You are seeing this message because you have javascript disabled.
To use our slideshows you need to enable javascript.
There's no cross domain hackery or tracking voodoo, it's just some sweet jQuery animations.
Please, think of the animations.
In the meantime, enjoy the html version below. I guess. If that's your thing.
We live in a world full of spectacle. Within that world, there's no international spectacle (insert jazz hands) that quite matches the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Yes, it's grand, and magnificent, and painstakingly planned down to every detail. It also has a tendency to be goofy and over-the-top. We felt things, and we laughed, and sometimes we yawned. We sat down to watch the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics last night, and we've compiled some of the best--and most ludicrous--moments.
Kenneth Branagh Wasn't Dressed as a Leprechaun, But He Looked Like He Was
Branagh read some Shakespeare, as Kenneth Branagh is wont to do, while standing in what looked like the Shire.
The...Industrial Revolution
We loved this number, but it also kind of felt like we were watching them forge the One Ring.
Voldemort Came Back With a Vengeance...
Like a giant bobblehead of doom.
...And Was Defeated by a Gaggle of Nannies
A large number of Mary Poppins' descended from the sky and took care of business.
The Queen Hooked Up With James Bond...
...And parachuted into the ceremony. For real. (Well, at least her body-double did)
And Now We Have a New Unamused Queen Meme
But Bond was not enough to impress the Queen.
Matt Lauer said "Here comes the Queen, cheering wildly for the host, Great Britain."
He was mistaken.
JK Rowling Read From Peter Pan
We have nothing sassy to say about this one. It wasn't goofy at all. We just love her.
No David Tennant
Per the Doctor Who episode "Fear Her," Tennant was meant to carry the Olympic Torch in the London 2012 Olympics. It was a fixed point in time, dammit!
Way to tear a hole in the space-time continuum, Britain. YOU HAD ONE JOB.
[View All on One Page ]
Are you following The Mary Sue on Twitter , Facebook , Tumblr , Pinterest , & Google + ?
Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com