The Sun-Herald

The Tribal Mind: When the trust goes, the viewers go shopping

To discuss how the latest immigrants are improving Australia, go to Who We Are

by David Dale
It's logical to assume that most Australians buy DVDs to recapture their pleasure in a movie they remember from the cinema or to catch up with a movie they didn't get round to seeing when it was first on. Logical, but wrong. There's much to be learned about how Australians are changing from this chart, kindly supplied by the research organisation GfK Australia:

Australia's top selling DVDs (first week of October): 1 Supernatural Season 3; 2 Horton Hears A Who; 3 AFL Premiers 2008 Hawthorn; 4 Two And A Half Men Season 4; 5 Heroes Season 2 Digipack Box Set; 6 Two And A Half Men Season 3; 7 Heroes Season 2 Slimcase; 8 Two And A Half Men Season 1; 9 Beverly Hills 90210 Season 5; 10 Happy Feet.

Only two of the ten are movies. One is a sports documentary. The rest are TV shows. And therein lies the mystery -- why are three of the ten best selling DVDs from a TV show which Channel Nine is already showing for five hours a week, two of them from a show Channel Seven is showing for an hour a week and one of them from a show Channel Ten is showing for an hour a week?

This is my speculation: it's because there is no longer any trust between viewers and TV stations.

The fans of Two and a Half Men, Heroes or Supernatural are thinking: "Yes, they may be showing it now, but any minute they'll cancel it, move it to late at night without telling me, play it out of order or interrupt the sequence with old episodes. The only way to be sure I can see it in the correct order, when I want to, is to buy every possible DVD. And then I'll never need to watch TV again."

Of course, no blockbuster movies were released around the time that chart was compiled. The top ten a month from now will no doubt include Iron Man, The Dark Knight, Sex and the City, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. But if my thesis about the breakdown of trust is correct, the remining six next month will still be TV shows.

We might get a better sense of the trend by looking at the most purchased DVDs for the year so far: 1 Underbelly, 2 The Bucket List, 3 Alvin and the Chipmunks, 4 Step Up 2, 5 Stargate: Continuum (a made-for-TV movie); 6 Sweeney Todd; 7 Jumper; 8 Batman Begins; 9 Fool's Gold, 10 Rambo 2008.

The rest of the top 40 included two Wiggles song collections, Dexter season two (shown late at night by Ten), Flight of the Conchords season 1 (shown late by Ten); Top Gear in America (shown by SBS); Get Smart season 1; one made-for-TV Barbie story (that's the doll, not outdoor cooking) and a lot of movies.

So we'd be wrong to assume that Australians have stopped building up libraries of great movies. It's just that they are now also building up libraries of great TV series -- and panic buying to forestall the erratic behaviour of the TV networks which have ceased to be their main sources of entertainment.

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 03:03 PM
• Comments (16)

WHO WE ARE: The invasions we never noticed

To predict the success of Australia (the movie), go to The Tribal Mind.

A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 26/10/2008
Funny how nobody talks about immigration any more. The hottest issue of five years ago has vanished from the national agenda. That's probably because Australians think there isn't much of it happening these days. We assume the immigration program was cut back during the Howard years because both sides of politics feared that most Australians were deep-down racists, and would vote against any party which brought in more of those dreadful foreigners.

It's time to dispose of some myths. Immigration is at record levels, and if they knew what kind of new citizens we are getting, Australians would be delighted. So lets tell them.

The first clue comes in the population clock that appears on the website of the Bureau of Statistics. It now operates on the assumption that this country has a net gain of one international migrant every 2 minutes and 55 seconds. Five years ago it was calibrated on the basis of one migrant arriving every four minutes and 9 seconds.

Combine the immigration boom with our current breeding frenzy and you find our population going up by one person every one minute and 37 seconds (and set to reach 22 million by 2011).

We currently have a net gain of 178,000 new settlers a year - the biggest numbers in 40 years - and that represents 56 per cent of our annual population growth. The countries contributing most are Britain, New Zealand, China and India.

Most of us would probably go along with the stereotype that the Chinese get top marks at university and end up as doctors and scientists, while the Indians work in call centres and run curry shops. The Bureau offers some mythbusting research from the 2006 census.

It says that in the immigration program since 2000, 61 per cent of the Chinese and 82 per cent of the Indians arrived through the "skill stream" (here because they're needed, as opposed to family reunions or refugees).

The biggest surprise is that the Chinese earn less than Australian-born people, while the Indians earn more. "The median individual income of people born in China was $239 per week compared with $539 for people born in India and $484 for Australian-born people," says the bureau.

Where do the new arrivals work? "Accommodation and food services was the largest employing industry for China-born residents in 2006 (accounting for 17.6% of employed China-born persons). Manufacturing was the largest employing industry for India-born residents (with 11.7% of employed India-born persons)."

Nearly a third of the Indian arrivals describe themselves as "professionals" (compared with 22 per cent of Chinese and 19 per cent of Australian-born), while 17 per cent of Indians are "clerical and administrative workers" (compared with 10 per cent of Chinese and 15 per cent of Australian-born). At the lowest paying end of the employment scale, 14 per cent of Chinese, 8 per cent of Indians and 10 per cent of Australians describe themselves as labourers.

But what kind of numbers are we talking about here? Have we opened the floodgates to people who are taking jobs away from good old Aussie labourers, clerks, restaurateurs, and graduates?

The bureau reports that Australia's population of 21.5 million includes 206,588 people who were born in China, and 147,106 people who were born in India. Hardly the kind of numbers to give nightmares to Pauline Hanson -- but enough to make Australia a more interesting place.

To discuss this, go to Comments

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 10:40 AM
• Comments (37)

WH0 WE ARE: You'll pay for what you say

To predict the success of Australia (the movie), go to The Tribal Mind.

A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 19/10/2008
The other day Kevin Rudd quoted the phrase "Tell 'em they're dreamin' " in response to a demand from State Governments for some extra billions in funding. He graciously attributed the line to that fine Australian film The Castle, but he should go further. The line earned him a sound bite on ABC radio, so he really ought to send a cheque for $4 to Jane Kennedy, Rob Sitch, Santo Cilauro, and Tom Gleisner, who created it.

In the same way, all those headline writers who keep playing on the phrase "That's not a knife, THAT'S a knife" should be sending $7 to John Cornell, Paul Hogan and Ken Shadie, the writers of Crocodile Dundee, and those who repeat "It's noice, it's different, it's unusual" should send $6 each time to Gina Riley and Jane Turner, creators of Kath and Kim.

That would be the principle established by the current legal action against Colin Hay and Ron Strykert, the writers of the song Down Under (about the land where women glow and men chunder). Partway through the flute solo that appears in the middle of the recording, the composers quote the tune of a much older icon called Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree. I've always regarded that flute passage as a witty homage to an Aussie classic, reinforcing the satire on ocker stereotypes.

But the current copyright holders of Kookaburra (written in 1934 by a teacher named Marion Sinclair) argue the musical reference was a crucial element in the success of Down Under, and are seeking a share in the profits.

From now on, we all need to think about who we're ripping off when we reference Australian songs, poems, stories, and speeches, and we should start compensating the creators by putting aside a dollar a word in a kind of swear jar. Here's my starter list, to which I hope you'll add more examples:

The most quotable lines of Australian culture (and the fees you'll owe):
"There was movement at the station" ($6 to the estate of Banjo Paterson).
"Cut and come again" ($4 to the estate of Norman Lindsay, creator of The Magic Pudding).
"We don't need another hero" ($5 to Terry Britten and Graham Lyle, who wrote the theme for Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome).
"Happy little Vegemites" ($3 to the estate of Alan Weekes, composer of the 1954 radio jingle).
"Not happy, Jan" ($3 to Deborah Kennedy, who coined the phrase when Clemenger ad agency was filming a commercial for the Yellow Pages).
"I'll rip yer bloody arms off" ($5 to Grahame Bond, co-writer of The Aunty Jack Show).
"Men and women of Australia" and "Well may we say" (total $9 to Gough Whitlam).
"Just what this country needs: a cock in a frock on a rock" ($13 to Stephan Elliott, creator of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert).
"You're terrible, Muriel" ($3 to P.J. Hogan, writer of Muriel's Wedding).
"Spreading disease with the greatest of ease" ($6 to the estate of James Joseph White, who wrote the original Louie the fly jingle).
"How embarrassment" ($2 to Mary Coustas, co-writer of Acropolis Now).
"Puck you, miss" ($3 to Chris Lilley, writer of Summer Heights High )
"Shaddup you face" ($3 to Joe Dolce).
"There's nothing so lonesome morbid or drear as ..." ($8 to the estates of Gordon Parsons, songwriter, and Dan Sheahan, poet, for Pub With No Beer)
"Most people I know think that I'm crazy" ($8 to the estate of Billy Thorpe).

To suggest more of the lines that make up Australia's cultural heritage, go to Comments

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 02:08 PM
• Comments (12)

The Who We Are update: Week 46

This week of the blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. For today's media trends, bookmark http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,241,000 318,000 341,000 247,000 139,000 196,000
2 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 981,000 297,000 276,000 171,000 119,000 119,000
3 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 960,000 252,000 337,000 185,000 105,000 80,000
4 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC1 929,000 258,000 293,000 161,000 112,000 105,000
5 THE BILL ABC1 821,000 245,000 246,000 110,000 109,000 112,000
6 ROUGH DIAMOND ABC1 800,000 221,000 229,000 150,000 91,000 109,000
7 ABC NEWS UP-DATE ABC1 734,000 205,000 218,000 131,000 90,000 90,000
8 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Ten 668,000 164,000 189,000 135,000 73,000 107,000
9 LIAR, LIAR RPT Ten 654,000 158,000 267,000 83,000 76,000 70,000
10 M-AGENT CODY BANKS Seven 644,000 157,000 201,000 115,000 66,000 106,000
15 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP -SF1 Nine 484,000 254,000 14,000 189,000 15,000 12,000
24 MYTHBUSTERS RPT SBS 345,000 89,000 128,000 47,000 46,000 34,000
27 IRON CHEF RPT SBS 291,000 60,000 127,000 47,000 32,000 26,000
29 ROCKWIZ SBS 261,000 69,000 100,000 32,000 28,000 32,000

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TWENTY/20 -ALL STARS (some sort of cricket match, apparently) Nine 1,334,000 369,000 409,000 270,000 148,000 138,000
2 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,275,000 356,000 401,000 229,000 132,000 157,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,230,000 307,000 345,000 236,000 157,000 185,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,139,000 311,000 333,000 216,000 139,000 140,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,117,000 260,000 306,000 219,000 145,000 186,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 934,000 248,000 291,000 197,000 123,000 76,000
7 ABC NEWS ABC1 926,000 265,000 262,000 172,000 90,000 136,000
8 TAGGART ABC1 924,000 258,000 278,000 123,000 111,000 154,000
9 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 921,000 281,000 282,000 237,000 121,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 859,000 228,000 258,000 186,000 103,000 83,000
16 THE INFORMANT Ten 622,000 184,000 176,000 97,000 76,000 88,000
42 GROWING UP CREEPIE-PM ABC1 220,000 34,000 87,000 31,000 23,000 45,000
45 POLYGAMOUS WIVES SBS 212,000 57,000 87,000 26,000 21,000 22,000

The ratings race, upated 10 am Friday
Could any reader who is a regular watcher of Oprah Winfrey kindly tell us if the episode in which she said she loves Australia has yet been shown here? We promise not to make fun of you.

At this point in the week, Seven is averaging 30.2 per cent of the prime time audience, with Nine on 27.8, Ten on 20.0, ABC on 17.1 and SBS on 4.9. Do I need to tell you who will win the week, the month and the year?

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,252,000 253,000 388,000 270,000 148,000 193,000
2 THIS IS YOUR LIFE Nine 1,205,000 347,000 371,000 211,000 143,000 133,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,166,000 265,000 315,000 245,000 158,000 184,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,145,000 329,000 318,000 228,000 117,000 153,000
5 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,138,000 289,000 384,000 238,000 120,000 108,000
6 GETAWAY Nine 1,102,000 310,000 357,000 205,000 99,000 130,000
7 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT Ten 1,100,000 346,000 321,000 200,000 110,000 123,000
8 NINE NEWS Nine 1,088,000 312,000 371,000 213,000 117,000 75,000
9 RPA Nine 1,051,000 282,000 334,000 171,000 138,000 126,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,014,000 251,000 367,000 240,000 89,000 67,000
11 BONES Seven 989,000 303,000 340,000 138,000 101,000 106,000
12 MAKE ME A SUPERMODEL Seven 948,000 286,000 238,000 207,000 89,000 128,000
14 THE AMAZING RACE 13 Seven 924,000 244,000 336,000 145,000 94,000 106,000
15 THE MYSTERY OF THE MARY CELESTE: REVEALED ABC1 910,000 272,000 260,000 156,000 92,000 129,000
19 ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER? Ten 776,000 194,000 291,000 126,000 72,000 92,000
24 TEN LATE NEWS WITH SPORTS TONIGHT Ten 488,000 141,000 155,000 67,000 72,000 52,000
26 HEROES - THU Seven 462,000 141,000 155,000 79,000 47,000 41,000
28 THE STRIP Nine 430,000 106,000 133,000 68,000 52,000 70,000
31 SEARCHING 4 SANDEEP-EV ABC1 383,000 152,000 81,000 52,000 38,000 60,000
32 SUNRISE Seven 380,000 113,000 80,000 96,000 39,000 52,000
33 INSPECTOR REX RPT SBS 375,000 121,000 115,000 52,000 47,000 39,000
37 LATELINE ABC1 277,000 91,000 101,000 45,000 21,000 20,000
26 HEROES - THU Seven 462,000 141,000 155,000 79,000 47,000 41,000
28 THE STRIP Nine 430,000 106,000 133,000 68,000 52,000 70,000
31 SEARCHING 4 SANDEEP ABC1 383,000 152,000 81,000 52,000 38,000 60,000
32 SUNRISE Seven 380,000 113,000 80,000 96,000 39,000 52,000
33 INSPECTOR REX RPT SBS 375,000 121,000 115,000 52,000 47,000 39,000
40 TODAY Nine 261,000 71,000 92,000 62,000 17,000 18,000
63 THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW Ten 172,000 36,000 69,000 24,000 24,000 20,000
65 SEINFELD Nine 162,000 36,000 50,000 32,000 14,000 30,000
68 PLAY SCHOOL-AM ABC1 156,000 33,000 71,000 22,000 11,000 18,000
72 THE MORNING SHOW Seven 148,000 38,000 35,000 41,000 20,000 15,000
76 THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW Nine 141,000 44,000 34,000 36,000 12,000 16,000
92 9AM WITH DAVID & KIM Ten 99,000 26,000 40,000 12,000 12,000 10,000
93 THE VIEW Nine 99,000 41,000 17,000 28,000 7,000 6,000
95 MORNINGS WITH KERRI-ANNE Nine 97,000 36,000 22,000 25,000 9,000 5,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED EP2 Nine 1,438,000 408,000 496,000 276,000 123,000 135,000
2 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED Nine 1,429,000 388,000 482,000 302,000 124,000 132,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,377,000 351,000 387,000 255,000 168,000 217,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,312,000 331,000 372,000 235,000 153,000 221,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,285,000 369,000 355,000 232,000 149,000 181,000
6 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,269,000 399,000 387,000 238,000 100,000 145,000
7 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,177,000 259,000 376,000 250,000 134,000 157,000
8 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,162,000 315,000 381,000 259,000 102,000 105,000
9 NINE NEWS Nine 1,140,000 250,000 392,000 266,000 127,000 106,000
10 CRASH SCENE INVESTIGATORS Seven 1,116,000 268,000 298,000 242,000 143,000 165,000
11 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,091,000 312,000 322,000 187,000 104,000 165,000
12 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,052,000 263,000 353,000 258,000 99,000 80,000
13 THE MENTALIST Nine 1,002,000 294,000 335,000 165,000 100,000 108,000
21 HOUSE Ten 750,000 183,000 239,000 149,000 72,000 106,000
26 ALL NEW FUTURAMA WED EP 1 Ten 583,000 150,000 188,000 76,000 69,000 100,000
29 ALL NEW FUTURAMA WED EP 2 Ten 528,000 154,000 141,000 72,000 69,000 92,000
32 TEN LATE NEWS WITH SPORTS TONIGHT Ten 478,000 119,000 172,000 70,000 68,000 49,000
35 SUNRISE Seven 383,000 106,000 97,000 96,000 33,000 51,000
36 AT THE MOVIES ABC1 366,000 143,000 97,000 61,000 37,000 28,000
48 TODAY Nine 271,000 68,000 96,000 53,000 17,000 36,000
52 ERKY PERKY-PM ABC1 252,000 48,000 98,000 42,000 32,000 33,000
79 NEWSTOPIA SBS 158,000 48,000 44,000 25,000 21,000 19,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Wednesday
Today we answer readers' questions. The chart below includes every free to air program anybody has asked about in the past six weeks -- including, for the first time, data on the mysterious ABC2. If we've left anything out, just ask.

