The Sun-Herald

WHO WE ARE: Can the dingo lie down with the octopus?

To take the quiz on how well you understand Australia's tastes, go to The Tribal Mind.

A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 25/1/2009
There is no law that compels a country to have native animals on its coat of arms. A lion and a unicorn support the shield of the United Kingdom, and at least one of those never roamed the forests of Albion, despite what Harry Potter might say.

The lion is also the emblem of Germany and India. Thailand and Indonesia display a creature called a garuda (half man, half eagle). America calls its coat of arms "a great seal", although it features a great eagle (also on Russia's). Canada, which you'd expect to feature a seal (clubbed), has simply copied Britain -- with even less historical claim on the lion and the unicorn.

So those who oppose the addition of a dingo to Australia's coat of arms are making no point at all when they argue that the "native dog" arrived here as a pet only a few thousand years ago.

Last week this column pointed out that the dingo has given Australia an international reputation, what with all the references in popular culture to the eating of babies. In return, I argued, we should honour it, perhaps curled up in front of our shield, at the feet of the roo and the emu.

(Digression: Such a configuration would permit this column's other campaign - to have an octopus sitting on top of the shield, with arms extended to cuddle both the roo and the emu. This would emphasise our dependence on the ocean, since 80 per cent of Australians live within 50 km of it, as well as recent changes in our eating habits, whereby a food source ignored by the English immigrants is now chilli-coated and char-grilled by pony-tailed chefs across the land. For the octopus case, go to Forewarned is eight-armed).

Some readers found the whole idea of dingo-recognition offensive. S. McCarthy wrote: "What a lot of rot. National icon, how about national pest? Do you realise how much damage dogs cause the agricultural industry? Get a grip."

And Oocy argued: "Dingos are Asian water dogs, brought here from South East Asian islands only 5 thousand years ago. They did not evolve here, like the platypus, echidna, kangaroo and other endemic species. So the dingo could be a wholly inappropriate icon for Australia. Of course, the dingo could also be the perfect icon for modern, multicultural Australia, where people from all over the world have moved to our country and are welcome to call it home."

And Nic Papalia made this point: "The dingo is the one animal that keeps everything balanced in the ecosystem. It is our top land predator. When the dingo is removed because of ignorance ... there is a massive problem with fox, cat, goat and pig numbers soaring out of control. Kangaroo numbers skyrocket and defoliation becomes a problem. Australians must become more aware and educated if we are to save this Iconic species, so our future generations will see the real live dingo and not just a stuffed relic in a museum next to the thylacine."

That suggests a different take on the coat of arms -- a Tasmanian tiger, as a warning to treat our wildlife better in future. What do you think should be there? Go to Comments.

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 03:56 PM
• Comments (17)

The Who We Are update: Week 6

This week of the blog is now a heritage item - worth studying but no longer current. For the latest on Australian popular culture, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.
To discuss whether spag bol, pad Thai or tiramisu should be our national dish, go to Who We Are.

The ratings race, updated 9am Monday
The Pay TV industry has its own unique way of doing mathematics. It likes to lump together all of its stations (more than 80 of them) and count the total as one network, which it then compares with each of the free to air networks. This enables it to put out a statement like this, which arrived today:

"For the second year running, subscription TV had more viewers in summer than any other network. During the ten week period from November 30, 2008 to February 7, 2009, STV was the number one source of television, with 61.3% of all viewing in STV homes (6am-12mn), 24.8% of metropolitan viewing and 22.2% of regional viewing.

"In week 06, 2009, The Simpsons was watched by 151,000 viewers on Sunday morning, NCIS achieved its largest audience ever with 143,000 people on Sunday night and the American Idol Hollywood Show was watched by 112,000 viewers on Thursday night. The movie The Big Country was watched by 106,000 viewers, The Secret Millionaire achieved a record audience with 106,000 viewers and Hannah Montana was seen by 100,000 viewers. In sport, Live: Football: A-League S Final Leg 1 was watched by 122,000 people and Cricket: World Series Classics was watched by 103,000 people."

