Piers Morgan counts down the ten most memorable moments of 2013

As Piers Morgan took the chair for the final time in this calendar year, on Thursday evening the CNN host set aside some time for reflection, highlighting ten of his program's most memorable moments from 2013.

Having asked viewers to vote during the day, and welcoming an eclectic panel tasked with reviewing various video clips, the face of "Piers Morgan Live" counted down, starting with moments ten through seven.

Serving as a cornerstone for his first grouping, Morgan went back to July, reminding viewers of the night guest Rachel Jeantel explained the modern day usage of the "N" word:

"That mean a male," explained Trayvon Martin's friend, as a live studio audience hung on her very word. "Any kind of male ... Chinese can say n***a."

Having watched the clip, Nischelle Turner said that although Jeantel's narrative was uncomfortable, it at least served to move an important conversation forward:

"The good thing is we're talking about it again," said CNN's entertainment reporter. "We haven't gotten very far, [but] the more we talk about it, the better it is."

After a commercial break, Morgan returned with the next crop of his countdown, moments six through four. Highlighting the group was a hilarious interview with hip-hop icon Calvin Broadus, known more broadly by his most-recent stage name, Snoop Lion.

An admitted aficionado of marijuana, the 42-year-old multiple Grammy Award nominee shared a story of his time smoking pot with country music legend Willie Nelson:

"We had so much fun, our minds was going, so we went to Kentucky Fried Chicken, so we ordered some food, and they brought the food in through the drive-thru, so they had the box of chicken right here, so me and Willie sat side by side and put our hands in at the same time and grabbed the same piece of chicken," explained Snoop Lion. "And I said 'you know what, that's yours, Willie.'"

With his panel in stitches, Morgan pointed to Bill Werde, who praised the rapper for his authenticity:

"The funniest part about about Snoop Dog, Snoop Lion, Snoop anything he wants to call himself, is Snoop is Snoop. There's probably no artist that is more strongly identified with a particular persona, and you just saw it, than Snoop," said the editorial director of "Billboard" magazine. "It's kind of funny to me when he changes his name. Because it's not like anything else is changing."

After one more break, Morgan revealed numbers three and two, called for a drumroll, and shared what his viewers had chosen as the show's number one most memorable moment of 2013.

"I think it plays very well to the main theme of the show this year, too," said the host, as he cued up the infamous Alex Jones clip.

"I'm here to tell you, 1776 will commence again if you try to take our fire arms," bellowed the radio host and conspiracy theorist. "Doesn't matter how many lemmings you get out there on the street, begging for them to have their guns taken. We will not relinquish them. Do you understand?"

Back live, HuffPost Live host Marc Lamont Hill launched into an entertaining impersonation of the man who had once hoped to have Morgan deported:

"Piers Morgan, I'm a crazy gun nut! If you just let me keep talking Piers Morgan, the world [will] know that I'm a crazy gun nut. You don't have to ask me tough questions, I'll just keep talking, everybody will know."

While the panel and host enjoyed a good laugh, entrepreneur and reality TV show celebrity Heather Thomson offered one final piece of analysis:

"The scary thing to know is that that guy has a gun, and probabaly has several guns."

Watch the clips to review Thursday's countdown, and for the full collection of "Piers Morgan Live's" ten most memorable moments of 2013, visit this story on the show's website.
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