Seven has recovered its lead, and at this point in the week, the prime time audience shares stand at: Seven 31.0 per cent, Nine 27.4, Ten 20.1, ABC 16.4, SBS 5.1.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,959,000 594,000 628,000 330,000 188,000 218,000
2 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,785,000 510,000 539,000 316,000 201,000 218,000
3 THE ZOO - TUE Seven 1,576,000 436,000 450,000 312,000 164,000 214,000
4 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,358,000 338,000 335,000 263,000 162,000 260,000
5 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,309,000 406,000 431,000 177,000 152,000 144,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,266,000 381,000 340,000 231,000 143,000 172,000
7 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,190,000 285,000 285,000 250,000 144,000 225,000
8 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,162,000 266,000 400,000 237,000 136,000 124,000
9 NCIS RPT Ten 1,151,000 282,000 327,000 252,000 137,000 152,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,125,000 263,000 425,000 242,000 108,000 88,000
11 NINE NEWS Nine 1,121,000 301,000 376,000 254,000 118,000 72,000
12 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,061,000 286,000 310,000 202,000 108,000 155,000
13 TWO AND A HALF MEN -EP2 Nine 944,000 258,000 341,000 156,000 90,000 100,000
14 TWO AND A HALF MEN -EP1 Nine 937,000 271,000 320,000 169,000 85,000 92,000
16 THE CHOPPING BLOCK Nine 902,000 256,000 299,000 165,000 95,000 86,000
17 RUSH Ten 883,000 202,000 339,000 146,000 105,000 92,000
19 NEIGHBOURS Ten 834,000 254,000 278,000 142,000 70,000 90,000
20 KENNY'S WORLD TUES Ten 805,000 171,000 292,000 135,000 99,000 109,000
24 MONASH: THE FORGOTTEN ANZAC ABC1 667,000 201,000 222,000 102,000 58,000 84,000
25 THE SIMPSONS TUES Ten 653,000 289,000 140,000 101,000 122,000
26 THE SIMPSONS Ten 638,000 153,000 223,000 110,000 67,000 85,000
28 WILL & GRACE Ten 549,000 141,000 160,000 118,000 46,000 84,000
32 SURVIVOR: MICRONESIA - FANS VS FAVOURITES Nine 466,000 133,000 163,000 66,000 62,000 41,000
35 M*A*S*H Seven 421,000 128,000 123,000 80,000 38,000 53,000
36 SUNRISE Seven 368,000 110,000 74,000 96,000 40,000 48,000
38 TODAY Nine 320,000 103,000 100,000 69,000 22,000 27,000
42 JENNIFER BYRNE PRESENTS ABC1 303,000 89,000 101,000 46,000 36,000 32,000
54 INSIGHT SBS 228,000 70,000 78,000 44,000 15,000 22,000
56 BTN DAILY-PM ABC1 225,000 26,000 99,000 40,000 27,000 33,000
61 THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW Ten 221,000 54,000 58,000 46,000 24,000 39,000
62 LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN Ten 215,000 62,000 74,000 36,000 29,000 14,000
65 PLAY SCHOOL-AM ABC1 198,000 31,000 90,000 44,000 11,000 21,000
76 DR PHIL Ten 167,000 44,000 39,000 36,000 22,000 27,000
82 ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT Nine 157,000 49,000 51,000 32,000 18,000 7,000
85 THE MORNING SHOW Seven 155,000 46,000 14,000 44,000 29,000 22,000
88 THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW Nine 148,000 46,000 44,000 35,000 19,000 5,000
91 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES-DAY (R) Seven 145,000 37,000 55,000 18,000 15,000 19,000
92 DAYS OF OUR LIVES Nine 139,000 35,000 40,000 36,000 19,000 8,000
95 MORNINGS WITH KERRI-ANNE Nine 127,000 43,000 26,000 37,000 10,000 11,000
96 MOONLIGHTING Seven 119,000 29,000 41,000 17,000 12,000 20,000
101 THE VIEW Nine 113,000 23,000 55,000 20,000 7,000 7,000
106 PARLIAMENT QUESTION TIME-PM ABC1 90,000 39,000 21,000 12,000 8,000 10,000
115 9AM WITH DAVID & KIM Ten 76,000 15,000 26,000 10,000 11,000 13,000
123 HAMISH MACBETH-EV ABC2 54,000 20,000 10,000 9,000 7,000 9,000
136 AUSTRALIAN STORY-EV ABC2 35,000 13,000 5,000 10,000 3,000 4,000
142 SOMETHING IN THE AIR-EV ABC2 32,000 11,000 6,000 4,000 3,000 8,000
167 THE BILL-TU ABC2 19,000 1,000 6,000 7,000 3,000 1,000
193 ABC NEWS BREAKFAST-AM ABC2 10,000 2,000 1,000 5,000 3,000 0 (yes, that really is 0 for Perth)
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals

The ratings race, updated 10 am Tuesday
Channel Nine got back in the game on Monday with a 90 minute version of Domestic Blitz and a new episode of CSI, while Seven didn't even put up a fight. At this point in the week, Nine has 29.0 per cent of the prime time audience (despite Seven's dancing-led recovery on Sunday), while Seven has 28.4, Ten has 19.7, ABC has 17.1 and SBS has 5.8 (thanks to a modest recovery for Top Gear Australia, plus two Australian comedies).

The real winner of the night was Dawn French (pictured here with Andrew Denton), whose thoughtful and amusing responses to Denton's polite provocations drew 1.2 million to Enough Rope.

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 DOMESTIC BLITZ Nine 1,677,000 452,000 551,000 345,000 147,000 182,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,460,000 363,000 403,000 290,000 170,000 235,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,418,000 330,000 418,000 289,000 160,000 220,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,302,000 371,000 393,000 226,000 156,000 156,000
5 ENOUGH ROPE WITH ANDREW DENTON ABC1 1,243,000 320,000 451,000 207,000 118,000 147,000
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,224,000 277,000 435,000 291,000 115,000 105,000
7 CSI Nine 1,169,000 299,000 340,000 276,000 122,000 133,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,117,000 259,000 367,000 274,000 127,000 89,000
9 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,081,000 288,000 312,000 219,000 113,000 150,000
10 CITY HOMICIDE (R) Seven 1,079,000 314,000 388,000 124,000 123,000 130,000
11 NINE NEWS Nine 1,064,000 235,000 352,000 249,000 134,000 96,000
12 7.30 REPORT ABC1 955,000 295,000 252,000 185,000 92,000 131,000
13 THE RICH LIST - MON Seven 926,000 236,000 315,000 151,000 119,000 105,000
14 BONES - MON Seven 902,000 274,000 337,000 95,000 105,000 92,000
15 AUSTRALIAN STORY ABC1 894,000 276,000 269,000 158,000 81,000 110,000
16 GOOD NEWS WEEK Ten 878,000 251,000 279,000 149,000 114,000 85,000
17 AUSTRALIAN IDOL - THE LIVE VERDICT Ten 871,000 258,000 241,000 161,000 114,000 98,000
22 FOUR CORNERS ABC1 721,000 221,000 199,000 145,000 70,000 87,000
23 COLD CASE Nine 706,000 170,000 230,000 142,000 89,000 75,000
24 SUPERNATURAL Ten 634,000 141,000 201,000 103,000 89,000 99,000
27 TOP GEAR AUSTRALIA SBS 612,000 151,000 227,000 107,000 57,000 70,000
34 SWIFT AND SHIFT COURIERS SBS 371,000 110,000 131,000 60,000 37,000 32,000
40 BOGAN PRIDE SBS 306,000 96,000 106,000 48,000 30,000 26,000
61 LOUIS THEROUX Seven 197,000 67,000 64,000 21,000 28,000 19,000

The ratings race, updated 6pm Sunday
The TV networks seemed to be in a carefree Melbourne Cup mood all week. As a result, they were taught a lesson about viewer loyalty. On Monday, Channel Seven rehashed its failed game show, The Rich List, and repeated its hit cop show City Homicide, with the result that Channel Nine won the night. On Wednesday, Nine showed a Will Ferrell movie instead of The Mentalist, and lost 400,000 viewers, while Ten replaced House with an extra episode of the cop show Life, and lost 200,000 viewers.

The week ended with a fall in audiences and a rise in viewer resentment about being taken for granted. Seven averaged 30.1 per cent of the prime time audience, with Nine on 26.3, Ten on 19.8, ABC on 18.3 and SBS on 5.55.

The most watched shows belonged to Seven: the Melbourne Rup race, Packed to The Rafters, Find My Family and The Zoo. Nine's hits were Two and a Half Men, CSI and 60 Minutes. Ten scored with NCIS, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, and Australian Idol, while the ABC got a similar result for Spicks and Specks and its news. SBS gained from Seven's collapse on Monday night, when Top Gear Australia enjoyed a resurgence to 653,000.

On Pay TV, the top scorers were the cricket in India (274,000 for Fox Sports 2), The Simpsons (200,000 for Fox 8), Family Guy (159,000 for Fox 8), Ice Road Truckers (155,000 for Fx 8) and America's Next Top Model (148,000 for Fox 8).

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 DANCING WITH THE STARS 8 Seven 1,453,000 467,000 437,000 218,000 136,000 195,000
2 60 MINUTES Nine 1,401,000 387,000 419,000 287,000 134,000 174,000
3 20 TO 1 Nine 1,325,000 362,000 422,000 265,000 146,000 130,000
4 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,262,000 278,000 366,000 313,000 113,000 191,000
5 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,147,000 294,000 358,000 238,000 147,000 110,000
6 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,122,000 331,000 336,000 225,000 145,000 87,000 7 KATH & KIM (R) Seven 1,061,000 285,000 339,000 204,000 113,000 120,000
8 THE OUTDOOR ROOM WITH JAMIE DURIE Seven 1,028,000 230,000 314,000 247,000 106,000 132,000
9 ROVE Ten 968,000 243,000 351,000 157,000 125,000 92,000
20 M-FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL Seven 568,000 163,000 216,000 67,000 57,000 64,000
21 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP Nine 538,000 262,000 48,000 166,000 26,000 35,000
22 CALIFORNICATION Ten 534,000 111,000 219,000 60,000 80,000 63,000
29 WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? SBS 285,000 67,000 104,000 46,000 37,000 31,000
36 THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART Ten 235,000 46,000 100,000 24,000 37,000 28,000
49 SEA CHANGE TREE CHANGE Seven 190,000 58,000 68,000 20,000 22,000 23,000
68 KURT WALLANDER: CASTLES IN THE SKY SBS 120,000 27,000 53,000 14,000 12,000 14,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, week ending November 8
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 THE 2008 MELBOURNE CUP CARNIVAL: MELBOURNE CUP-THE RACE Seven 2,272,000 479,000 1,093,000 315,000 171,000 215,000
2 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 2,070,000 594,000 720,000 350,000 171,000 234,000
3 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,837,000 449,000 590,000 365,000 182,000 251,000
4 THE ZOO - TUE Seven 1,721,000 420,000 529,000 340,000 184,000 249,000
5 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,519,000 397,000 457,000 286,000 178,000 201,000
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED EP2 Nine 1,489,000 391,000 468,000 302,000 146,000 182,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED Nine 1,472,000 371,000 467,000 311,000 148,000 175,000
8 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,432,000 471,000 363,000 287,000 142,000 170,000
9 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,424,000 350,000 403,000 275,000 153,000 243,000
10 DANCING WITH THE STARS 8 Seven 1,387,000 446,000 431,000 207,000 117,000 186,000
11 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,372,000 330,000 373,000 344,000 139,000 185,000
12 CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION Nine 1,322,000 339,000 372,000 297,000 120,000 194,000
13 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,297,000 404,000 440,000 167,000 144,000 142,000
14 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,285,000 293,000 322,000 319,000 142,000 209,000
15 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,268,000 302,000 358,000 245,000 136,000 227,000
16 NCIS Ten 1,241,000 325,000 339,000 268,000 130,000 178,000
17 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,239,000 350,000 345,000 246,000 130,000 168,000
18 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,230,000 347,000 394,000 238,000 142,000 110,000
19 SPICKS AND SPECKS-EV ABC1 1,222,000 399,000 339,000 215,000 115,000 154,000
20 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT Ten 1,212,000 345,000 371,000 235,000 115,000 146,000
21 60 MINUTES Nine 1,176,000 327,000 327,000 236,000 126,000 159,000
22 CRASH SCENE INVESTIGATORS Seven 1,168,000 327,000 299,000 255,000 119,000 168,000
23 CITY HOMICIDE (R) Seven 1,166,000 336,000 383,000 158,000 146,000 143,000
24 CRIMINAL MINDS (R) Seven 1,162,000 297,000 378,000 203,000 152,000 131,000
25 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,150,000 298,000 361,000 236,000 131,000 124,000
26 20 TO 1 -SUN Nine 1,135,000 340,000 350,000 198,000 127,000 120,000
27 THE 2008 MELBOURNE CUP CARNIVAL: MELBOURNE CUP-LATE Seven 1,134,000 224,000 601,000 140,000 75,000 94,000
28 ABC NEWS-EV ABC1 1,110,000 307,000 353,000 186,000 109,000 155,000
29 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,106,000 312,000 370,000 201,000 130,000 93,000
30 KATH & KIM (R) Seven 1,101,000 298,000 301,000 234,000 115,000 153,000
31 NINE NEWS Nine 1,101,000 289,000 347,000 240,000 124,000 101,000
32 HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN -RPT Nine 1,076,000 251,000 418,000 178,000 97,000 133,000
33 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,056,000 271,000 352,000 219,000 116,000 98,000
34 TAGGART-EV ABC1 1,049,000 301,000 297,000 155,000 131,000 165,000
35 TIL DEATH Nine 1,030,000 252,000 260,000 246,000 116,000 156,000
36 ABC NEWS-SU ABC1 1,018,000 265,000 310,000 188,000 119,000 137,000
37 THE AMAZING RACE 13 Seven 1,016,000 290,000 371,000 128,000 95,000 133,000
38 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,014,000 258,000 306,000 248,000 122,000 79,000
39 ROVE Ten 1,012,000 266,000 357,000 179,000 100,000 110,000
40 THE OUTDOOR ROOM WITH JAMIE DURIE Seven 1,004,000 242,000 267,000 235,000 105,000 156,000

(OzTAM mainland capitals)

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 05:34 AM
• Comments (49)

Better to reign eccentrically than serve predictably

by David Dale
As Nathan Rees might say: if you seem eccentric, then you are eccentric. And Nathan Rees seems eccentric.

In just eight weeks as NSW Premier he has said two gloriously unpredictable things -- that his favourite book is Paradise Lost, published in 1667 by the puritan poet John Milton, and that if you think you are in love, then you are in love (said last week in the context of discussing traffic jams).

That's two more surprises than Morris Iemma gave us in three years as premier (unless you count his resignation). It is starting to look as if we might have an interesting person running the state, and in my book, that's much better than having a competent person. If we're honest with ourselves, we realise that we elect politicians to entertain us. Canberra and Macquarie Street are soap operas, sometimes overlapping with crime thrillers and screwball comedies. The public service can do the grunt work. The job of politicians is to engage our emotions and inspire our imaginations.

State politics throws up too few eccentrics. The finest in the past 20 years was the mercurial Jeff Kennett in Victoria, who revealed only after he retired that he suffered from depression.