Now here's what the 73 per cent of Australians who do not subscribe to Pay TV were watching last week:

What Australia watched, week ending February 7
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - MEN'S FINAL Seven 2,246,000 733,000 798,000 329,000 194,000 192,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 2,008,000 493,000 684,000 367,000 239,000 226,000
3 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,874,000 589,000 586,000 306,000 159,000 233,000
4 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,654,000 437,000 528,000 309,000 155,000 225,000
5 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - MEN'S FINAL INTRODUCTION Seven 1,622,000 497,000 574,000 264,000 134,000 153,000
6 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,552,000 392,000 569,000 276,000 164,000 149,000
7 LIE TO ME Ten 1,504,000 354,000 516,000 275,000 170,000 190,000
8 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,485,000 403,000 391,000 298,000 176,000 215,000
9 NCIS Ten 1,473,000 373,000 457,000 278,000 148,000 217,000
10 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,453,000 383,000 391,000 300,000 164,000 215,000
11 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,436,000 382,000 421,000 275,000 149,000 209,000
12 THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA Ten 1,414,000 381,000 446,000 258,000 144,000 185,000
13 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,374,000 414,000 442,000 237,000 136,000 146,000
14 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Seven 1,313,000 375,000 388,000 269,000 121,000 160,000
15 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - AUDITION 1 Ten 1,306,000 349,000 404,000 264,000 120,000 168,000

16 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,306,000 361,000 390,000 251,000 142,000 163,000
17 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,296,000 427,000 421,000 151,000 135,000 162,000
18 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,252,000 371,000 361,000 264,000 97,000 159,000
19 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,251,000 323,000 424,000 158,000 180,000 165,000
20 HOUSE Ten 1,242,000 302,000 414,000 216,000 135,000 175,000
21 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,213,000 341,000 335,000 303,000 94,000 140,000
22 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,208,000 287,000 509,000 195,000 140,000 77,000
23 ONE DAY CRICKET - AUSTRALIA V NEW ZEALAND GAME 2 SESSION 2 Nine 1,206,000 371,000 360,000 230,000 123,000 122,000
24 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 1,201,000 340,000 356,000 208,000 152,000 144,000
25 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,194,000 362,000 312,000 246,000 126,000 147,000
26 BONDI RESCUE Ten 1,189,000 365,000 357,000 207,000 100,000 161,000
27 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - AUDITION 2 Ten 1,162,000 316,000 375,000 204,000 113,000 153,000
28 LIFE ON MARS Ten 1,160,000 308,000 347,000 179,000 152,000 173,000
29 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - LAUNCH Ten 1,156,000 292,000 376,000 239,000 120,000 129,000
30 NINE NEWS Nine 1,146,000 286,000 384,000 248,000 133,000 96,000
31 ONE DAY CRICKET - AUSTRALIA V NEW ZEALAND GAME 1 SESSION 1 Nine 1,124,000 297,000 350,000 200,000 135,000 140,000
32 ABC NEWS-SA ABC1 1,116,000 276,000 445,000 150,000 122,000 123,000
33 WIPEOUT AUSTRALIA Nine 1,088,000 333,000 365,000 162,000 97,000 132,000
34 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,086,000 339,000 364,000 181,000 91,000 111,000
35 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Ten 1,074,000 228,000 486,000 146,000 114,000 100,000
36 TWO AND A HALF MEN -EP1 Nine 1,072,000 296,000 359,000 218,000 84,000 115,000
37 GHOST WHISPERER Seven 1,059,000 307,000 326,000 193,000 103,000 130,000
38 ADULTS ONLY 20 TO 1 Nine 1,056,000 298,000 334,000 211,000 101,000 111,000
39 SPICKS AND SPECKS-EV ABC1 1,032,000 344,000 273,000 199,000 95,000 121,000
40 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,018,000 260,000 346,000 218,000 108,000 86,000
41 ABC NEWS-EV ABC1 1,016,000 287,000 308,000 195,000 115,000 111,000
42 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - AUDITION 3 Ten 1,007,000 303,000 298,000 166,000 101,000 139,000
43 BROTHERS & SISTERS Seven 997,000 317,000 344,000 152,000 97,000 87,000
44 NEW TRICKS RPT ABC1 995,000 258,000 323,000 162,000 123,000 129,000
45 TWO AND A HALF MEN -EP2 Nine 986,000 278,000 327,000 207,000 72,000 101,000
46 DOMESTIC BLITZ -WED Nine 974,000 259,000 278,000 209,000 99,000 129,000
47 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 961,000 255,000 307,000 198,000 85,000 116,000
48 TOP GEAR SBS 960,000 266,000 308,000 188,000 113,000 85,000
49 THE BIG BANG THEORY Nine 952,000 271,000 271,000 213,000 75,000 122,000
50 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 947,000 261,000 301,000 169,000 88,000 127,000

