The Sun-Herald

Desperately dancing Da Vincians

By David Dale.
As we reach the mid-point of 2006, it's time to take stock of the way Australians are amusing themselves, and what that says about the state of the nation. Let's try to find a pattern in the experiences shared by more than 2 million inhabitants of this continent this year:1. The Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, seen by 3.5 million in the mainland capitals, but more in Melbourne than in Sydney (which watched only to complain about how parochially Melbourne had done it). Aussies have become connoisseurs of colour and movement, but intercity rivalry is alive and well.

2 The Beaconsfield miners interview, seen by 2.8 million. Eddie McGuire paid a dollar for every viewer. His attempt to prove that Channel Nine will always own the big news stories was quickly undermined by the decision to eliminate 100 jobs in the news department and axe Business Sunday. Nine's weekday news now lags behind Seven's by 130,000 viewers every night. (To discuss how much longer Eddie will be allowed to steer the Titanic, click here).

3 The Australian Open men's tennis final, seen by 2.7 million. Forget all the forms of footy. The national sport is watching guys bash a ball over a net. And there doesn't need to be national pride at stake - we're just as happy to watch a Greek play a Swiss.

4 Dancing with the Stars final, seen by 2.7 million. Alternatively, our national sport might be waiting to see B-list celebrities make fools of themselves. No, that's harsh. It's not sadism that drives DWTS - it's delight in seeing a modern manifestation of the Gallipoli "give it a go" spirit, plus gorgeous costumes.

5 The Da Vinci Code, seen by 2.6 million. Australia's top Catholic, Cardinal George Pell, recently expressed satisfaction that this movie was failing at the box office. That kind of wishful thinking has bedevilled the church for 1700 years (as the Pope said to Galileo: "Never let the facts get in the way of a good superstition"). In fact, twice as many people have seen the film as have bought the book, and The Da Vinci Code is bigger in Australia than in any other country - at a time when our movie distributors thought their market had shrunk to animated kidflicks such as ...

6 Ice Age 2, seen by 2.5 million (of whom two-thirds were undoubtedly under 14).

7 The Biggest Loser final, seen by 2.3 million. Despite a title with traditional Australian resonance, it's a show about triumph, proving we do sometimes celebrate winners (as long as they're modest).

8 Desperate Housewives opening episode, seen by 2.2 million. The Despos have been losing viewers lately, but they're still more popular with Australians than with Americans. Why? Because the most suburbanised nation on earth loves the most suburbanised show on TV - Neighbours with botox.

9 The World Cup match between Australia and Japan, seen by 2.2 million. Our passion for the round ball will last as long as the Australian team are playing together.

10 James Blunt singing You're Beautiful. As the Missy Higgins of 2006, Blunt sold half a million of his album and got played 2 million times on radio and TV. Thank God no politician has yet noticed the swearword and the drug reference.

Over to you. Can you join the dots between those shared experiences and form a portrait of a nation?

David Dale is the author of Who We Are - A miscellany of the new Australia (Allen and Unwin). The Tribal Mind column is published every Tuesday in The Sydney Morning Herald. Past columns can be found at www.smh.com.au/tribalmind. For a discussion on this week's trends in television, click here