In NSW, Bob Carr felt no need to justify his preference for Roman history over football. I ran into him once on a bus that was taking people round Sydney's museums. He said he was late for his official duty of launching the museum tour because he'd got caught up watching a TV documentary that proved it was not Nero who set fire to Rome (in 64 AD) but Christian terrorists trying to bring down the empire. Carr couldn't stop talking about it.

Nathan Rees's fascination with Milton ranks with that. Paradise Lost tells the story of Lucifer's attempt to organise a revolution by the angels in heaven and overthrow the dictatorship of God. God wins and banishes Lucifer and his freedom fighters to the underworld (whence they later emerge to tempt Adam and Eve).

Milton clearly had sympathy for the devil. Lucifer is the most interesting character in the narrative. The illustrator William Blake said Milton was "of the Devil's party without knowing it" -- which may say something about Rees's continuing relationship with certain Labor powerbrokers. Quotes we should expect to hear soon in Rees speeches: "Better to reign in hell, than serve in heav'n" and "The Mind is its own place, and in itself, can make a heav'n of hell, or a hell of heav'n". Sounds a lot like NSW to me.

Eccentricity is underrated as an incentive for voters. Gough Whitlam was the first of the Great Unpredictables, because his brain overflowed with ideas that didn't fit within standard political rhetoric. His divagation on the pronunciation of the word kilometer ("The versifiers among you have always used pentameters and tetrameters, and you've got a pretty fair diameter and perimeter yourself") makes Rees look positively pedestrian.

Malcolm Fraser only revealed the depths of his eccentricity in a Memphis hotel lobby three years after his retirement. Paul Keating brought vaudeville back to Parliament. Even when you thought he seemed arrogant, paranoid, and obsessive, you couldn't take your eyes off him. He was the first politician worth writing a musical about.

Those who watched Kevin Rudd's rise through the Sunrise program could tell right away that he was a weird boy -- and all the more electable for that. Malcolm Turnbull is deeply eccentric, but unfortunately he knows it and keeps himself in a verbal straitjacket, thereby coming across as pompous and humourless. If he'd relax and share his real view of the universe, we might like him -- or at least enjoy him.

The NSW Opposition leader Barry O'Farrell used to have his moments of eccentricity, but he has turned into another grey bureaucrat. He shed his individuality with his poundage. His pronouncements have become so formulaic there is no way to sense the real human being. This State needs a lateral thinker, and he no longer looks like one.

Nathan Rees got rubbished in Friday's media for his philosophical musings about the nature of love and traffic. The Herald's front page described him as "bizarre" and "embarrassing". What do the critics want? Should he go into a huddle with his spin doctors before making any statement, and end up sounding more machine than man?

Long live spontaneity, eccentricity, individuality and unpredictability. As Milton said: "Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties."

Go to Comments to discuss: Do you prefer your pollies eccentric or efficient?

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 03:50 PM
• Comments (1)

The Who We Are update: Week 47

This week of the blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. For today's media trends, bookmark http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.
To discuss the moments we should commemorate in coins, go to Who We Are

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,323,000 298,000 427,000 252,000 145,000 201,000
2 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,304,000 347,000 475,000 277,000 132,000 74,000
3 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP -FINAL Nine 1,240,000 497,000 290,000 387,000 32,000 33,000
4 ABC NEWS-SA ABC1 1,053,000 281,000 391,000 143,000 108,000 132,000
5 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 995,000 325,000 344,000 123,000 102,000 102,000
6 MOUNTAIN WITH GRIFF RHYS JONES-EV ABC1 972,000 243,000 319,000 147,000 99,000 163,000
7 ABC NEWS UP-DATE ABC1 923,000 238,000 268,000 133,000 105,000 179,000
8 FIRST TEST - AUSTRALIA V NEW ZEALAND Nine 877,000 258,000 301,000 138,000 89,000 91,000
9 THE BILL ABC1 848,000 231,000 270,000 123,000 96,000 129,000
10 M-CHICKEN LITTLE Seven 833,000 226,000 281,000 113,000 92,000 121,000
13 M-AGENT CODY BANKS 2: DESTINATION LONDON Seven 676,000 167,000 262,000 97,000 50,000 101,000
15 THUNDERBIRDS RPT Ten 571,000 130,000 208,000 95,000 61,000 77,000
16 GLADIATOR RPT Ten 564,000 145,000 188,000 94,000 67,000 71,000
33 ROCKWIZ SBS 225,000 51,000 74,000 46,000 27,000 28,000
34 KYLIE MINOGUE INTERVIEW Seven 219,000 50,000 94,000 44,000 16,000 16,000
35 SCRUBS (R) Seven 212,000 54,000 80,000 55,000 22,000

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,331,000 322,000 378,000 250,000 169,000 213,000
2 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,309,000 408,000 363,000 243,000 147,000 148,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,270,000 279,000 380,000 247,000 161,000 203,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,188,000 317,000 393,000 227,000 145,000 105,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,158,000 313,000 326,000 246,000 128,000 145,000
6 HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE -RPT Nine 1,075,000 319,000 444,000 191,000 Not shown (Don't they like Harry in Adelaide?) 121,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,050,000 291,000 345,000 214,000 109,000 91,000
8 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,037,000 268,000 363,000 190,000 114,000 103,000
19 FIRST TEST - AUSTRALIA V NEW ZEALAND Nine 522,000 162,000 152,000 98,000 70,000 40,000
21 THE SIMPSONS Ten 481,000 157,000 162,000 56,000 68,000 38,000
23 THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Ten 434,000 121,000 153,000 61,000 55,000 45,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Friday
If all the people who watched Oprah Presents last night follow her advice and go to see Australia, it will make about $10 million at the Australian box office. It will then be classified as a flop in its homeland.

If all the Americans who watched Oprah Presents take her advice, it will be a huge US hit, easily earn back its budget, and prove that we suffer from a cultural cringe -- or have less sentimental tastes than our transPacific allies. Go to The Tribal Mind to join the discussion on Australia's prospects.

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,476,000 363,000 475,000 268,000 158,000 212,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,378,000 288,000 450,000 236,000 185,000 219,000
3 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,293,000 334,000 410,000 229,000 133,000 186,000
4 THIS IS YOUR LIFE Nine 1,265,000 386,000 413,000 181,000 129,000 157,000
5 RPA Nine 1,243,000 346,000 403,000 180,000 148,000 165,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,198,000 341,000 380,000 281,000 105,000 91,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,168,000 341,000 372,000 244,000 123,000 89,000
8 MAKE ME A SUPERMODEL Seven 1,158,000 316,000 357,000 236,000 99,000 149,000
9 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,145,000 295,000 411,000 207,000 114,000 119,000
10 GETAWAY Nine 1,060,000 287,000 381,000 185,000 80,000 127,000
11 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT Ten 1,036,000 303,000 299,000 212,000 109,000 113,000
17 ADAM HILLS LIVE: JOYMONGER AND CHARACTERFUL ABC1 830,000 246,000 207,000 206,000 72,000 98,000
20 OPRAH PRESENTS: NICOLE KIDMAN & HUGH JACKMAN 'AUSTRALIA' Ten 763,000 195,000 239,000 168,000 75,000 87,000
23 THE STRIP Nine 532,000 145,000 166,000 76,000 60,000 85,000
24 THE SIMPSONS Ten 511,000 150,000 229,000 47,000 85,000
27 THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Ten 472,000 135,000 156,000 88,000 39,000 54,000
28 FIRST TEST - AUSTRALIA V NEW ZEALAND Nine 458,000 134,000 150,000 88,000 56,000 30,000
36 OUT OF THE BLUE - DAILY Ten 321,000 85,000 103,000 63,000 43,000 26,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Thursday
So what did we make of Nine's new sitcom, The Big Bang Theory? Quirky, or at least geeky, in the tradition of Scrubs -- and therefore in danger of being moved to midnight within three weeks? Was its arrival the first sign that the silly season is just two weeks away?

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,497,000 362,000 423,000 308,000 167,000 238,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,276,000 322,000 355,000 244,000 146,000 209,000
3 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,222,000 369,000 350,000 223,000 130,000 149,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,207,000 345,000 359,000 222,000 129,000 152,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,202,000 293,000 393,000 286,000 127,000 103,000
6 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,200,000 293,000 388,000 232,000 137,000 151,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED Nine 1,184,000 336,000 361,000 239,000 122,000 127,000
8 HAMISH & ANDY RE-GIFTED Ten 1,136,000 278,000 408,000 209,000 100,000 141,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,131,000 311,000 345,000 261,000 114,000 101,000
13 THE BIG BANG THEORY Nine 983,000 307,000 289,000 193,000 95,000 99,000
14 THE MENTALIST Nine 957,000 294,000 316,000 148,000 103,000 96,000
19 HOUSE Ten 830,000 240,000 253,000 130,000 84,000 123,000
21 STUPID STUPID MAN (SERIES 2) ABC1 791,000 239,000 215,000 153,000 73,000 111,000
23 LIFE Ten 762,000 190,000 284,000 103,000 85,000 99,000
27 WILL & GRACE Ten 563,000 105,000 197,000 115,000 57,000 90,000
31 AT THE MOVIES ABC1 460,000 166,000 166,000 51,000 32,000 45,000
36 OUT OF THE BLUE - DAILY Ten 367,000 93,000 153,000 42,000 43,000 35,000
37 JONESTOWN: PARADISE LOST Seven 345,000 84,000 131,000 53,000 35,000 41,000
87 NEWSTOPIA SBS 139,000 42,000 41,000 23,000 17,000 16,000

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 2,013,000 579,000 717,000 303,000 177,000 237,000
2 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,878,000 502,000 598,000 364,000 172,000 241,000
3 THE ZOO - TUE Seven 1,707,000 454,000 489,000 362,000 183,000 219,000
4 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,515,000 360,000 437,000 333,000 167,000 218,000
5 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,404,000 459,000 461,000 170,000 147,000 167,000
6 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,356,000 288,000 387,000 305,000 155,000 220,000
7 NCIS Ten 1,317,000 318,000 348,000 279,000 147,000 224,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,297,000 361,000 374,000 256,000 142,000 163,000
9 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,280,000 381,000 411,000 245,000 126,000 117,000
10 NINE NEWS Nine 1,173,000 295,000 388,000 289,000 122,000 79,000
11 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,155,000 356,000 359,000 242,000 120,000 78,000
14 THE CHOPPING BLOCK Nine 953,000 287,000 308,000 147,000 104,000 108,000
17 RUSH Ten 898,000 173,000 327,000 142,000 125,000 132,000
28 SURGERY SAVED MY LIFE Seven 533,000 143,000 154,000 92,000 61,000 84,000
29 SURVIVOR: MICRONESIA - FANS VS FAVOURITES Nine 508,000 149,000 182,000 69,000 45,000 62,000
37 OUT OF THE BLUE - DAILY Ten 399,000 81,000 148,000 48,000 62,000 60,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Tuesday
Two diminutive superstars gave the ABC one of its best nights of the year. John Howard pulled 1.2 million viewers in the mainland capitals and Andrew Denton pulled 1.0 million, letting the ABC capture 20.3 per cent of the prime time audience, while Channel Ten could manage only 19.5 per cent (Seven 27.3, NIne 25.8, SBS 7.1, thanks to a modest acceleration for Top Gear Australia). Ten's new soapie serial, Out of the Blue, did reasonably well for a 10.30 slot. Anybody see it and care to offer an opinion?

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,649,000 329,000 472,000 400,000 207,000 241,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,482,000 275,000 432,000 346,000 192,000 237,000
3 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,350,000 394,000 362,000 270,000 166,000 158,000
4 DOMESTIC BLITZ Nine 1,324,000 369,000 421,000 266,000 116,000 153,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,240,000 282,000 403,000 322,000 141,000 91,000
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,234,000 301,000 413,000 283,000 118,000 118,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,227,000 322,000 404,000 275,000 129,000 96,000
8 THE HOWARD YEARS ABC1 1,189,000 404,000 349,000 176,000 124,000 136,000
9 CITY HOMICIDE (Rpt) Seven 1,189,000 326,000 439,000 160,000 132,000 133,000
10 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,157,000 319,000 361,000 218,000 110,000 149,000
11 CSI (Rpt) Nine 1,121,000 264,000 353,000 224,000 124,000 156,000
12 AUSTRALIAN IDOL - THE LIVE VERDICT Ten 1,079,000 334,000 330,000 194,000 109,000 112,000
13 7.30 REPORT ABC1 1,027,000 319,000 300,000 201,000 89,000 118,000
14 THE RICH LIST - MON Seven 1,016,000 248,000 336,000 190,000 115,000 127,000
15 ENOUGH ROPE WITH ANDREW DENTON ABC1 1,014,000 291,000 365,000 131,000 96,000 131,000
16 GOOD NEWS WEEK Ten 1,002,000 298,000 304,000 178,000 90,000 133,000
17 BONES - MON Seven 954,000 284,000 304,000 129,000 115,000 121,000
19 FACE PAINTING WITH BILL LEAK ABC1 926,000 298,000 257,000 179,000 80,000 111,000
22 COLD CASE Nine 755,000 188,000 262,000 117,000 88,000 100,000
23 THE SIMPSONS Ten 684,000 182,000 228,000 101,000 70,000 102,000
24 SUPERNATURAL Ten 676,000 174,000 213,000 129,000 57,000 103,000
25 TOP GEAR AUSTRALIA SBS 662,000 181,000 196,000 131,000 73,000 82,000
30 OUT OF THE QUESTION - MON Seven 444,000 133,000 162,000 48,000 53,000 49,000
34 SWIFT AND SHIFT COURIERS SBS 383,000 112,000 124,000 78,000 36,000 34,000
35 OUT OF THE BLUE - DAILY Ten 372,000 80,000 131,000 72,000 46,000 42,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Monday
The hottest names on television last week were Bianca Saez and Dawn French. Saez almost gave Channel Nine a ratings victory, and French showed why the ABC should have fought harder to keep Andrew Denton doing his interview program Enough Rope next year.

Saez is a former sufferer from Tourette syndrome, and renovating her home was the theme of a special edition of Domestic Blitz which attracted 1.7 million mainland capital viewers on Monday night. French is the star of The Vicar of Dibley, and her thoughts on life and weight brought 1.2 million to Denton's program on Monday night.

Nine averaged a rare high of 28.5 per cent of the week's prime time audience, while the ABC averaged 17.7 per cent, Seven got 29.1 per cent, Ten got 19.5, and SBS got 5.3. Seven's top shows were Packed to the Rafters, Find My Family, and the final of Dancing with the Stars. Nine's other hits were Two and a Half Men on Wednesday and 60 Minutes. Ten scored with Australian Idol and NCIS. The ABC's other hits were Spicks and Specks and the 7pm news.

SBS had to be content with Top Gear Australia (622,000), a repeat of Inspector Rex (373,000) and the Ozcom Swift and Shift Couriers (368,000). And On Pay TV, the most watched shows included the cricket test in India (210,000 on Fox Sports 2), The Simpsons (201,000 viewers on Fox 8), and America's Next Top Model (189,000 on Fox 8).