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,552,000 392,000 569,000 276,000 164,000 149,000
2 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,208,000 287,000 509,000 195,000 140,000 77,000
3 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC1 1,116,000 276,000 445,000 150,000 122,000 123,000
4 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Ten 1,074,000 228,000 486,000 146,000 114,000 100,000
5 NEW TRICKS RPT ABC1 995,000 258,000 323,000 162,000 123,000 129,000
6 IN THE BUSH WITH MALCOLM DOUGLAS Seven 947,000 248,000 279,000 180,000 129,000 111,000
8 KATH & KIM (R, not the one in the picture) Seven 795,000 208,000 238,000 138,000 79,000 132,000
9 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW SUMMER SERIES -RPT Nine 793,000 227,000 261,000 187,000 118,000
10 THE BILL ABC1 778,000 198,000 252,000 114,000 108,000 105,000
12 CITY OF MELBOURNE SUMMER SPECIAL Seven 650,000 Not shown 650,000 Not shown Not shown Not shown
16 2009 sponsor name CUP: WEST COAST V COLLINGWOOD Seven 575,000 19,000 362,000 12,000 71,000 111,000
20 FAWLTY TOWERS Seven 541,000 206,000 Not shown 135,000 76,000 124,000
21 GARDENING AUSTRALIA ABC1 521,000 152,000 145,000 84,000 75,000 66,000
22 MYTHBUSTERS SBS 512,000 148,000 176,000 77,000 72,000 38,000
33 LIFE ON MARS SAT RPT Ten 349,000 88,000 133,000 54,000 35,000 40,000

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,445,000 379,000 429,000 288,000 168,000 182,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,402,000 409,000 366,000 237,000 175,000 215,000
3 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,306,000 361,000 390,000 251,000 142,000 163,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,272,000 365,000 402,000 254,000 155,000 96,000
5 ONE DAY CRICKET - AUSTRALIA V NEW ZEALAND GAME 2 SESSION 2 Nine 1,206,000 371,000 360,000 230,000 123,000 122,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,104,000 335,000 315,000 213,000 121,000 119,000
7 THE SIMPSONS FRI Ten 937,000 268,000 301,000 169,000 76,000 123,000
11 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) Ten 814,000 238,000 243,000 137,000 73,000 123,000
12 LAW & ORDER FRI EP 2 Ten 808,000 200,000 298,000 161,000 80,000 69,000
13 LAW & ORDER FRI Ten 805,000 239,000 267,000 153,000 75,000 72,000
14 ONE DAY CRICKET - AUSTRALIA V NEW ZEALAND GAME 2 SESSION 1 Nine 729,000 217,000 210,000 114,000 110,000 79,000
17 TRIAL AND RETRIBUTION: PARADISE LOST ABC1 662,000 162,000 200,000 100,000 72,000 128,000
19 M-SUPERNOVA Seven 642,000 231,000 153,000 116,000 81,000 61,000
22 WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB Ten 512,000 98,000 219,000 85,000 55,000 56,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,456,000 404,000 387,000 319,000 153,000 193,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,385,000 392,000 363,000 296,000 133,000 201,000
3 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 1,202,000 341,000 355,000 207,000 154,000 145,000
4 LIFE ON MARS Ten 1,148,000 304,000 346,000 175,000 151,000 172,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,089,000 308,000 308,000 227,000 119,000 128,000
6 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,086,000 339,000 364,000 181,000 91,000 111,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,072,000 252,000 384,000 238,000 114,000 84,000
8 ADULTS ONLY 20 TO 1 Nine 1,061,000 300,000 336,000 211,000 101,000 112,000
9 GHOST WHISPERER Seven 1,059,000 307,000 326,000 193,000 103,000 130,000
10 7.30 REPORT ABC1 998,000 297,000 306,000 195,000 102,000 98,000
11 ABC NEWS ABC1 990,000 283,000 301,000 184,000 107,000 115,000
12 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 988,000 232,000 361,000 219,000 106,000 70,000
14 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) Ten 923,000 254,000 308,000 160,000 93,000 107,000
15 THE CELEBRITY SINGING BEE Nine 916,000 230,000 331,000 175,000 78,000 101,000
17 BONDI VET Ten 849,000 226,000 239,000 180,000 94,000 110,000 0
22 SCRUBS Seven 637,000 178,000 246,000 100,000 48,000 66,000
24 KITCHEN NIGHTMARES U.S.A. Nine 515,000 170,000 208,000 Not shown 66,000 72,000
35 REX IN ROME SBS 347,000 94,000 119,000 46,000 43,000 46,000
38 CARLA CAMETTI PD SBS 296,000 90,000 91,000 49,000 27,000 40,000

The ratings race, updated 11 am Thursday
Ten's strategy of starting House after the end of Spicks and Specks paid off last night. The grumpy investigator regained 400,000 viewers he'd lost last year. Combined with the success of So You Think You Can Dance Australia (hereinafter called SYTYCDA) , that gave Ten 25.2 per cent of the prime time audience, to Nine's 24.2 and Seven's 29.2. But The Biggest Loser continues to sink.

