VH1 Closes 2008 With Season Finales From Celebrity Rehab 2, Rock of Love: Charm School and Real Chance of Love

Also Showing 40 Greatest Pranks 2, Best Year Ever, Top 40 Videos of 2008, Roc Doc's: Neil Young

NEW YORK, Dec. 12 -- While the year is coming to an end, the celebration is just getting started at VH1. The channel wishes you a happy holiday season with hopes that you will stay tuned for an amazing lineup of extraordinary programming. The pop culture channel is set to give 2008 the proper send-off with round-up specials, season finales, movies and marathons galore.

"BEST YEAR EVER" -- PREMIERES FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12 AT 11 PM ET/PT

2008 will be a year not easily forgotten: John McCain's verbal gaffes and the verbal fisticuffs at "The View," and new reality shows about everything from dog groomers, travel agents and celebrity circus performers, Gary Busey's red carpet madness and Tom Cruise's maniacal laughter, celebrity babies for McConaughey, J Lo. and another dozen for Brangelina, Heidi Montag's music video, a Sex and the City movie, and the woman who dresses up her monkey. Luckily, VH1 caught everything ... the good, the bad and the "so-bad-it-was- awesome!"

This year, VH1's "Best Week Ever" overdosed on pop culture so you didn't have to -- delivering everything you loved, everything you missed, and everything you need to see again. Premiering Friday, December 12 at 11PM "Best Week Ever" will glance back at what made culture pop in 2008 in this one-hour special.

Hosted by comedic genius, Paul F. Tompkins, "Best Year Ever" will reminisce about what we cared about in 2008: the music, the movies, the TV shows and the viral videos as well as presenting the award for exactly WHO had the "Best Year Ever." The Nominees are: Cloris Leachman, Sarah Palin, Corey Worthington, David Cook and Thomas Beattie: the Pregnant Man.

Paul will be joined by a roster of your favorite "Best Week Ever" panelists including Doug Benson, Rob Huebel, Judah Friedlander, Paul Sheer, Nick Kroll and Jessica St. Clair.

"CELEBRITY REHAB 2" SEASON Finale -- premieres THURSDAY, December 18 at 10 PM ET/PT.

Dr. Drew has a tough decision to make. Violence is not tolerated at the Pasadena Recovery Center, and he must decide whether to kick a patient out just before graduation. Meanwhile, the other patients are shown highlights of their ups and downs through recovery, and Amber is upset that she is not featured enough in the clips. As graduation approaches, the patients all debate whether or not they will go into a sober living environment, or head into the real world and try to keep their sobriety intact. Finally, graduation arrives. Each graduating patient is given a token to symbolize their achievement, and several of their peers stand to give them accolades. As they graduate, each patient must tell Dr. Drew if they will continue into sober living or not.

"TOP 40 VIDEOS OF 2008" -- PREMIERES FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19 AT 9 PM ET/PT

Once again VH1 puts on its music authority hat and counts down the Top 40 Music Videos of the year. This 2-hour special brings you the best music videos that 2008 had to offer: the clips that thrilled us, rocked us, and moved us in more ways than one. In this music-packed special, you'll hear from artists, industry insiders, and other pop culture experts in all-new interviews explaining exactly why these 40 videos are the very best of '08. The Top 40 videos were determined by record sales, downloads, and time spent on VH1's interactive "Top 20 Video Countdown" where music videos are chosen weekly by viewer votes at top20.VH1.com.

"ROCK OF LOVE: CHARM SCHOOL" SEASON FINALE -- PREMIERES SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21 AT 9 PM ET/PT.

In the season finale, the final three women compete for charity on the streets of Hollywood -- a challenge made all the more difficult when they are paired with enemies from their past. In the end, two will stand before the judges to plead their cases, but ultimately, only one will graduate Charm School and win the grand cash prize of $100,000.

"I LOVE TOYS" -- AIRS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25 BEGINNING AT 6 AM ET/PT

In celebration of the holidays, VH1 brings back this ever popular marathon. Do you still sneak a peek through a ViewMaster when you think no one is looking? Settle arguments with your sister over Connect 4? Of COURSE! VH1 has just the show for you. "I LOVE TOYS" is our spin on the enormously popular "I LOVE" series, but this time with a little twist. We're counting down the 100 most famous -- and infamous -- toys you loved from your childhood. Whether you battled the evil forces of the Decepticons with your Transformers or fought for freedom with G.I. Joe, this special's got you covered. Grab some popcorn and get comfortable. This 5-hour special starts at 100 and counts all the way down to number 1! Our expert team of celebrities, musicians, actors and comedians will tackle every hard-hitting issue you can imagine.