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 60 MINUTES Nine 1,539,000 439,000 486,000 283,000 130,000 201,000
2 20 TO 1 -RPT Nine 1,422,000 362,000 471,000 281,000 142,000 166,000
3 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,361,000 281,000 394,000 309,000 163,000 215,000
4 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,241,000 375,000 401,000 182,000 144,000 140,000
5 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,154,000 275,000 428,000 228,000 122,000 100,000
6 ROVE Ten 1,135,000 301,000 418,000 170,000 124,000 122,000
10 A ROOM WITH A VIEW ABC1 871,000 292,000 297,000 106,000 70,000 107,000
11 WHERE ARE THEY NOW Seven 858,000 216,000 275,000 155,000 86,000 126,000
19 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP -SF2 Nine 662,000 338,00 58,000 217,000 27,000 23,000
24 CALIFORNICATION Ten 424,000 98,000 159,000 47,000 59,000 61,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, week ending November 15
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,959,000 594,000 629,000 330,000 188,000 218,000
2 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,788,000 510,000 542,000 317,000 201,000 218,000
3 DOMESTIC BLITZ Nine 1,692,000 457,000 555,000 348,000 147,000 185,000
4 THE ZOO - TUE Seven 1,581,000 436,000 453,000 314,000 164,000 214,000
5 DANCING WITH THE STARS 8 Seven 1,457,000 468,000 439,000 218,000 136,000 195,000
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED EP2 Nine 1,436,000 408,000 496,000 276,000 122,000 135,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED Nine 1,425,000 386,000 481,000 300,000 126,000 132,000
8 60 MINUTES Nine 1,395,000 389,000 416,000 283,000 133,000 174,000
9 20 TO 1 Nine 1,339,000 364,000 426,000 269,000 148,000 132,000
10 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,336,000 322,000 372,000 263,000 161,000 218,000
11 TWENTY/20 -ALL STARS Nine 1,334,000 369,000 409,000 270,000 148,000 138,000
12 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,300,000 406,000 425,000 175,000 152,000 144,000
13 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,275,000 356,000 401,000 229,000 132,000 157,000
14 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,270,000 282,000 369,000 314,000 113,000 191,000
15 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,269,000 398,000 388,000 239,000 99,000 145,000
16 ENOUGH ROPE WITH ANDREW DENTON ABC1 1,243,000 320,000 451,000 207,000 118,000 147,000
17 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,241,000 318,000 341,000 247,000 139,000 196,000
18 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,240,000 294,000 339,000 248,000 152,000 207,000
19 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,227,000 352,000 348,000 226,000 141,000 160,000
20 THIS IS YOUR LIFE Nine 1,204,000 347,000 371,000 211,000 142,000 133,000
21 CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION Nine 1,188,000 307,000 347,000 278,000 122,000 134,000
22 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,176,000 259,000 376,000 250,000 134,000 157,000
23 NCIS RPT Ten 1,152,000 283,000 327,000 252,000 137,000 152,000
24 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,150,000 293,000 358,000 239,000 149,000 110,000
25 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,149,000 287,000 376,000 253,000 119,000 114,000
26 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,127,000 331,000 338,000 226,000 145,000 86,000
27 CRASH SCENE INVESTIGATORS Seven 1,115,000 268,000 298,000 242,000 143,000 165,000
28 GETAWAY Nine 1,104,000 312,000 357,000 205,000 98,000 132,000
29 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT Ten 1,100,000 346,000 321,000 200,000 110,000 123,000
30 CITY HOMICIDE (R) Seven 1,079,000 315,000 388,000 123,000 123,000 130,000
31 NINE NEWS Nine 1,071,000 269,000 356,000 237,000 124,000 85,000
32 KATH & KIM (R) Seven 1,061,000 285,000 339,000 205,000 113,000 120,000
33 RPA Nine 1,048,000 281,000 333,000 170,000 140,000 125,000
34 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,041,000 254,000 358,000 242,000 105,000 82,000
35 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,020,000 279,000 301,000 191,000 105,000 144,000
36 THE MENTALIST Nine 1,011,000 298,000 338,000 165,000 100,000 109,000
37 THE OUTDOOR ROOM WITH JAMIE DURIE Seven 1,001,000 221,000 306,000 240,000 105,000 129,000
38 BONES Seven 989,000 303,000 340,000 138,000 101,000 106,000
39 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 981,000 297,000 276,000 171,000 119,000 119,000
40 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 960,000 252,000 337,000 185,000 105,000 80,000
41 TWO AND A HALF MEN -EP2 Nine 953,000 260,000 345,000 156,000 91,000 101,000
42 ROVE Ten 952,000 243,000 347,000 151,000 123,000 89,000
43 ABC NEWS-SUN ABC1 950,000 267,000 308,000 158,000 100,000 117,000
44 MAKE ME A SUPERMODEL Seven 948,000 286,000 238,000 207,000 89,000 128,000
(OzTAM mainland capitals)

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 08:07 AM
• Comments (90)

The Who We Are update: Week 45

This week of the blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. For today's media trends, bookmark http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.
To discuss how to avoid bad restaurants, go to Who We Are.

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,285,000 293,000 322,000 319,000 142,000 209,000
2 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,014,000 258,000 306,000 248,000 122,000 79,000
3 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC1 950,000 268,000 295,000 158,000 92,000 138,000
4 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 933,000 259,000 261,000 212,000 97,000 103,000
5 M-WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT Seven 848,000 181,000 224,000 213,000 82,000 149,000
6 ROUGH DIAMOND ABC1 830,000 216,000 240,000 155,000 91,000 128,000
7 THE BILL ABC1 812,000 204,000 262,000 105,000 108,000 133,000
8 ABC NEWS UP-DATE ABC1 805,000 184,000 268,000 129,000 94,000 131,000
9 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Ten 727,000 192,000 187,000 164,000 74,000 110,000
10 M-THE PRINCE & ME Seven 683,000 199,000 173,000 151,000 69,000 90,000
11 THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT Ten 632,000 172,000 200,000 118,000 79,000 63,000
19 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP -SAT Nine 404,000 177,000 40,000 155,000 18,000 14,000
23 ROCKWIZ SBS 336,000 103,000 106,000 47,000 31,000 48,000
25 THE 2008 MELBOURNE CUP CARNIVAL: STAKES DAY Seven 311,000 68,000 144,000 47,000 30,000 22,000
31 CLASSIC ALBUMS: JOHN LENNON - THE PLASTIC ONO BAND SBS 238,000 65,000 84,000 47,000 19,000 22,000

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,432,000 471,000 363,000 287,000 142,000 170,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,298,000 327,000 395,000 216,000 142,000 218,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,143,000 256,000 340,000 212,000 126,000 209,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,137,000 321,000 317,000 216,000 129,000 153,000
5 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,097,000 293,000 341,000 193,000 136,000 134,000
6 HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN -RPT Nine 1,076,000 251,000 418,000 178,000 97,000 133,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,062,000 249,000 361,000 233,000 122,000 98,000
8 TAGGART ABC1 1,049,000 301,000 297,000 155,000 131,000 165,000
9 ABC NEWS-EV ABC1 1,019,000 267,000 341,000 173,000 110,000 128,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 979,000 231,000 348,000 195,000 108,000 97,000
11 M-TRANSPORTER 2 Seven 829,000 238,000 234,000 182,000 86,000 90,000
18 MURPHY'S LAW ABC1 624,000 136,000 191,000 115,000 69,000 113,000
19 X-MEN: THE LAST STAND Ten 592,000 180,000 174,000 109,000 54,000 76,000
20 ICE ROAD TRUCKERS FRI Ten 573,000 236,000 142,000 104,000 91,000
34 SCRUBS Seven 337,000 94,000 129,000 43,000 46,000 26,000
54 TRANSVESTITE WIVES SBS 211,000 81,000 55,000 32,000 22,000 22,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,329,000 321,000 377,000 257,000 135,000 239,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,283,000 309,000 356,000 240,000 134,000 244,000
3 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT Ten 1,211,000 345,000 370,000 235,000 115,000 146,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,203,000 330,000 337,000 262,000 112,000 161,000
5 THE AMAZING RACE 13 Seven 1,015,000 290,000 371,000 128,000 94,000 132,000
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 997,000 248,000 323,000 230,000 100,000 96,000
7 ABC NEWS ABC1 995,000 261,000 306,000 173,000 96,000 159,000
8 MAKE ME A SUPERMODEL Seven 985,000 264,000 282,000 229,000 76,000 133,000
9 GETAWAY Nine 968,000 267,000 304,000 192,000 102,000 102,000
10 BONES Seven 942,000 270,000 323,000 130,000 105,000 113,000
11 7.30 REPORT ABC1 926,000 288,000 244,000 181,000 78,000 136,000
12 NINE NEWS Nine 903,000 224,000 288,000 185,000 114,000 93,000
13 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 879,000 198,000 304,000 198,000 101,000 78,000
14 RPA Nine 838,000 234,000 255,000 148,000 98,000 103,000
15 THE STRIP Nine 834,000 220,000 230,000 187,000 102,000 94,000
16 ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER? Ten 805,000 193,000 272,000 135,000 91,000 113,000
17 INFAMOUS VICTORY: BEN CHIFLEY'S BATTLE FOR COAL ABC1 795,000 270,000 189,000 141,000 70,000 124,000
23 THE SIMPSONS Ten 638,000 173,000 223,000 121,000 54,000 67,000
24 JOHNNY O'KEEFE: THE WILD ONE-LE ABC1 620,000 172,000 169,000 127,000 62,000 89,000
26 WILL & GRACE Ten 576,000 152,000 198,000 90,000 46,000 90,000
28 HEROES - THU Seven 477,000 142,000 157,000 72,000 56,000 50,000
29 TEN LATE NEWS WITH SPORTS TONIGHT Ten 454,000 132,000 137,000 57,000 64,000 64,000
32 INSPECTOR REX RPT SBS 371,000 124,000 117,000 43,000 35,000 52,000
39 SCRUBS Seven 258,000 67,000 90,000 48,000 35,000 18,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,604,000 414,000 422,000 332,000 163,000 272,000
2 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,519,000 397,000 457,000 286,000 178,000 201,000
3 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED EP2 Nine 1,495,000 391,000 470,000 303,000 147,000 183,000
4 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED Nine 1,471,000 370,000 466,000 312,000 148,000 175,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,337,000 342,000 361,000 262,000 141,000 232,000
6 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,259,000 350,000 426,000 216,000 126,000 141,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,240,000 316,000 361,000 276,000 152,000 135,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,229,000 373,000 337,000 250,000 119,000 150,000
9 NINE NEWS Nine 1,219,000 316,000 373,000 275,000 140,000 115,000
10 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,216,000 395,000 335,000 216,000 116,000 154,000
13 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,139,000 277,000 381,000 236,000 147,000 98,000
20 TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY Nine 695,000 201,000 208,000 130,000 59,000 98,000
21 LIFE EP 2 Ten 607,000 149,000 213,000 102,000 76,000 67,000
26 WILL & GRACE Ten 522,000 142,000 146,000 100,000 55,000 79,000
73 ABC NEWS SPECIAL: US ELECTION SPECIAL-PM ABC1 192,000 54,000 80,000 Not shown 33,000 24,000
75 SEVEN NEWS SPECIAL - AMERICA DECIDES: ELECTION 2008 Seven 183,000 47,000 43,000 48,000 11,000 34,000
76 NINE AFTERNOON NEWS Nine 182,000 62,000 56,000 Not shown 30,000 34,000
77 EXTRA Nine 179,000 Not shown Not shown 179,000 Not shown Not shown
78 LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN Ten 172,000 50,000 43,000 37,000 27,000 15,000
79 NEWSTOPIA SBS 167,000 45,000 52,000 23,000 22,000 25,000

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 THE 2008 MELBOURNE CUP RACE Seven 2,156,000 449,000 1,042,000 298,000 164,000 203,000
2 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 2,067,000 588,000 715,000 354,000 174,000 236,000
3 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,783,000 429,000 566,000 360,000 177,000 251,000
4 THE ZOO - TUE Seven 1,721,000 420,000 529,000 340,000 184,000 249,000
5 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,515,000 375,000 444,000 302,000 154,000 241,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,416,000 381,000 397,000 281,000 155,000 202,000
7 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,333,000 331,000 386,000 255,000 137,000 223,000
8 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,295,000 404,000 440,000 167,000 144,000 140,000
9 NCIS Ten 1,239,000 324,000 339,000 268,000 130,000 179,000
10 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,172,000 335,000 384,000 209,000 128,000 116,000
11 NINE NEWS Nine 1,160,000 333,000 363,000 253,000 112,000 99,000
14 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,068,000 317,000 352,000 207,000 93,000 99,000
15 THE CHOPPING BLOCK Nine 962,000 289,000 298,000 147,000 93,000 136,000
16 20 TO 1 Nine 944,000 275,000 281,000 177,000 96,000 116,000
19 RUSH Ten 886,000 185,000 295,000 171,000 108,000 127,000
23 TWO AND A HALF MEN -EP1 Nine 822,000 269,000 236,000 142,000 85,000 90,000
24 TWO AND A HALF MEN -EP2 Nine 807,000 266,000 243,000 129,000 85,000 85,000
25 KENNY'S WORLD TUES Ten 806,000 215,000 247,000 145,000 99,000 101,000
33 TEN LATE NEWS WITH SPORTS TONIGHT SPECIALLY FOR RYAN Ten 476,000 107,000 163,000 73,000 76,000 57,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Tuesday
Normally the ratings week begins with Channel Nine winning Sunday but falling behind Seven as the days count down. This week began with a surprising resurgence of Dancing With The Stars, which should have set Seven up for one of its biggest victories of the year. But on Monday, Seven chose to revive the previously unsuccessful The Rich List and run a repeat episode of its usual winner City Homicide, which was duly beaten by Nine's warhorse CSI.

On Sunday, Seven captured 29.4 per cent of the prime time audience to Nine's 28.0 per cent. Then Nine won Monday, leaving the shares for the week like this: Seven 28.4 per cent, Nine 28.0 per cent, Ten 20.7, ABC 17.5, SBS 5.5 (which reflects a modest recovery for Top Gear Australia). For the first time in ages, this week is actually a close race.

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,371,000 312,000 376,000 266,000 173,000 244,000
2 CSI Nine 1,318,000 336,000 372,000 296,000 120,000 194,000
3 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,265,000 307,000 378,000 275,000 147,000 158,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,248,000 270,000 349,000 259,000 143,000 227,000
5 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,202,000 328,000 371,000 257,000 129,000 117,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,198,000 340,000 333,000 217,000 136,000 171,000
7 CITY HOMICIDE (R) Seven 1,167,000 333,000 384,000 162,000 146,000 141,000
8 NINE NEWS Nine 1,148,000 320,000 350,000 252,000 127,000 99,000
9 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,132,000 314,000 348,000 180,000 110,000 181,000
10 TIL DEATH Nine 1,032,000 254,000 260,000 246,000 117,000 155,000
11 BONES - MON Seven 1,002,000 305,000 307,000 139,000 117,000 134,000
12 THE RICH LIST - MON Seven 966,000 263,000 251,000 203,000 109,000 140,000
13 AUSTRALIAN IDOL - THE LIVE VERDICT Ten 965,000 304,000 258,000 192,000 111,000 101,000
14 AUSTRALIAN STORY ABC1 950,000 267,000 292,000 156,000 93,000 141,000
16 ENOUGH ROPE WITH ANDREW DENTON ABC1 901,000 262,000 298,000 143,000 103,000 95,000
18 COLD CASE Nine 832,000 220,000 253,000 166,000 83,000 110,000
19 GOOD NEWS WEEK Ten 826,000 260,000 197,000 162,000 107,000 100,000
21 FOUR CORNERS ABC1 794,000 255,000 205,000 143,000 91,000 100,000
24 TOP GEAR AUSTRALIA SBS 653,000 195,000 197,000 106,000 72,000 83,000
27 SUPERNATURAL Ten 581,000 125,000 147,000 124,000 81,000 105,000

The ratings race, updated 10am Monday
Channel Seven may be smug about its prospects of winning the year, but it's the ABC that has the most to celebrate. Over the year so far (excluding the Olympics) it has averaged 17.6 per cent of the prime time city audience -- up 5.5 per cent on last year, while Seven's share (28.4) is actually down 3 per cent on last year (Nine is up marginally with 27.3, Ten is down 4 with 21.2, and SBS is up 1 with 5.6).

The week's most watched shows, as usual, belonged to Seven: Packed to the Rafters, Find My Family , The Force and The Zoo .

Nine's top shows were Two and a Half Men on Wednesday and 60 Minutes, while Ten scored with NCIS (1.2m) and Australian Idol (1.2m) and the ABC with Spicks and Specks and Andrew Denton's interview with Michael Parkinson (both 1.2m). SBS could manage only 435,000 for Top Gear Australia.

On Pay TV, the most watched shows were the cricket in India (264,000 for Fox Sports 2), the Bledisloe Cup (196,000 for Fox Sports 3), Family Guy (193,000 for Fox 8) and Project Runway (185,000 for Arena).