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,494,000 403,000 394,000 318,000 163,000 217,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,468,000 404,000 382,000 296,000 167,000 218,000
3 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Seven 1,314,000 375,000 388,000 269,000 122,000 160,000
4 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,251,000 372,000 361,000 264,000 95,000 159,000
5 HOUSE Ten 1,242,000 302,000 414,000 216,000 135,000 175,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,214,000 364,000 327,000 257,000 116,000 150,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,071,000 236,000 382,000 233,000 122,000 97,000
8 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,042,000 347,000 275,000 201,000 96,000 123,000
9 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - AUDITION 3 Ten 1,010,000 304,000 299,000 166,000 101,000 140,000
10 ABC NEWS ABC1 982,000 273,000 311,000 180,000 115,000 104,000
11 DOMESTIC BLITZ Nine 971,000 254,000 278,000 210,000 99,000 131,000
12 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 968,000 237,000 334,000 205,000 107,000 85,000
13 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 955,000 233,000 322,000 192,000 79,000 130,000
14 THE MENTALIST Nine 948,000 295,000 280,000 163,000 110,000 101,000
17 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) Ten 867,000 237,000 268,000 162,000 82,000 118,000
18 LIFE Ten 851,000 181,000 296,000 149,000 89,000 136,000
19 FLASHPOINT Nine 843,000 242,000 290,000 120,000 101,000 90,000
24 24 Seven 602,000 170,000 196,000 99,000 62,000 75,000
29 CHANDON PICTURES ABC1 462,000 162,000 108,000 70,000 49,000 72,000
33 LONG WAY DOWN SBS 374,000 106,000 110,000 78,000 37,000 42,000
37 FOOD SAFARI SBS 357,000 83,000 121,000 79,000 34,000 41,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

The ratings race, updated 10 am Wednesday
There were so many new and resuming shows last night, the viewers did not know where to turn. So they resorted to habit, and made the ratings chart a reproduction of the Tuesday chart from six months ago -- with one exception. Ten's new psychodrama Lie To Me, with Tim Roth channelling Hugh Laurie as a grumpy investigator, drew 1.5 million, which is strong for 9.30pm.

Clearly audiences are hungry for entertainment that's a little more thoughtful than Wipeout Australia. Go to Comments to tell us what you made of the lineup.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,873,000 588,000 586,000 306,000 159,000 233,000
2 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,653,000 437,000 528,000 308,000 155,000 225,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,556,000 402,000 419,000 335,000 178,000 223,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,502,000 364,000 408,000 321,000 175,000 234,000
5 LIE TO ME Ten 1,498,000 352,000 515,000 273,000 169,000 189,000
6 NCIS Ten 1,481,000 379,000 459,000 278,000 149,000 218,000
7 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,436,000 382,000 421,000 275,000 149,000 209,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,336,000 420,000 324,000 275,000 137,000 180,000
9 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,298,000 428,000 421,000 152,000 135,000 162,000
10 WIPEOUT AUSTRALIA Nine 1,173,000 332,000 364,000 224,000 121,000 132,000
11 BONDI RESCUE Ten 1,163,000 354,000 352,000 203,000 99,000 156,000
12 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,130,000 319,000 322,000 225,000 130,000 133,000
13 NINE NEWS Nine 1,128,000 289,000 374,000 224,000 136,000 105,000
14 TWO AND A HALF MEN -EP1 Nine 1,078,000 299,000 361,000 218,000 85,000 115,000
15 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,044,000 300,000 337,000 216,000 106,000 86,000
16 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) Ten 1,019,000 307,000 320,000 160,000 102,000 131,000
23 ELI STONE Seven 679,000 166,000 242,000 98,000 68,000 106,000
34 SUNRISE Seven 373,000 122,000 83,000 94,000 25,000 49,000
36 DOCTOR WHO RPT ABC1 369,000 136,000 74,000 71,000 42,000 47,000
38 DIRTY SEXY MONEY Seven 331,000 83,000 151,000 31,000 19,000 48,000
40 DOCTOR WHO: CONFIDENTIAL CUTDOWN RPT ABC1 303,000 100,000 76,000 54,000 31,000 41,000
41 TODAY Nine 302,000 90,000 111,000 61,000 17,000 23,000
44 BASTARD BOYS RPT ABC1 270,000 85,000 97,000 40,000 16,000 32,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Tuesday
The "official" ratings year doesn't start till Sunday, but all the stations have brought out their biggest guns this week, in an effort to establish viewing addictions. Ten's attempt to lock us into Nat Bass's dancers on Sunday was undermined by the men's tennis final, but Ten got its revenge on Monday by using The Devil Wears Prada to steal viewers from Seven's Desperate Housewives. Next week Nine launches Underbelly 2 against the Despos, which will split audiences precisely by gender.

