Since her first 10 Most Fascinating People special, a hodgepodge of politicos, celebrities, and persons of note that included everyone from the Archduke Ferdinand to Sarah Bernhardt, Barbara Walters annual compendium of the year's most spellbinding personalities has only grown more essential and, dare we say it, fascinating.

Just listening to her promoting the program on The View—running through A-list entries like supercouple Victoria and Posh Beckham, the MySpace founders ("Who never have done anything!"), and pop superstar Jason Timberlake—sufficiently put to rest our concerns that the onset of senility might have transformed doormen, bagel vendors, and crew members she's met a thousand times before into fascinating strangers worthy of the primetime spotlight.