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 DANCING WITH THE STARS 8 Seven 1,384,000 446,000 429,000 207,000 116,000 186,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,370,000 330,000 373,000 344,000 138,000 185,000
3 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,218,000 345,000 388,000 236,000 141,000 108,000
4 60 MINUTES Nine 1,181,000 329,000 328,000 237,000 128,000 159,000
5 20 TO 1 -SUN Nine 1,132,000 339,000 349,000 198,000 127,000 119,000
6 KATH & KIM (R) Seven 1,101,000 298,000 301,000 233,000 116,000 153,000
7 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,101,000 312,000 371,000 199,000 126,000 93,000
8 ROVE Ten 1,048,000 279,000 366,000 187,000 104,000 112,000
9 ABC NEWS-SUN ABC1 1,018,000 265,000 310,000 188,000 119,000 137,000
10 THE OUTDOOR ROOM WITH JAMIE DURIE Seven 1,005,000 242,000 267,000 235,000 105,000 156,000
11 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP Nine 900,000 399,000 158,000 289,000 35,000 19,000
12 TREK: SPY ON THE WILDEBEEST ABC1 870,000 264,000 253,000 149,000 82,000 122,000
13 A TOUCH OF FROST Seven 825,000 216,000 303,000 118,000 93,000 95,000
21 CALIFORNICATION Ten 448,000 115,000 141,000 67,000 65,000 60,000
30 WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? SBS 253,000 77,000 82,000 44,000 30,000 19,000
31 FIRST AUSTRALIANS SBS 240,000 93,000 76,000 29,000 15,000 27,000
32 THE OFFICE Ten 237,000 63,000 77,000 38,000 29,000 31,000
36 2008 BOYER LECTURE BY RUPERT MURDOCH ABC1 220,000 60,000 64,000 33,000 39,000 24,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, week ending November 1, 2008
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,926,000 588,000 605,000 341,000 170,000 222,000
2 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,883,000 498,000 574,000 372,000 180,000 260,000
3 THE FORCE Seven 1,747,000 422,000 501,000 357,000 190,000 277,000
4 THE ZOO Seven 1,712,000 453,000 467,000 372,000 175,000 245,000
5 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,650,000 405,000 464,000 366,000 164,000 251,000
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED EP2 Nine 1,548,000 474,000 488,000 260,000 149,000 176,000
7 60 MINUTES Nine 1,480,000 413,000 431,000 327,000 141,000 169,000
8 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,382,000 353,000 379,000 335,000 139,000 176,000
9 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED Nine 1,379,000 412,000 433,000 232,000 135,000 167,000
10 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,379,000 346,000 365,000 279,000 162,000 226,000
11 DANCING WITH THE STARS 8 Seven 1,337,000 399,000 436,000 195,000 125,000 182,000
12 TWO AND A HALF MEN -MON Nine 1,329,000 379,000 427,000 217,000 133,000 172,000
13 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,295,000 430,000 423,000 146,000 159,000 139,000
14 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,284,000 355,000 391,000 235,000 159,000 144,000
15 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,269,000 286,000 399,000 250,000 141,000 194,000
16 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,258,000 319,000 334,000 246,000 151,000 209,000
17 CSI Nine 1,256,000 345,000 416,000 225,000 112,000 159,000
18 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,256,000 348,000 427,000 266,000 145,000 70,000
19 20 TO 1 -SUN Nine 1,255,000 322,000 394,000 288,000 140,000 111,000
20 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,211,000 379,000 383,000 202,000 98,000 148,000
21 ENOUGH ROPE WITH ANDREW DENTON ABC1 1,195,000 347,000 372,000 206,000 127,000 143,000
22 NCIS Ten 1,194,000 288,000 353,000 249,000 134,000 170,000
23 CRASH SCENE INVESTIGATORS Seven 1,183,000 302,000 334,000 236,000 134,000 177,000
24 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,167,000 324,000 331,000 260,000 135,000 117,000
25 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,161,000 307,000 319,000 232,000 111,000 193,000
26 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,159,000 327,000 333,000 216,000 132,000 150,000
27 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,145,000 322,000 337,000 245,000 124,000 116,000
28 NINE NEWS Nine 1,088,000 305,000 337,000 235,000 119,000 92,000
29 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,081,000 267,000 391,000 250,000 98,000 75,000
30 ABC NEWS-SUN ABC1 1,065,000 276,000 346,000 185,000 119,000 140,000
31 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,062,000 309,000 321,000 231,000 114,000 87,000
32 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,058,000 319,000 301,000 189,000 109,000 141,000
33 GETAWAY Nine 1,047,000 344,000 299,000 179,000 99,000 126,000
34 KATH & KIM (R) Seven 1,045,000 282,000 311,000 208,000 112,000 132,000
35 RPA Nine 1,033,000 286,000 341,000 143,000 128,000 136,000
36 TWO AND A HALF MEN -EP2 Nine 1,015,000 336,000 279,000 184,000 105,000 110,000
37 THE MENTALIST -WED Nine 1,011,000 350,000 280,000 157,000 107,000 118,000
38 TWO AND A HALF MEN -EP1 Nine 1,009,000 353,000 286,000 176,000 93,000 101,000
39 TAGGART ABC1 994,000 280,000 291,000 161,000 111,000 150,000
40 THE OUTDOOR ROOM WITH JAMIE DURIE Seven 984,000 281,000 240,000 224,000 101,000 137,000
41 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT Ten 978,000 292,000 319,000 157,000 83,000 127,000
42 ROVE Ten 975,000 221,000 386,000 147,000 101,000 120,000
43 CRIMINAL MINDS (R) Seven 961,000 230,000 324,000 152,000 125,000 130,000
44 RUSH Ten 951,000 217,000 324,000 173,000 111,000 127,000
45 BONES - MON Seven 940,000 286,000 294,000 139,000 102,000 118,000
46 MAKE ME A SUPERMODEL Seven 937,000 289,000 266,000 180,000 92,000 110,000
47 TIL DEATH Nine 931,000 276,000 328,000 150,000 68,000 109,000
48 AUSTRALIAN STORY ABC1 931,000 299,000 245,000 196,000 86,000 105,000
49 LAW AND ORDER: SVU RPT Ten 930,000 263,000 315,000 142,000 88,000 122,000
50 20 TO 1 Nine 912,000 301,000 225,000 178,000 94,000 113,000
51 MENZIES AND CHURCHILL AT WAR ABC1 908,000 329,000 214,000 174,000 87,000 104,000
52 AUSTRALIAN IDOL - THE LIVE VERDICT Ten 903,000 261,000 280,000 153,000 96,000 114,000
53 THE AMAZING RACE 13 Seven 902,000 271,000 345,000
109,000 76,000 102,000
54 THE STRIP Nine 898,000 261,000 269,000 185,000 104,000 79,000

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 08:49 AM
• Comments (76)

The Who We Are update: Week 44

This week of the blog is now a heritage item. To join the latest discussion, bookmark http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.
To discuss how the latest immigrants are improving Australia, go to Who We Are

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,161,000 307,000 319,000 232,000 111,000 193,000
2 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,081,000 267,000 391,000 250,000 98,000 75,000
3 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 879,000 235,000 270,000 193,000 80,000 101,000
4 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC1 864,000 186,000 322,000 141,000 99,000 117,000
5 ICE AGE THE MELTDOWN Ten 837,000 286,000 233,000 141,000 80,000 97,000
6 THE BILL ABC1 769,000 203,000 267,000 103,000 91,000 105,000
10 THE 2008 MELBOURNE CUP CARNIVAL: DERBY DAY - THE R Seven 561,000 127,000 256,000 64,000 58,000 56,000
11 THE INTERPRETER RPT Ten 550,000 182,000 153,000 84,000 51,000 79,000
15 SEVEN'S R.U: BLEDISLOE CUP: AUS V N Z Seven 487,000 204,000 38,000 200,000 28,000 19,000
25 ROCKWIZ SBS 323,000 104,000 115,000 40,000 33,000 31,000
26 MYTHBUSTERS RPT SBS 309,000 77,000 108,000 58,000 36,000 31,000
29 IRON CHEF RPT SBS 260,000 71,000 103,000 39,000 25,000 21,000
30 CLASSIC ALBUMS: THE DOORS - THE DOORS SBS 257,000 77,000 88,000 32,000 33,000 29,000
37 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP Nine 208,000 106,000 14,000 72,000 12,000 4,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Friday
Now that we know David Tennant will cease to play the doctor after next year, we need to consider who might replace him. Lodge your nominations below. No suggestion too outlandish.

For the week, Seven averaged 30.4 per cent of the prime time audience, with Nine on 27.2, Ten on 19.9, ABC on 17.4 and SBS on 5.2.

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,284,000 355,000 391,000 235,000 159,000 144,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,258,000 307,000 360,000 227,000 167,000 196,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,161,000 298,000 326,000 209,000 159,000 169,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,043,000 272,000 325,000 177,000 145,000 123,000
5 TAGGART ABC1 994,000 280,000 291,000 161,000 111,000 150,000
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 979,000 257,000 295,000 227,000 110,000 90,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 973,000 264,000 342,000 183,000 113,000 71,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC1 920,000 266,000 270,000 167,000 115,000 102,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 861,000 228,000 284,000 188,000 106,000 54,000
10 HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS -RPT Nine 843,000 225,000 270,000 145,000 80,000 123,000
18 M-SWEET HOME ALABAMA Seven 505,000 310,000 196,000
19 TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY RPT Ten 487,000 139,000 137,000 64,000 70,000 77,000
22 ICE ROAD TRUCKERS FRI RPT Ten 426,000 132,000 183,000 110,000
23 WILL & GRACE Ten 414,000 125,000 129,000 59,000 32,000 69,000
24 7 SPORT - INTERNATIONAL RULES SERIES - TEST 2: AUS V IRE Seven 410,000 244,000 86,000 80,000
26 SUNRISE Seven 395,000 108,000 98,000 93,000 37,000 60,000
32 TODAY Nine 296,000 90,000 99,000 56,000 21,000 31,000
65 ICE ROAD TRUCKERS FRI Ten 154,000 80,000 74,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,258,000 288,000 352,000 262,000 145,000 212,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,111,000 276,000 301,000 219,000 136,000 178,000
3 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,069,000 310,000 284,000 236,000 114,000 125,000
4 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,057,000 284,000 331,000 234,000 115,000 93,000
5 GETAWAY Nine 1,049,000 345,000 300,000 181,000 99,000 124,000
6 RPA Nine 1,039,000 287,000 337,000 147,000 128,000 139,000
7 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,030,000 308,000 280,000 187,000 114,000 140,000
8 THE STRIP Nine 980,000 262,000 270,000 184,000 105,000 159,000
9 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT Ten 978,000 292,000 319,000 157,000 83,000 127,000
10 NINE NEWS Nine 958,000 253,000 282,000 223,000 114,000 86,000
11 MAKE ME A SUPERMODEL Seven 937,000 289,000 266,000 181,000 92,000 110,000
13 MENZIES AND CHURCHILL AT WAR ABC1 916,000 330,000 216,000 176,000 88,000 106,000
14 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 909,000 243,000 259,000 220,000 99,000 88,000
15 THE AMAZING RACE 13 Seven 902,000 271,000 345,000 108,000 75,000 102,000
18 ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER? Ten 752,000 204,000 204,000 157,000 70,000 118,000
22 HEROES - THU Seven 624,000 160,000 225,000 109,000 59,000 70,000
26 WILL & GRACE Ten 442,000 124,000 117,000 83,000 35,000 82,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED EP2 Nine 1,549,000 474,000 491,000 258,000 149,000 177,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,517,000 384,000 418,000 303,000 172,000 240,000
3 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED Nine 1,371,000 411,000 428,000 232,000 134,000 165,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,327,000 327,000 376,000 277,000 140,000 208,000
5 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,270,000 286,000 399,000 250,000 141,000 194,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,206,000 356,000 377,000 212,000 117,000 144,000
7 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,202,000 376,000 379,000 201,000 99,000 147,000
8 CRASH SCENE INVESTIGATORS Seven 1,180,000 302,000 333,000 235,000 134,000 175,000
9 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,135,000 358,000 293,000 240,000 121,000 123,000
10 NINE NEWS Nine 1,120,000 307,000 333,000 253,000 122,000 105,000
11 ABC NEWS-EV ABC1 1,103,000 347,000 308,000 198,000 97,000 152,000
12 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,078,000 328,000 308,000 232,000 117,000 94,000
13 THE MENTALIST -WED Nine 1,005,000 349,000 279,000 155,000 106,000 117,000
16 HOUSE Ten 875,000 242,000 265,000 141,000 87,000 140,000
24 JAMIE'S MINISTRY OF FOOD Ten 617,000 177,000 197,000 91,000 52,000 99,000
27 WILL & GRACE Ten 517,000 111,000 169,000 95,000 55,000 88,000
31 TEN LATE NEWS WITH SPORTS TONIGHT Ten 461,000 122,000 178,000 61,000 49,000 52,000
33 ALAN SUGAR: THE APPRENTICE Seven 417,000 100,000 144,000 60,000 66,000 46,000
34 HOW TO HAVE SEX AFTER MARRIAGE Nine 357,000 99,000 105,000 57,000 48,000 48,000
37 AT THE MOVIES ABC1 314,000 106,000 66,000 59,000 32,000 50,000
43 GRIZZLY TALES FOR GRUESOME KIDS-PM ABC1 271,000 60,000 97,000 45,000 36,000 33,000

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,926,000 588,000 605,000 341,000 170,000 222,000
2 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,882,000 497,000 573,000 372,000 180,000 260,000
3 THE ZOO - TUE Seven 1,709,000 452,000 467,000 370,000 175,000 245,000
4 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,452,000 391,000 361,000 293,000 165,000 243,000
5 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,304,000 431,000 425,000 148,000 159,000 141,000
6 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,297,000 355,000 342,000 234,000 138,000 227,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,274,000 332,000 362,000 292,000 139,000 149,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,246,000 382,000 376,000 266,000 127,000 94,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,237,000 378,000 346,000 216,000 135,000 162,000
10 NCIS Ten 1,193,000 288,000 352,000 249,000 133,000 170,000
11 NINE NEWS Nine 1,192,000 351,000 368,000 262,000 120,000 92,000
12 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,148,000 357,000 318,000 200,000 110,000 164,000
13 TWO AND A HALF MEN -EP1 Nine 1,014,000 355,000 289,000 175,000 93,000 102,000
14 TWO AND A HALF MEN -EP2 Nine 1,005,000 337,000 275,000 181,000 105,000 107,000
15 RUSH Ten 941,000 214,000 321,000 171,000 110,000 125,000
20 THE CHOPPING BLOCK Nine 856,000 284,000 249,000 139,000 83,000 101,000
21 KENNY'S WORLD TUES Ten 811,000 188,000 255,000 139,000 100,000 129,000
27 WILL & GRACE Ten 573,000 143,000 179,000 110,000 46,000 94,000
28 HOW KEVIN BACON CURED CANCER ABC1 522,000 139,000 141,000 81,000 63,000 98,000
31 SURVIVOR: MICRONESIA - FANS VS FAVOURITES Nine 433,000 131,000 150,000 55,000 42,000 55,000
36 SUNRISE Seven 364,000 101,000 76,000 91,000 36,000 60,000
49 TODAY Nine 274,000 71,000 101,000 53,000 17,000 32,000
50 THOSE SCURVY RASCALS ABC1 272,000 51,000 71,000 57,000 33,000 60,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Tuesday
Talk about crash and burn. Top Gear Australia has now lost half a million viewers from its opening night. At this rate, next Monday will see it fall behind the latest SBS "comedy" Swift and Shift Couriers, which opened last night with 330,000 viewers in the mainland capitals. Try not to depress yourself by reflecting that NEWStopia can only attract half S&SC's audience.

On the other government-subsidised broadcaster, the presence of Parkinson pulled plenty of people to Pandrew Penton's Penough Prope, despite the fact that it was one of Denton's least revealing interviews. Its success may confirm Denton's determination to drop the dead donkey, because the viewers clearly prefer pointless prattle to the kind of deep discussion Denton does best. Any way I could get more alliteration into this paragraph?

City Homicide continues to beat the once invulnerable CSI, which will warm nationalist hearts. At this point in the week, Seven has 30.2 per cent of the prime time audience, with Nine on 28.8, Ten on 19.3, ABC on 16.4 and SBS on 5.3.