See below for first results on Boston Legal, 30 Rock, Biggest Loser and other favourites. and use Comments if you want to ask about any other shows. Go to The culture for previous years' viewing records (and Australia's favourite movies, DVDs and music).

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Network 7 1,542,080 397,097 403,498 304,661 208,500 228,324
2 TODAY TONIGHT Network 7 1,434,812 374,368 364,009 279,320 177,171 239,944
3 THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA Network TEN 1,421,373 382,694 448,632 259,165 144,933 185,949
4 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Network 7 1,374,416 413,706 442,260 237,031 135,502 145,917
5 HOME AND AWAY Network 7 1,234,662 389,689 287,860 263,512 134,112 159,489
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN Network 9 1,212,373 341,145 336,063 302,600 93,292 139,273
7 NINE NEWS Network 9 1,172,468 286,910 376,390 286,173 129,051 93,944
8 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - AUDITION 2 Network TEN 1,154,282 314,912 372,141 202,737 112,426 152,066
9 ABC NEWS Network ABC1 1,135,284 312,379 369,064 214,865 130,109 108,868
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Network 9 1,093,182 279,056 359,951 237,638 119,601 96,937
11 BROTHERS & SISTERS Network 7 996,983 316,733 343,966 151,513 97,288 87,483
12 TOP GEAR Network SBS 974,320 269,482 313,125 191,164 114,570 85,979
15 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Network 7 947,268 260,864 301,375 169,199 88,375 127,455
17 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) Network TEN 922,964 244,101 274,080 177,618 91,472 135,693
24 TERMINATOR 3 -RPT Network 9 648,915 208,463 147,164 134,748 79,314 79,225
25 BOSTON LEGAL Network 7 589,076 181,973 231,275 63,252 61,060 51,515
35 SOUTH PARK Network SBS 361,158 77,232 119,925 72,479 49,390 42,131
40 2008 NFL SUPERBOWL Network TEN 306,399 66,956 118,213 48,919 34,778 37,533
44 30 ROCK Network 7 281,305 57,522 110,876 31,329 37,882 43,696
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - MEN'S FINAL Network 7 2,245,725 732,543 798,064 329,165 193,519 192,433
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Network 7 2,007,831 492,644 683,558 367,125 238,717 225,788
3 SUNDAY NIGHT: SNEAK PEEK Network 7 1,751,046 458,030 567,224 361,454 173,041 191,296
4 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - MEN'S FINAL INTRODUCTION Network 7 1,621,666 496,649 574,061 264,155 133,512 153,289
5 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - AUDITION 1 Network TEN 1,306,080 348,569 404,447 264,379 120,356 168,330
6 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Network 9 1,250,983 323,499 424,166 158,210 180,362 164,745
7 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - LAUNCH Network TEN 1,155,724 291,819 375,532 239,465 119,682 129,225
8 ONE DAY CRICKET - AUSTRALIA V NEW ZEALAND GAME 1 SESSION 1 Network 9 1,123,663 297,325 350,367 200,454 135,186 140,331
9 ONE DAY CRICKET - AUSTRALIA V NEW ZEALAND GAME 1 SESSION 2 Network 9 929,350 257,017 261,562 138,431 130,878 141,462
15 ELECTION Network TEN 585,785 167,013 167,879 101,472 56,328 93,093
29 OUT OF THE BLUE SUN Network TEN 263,061 71,183 94,100 42,932 27,388 27,459
32 COMPASS RPT Network ABC1 256,033 56,411 80,517 43,192 26,965 48,948

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 08:55 AM
• Comments (93)

The Who We Are update: to January 31

This week of the blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. For the latest discussion on Australia's popular culture, go here.

The ratings race, updated 10 am Sunday February 1
On Pay TV last week, the most watched shows were the final of America's Next Top Model (239,000); The Simpsons (211,000); Family Guy (207,000); American Idol Auditions (173,000) and Two and a Half Men (169,000). One of the great mysteries of Australian popular culture: Why would people waste viewing opportunities for which they have paid on a show which is readily available (some would say excessively available) on free-to-air TV?

What Australia watched, week ending January 31
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 9 NIGHT SESSION Seven 2,316,000 761,000 838,000 345,000 186,000 186,000
2 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 7 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,654,000 473,000 561,000 303,000 152,000 164,000
3 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,646,000 430,000 453,000 390,000 164,000 209,000
4 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,641,000 405,000 525,000 309,000 180,000 221,000
5 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 11 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,587,000 452,000 615,000 236,000 137,000 146,000
6 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,503,000 387,000 453,000 295,000 165,000 204,000
7 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,407,000 336,000 415,000 266,000 173,000 217,000
8 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 10 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,326,000 405,000 496,000 190,000 121,000 115,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,243,000 365,000 344,000 232,000 136,000 166,000
10 NINE NEWS Nine 1,240,000 332,000 423,000 241,000 150,000 94,000
11 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 12 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,223,000 361,000 414,000 212,000 123,000 113,000
12 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,221,000 319,000 458,000 219,000 149,000 75,000
13 ONE DAY CRICKET - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA GAME 4 SESSION 2 Nine 1,142,000 393,000 347,000 167,000 127,000 108,000
14 HOT PROPERTY Seven 1,131,000 266,000 290,000 284,000 128,000 164,000

15 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 13 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,109,000 321,000 445,000 159,000 99,000 86,000
16 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 8 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,105,000 337,000 380,000 178,000 110,000 100,000
17 ONE DAY CRICKET - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA - GAME 5 SESSION 2 Nine 1,104,000 326,000 323,000 207,000 117,000 130,000
18 DISORDERLY CONDUCT CAUGHT ON TAPE Seven 1,089,000 303,000 434,000 149,000 107,000 96,000
19 NCIS EP 2 RPT Ten 1,078,000 253,000 332,000 202,000 133,000 159,000
20 CSI: MIAMI -RPT Nine 1,075,000 288,000 331,000 216,000 111,000 128,000
21 ONE DAY CRICKET - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA GAME 4 SESSION 1 Nine 1,072,000 334,000 322,000 185,000 125,000 105,000
22 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,066,000 295,000 356,000 215,000 127,000 74,000
23 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,027,000 280,000 317,000 185,000 114,000 132,000
24 TENNIS: 2008 AUST OPEN - WOMEN'S FINAL PREVIEW Seven 1,026,000 236,000 309,000 227,000 136,000 118,000
25 10 TO ONE -RPT Nine 999,000 323,000 271,000 193,000 98,000 113,000

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,407,000 336,000 415,000 266,000 173,000 217,000
2 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,221,000 319,000 458,000 219,000 149,000 75,000
3 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 13 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,109,000 321,000 445,000 159,000 99,000 86,000
4 TENNIS: 2008 AUST OPEN - WOMEN'S FINAL PREVIEW Seven 1,026,000 236,000 309,000 227,000 136,000 118,000
5 THE ITALIAN JOB RPT Ten 993,000 293,000 307,000 201,000 84,000 108,000
6 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Ten 962,000 237,000 249,000 139,000 157,000 179,000
7 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC1 896,000 282,000 295,000 128,000 94,000 97,000
8 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW SUMMER SERIES -RPT Nine 867,000 229,000 268,000 189,000 96,000 85,000
9 MR. DEEDS RPT Ten 827,000 201,000 240,000 195,000 96,000 96,000
10 THE BILL ABC1 731,000 177,000 215,000 127,000 90,000 123,000
13 MCLEOD'S DAUGHTERS Nine 576,000 150,000 182,000 99,000 70,000 73,000
15 GARDENING AUSTRALIA ABC1 550,000 157,000 200,000 65,000 67,000 61,000
23 MYTHBUSTERS SBS 390,000 79,000 127,000 90,000 66,000 29,000
30 ROCKWIZ SBS 276,000 67,000 87,000 41,000 39,000 41,000