"VH1 ROCK DOCS: NEIL YOUNG" -- PREMIERES SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27 AT 9PM ET/PT.

This 2006 documentary and concert film by Jonathan Demme, presents an intimate musical portrait of legendary singer/songwriter Neil Young, at the world premiere of his Prairie Wind concert at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. This documentary features the entire performance of the Prairie Wind album in addition to previous hits as Young describes the inspiration behind several of his songs. The film also features interviews with Young and members of his band including Emmylou Harris, wife Pegi Young, steel guitarist Ben Keith, and keyboardist Spooner Oldham.

VH1 SOUL

SOUL CITIES: LOS ANGELES -- FINALE EPISODE -- PREMIERES TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16 AT 9PM ET/PT

Every city has a soul -- a special local combination of culture, food and music that defines it for the world. Hosted by writer and filmmaker Nelson George, "Soul Cities" is a music history/travel show that visits American cities that gave birth to soul music. The show will guide viewers to the wonderful culture that is a city's heartbeat. VH1 Soul will visit studios, bars, churches, radio stations and restaurants that inspired soul and that today keep the culture alive.

In this 30-minute finale episode, Nelson will visit the city of Los Angeles and will feature exclusive, never-before-seen interviews with some of the biggest names in urban culture.

VH1'S "100 GREATEST HIP HOP SONGS" -- AIRS NEW YEARS EVE -- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31 BEGINNING AT 10PM ET/PT

VH1 Soul will air a five-hour block of VH1's "100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs," paying tribute to rap royalty. This ultimate celebration will have it all -- from old school classics to gangsta rap and everything in between. This five- part series is more than just a compilation of beats and lyrical rhymes, VH1 will also reveal the story behind each hit and provide updates on what the hit-makers of hip hop's past are doing today. The series will also feature new, original interviews with hip-hop's biggest names, plus rare and archival performances. Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Run-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa, OutKast, Eminem and Grandmaster Flash are just some of the artists to be profiled.

VH1.COM

Series Marathons & "Movies That Rock":

Monday, 12/22: "Real Chance of Love" beginning at 2 PM*

Tuesday, 12/23: "Celebrity Rehab 1" beginning at 5:30 AM* and "Celebrity Rehab 2" beginning at 5:30 PM*

Wednesday, 12/24: "Movies that Rock!" including "Drumline," "8 Mile" and "The Wedding Singer" beginning at 7:30 AM*

Thursday, 12/25: "I Love Toys" beginning at 6 AM* and "Rock of Love: Charm School" beginning at 12:30 PM*

Friday, 12/26: "100 Greatest" countdowns beginning at 6 AM*

Saturday, 12/27: "I Love the 70's" beginning at 11 AM*

Sunday, 12/28: "I Love the New Millennium" beginning at 4 PM*

For more information on all these shows, please log onto VH1.com, VH1Classic.com and VH1Soul.com.

VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with TV series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 95 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital channels and services including VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul, VH1 Mobile, VH1 Games and extensive broadband video on VH1.com. Connect with VH1 at VH1.com.

Launched in May 2000, VH1 Classic is a 24-hour network that present videos, concerts and music specials all day long, featuring the best of rock, soul and pop artists from the 60's, 70's and 80's, including The Beatles, The Stones, Tina Turner, Led Zeppelin, Marvin Gaye, Madonna, The Who, Stevie Wonder, The Police and many more. Learn more at VH1Classic.com.

Launched in 1997, VH1 Soul is the 24-hour network that brings music lovers the hottest, soul, neo-soul an R&B hits from the 90s and today featuring core artists such as Alicia Keys, Jill Scott, Outkast, Mary J. Blige and Usher. VH1 Soul, the premier source for all R&B and soul music, is now seen in the Top 20 U.S. markets for African-Americans and is available in nearly 20 million U.S. households.

* All Times ET/PT