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 THE FORCE Seven 1,730,000 422,000 485,000 358,000 188,000 277,000
2 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,649,000 405,000 464,000 366,000 164,000 251,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,412,000 362,000 333,000 312,000 163,000 242,000
4 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,390,000 336,000 485,000 221,000 166,000 181,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,388,000 336,000 324,000 290,000 180,000 258,000
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN -MON Nine 1,310,000 371,000 427,000 211,000 131,000 170,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,264,000 370,000 399,000 233,000 139,000 123,000
8 CSI Nine 1,264,000 347,000 417,000 227,000 112,000 161,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,235,000 319,000 330,000 237,000 154,000 196,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,204,000 366,000 377,000 241,000 118,000 102,000
11 ENOUGH ROPE WITH ANDREW DENTON ABC1 1,201,000 350,000 373,000 207,000 128,000 144,000
12 NINE NEWS Nine 1,196,000 350,000 363,000 255,000 122,000 106,000
17 AUSTRALIAN IDOL - THE LIVE VERDICT Ten 901,000 261,000 278,000 153,000 95,000 114,000
26 SUPERNATURAL Ten 682,000 175,000 212,000 105,000 85,000 105,000
28 WILL & GRACE Ten 544,000 123,000 185,000 90,000 42,000 103,000
32 TOP GEAR AUSTRALIA SBS 435,000 140,000 110,000 86,000 52,000 47,000
40 SWIFT AND SHIFT COURIERS SBS 330,000 116,000 68,000 68,000 40,000 38,000
43 BOGAN PRIDE SBS 293,000 95,000 67,000 62,000 26,000 42,000

The ratings race, updated 10am Monday
Channel Nine knows it can't possibly win the ratings year, but it's trying a few tricks to make the defeat less humiliating. Last week the strategy came unstuck. After finding its new crime series The Mentalist was pulling 1.4 million viewers on Sunday night, Nine moved it to Wednesday to take on Seven's Criminal Minds. But 400,000 viewers did not join it on the journey. Minds kept its 1.3 million and The Mentalist plummeted to 986,000.

Seven averaged 30.6 per cent of the prime time audience for the week, while Nine got 26.5, Ten got 20.3, ABC got 17.5 and SBS got 5.0.

The ABC was delighted to discover that 1.2 million Australians in the mainland capitals were curious about what happened to Harold Holt. The Prime Minister Is Missing didn't reveal much that was new -- except that Normie Rowe is almost as good an actor as he is a singer -- but made a strong case for future documentaries about great Australian mysteries. The ABC also scored with Spicks and Specks (1.2m) and its News (1 million, equal with the once mighty Nine news).

The most watched shows of the week, as usual, belonged to Seven: Packed to the Rafters , Find My Family, The Force and The Zoo (full Top 40 chart below). Channel Ten's best performers were NCIS and Australian Idol . For SBS, Top Gear Australia has crashed to 598,000, which would be a summons to the axeman on any other commercial network.

Most watched shows on Pay TV were America's Next Top Model (213,000 for Fox 8), The Simpsons (204,000 for Fox 8) and the cricket test in India (202,000 for Fox Sports 2).

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 60 MINUTES Nine 1,475,000 409,000 432,000 324,000 140,000 169,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,380,000 353,000 379,000 335,000 138,000 176,000
3 DANCING WITH THE STARS Seven 1,344,000 399,000 436,000 202,000 125,000 182,000
4 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,255,000 348,000 428,000 266,000 143,000 70,000
5 20 TO 1 Nine 1,255,000 322,000 393,000 288,000 141,000 111,000
6 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,168,000 325,000 331,000 260,000 135,000 117,000
7 ABC NEWS-SU ABC1 1,065,000 276,000 346,000 185,000 119,000 140,000
8 KATH & KIM (R) Seven 1,044,000 282,000 311,000 208,000 112,000 132,000
9 THE OUTDOOR ROOM WITH JAMIE DURIE Seven 985,000 281,000 240,000 224,000 102,000 137,000
10 ROVE Ten 982,000 224,000 387,000 149,000 101,000 121,000
11 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP Nine 879,000 329,000 244,000 227,000 33,000 47,000
21 THE LONG FIRM ABC1 520,000 135,000 168,000 86,000 58,000 72,000
25 CALIFORNICATION Ten 361,000 83,000 111,000 54,000 61,000 52,000
26 FIRST AUSTRALIANS SBS 333,000 118,000 116,000 42,000 26,000 31,000
27 WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? SBS 298,000 85,000 113,000 46,000 34,000 22,000
38 THE OFFICE Ten 193,000 58,000 48,000 35,000 33,000 20,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watced, week ending October 25
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,867,000 569,000 582,000 329,000 175,000 213,000
2 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,826,000 482,000 563,000 373,000 165,000 243,000
3 THE FORCE Seven 1,760,000 464,000 559,000 320,000 177,000 240,000
4 THE ZOO - TUE Seven 1,718,000 441,000 495,000 373,000 169,000 240,000
5 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,679,000 428,000 512,000 346,000 154,000 239,000
6 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,496,000 414,000 469,000 260,000 156,000 197,000
7 THE MENTALIST Sunday Nine 1,465,000 386,000 415,000 312,000 183,000 168,000
8 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,437,000 409,000 456,000 241,000 161,000 170,000
9 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED EP2 Nine 1,428,000 422,000 428,000 274,000 154,000 150,000
10 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,406,000 364,000 381,000 293,000 150,000 220,000
11 60 MINUTES Nine 1,359,000 342,000 390,000 324,000 138,000 166,000
12 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED Nine 1,348,000 352,000 418,000 280,000 138,000 161,000
13 CSI Nine 1,343,000 375,000 376,000 268,000 150,000 175,000
14 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,332,000 327,000 400,000 271,000 137,000 196,000
15 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,322,000 344,000 376,000 258,000 137,000 207,000
16 TWO AND A HALF MEN -MON Nine 1,295,000 358,000 447,000 235,000 121,000 133,000
17 MEDICAL EMERGENCY Seven 1,290,000 365,000 375,000 226,000 127,000 197,000
18 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,269,000 331,000 417,000 215,000 115,000 191,000
19 DANCING WITH THE STARS 8 Seven 1,248,000 370,000 384,000 191,000 115,000 187,000
20 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,241,000 416,000 388,000 198,000 114,000 125,000
21 NCIS Ten 1,240,000 348,000 345,000 251,000 138,000 159,000
22 THE PRIME MINISTER IS MISSING ABC1 1,238,000 401,000 330,000 225,000 133,000 148,000
23 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,203,000 341,000 337,000 228,000 128,000 169,000
24 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,198,000 417,000 343,000 141,000 155,000 142,000
25 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,191,000 268,000 312,000 295,000 106,000 209,000
26 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,167,000 321,000 344,000 249,000 127,000 126,000
27 CSI: MIAMI Nine 1,158,000 304,000 345,000 222,000 159,000 128,000
28 CRASH INVESTIGATION UNIT Seven 1,140,000 353,000 310,000 221,000 101,000 155,000
29 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,138,000 345,000 317,000 197,000 146,000 132,000
30 20 TO 1 -SUN Nine 1,119,000 303,000 293,000 244,000 120,000 159,000
31 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT Ten 1,118,000 358,000 343,000 179,000 98,000 139,000
32 SEVEN NEWS SPECIAL Seven 1,116,000 279,000 352,000 267,000 63,000 156,000
33 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,102,000 278,000 344,000 241,000 142,000 96,000
34 THE ARIA MUSIC AWARDS Ten 1,092,000 338,000 339,000 168,000 120,000 126,000
35 NINE NEWS Nine 1,076,000 283,000 328,000 263,000 116,000 86,000
36 RPA Nine 1,043,000 287,000 325,000 160,000 122,000 150,000
37 GETAWAY Nine 1,038,000 318,000 289,000 212,000 99,000 121,000
38 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,034,000 297,000 325,000 181,000 90,000 141,000
39 LAW AND ORDER: SVU RPT Ten 1,016,000 286,000 362,000 148,000 104,000 116,000
40 THE AMAZING RACE 13 Seven 1,012,000 291,000 396,000 110,000 90,000 125,000
41 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,012,000 258,000 320,000 238,000 104,000 92,000
42 ABC NEWS-SU ABC1 1,011,000 272,000 312,000 186,000 107,000 135,000
43 BONES - MON Seven 1,007,000 313,000 290,000 182,000 103,000 119,000
44 TWO AND A HALF MEN -EP2 Nine 1,004,000 339,000 292,000 174,000 91,000 108,000
45 TWO AND A HALF MEN -EP1 Nine 1,002,000 322,000 300,000 176,000 86,000 118,000
46 THE ALL NEW SIMPSONS Ten 998,000 263,000 348,000 146,000 104,000 137,000
47 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC1 986,000 262,000 327,000 159,000 94,000 145,000
48 THE MENTALIST -WED Nine 986,000 277,000 302,000 210,000 120,000 77,000
49 MAKE ME A SUPERMODEL Seven 978,000 246,000 306,000 194,000 103,000 128,000
50 RUSH Ten 974,000 229,000 325,000 180,000 110,000 130,000
(OzTAM mainland capitals)

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 08:19 AM
• Comments (108)

The Tribal Mind: Wave goodbye

To discuss saving the planet by eating more vegans, go to Who We Are
by David Dale
Television programming has always gone in waves -- a station notices that another station has a hit, assumes that represents a trend in public taste, and copies what it imagines to be the most appealing details. Then we get at least three versions of the one idea for the next three years, until program monotony leads to viewer mutiny.

This year, that strategy is not working. There are no trends in TV tastes, just fleeting fads. There are no waves, just single droplets. Programmers who tried to ride the surf have been bumped from their boards, dumped and left gasping on the sand. The viewers can spot a formula as soon as it's foisted on them, and their attention spans are too short to put up with copycatting.

Over the decades, we've seen the cowboy wave (Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Rawhide, Whiplash), the spy wave (The Man from UNCLE, I Spy, Danger Man), several lawyer waves (Perry Mason, The Defenders, Ally McBeal, The Practice), the Australian crime wave (Homicide, Cop Shop, Division 4, Matlock Police), several doctor waves (Ben Casey, Dr Kildare, E.R, Chicago Hope, Grey's Anatomy, House), the forensic wave (three CSIs, Bones, Cold Case), the reality wave (Big Brother, Survivor), the talent quest wave (Australian Idol, The X Factor, Dancing With the Stars), and the renovation wave (Backyard Blitz, Location, Location, Location, Better Homes and Gardens). But not any more. This has been a year of one-offs. Whenever the networks have sent in the clones, the viewers have sent them out again.

Inspired by the success of Underbelly and City Homicide, the programmers thought they'd spotted the start of another Aussie crime wave. So they commissioned Rush and The Strip (both with Kat Stewart replicas) which started with more than a million viewers and are now lucky to find 800,000.

Channel Nine thought the initial curiosity about Wipeout and Hole in the Wall suggested a SGSW (Stupid Game Show Wave) so it booked space at the Wipeout arena in Buenos Aires and offered to fly a bunch of Australian contestants there. Nine may have done its dough. Wipeout has plunged to 662,000 and Hole in the Wall to 673,000. And even if Gordon Ramsay may have represented a picky-chef wave, Nine killed that golden goose.

If the networks haven't learned their lesson, we should expect next year a bunch of dramedies about adult kids moving back into their parents' homes, a bunch of documentaries about reuniting separated family members, and a bunch of documentaries about saving sick animals.

Or possibly the networks will start making shows that break the mould and arise from individual creativity. It might just be starting to dawn on them that the age of waves is over. The only trend they need to spot is that the viewers have become smarter than the programmers

Go to Comments to discuss if the age of program clones is over

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 06:34 PM
• Comments (7)

The Who We Are update: Week 43

This week of the blog is now a heritage item -- worthy studying but no longer current. For the latest discussions on popular culture in Australia, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.
To predict the success of Australia (the movie), go to The Tribal Mind.

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,191,000 268,000 312,000 295,000 106,000 209,000
2 ABC NEWS-SA ABC1 986,000 262,000 327,000 159,000 94,000 145,000
3 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 966,000 241,000 329,000 199,000 95,000 102,000
4 FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 903,000 225,000 262,000 218,000 85,000 112,000
5 M-TOY STORY Seven 874,000 200,000 247,000 197,000 89,000 141,000
6 M-TOY STORY 2 Seven 816,000 215,000 249,000 159,000 80,000 114,000
7 ROUGH DIAMOND ABC1 811,000 197,000 265,000 145,000 86,000 118,000
8 THE BILL ABC1 796,000 190,000 288,000 118,000 91,000 109,000
9 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Ten 745,000 184,000 200,000 123,000 77,000 162,000
10 SLEEPERS Ten 661,000 207,000 185,000 132,000 65,000 72,000
11 ELF -RPT Nine 653,000 208,000 170,000 141,000 54,000 80,000
23 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP Nine 320,000 181,000 12,000 103,000 9,000 14,000
24 MYTHBUSTERS RPT SBS 298,000 91,000 98,000 50,000 27,000 32,000
26 ROCKWIZ SBS 259,000 85,000 89,000 37,000 33,000 14,000

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,496,000 414,000 469,000 260,000 156,000 197,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,313,000 317,000 362,000 271,000 147,000 216,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,213,000 289,000 347,000 249,000 124,000 204,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,123,000 289,000 337,000 208,000 131,000 158,000
5 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,020,000 280,000 306,000 220,000 101,000 114,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 958,000 235,000 308,000 228,000 105,000 81,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 926,000 240,000 261,000 242,000 106,000 77,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC1 926,000 281,000 286,000 153,000 97,000 110,000
9 TAGGART ABC1 920,000 270,000 278,000 142,000 96,000 134,000
10 HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE -RPT Nine 892,000 296,000 259,000 134,000 78,000 125,000
16 MURPHY'S LAW-LE ABC1 575,000 142,000 208,000 84,000 68,000 72,000
17 7 SPORT - INTERNATIONAL RULES SERIES - TEST 1: AUS V IRE Seven 571,000 29,000 277,000 16,000 112,000 136,000
18 UNITED 93 Ten 563,000 146,000 182,000 99,000 46,000 89,000
19 DOWNLOAD Ten 526,000 111,000 147,000 114,000 57,000 98,000
22 FRIENDS - DAILY RPT Ten 448,000 108,000 128,000 83,000 40,000 89,000
33 GROWING UP CREEPIE-PM ABC1 297,000 65,000 103,000 63,000 31,000 36,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Friday
So 1.2 million people in the mainland capitals wanted to know what happened to Harold Holt -- not quite as many as wanted to know what happened to Bogle and Chandler, but a healthy result for the ABC and a strong argument for more locally made documentaries about national mysteries.

What did you make of the doco? And what of Normie Rowe's acting? Will we see him in Hamlet next year instead of singing the two millionth rendition of Shakin All Over?

At this point in the week, Seven is averaging 30.6 per cent of the prime time audience, with Nine on 26.9, Ten on 21.1, ABC on 16.6 and SBS on 4.8.

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,346,000 364,000 363,000 266,000 137,000 217,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,301,000 376,000 351,000 243,000 133,000 197,000
3 THE PRIME MINISTER IS MISSING ABC1 1,241,000 402,000 330,000 226,000 134,000 149,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,168,000 330,000 333,000 231,000 129,000 145,000
5 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,143,000 338,000 344,000 251,000 118,000 93,000
6 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT Ten 1,118,000 358,000 343,000 179,000 98,000 139,000
7 RPA Nine 1,044,000 288,000 325,000 160,000 122,000 150,000
8 GETAWAY Nine 1,039,000 317,000 290,000 212,000 99,000 121,000
9 LAW AND ORDER: SVU RPT Ten 1,016,000 286,000 362,000 148,000 104,000 116,000
10 THE AMAZING RACE 13 Seven 1,008,000 290,000 395,000 109,000 90,000 124,000
11 ABC NEWS ABC1 979,000 292,000 283,000 183,000 87,000 134,000
12 MAKE ME A SUPERMODEL Seven 978,000 247,000 306,000 194,000 103,000 127,000
13 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 976,000 234,000 341,000 246,000 97,000 59,000
14 ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER? Ten 891,000 218,000 310,000 149,000 78,000 136,000
15 THE STRIP Nine 843,000 176,000 234,000 232,000 78,000 123,000
16 7.30 REPORT-EV ABC1 816,000 256,000 216,000 139,000 87,000 117,000
17 CATALYST ABC1 803,000 233,000 207,000 145,000 95,000 123,000
18 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 734,000 216,000 223,000 132,000 69,000 94,000
19 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 719,000 229,000 178,000 137,000 79,000 95,000
20 HEROES - THU Seven 696,000 224,000 238,000 93,000 69,000 72,000
23 NINE NEWS Nine 567,000 Not shown 300,000 266,000 Not shown Not shown
30 CHASING BIRDS ABC1 396,000 136,000 109,000 62,000 39,000 50,000
31 PRISON BREAK - THU Seven 389,000 112,000 142,000 60,000 50,000 25,000
43 NINE NEWS Nine 273,000 273,000 Not shown Not shown Not shown Not shown
52 SCRUBS Seven 240,000 73,000 68,000 38,000 31,000 29,000
72 NINE NEWS Nine 169,000 Not shown Not shown Not shown 109,000 60,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Thursday
Some 300,000 of The Mentalist's fans did not join him in the journey from Sunday to Wednesday, so Nine's strategy failed. It would seem Wednesday viewers are locked into a Spicks and Specks and Criminal Minds mode, and neither the fake telepath played by an Aussie pretending to be American nor the grumpy doctor played by an Englishman pretending to be American can shift them.

