TVR Awards -- Live Air Gaffe of the Year (VIDEO)

As long as there's live TV, there will be Live Air Gaffes. Even in the tightly controlled, over-produced world of modern television, verbal miscues, fits of uncontrollable laughter, and brainfreezes are bound to happen from time to time. And we wouldn't want it any other way -- those rare, unvarnished moments of awkwardness are part of the reason we love live TV. Here are our five nominees for the Live Air Gaffe of 2010. Watch the videos in the playlist and vote below for your favorite!

The Nominees:

Tom Hanks calls Kelly Ripa "Kathie Lee": Hanks, in the middle of telling a joke, apparently missed the memo that the show he was on is now called 'Live With Regis and Kelly' (weekdays, 10AM ET on NBC). When he called Kelly Ripa "Kathie Lee," Kelly didn't let him off the hook, reminding Hanks that she's been co-hosting the show for nine years now. Regis just sat there chuckling, happy to not be the one putting his foot in his mouth for a change.


Kathie Lee is not familiar with "adult toys": Speaking of Kathie Lee, here she is again, but this time she's the one making us laugh. Talking with Hoda on 'Today' (weekdays, 7AM ET on NBC) about "adult toys," Kathie Lee exclaimed that, "I wouldn't know one if it slapped me in the face." There aren't really a lot of ways to recover gracefully from that one.

Matt Lauer is amused by small packages: 'Today' (weekdays, 7AM ET on NBC) Discussing food prices and tricks retailers use to shrink or enlargen the size of a package, Lauer started cracking up, because well ... package size can be a funny thing. His laughter proved infectious, spreading throughout the set until Meredith Vieira had to rescue him to finish the segment.


Megyn Kelly gets a case of the giggles: Kelly gave Lauer a run for his gigglin' money, but in a much more morbid context. Reporting on a story involving freezing the remains of deceased loved-one on 'America Live' (weekdays, 1 PM ET on Fox News), Kelly completely lost it, giggling on-camera for twenty seconds. Only a commercial break could end the awkwardness.


Kiran Chetry makes an Obama/Osama slip: Chetry, while reporting on Al Qaeda and its leadership problems on 'American Morning' (weekdays, 6AM ET on CNN), slipped, saying that the AQ rank and file are, "pleading for leadership from Obama ... from Bin Laden." While she certainly wasn't the only newscaster to make that slip of the tongue this year, given the context of her report, this one really stuck with us.

Vote for your favorite Live Air Gaffe of 2010: