TV's Top WTF? Moments: October 2009

Everyone in America was transfixed by the sight of the metallic Jiffy Pop-like weather balloon speeding across their televisions that fateful Thursday, afraid that reports of 6-year-old Falcon Heene aboard would end in the worst possible way.

As soon as the balloon landed without any sign of the boy, everything went south: He turned up and said he had been hiding in the attic; Balloon Boy said, "You had said we did this for the show"; Balloon Boy vomited on national TV; father Richard Heene's reality show dream was revealed; and finally, the sheriff behind the investigation declared the whole thing was determined to be a hoax and that criminal charges would be filed.

Whew!

--Hanh Nguyen, Zap2it

Related:

Balloon Boy throws up, dad denies hoax on 'Today'
Balloon Boy family's reality TV dreams deflated
Sheriff: Balloon Boy incident a hoax