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED EP2 Nine 1,421,000 420,000 426,000 271,000 154,000 149,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,421,000 351,000 404,000 289,000 150,000 228,000
3 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED Nine 1,350,000 354,000 418,000 280,000 137,000 161,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,314,000 339,000 392,000 246,000 120,000 217,000
5 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,275,000 332,000 417,000 216,000 115,000 194,000
6 MEDICAL EMERGENCY Seven 1,265,000 366,000 363,000 224,000 125,000 188,000
7 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,246,000 416,000 389,000 201,000 116,000 125,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,182,000 360,000 335,000 190,000 116,000 181,000
9 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,161,000 310,000 342,000 246,000 124,000 140,000
10 NINE NEWS Nine 1,151,000 333,000 342,000 264,000 103,000 108,000
11 CRASH INVESTIGATION UNIT Seven 1,134,000 349,000 310,000 220,000 100,000 155,000
12 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,115,000 331,000 344,000 194,000 82,000 165,000
13 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 994,000 274,000 281,000 248,000 83,000 107,000
14 THE MENTALIST -WED Nine 980,000 274,000 301,000 210,000 120,000 76,000
15 CRIMINAL MINDS (R) Seven 915,000 257,000 311,000 129,000 96,000 122,000
16 HOUSE Ten 860,000 267,000 245,000 126,000 86,000 137,000
22 JAMIE'S MINISTRY OF FOOD Ten 766,000 227,000 237,000 115,000 61,000 126,000
25 LIFE Ten 682,000 160,000 250,000 89,000 84,000 98,0000
32 AT THE MOVIES ABC1 428,000 115,000 150,000 70,000 44,000 48,000
35 SUNRISE Seven 367,000 117,000 73,000 96,000 31,000 49,000
38 HOW TO HAVE SEX AFTER MARRIAGE Nine 350,000 95,000 101,000 64,000 42,000 48,000
43 TODAY Nine 315,000 99,000 90,000 72,000 17,000 38,000
73 RAINMAN GOES TO ROCKWIZ SBS 189,000 67,000 60,000 45,000 10,000 7,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Wednesday
What's the appeal of NCIS? Now that House has sunk Yasminwards, it has become Channel Ten's most watched show. Can anyone explain?

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,868,000 569,000 582,000 329,000 175,000 214,000
2 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,827,000 483,000 562,000 374,000 165,000 243,000
3 THE ZOO - TUE Seven 1,716,000 441,000 494,000 371,000 169,000 240,000
4 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,406,000 384,000 343,000 307,000 155,000 216,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,305,000 334,000 361,000 257,000 157,000 197,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,242,000 385,000 309,000 246,000 124,000 179,000
7 NCIS Ten 1,239,000 347,000 345,000 251,000 138,000 159,000
8 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,205,000 417,000 347,000 143,000 155,000 143,000
9 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,205,000 320,000 349,000 238,000 144,000 154,000
10 NINE NEWS Nine 1,164,000 277,000 405,000 270,000 118,000 93,000
11 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,105,000 278,000 372,000 199,000 102,000 155,000
12 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,033,000 249,000 344,000 229,000 109,000 102,000
16 20 TO 1 Nine 970,000 319,000 281,000 168,000 96,000 106,000
17 RUSH Ten 969,000 228,000 324,000 179,000 110,000 129,000
21 THE CHOPPING BLOCK Nine 825,000 248,000 234,000 139,000 104,000 100,000
22 KENNY'S WORLD TUES Ten 773,000 166,000 274,000 136,000 91,000 107,000
35 SURVIVOR: MICRONESIA - FANS VS FAVOURITES Nine 427,000 121,000 137,000 73,000 45,000 51,000
52 FIRST AUSTRALIANS SBS 243,000 84,000 90,000 22,000 23,000 24,000
57 NAUGHTY NAUGHTY PETS ABC1 235,000 44,000 69,000 39,000 33,000 50,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Tuesday
Even if it's the most watched show on SBS, Top Gear Australia is turning into a car crash.
What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 THE FORCE Seven 1,763,000 465,000 558,000 320,000 177,000 243,000
2 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,677,000 428,000 512,000 345,000 154,000 237,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,546,000 404,000 431,000 331,000 158,000 222,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,471,000 381,000 424,000 296,000 153,000 217,000
5 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,446,000 409,000 458,000 243,000 161,000 174,000
6 CSI Nine 1,333,000 375,000 373,000 265,000 147,000 174,000
7 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,311,000 343,000 373,000 270,000 142,000 182,000
8 TWO AND A HALF MEN -MON Nine 1,297,000 357,000 447,000 237,000 123,000 132,000
9 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,281,000 355,000 368,000 286,000 144,000 128,000
10 NINE NEWS Nine 1,124,000 290,000 333,000 271,000 141,000 89,000
11 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,043,000 301,000 342,000 174,000 83,000 142,000
12 BONES - MON Seven 1,015,000 314,000 290,000 185,000 104,000 122,000
13 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 993,000 295,000 328,000 242,000 128,000
14 TIL DEATH Nine 966,000 287,000 313,000 165,000 87,000 115,000
15 GOOD NEWS WEEK Ten 955,000 354,000 269,000 133,000 99,000 100,000
16 COLD CASE Nine 890,000 257,000 279,000 148,000 106,000 100,000
17 AUSTRALIAN IDOL - THE LIVE VERDICT Ten 888,000 246,000 249,000 167,000 118,000 108,000
18 AUSTRALIAN STORY ABC1 867,000 259,000 241,000 197,000 74,000 96,000
22 FOUR CORNERS ABC1 819,000 258,000 224,000 168,000 78,000 91,000
25 SUPERNATURAL Ten 718,000 224,000 203,000 100,000 79,000 112,000
29 TOP GEAR AUSTRALIA SBS 598,000 187,000 169,000 94,000 78,000 70,000
34 OUT OF THE QUESTION - MON Seven 437,000 143,000 133,000 63,000 45,000 54,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Monday
In last Tuesday's episode of Packed To The Rafters, the mother (Rebecca Gibney) refused to watch a Channel Seven show, City Homicide. Her opinion was apparently shared by 200,000 mainland capital viewers, who deserted CH on Monday for Nine's new season of CSI.

Not that CH's slippage to 1.4 million worried Seven, which still had nine of the ten most watched programs of the week (topped by Rafters and Find My Family ). Its major disappointment would have been the 1.2 million for the US version of Kath and Kim, which drew 700,000 less than our own hotties last year. On its second Sunday, KKUSA dropped to 729,000, which is an invitation to the axeman. And that was with Kevin Rudd as a lead-in, drawing 1.1 million to a Seven news special.

Nine's top show was Wednesday's Two and A Half Men but The Mentalist did so well on Sunday (1.3m) that Nine has decided to make it the replacement for Fringe (which drew only 679,000 last Wednesday). Last night The Mentalist's audience grew to 1.4 million. Can it do as well up against Criminal Minds on Wednesday?

Channel Ten had a surprise hit with the obscure kidflick Nanny McPhee (1 million on Friday) which we can attribute to the Emma Thompson factor. Ten's other comforts were NCIS (1.3m) and Australian Idol (1.2m) but former heroes House (885,000), Jamie Oliver (700,000), and Californication (523,000) continued to disappoint.

The ABC triumphed with Spicks and Specks, Midsomer Murders and the 7pm news. For SBS, Top Gear Australia (668,000) attracted 300,000 fewer than its British role model - a case of cultural cringe, or presenters who are trying too hard? The First Australians drew 343,000, which was a strong score for SBS and would be spectacular for Pay TV, which did best with Australia's world cup soccer qualifier (293,000 for Fox Sports 2), the Indian cricket test session 3 (264,000 for Fox Sports 2), The Simpsons (191,000 on Fox 8) and Octopussy (167,000 on Fox classics).

Seven averaged 30.1 per cent of the prime time audience, with Nine on 25.3, Ten on 20.5, ABC on 18.8 and SBS on 5.3.

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 THE MENTALIST Nine 1,448,000 380,000 415,000 312,000 178,000 163,000
2 60 MINUTES Nine 1,357,000 340,000 386,000 323,000 136,000 171,000
3 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,329,000 327,000 400,000 271,000 135,000 196,000
4 DANCING WITH THE STARS 8 Seven 1,255,000 372,000 386,000 192,000 117,000 188,000
5 CSI: MIAMI Nine 1,206,000 317,000 354,000 230,000 167,000 139,000
6 SEVEN NEWS SPECIAL Seven 1,117,000 279,000 352,000 266,000 62,000 158,000
7 20 TO 1 Nine 1,114,000 303,000 292,000 244,000 120,000 154,000
8 ARIA MUSIC AWARDS Ten 1,113,000 343,000 344,000 172,000 123,000 130,000
9 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,101,000 278,000 345,000 241,000 141,000 96,000
10 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,100,000 335,000 305,000 190,000 144,000 125,000
15 KATH & KIM THE AMERICAN SERIES Seven 729,000 198,000 237,000 153,000 49,000 91,000
19 THE LONG FIRM ABC1 566,000 194,000 153,000 87,000 60,000 72,000
20 CALIFORNICATION Ten 543,000 151,000 167,000 83,000 74,000 68,000
21 THE SIMPSONS SUN Ten 536,000 183,000 122,000 103,000 73,000 56,000
27 WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? SBS 320,000 68,000 143,000 45,000 34,000 31,000
28 FIRST AUSTRALIANS SBS 307,000 93,000 131,000 35,000 31,000 17,000
31 ANDREW OLLE MEDIA LECTURE: RAY MARTIN ABC1 261,000 92,000 60,000 35,000 41,000 33,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, week ending October 18
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,881,000 559,000 631,000 318,000 174,000 200,000
2 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,831,000 477,000 596,000 361,000 187,000 211,000
3 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,626,000 386,000 487,000 390,000 163,000 199,000
4 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,615,000 457,000 458,000 321,000 177,000 202,000
5 THE FORCE - BEHIND THE LINE Seven 1,581,000 407,000 481,000 292,000 174,000 227,000
6 BORDER SECURITY - AUSTRALIA'S FRONT LINE Seven 1,526,000 386,000 457,000 306,000 167,000 209,000
7 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,524,000 488,000 460,000 273,000 127,000 176,000
8 MINDING YOUR MONEY - SEVEN NEWS SPECIAL Seven 1,493,000 367,000 429,000 331,000 152,000 213,000
9 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,453,000 365,000 470,000 254,000 169,000 195,000
10 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED EP2 Nine 1,451,000 398,000 495,000 256,000 141,000 160,000
11 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,411,000 352,000 383,000 305,000 160,000 211,000
12 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED Nine 1,401,000 372,000 485,000 243,000 130,000 171,000
13 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,398,000 372,000 470,000 243,000 173,000 140,000
14 MEDICAL EMERGENCY Seven 1,391,000 367,000 391,000 280,000 152,000 200,000
15 60 MINUTES Nine 1,358,000 383,000 388,000 293,000 138,000 155,000
16 NCIS Ten 1,344,000 335,000 377,000 285,000 157,000 189,000
17 CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION Nine 1,343,000 385,000 432,000 243,000 117,000 166,000
18 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,299,000 316,000 361,000 262,000 152,000 208,000
19 THE MENTALIST Nine 1,261,000 365,000 341,000 257,000 118,000 180,000
20 SEVEN'S V8 SUPERCARS ROUND 10: BATHURST D3 POST RACE Seven 1,254,000 355,000 413,000 253,000 143,000 89,000
21 SEVEN'S V8 SUPERCARS ROUND 10: BATHURST D3 THE RACE Seven 1,250,000 383,000 383,000 248,000 143,000 93,000
22 TWO AND A HALF MEN -MON Nine 1,242,000 362,000 419,000 220,000 96,000 145,000
23 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,237,000 417,000 366,000 210,000 127,000 117,000
24 KATH & KIM THE AMERICAN SERIES Seven 1,228,000 325,000 424,000 212,000 112,000 155,000
25 CRASH INVESTIGATION UNIT Seven 1,226,000 358,000 301,000 260,000 131,000 176,000
26 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC1 1,215,000 384,000 379,000 162,000 144,000 146,000
27 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,194,000 345,000 336,000 231,000 129,000 154,000
28 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,191,000 335,000 358,000 248,000 120,000 130,000
29 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,180,000 367,000 402,000 152,000 144,000 115,000
30 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,171,000 322,000 351,000 237,000 121,000 140,000
31 DANCING WITH THE STARS 8 Seven 1,168,000 357,000 361,000 181,000 105,000 165,000
32 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,137,000 305,000 325,000 223,000 89,000 194,000
33 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,136,000 318,000 362,000 215,000 129,000 112,000
34 NATIONAL NINE NEWS Nine 1,080,000 280,000 334,000 253,000 119,000 94,000
35 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT Ten 1,060,000 298,000 313,000 160,000 109,000 181,000
36 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,054,000 308,000 315,000 198,000 92,000 142,000
37 GETAWAY Nine 1,053,000 356,000 304,000 171,000 93,000 129,000
38 NANNY MCPHEE Ten 1,044,000 295,000 322,000 181,000 105,000 141,000
39 MAKE ME A SUPERMODEL Seven 1,042,000 267,000 285,000 235,000 105,000 150,000
40 CSI: MIAMI Nine 1,039,000 288,000 339,000 176,000 99,000 137,000
41 THE STRIP Nine 1,037,000 290,000 292,000 223,000 102,000 129,000
(OzTAM mainland capitals)

