"We wouldn't have it any other way"

For many people who watched at home Thursday, the real queen of the 120th Rose Parade was the 65-year-old with the brilliant red hair and the relentless smile who described the pageant from high above the parade route.

Stephanie Edwards returned as television hostess of the New Year's Day spectacle, causing a quiet celebration among fans of the tried-and-true, who raised a ruckus when Edwards was dumped two years ago.

There she was beside longtime co-host Bob Eubanks, in a return to a sugar-plum yesteryear, when no trivia was too trivial (Bob: "In Roseville, shopping is king. It's got the 11th highest retail sales of any city in California,") and no hyperbole too hyper (Stephanie: A "Sesame Street"-themed entry is "one of the favorite floats of all time").

Most viewers who e-mailed the KTLA-TV website made it clear they wouldn't have it any other way.