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,794,000 437,000 657,000 267,000 212,000 221,000
2 M-OPEN WATER Seven 1,545,000 466,000 578,000 213,000 147,000 140,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,473,000 350,000 477,000 296,000 173,000 176,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,299,000 369,000 396,000 283,000 145,000 107,000
5 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 12 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,223,000 361,000 414,000 212,000 123,000 113,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,147,000 294,000 346,000 217,000 140,000 150,000
7 ONE DAY CRICKET - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA - GAME 5 SESSION 2 Nine 1,104,000 326,000 323,000 207,000 117,000 130,000
8 DISORDERLY CONDUCT CAUGHT ON TAPE Seven 1,089,000 303,000 434,000 149,000 107,000 96,000
9 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 1,002,000 231,000 406,000 147,000 116,000 103,000
10 LAW & ORDER FRI Ten 883,000 209,000 303,000 155,000 106,000 109,000
18 M-QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER Seven 594,000 181,000 268,000 68,000 47,000 30,000
20 TRIAL AND RETRIBUTION: CLOSURE ABC1 555,000 138,000 115,000 94,000 90,000 117,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,608,000 342,000 570,000 311,000 156,000 228,000
2 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 11 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,587,000 452,000 615,000 236,000 137,000 146,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,432,000 307,000 463,000 291,000 153,000 218,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,284,000 365,000 350,000 242,000 134,000 193,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,239,000 311,000 463,000 232,000 154,000 79,000
6 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 1,093,000 232,000 430,000 175,000 136,000 120,000
7 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,080,000 290,000 359,000 189,000 111,000 131,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,068,000 266,000 406,000 197,000 117,000 82,000
9 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT RPT Ten 984,000 267,000 336,000 157,000 133,000 92,000
10 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 951,000 224,000 365,000 188,000 109,000 65,000
11 LAW AND ORDER: SVU RPT Ten 950,000 274,000 281,000 164,000 114,000 117,000
12 EMERGENCY Nine 912,000 230,000 293,000 196,000 90,000 103,000
13 COLD CASE -RPT Nine 870,000 255,000 227,000 168,000 95,000 124,000
14 THE WAITING ROOM Nine 861,000 242,000 253,000 168,000 78,000 120,000
31 SUNRISE Seven 406,000 129,000 87,000 91,000 40,000 58,000
32 IT'S ME OR THE DOG Ten 360,000 91,000 116,000 49,000 64,000 41,000
33 REX IN ROME SBS 343,000 105,000 102,000 47,000 34,000 54,000
34 TODAY Nine 317,000 100,000 96,000 61,000 23,000 36,000
40 CARLA CAMETTI PD SBS 267,000 97,000 65,000 36,000 23,000 46,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,575,000 406,000 481,000 296,000 181,000 210,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,543,000 440,000 409,000 294,000 189,000 213,000
3 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,370,000 451,000 355,000 239,000 142,000 184,000
4 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 10 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,326,000 405,000 496,000 190,000 121,000 115,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,179,000 275,000 408,000 235,000 165,000 95,000
6 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,087,000 287,000 335,000 179,000 127,000 159,000
7 CSI: MIAMI -RPT Nine 1,072,000 287,000 331,000 216,000 110,000 127,000
8 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 1,042,000 259,000 333,000 160,000 160,000 130,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,022,000 292,000 307,000 219,000 133,000 73,000
16 HOUSE RPT Ten 798,000 246,000 207,000 161,000 79,000 106,000
21 E.R. Nine 685,000 179,000 237,000 123,000 67,000 80,000
26 LONG WAY DOWN SBS 468,000 114,000 146,000 91,000 61,000 56,000
28 FOOD SAFARI SBS 456,000 131,000 141,000 99,000 36,000 49,000
46 CHANDON PICTURES-EV ABC1 258,000 105,000 54,000 38,000 26,000 36,000
80 9AM WITH DAVID & KIM Ten 139,000 34,000 57,000 19,000 19,000 11,000
98 TAKEN OUT Ten 122,000 22,000 42,000 31,000 22,000 5,000
99 MORNINGS WITH KERRI-ANNE SUMMER SERIES -RPT Nine 121,000 42,000 42,000 12,000 12,000 14,000

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 9 NIGHT SESSION Seven 2,316,000 761,000 838,000 345,000 186,000 186,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,720,000 455,000 477,000 337,000 191,000 260,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,588,000 426,000 458,000 285,000 164,000 255,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,429,000 440,000 393,000 253,000 152,000 191,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,187,000 327,000 389,000 240,000 153,000 79,000
6 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,140,000 288,000 356,000 206,000 134,000 156,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,109,000 328,000 353,000 229,000 132,000 66,000
8 NCIS EP 2 RPT Ten 1,072,000 251,000 330,000 201,000 132,000 158,000
9 NCIS RPT Ten 965,000 231,000 275,000 188,000 123,000 147,000
10 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 957,000 236,000 302,000 162,000 124,000 134,000
11 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 909,000 269,000 293,000 171,000 92,000 83,000
12 POLICE TEN 7 Nine 794,000 199,000 187,000 198,000 95,000 115,000
18 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 9 NIGHT SESSION - LATE Seven 635,000 172,000 261,000 79,000 53,000 70,000
21 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 9 Seven 568,000 158,000 229,000 74,000 59,000 49,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,506,000 387,000 442,000 330,000 161,000 186,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,483,000 412,000 456,000 310,000 144,000 160,000
3 NINE NEWS Nine 1,275,000 380,000 459,000 209,000 117,000 109,000
4 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 8 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,105,000 337,000 380,000 178,000 110,000 99,000
5 CRICKET: ONE DAY SERIES - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 1,064,000 344,000 319,000 174,000 123,000 104,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,019,000 365,000 344,000 184,000 126,000
7 HOME AND AWAY Seven 993,000 280,000 278,000 209,000 113,000 113,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC1 966,000 286,000 283,000 201,000 95,000 101,000
9 TOP GEAR SBS 931,000 216,000 311,000 218,000 113,000 72,000
10 SERENITY Ten 821,000 230,000 251,000 183,000 77,000 81,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 7 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,745,000 513,000 614,000 303,000 152,000 164,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,644,000 430,000 452,000 387,000 164,000 209,000
3 HOT PROPERTY Seven 1,338,000 356,000 403,000 288,000 128,000 164,000
4 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 7 NIGHT SESSION - LATE Seven 1,039,000 308,000 405,000 125,000 103,000 99,000
5 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 929,000 248,000 299,000 212,000 99,000 70,000
9 DOCTOR WHO: THE NEXT DOCTOR ABC1 738,000 212,000 183,000 149,000 87,000 108,000
10 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 7 Seven 735,000 207,000 243,000 145,000 62,000 78,000
13 M- NANNY MCPHEE RPT Ten 677,000 195,000 187,000 165,000 57,000 73,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Monday
Television's "official" ratings year starts on February 8, and we've reached that point in the silly season when sports freaks are the only happy viewers -- because cricket and tennis are just about the only things on. On Sunday, Channel Seven commanded 45 per cent of the prime time audience because of Jelena Dokic. She smashed all competition -- even the ABC's Dr Who Christmas special (which should teach the ABC a lesson about waiting four weeks).