And here, for the record, are the most watched series this year (audience figures are the average totals in the mainland capitals)
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1.93 million
2 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1.78m
3 UNDERBELLY Nine 1.71
4 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1.64
5 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1.60
6 THE FORCE Seven 1.58
7 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,58
8 SEVEN NEWS - SUNDAY Seven 1.57
9 60 MINUTES Nine 1.54
10 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Seven 1.52
11 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA Ten 1.49
12 DOMESTIC BLITZ Nine 1.49
13 SEVEN NEWS - MONDAY-FRIDAY Seven 1.49
14 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: TIGER-SPY IN THE JUNGLE Nine 1.48
15 THE ONE - AUSTRALIA'S MOST GIFTED PSYCHIC Seven 1.45
16 NINE NEWS - SUNDAY Nine 1.43
17 GORDON RAMSAY: KITCHEN NIGHTMARES Nine 1.44
18 CSI Nine 1.41
19 TWO AND A HALF MEN WEDNESDAY Nine 1.41
20 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1.40
21 BONDI RESCUE Ten 1.38
22 NCIS Ten 1.38
23 SEA PATROL II Nine 1.37
24 SURF PATROL Seven 1.36
25 SCU: SERIOUS CRASH UNIT Seven 1.36
26 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1.36
27 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1.36
28 GLADIATORS Seven 1.35
29 DOC MARTIN ABC1 1.32
30 BATTLE OF THE CHOIRS Seven 1.30
31 IT TAKES TWO Seven 1.29
32 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: LIFE IN COLD BLOOD Nine 1.29
33 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1.29
34 SEVEN NEWS - SATURDAY Seven 1.28
35 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1.28
36 MEDICAL EMERGENCY Seven 1.27
37 CRASH INVESTIGATION UNIT Seven 1.27
38 THE GRUEN TRANSFER ABC1 1.25
39 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1.24
40 AUSTRALIAN IDOL - SUNDAY Ten 1.24
41 ALL SAINTS Seven 1.24
42 WIPEOUT - TUESDAY Nine 1.24
43 RPA Nine 1.23
44 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC1 1.23
45 DANCING WITH THE STARS 8 Seven 1.23
46 THE ZOO - SERIES 1 Seven 1.23
47 THE REAL SEACHANGE Seven 1.22
48 NCIS Ten 1,215,853
49 CELEBRITY SINGING BEE Nine 1.21
50 SEARCH & RESCUE Nine 1.21
51 HOLE IN THE WALL - WEDNESDAY Nine 1,205,192
52 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,20
53 NINE NEWS - MONDAY-FRIDAY Nine 1.19
54 WILD CHINA ABC1 1.19
55 THE OUTDOOR ROOM WITH JAMIE DURIE Seven 1.18
56 FOYLE'S WAR ABC1 1.18
57 GORDON RAMSAY: HELL'S KITCHEN Nine 1.18
58 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1.18
59 MY NAME IS EARL - THURSDAY Seven 1.17
60 GETAWAY Nine 1.16
61 THE BIGGEST LOSER - THE WEIGH-IN Ten 1.15
62 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1.14
63 POLICE FILES - UNLOCKED Seven 1,13
64 HOUSE Ten 1,130,388
65 ABC NEWS - MONDAY-FRIDAY ABC1 1.13
66 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1.12
67 BONES Seven 1.12
68 DOCTOR WHO ABC1 1.12
69 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: LIFE OF MAMMALS Nine 1.12
70 GORDON RAMSAY: KITCHEN NIGHTMARES USA Nine 1.11
71 ANIMAL EMERGENCY Nine 1.11
72 FIRE 000 Nine 1.11
73 THIS IS YOUR LIFE Nine 1.10
74 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 1.09
75 CSI: MIAMI Nine 1.08
76 BUSH DOCTORS Seven 1,074,061
77 WITHOUT A TRACE Nine 1,070,164
78 SILENT WITNESS ABC1 1,069,326
79 BATTLEFRONTS Nine 1,069,056
80 ABC NEWS - SUNDAY ABC1 1,067,568
81 20 TO 1 Nine 1.06
82 DALZIEL AND PASCOE ABC1 1,05
(OzTAM)

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 08:31 AM
• Comments (107)

WHO WE ARE: Save the grubs, cook the people

A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald 12/10/2008
Think the unthinkable and say the unsayable. That's this column's readers. In recent days, they have advanced these propositions: 1) The best way to make school history lessons more interesting is to teach less about boomerangs and witchetty grubs and more about the Chinese communist party; 2) the best way to make the planet healthier and happier is not eating more kangaroos but eating vegans, ideally with ginger and black bean sauce. Yes, that was vegans, not veggies.

The way this column works is that we raise questions about national identity, and the readers answer them, usually by shredding conventional wisdoms. When I observed that Australian history, as traditionally taught, was likely to leave students with the impression that they lived in one of the most boring countries on earth, 57 readers replied.

Many urged the inclusion of more information about the people who were here before 1770. But Kate, who finished high school in 2005, complained: "Every year between year 3 and year 10 it was witchetty grubs, boomerangs, dispossession or reconciliation depending on how old you were. These are all very valuable topics and should be studied, but on and off for SEVEN YEARS? The statement that we were about to study either Australian or Aboriginal history was usually met with a groan.

"My favourite topics were the Cold War (and the Cuban Missile Crisis), the historiography (not history) of the Crusades, China under the CCP and the Industrial Revolution. Everything I've learnt in those subjects I've used a hundredfold since entering university. No one has asked me about witchetty grubs though...."

When I asked how Australians might be persuaded to follow Professor Garnaut's suggestion that we eat more kangaroo, 50 readers responded.

David H offered these suggestions: "Sheep and cattle need chemicals and innoculations that adds to the cost of raising them and who knows what proportion of those chemicals find their way into the food chain. Come on Aussies, get into your Roo Lasagne, Roo Chow Mein, Pho Roo, Roo au Vin, Roo Shanks and Mash, McRoo, Roo and Mushroom Pies. Write Roo recipe books. Throw another Roo Tail on the Barbie!"

Bonobo's Daughter suggested another approach: "Try becoming vegans - as nature intended us to be ... Not only will you experience vastly better health but you'll be doing the planet a huge favour. No more land clearing or destruction of the ocean's food chain - and save millions of our fellow creatures from suffering."

This worried "Peril", who asked: "But what would we do for a mixed grill? Koalas and wombats aren't plentiful enough and flying fox is too much effort to get a feed off. Emu is a possibility but it needs something more. How about some distraught Vegans? We get good food and reduce suffering at the same time." To which Charlie added: "A nice Vegan with black bean sauce, bit of ginger and garlic, yummo!

To join the discussion on what Australian history our kids should learn, go to Big Ideas.
To join the discussion on how to make Australians eat kangaroo, go to Beetroots and aliens

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 04:14 AM
• Comments (14)

The Tribal Mind: Why a duck

To discuss how to make Australians eat kangaroo, go to Who We Are
by David Dale
It would be despicable of me to let this year pass without drawing attention to a milestone we were in danger of forgetting -- the 70th anniversary of a seminal figure in modern Western thought. Back when he turned 50, The New York Times commissioned a psychiatrist to analyse him, and the shrink wrote: "He began as a simple manic depressive and developed over the years into a fully fledged paranoid schizophrenic". The diagnosis also referred to "chronic delusions of grandeur".

I'm talking of course, of Daffy Duck, who appeared in Australia 70 years ago in a Warner Bros cartoon called Porky's Duck Hunt. As you know, the world is divided into two types of people: those who think Disney produced the best cartoon characters and those who recognise the superiority of Warner.

Disney creatures (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto) vary only in their cuteness and dumbness, while Warner characters (Bugs Bunny, Foghorn Leghorn, Sylvester, Tweety, Elmer Fudd) cover the full gamut of psychopathology. Disney is sweet and slapstick. Warner is cynical and strange. Disney is Sarah Palin. Warner is Tina Fey. Or in Australian terms, Disney is Kevin Rudd, Wayne Swan and Morris Iemma. Warner is Paul Keating, Brendan Nelson and Malcolm Turnbull -- not necessarily more likeable, but much more interesting.

As a kid, I was a fan of Donald Duck, the most engaging Disney character because of his streak of irritability. But as a teenager I moved to a mallard imaginaire who was more recognisably human. Daffy's creator, Chuck Jones, placed him in this context: "Elmer Fudd never knows what's going on; Bugs always knows what is going on and is in control of events; Daffy is bright enough to understand how to be in control, but he never quite makes it. Both Bugs and Daffy are talkers, but Daffy talks too much. Bugs stands back from a situation, analyses it and makes his move. Daffy becomes emotionally involved, loses his distance and blows it."

A recent Daffy appearance -- the semi-animated movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit -- has become a recommended text in the NSW English syllabus for Years 7-10. The students will see him in a nightclub performing a piano duet with Donald Duck. Donald waffles away in typically incomprehensible fashion, oblivious to the glares of Daffy. At the end, Daffy turns to the audience and expostulates: "Thith ith the latht time I work with thomeone with a thpeech impediment!"

Reflections on Daffy's anniversary led me to worry about the current condition of another great Warner creation, the Acme company. Its products may occasionally be unreliable, but it's an astonishing success story -- able, for example, to deliver products to the Arizona desert on the basis of orders received from a wild dog apparently without access to phone, fax or email.

How is the Wall Street meltdown affecting the maker of such essentials as the Acme Giant Kite Kit, the Acme Re-integrator Gun, Acme Leg Muscle Vitamins, Acme Jet-Propelled Roller Skates and the Acme Female Road Runner Costume?

If we consult the complete works of Daffy, we find the answer. In Duck Dodgers in the 24th and a Halfth Century, we find Daffy and Porky confronting Marvin the Martian. Both sides in the future conflict are using weapons bearing the Acme brand. Clearly capitalism -- and Daffy -- are due to survive for a while yet.

Go to Comments to discuss the Warner influence on contemporary culture.

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 05:29 AM
• Comments (7)

WHO WE ARE: But what if the beetroots are the aliens?

To discuss if there is too much Australian content on television, go to The Tribal Mind
For regular updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 5/10/2008
The greening guru Ross Garnaut faces an uphill battle when he urges Australians to eat more kangaroo and less beef, for the sake of the environment and their health. Cattle tread heavily on the landscape, their meat gives us heart attacks and their poo produces greenhouse gases and a breeding ground for flies. Kangaroos tread lightly and their meat is low in fat and high in iron.

The logic is impeccable, but Australians aren't listening. It's not that they don't like the taste of roo. They won't even try it. Apparently they suffer a Skippy complex -- a reluctance, ingrained since childhood, to eat a cuddly creature who can articulate complex thoughts in a vocabulary of clicks and operate machinery with paws that lack opposable thumbs.

Every good waiter and every good parent knows that any dish tastes better when it comes with a story, so it's time for me to discuss once again a theory that might help sell roo meat to the masses. It is based on the discovery that grilled kangaroo with pureed beetroot is a marriage made in heaven - a natural and inevitable culinary combination like fish and chips, duck and orange, bangers and mash, and pie and sauce.

The master of this dish was a chef named Raymond Kersh, who ran a Sydney restaurant called Edna's Table with his sister Jennice. For 20 years they struggled to persuade Australians to eat local ingredients - not just kangaroo but an array of fruits, herbs and vegetables that sustained this country's population for 60,000 years before the arrival of the cow, the potato and the orange. Visitors loved their menu, but locals stayed away.

Edna's Table finally closed in 2005. Making her farewells, Jennice Kersh said: "We're not interested in being just a tourist gimmick. We think eating your own food is part of your sense of place. Most Australians still don't have that sense of belonging."

The mystery remains: why do kangaroo and beetroot work so well together, when one originated in the south Pacific and the other in the Mediterranean? I think the perfection of this duet is evidence of an alien visitation millions of years ago. The masters of the universe came here, inserted kangaroo at one end of the planet and beetroot at the other, then went off to await the evolution of a creature smart enough to join them together.

A couple of hundred years ago the Europeans developed the technology to carry the beetroot southwards. The first time a chef put it on a plate with a fillet of kangaroo, it closed a circuit in the space time continuum and sent a message across the stars which said "We are ready!" Even as you read this, the aliens are on their way back to invite us to join the galactic federation.

If we are not chewing on roo when they get here, there'll be big trouble. After that long a journey, they won't react kindly to a race that blew its big opportunity.

Give us your theories on how Skippy might save the planet at Comments ...

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 10:37 AM
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The Tribal Mind: Too much Australiana is more than enough

To discuss what movies our kids should study in English lessons, go to Who We Are

by David Dale
THE nationalists be damned. What this country needs is more American content on mainstream television -- or if not more, then at least different American content. Those who complain about US domination of our culture have only seen the junk the Australian networks choose to show us in prime time.

Last week's Emmy awards proved there's a cornucopia of US material that is more stimulating than most of the formulaic pap being produced in this country. The problem is that our networks think their prime time viewers are stupid, so they either broadcast the smart stuff at insomniac times of day or leave it to be snapped up by the Pay TV stations, thereby denying it to two thirds of the populace.

The program most honoured at the Emmys was 30 Rock, a screwball satire on the television industry. It won best comedy, best comic actress (Tina Fey), best comic actor (Alec Baldwin) and best comic writing (Tina Fey). Channel Seven has been showing it at 11.30pm, and last Friday's episode was watched by 352,000 people (plus an uncounted number who recorded it to watch at a civilised hour). That's an amazing result for such a timeslot. If any Pay TV station achieved that audience at any time of day, there would be a 21 gun salute in champagne corks.

Other awarded shows included In Treatment, a drama which examines the work of a psychotherapist played by Gabriel Byrne (starting this week on the Pay station Showcase); Mad Men, a comedy/drama about the advertising industry in the 1960s (on the Pay station Movie Extra), Damages, a drama about ruthless lawyers starring Glenn Close (shown erratically late at night by Channel Nine), and Pushing Daisies, a comedy about a man who can bring the dead back to life (owned but never shown by Nine).

Before you say that Australia is already swamped with Americana, look at the 40 most watched series on television so far this year. It turns out that only seven of them were born in the USA (House, Desperate Housewives, Criminal Minds, Two and a Half Men, CSI, Wipeout, and NCIS).

Another four are British (Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, Attenborough's Life in Cold Blood, Midsomer Murders, and Doc Martin). The remaining 29 are Australian, including such cutting edge material as Australia's Got Talent, Gladiators, The One - Australia's Greatest Psychic and Hole In The Wall.

It stirs my patriotic heart that this nation so strongly supports its own creative workers, but I felt a moment of treachery when I read the Emmy acceptance speech by Kirk Ellis, writer of the miniseries John Adams. He said the show was about "a period in our history when articulate men articulated complex thoughts in complete sentences. The word was primary. They believed in the word over the sword, and the word could change the world.''

That sounds like something I'd like to see on the ABC or on SBS. But they left it to Pay TV. It might finally be time to subscribe.

Is there too much Australian content on Australian TV? Tell us at Comments

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 02:57 AM
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WHO WE ARE: Better living through English

To discuss if there is too much Australian content on television, go to The Tribal Mind
For regular updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald 28/9/2008
In ancient tribes, the values of the community were passed on to young people via stories told by elders around the campfire. In modern society, this function is performed by the television set at home and the English syllabus at school. A body called the National Curriculum Board is currently trying to determine the essential values and stories the elders in the classroom should pass on to the kids of Australia from 2010 onwards. The board didn't ask, but this column and its readers can give them some suggestions.

Mind you, they don't need to look much further than the current NSW English syllabus for years 7 to 10. I read the whole thing last week (it takes an hour) and was amazed to find that it doesn't just give students tools for communicating clearly in adult life, but it actually wants to turn them into decent people.

These are among its aims: "Enable all students to develop positive self-concepts and their capacity to establish and maintain safe, healthy and rewarding lives";
"Prepare all students for effective and responsible participation in their society, taking account of moral, ethical and spiritual considerations";
"Promote a fair and just society that values diversity."

That's pretty ambitious for an English syllabus (click here to read the whole thing). In my day, the teacher was happy if you left school able to quote a bit of Shakespeare and tell the difference between a metaphor and a simile.

It's not just about books any more. The syllabus uses the word "text" to cover movies, TV shows, poems, comics, articles, books, plays and even video games. In offering a recommended list, it says: "Texts were selected for this list on the basis of their ability to challenge the reader -- texts that have layered and multiple meanings, and that provoke thought. The classroom use of texts from these lists should help students gain pleasure and power from the exploration of real and imaginary (including virtual) worlds."

Shakespeare is still there, but the suggested reading also includes Lemony Snicket's The Bad Beginning, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Looking for Alibrandi, To Kill A Mockingbird, Northern Lights (which turned into the movie The Golden Compass), and John Marsden's Tomorrow When The War Began.

The suggested movies include Apollo 13; Babe; Breaker Morant ("invites discussion of the injustice meted out to the defendants and the portrayal of different moral and ethical systems and situations"); Chariots of Fire (which deals with themes of "friendship and loyalty, faith and belief, racism and nationalism"); Chicken Run; E.T; Ever After ("A gender reading of the film is a clear base for study. Danielle challenges the viewers' preconceptions of Cinderella. She is independent and strong, and can fight with a sword, saving Prince Henry and later herself from attack. She is well-read and intellectual, and challenges the prince's patriarchal and aristocratic thinking"); Gallipoli; Picnic at Hanging Rock; Raiders of the Lost Ark; Shine and Shrek. (Click here to read all the recommendations).

They sound stimulating, but where are Crocodile Dundee, Dead Calm, Mad Max, My Brilliant Career, Priscilla Queen of the Dessert, Puberty Blues, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Romper Stomper, Romulus My Father, Strictly Ballroom, Ten Canoes, They're A Weird Mob, Two Hands and The Year of Living Dangerously?

They all incorporate the kind of social conscience the syllabus wants to instill in pre-adults. And they might help a new generation to overcome the current assumption that Australian films are clumsy and boring.

Go to Comments to discuss what else should be taught in The New English. And to discuss what Australian history our kids should learn at school, go to last week's column.

Pictures show Crocodile Dundee, Ever After, Mad Max.

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 08:01 PM
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