it, the sharply written "Veronica Mars" is the story of a girl who lost her best friend and her mom in the same short span of time, and who may never get over either event. Mars, played by the effortlessly compelling Kristin Bell, investigates crimes big and small not just to help her dad out with his private-eye biz, but also in order to understand what makes people do terrible things to each other. As in all great film noirs, the lead character secretly wants to believe people can be good and selfless, but she usually ends up disappointed. Source: Maureen Ryan, Sid Smith