Here's a summary of viewing last night and last week that includes a sampling of non-sporting experiences for the discerning minority.

15 FLASHPOINT Nine 585,000 135,000 184,000 130,000 74,000 62,000
26 M-THE TERMINATOR Seven 269,000 94,000 109,000 30,000 25,000 12,000

On Pay TV last week, the most watched programs were; 1. Cricket: Twenty/20 Big Bash final (Fox Sports 2) 262,000; 2 America's Next Top Model (Fox 8) 245,000; 3 The Simpsons (Fox 8) 186,000; 4 American Idol Auditions (Fox 8) 174,000; 5 Roots (Fox Classics) 161,000.

What Australia watched, week ending January 24
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 3 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,435,000 433,000 543,000 214,000 120,000 126,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,416,000 364,000 397,000 279,000 165,000 212,000
3 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,397,000 375,000 520,000 278,000 136,000 88,000
4 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,339,000 331,000 350,000 322,000 161,000 175,000
5 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,317,000 411,000 321,000 281,000 136,000 168,000
6 ONE DAY CRICKET - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA GAME 2 SESSION 2 Nine 1,301,000 338,000 442,000 232,000 146,000 144,000
7 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,266,000 339,000 361,000 226,000 149,000 191,000
8 20 TO 1 -RPT Nine 1,216,000 341,000 423,000 242,000 104,000 106,000
9 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 1 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,198,000 331,000 457,000 184,000 104,000 122,000
10 INSIDE QUEEN MARY 2 Seven 1,166,000 366,000 304,000 250,000 116,000 130,000
11 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,160,000 356,000 299,000 235,000 117,000 153,000
12 NCIS RPT Ten 1,158,000 326,000 368,000 209,000 120,000 135,000
13 NINE NEWS Nine 1,149,000 295,000 402,000 254,000 112,000 87,000
14 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 5 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,148,000 334,000 412,000 189,000 108,000 105,000
15 NCIS EP 2 RPT Ten 1,127,000 329,000 342,000 202,000 120,000 134,000
16 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,121,000 309,000 402,000 233,000 101,000 76,000
17 FLASHPOINT Nine 1,103,000 302,000 323,000 253,000 109,000 116,000
18 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 6 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,091,000 320,000 403,000 177,000 96,000 96,000
19 CRICKET: ONE DAY SERIES - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 1,079,000 337,000 308,000 223,000 122,000 90,000
20 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 4 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,068,000 294,000 392,000 184,000 95,000 103,000
21 HOT PROPERTY Seven 1,068,000 251,000 310,000 262,000 111,000 135,000
22 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,067,000 311,000 312,000 242,000 93,000 110,000
23 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 2 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,067,000 307,000 400,000 165,000 97,000 97,000
24 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,041,000 287,000 348,000 233,000 97,000 76,000
25 TOP GEAR SBS 1,024,000 236,000 383,000 192,000 105,000 107,000
26 ABC NEWS ABC1 984,000 275,000 310,000 164,000 101,000 134,000
27 THE BIG BANG THEORY Nine 974,000 279,000 287,000 221,000 82,000 105,000
28 EYE FOR AN ELEPHANT ABC1 960,000 293,000 250,000 193,000 103,000 123,000
29 THE MENTALIST -RPT Nine 953,000 281,000 299,000 176,000 98,000 99,000
30 THE RICH LIST - SUN Seven 951,000 231,000 310,000 184,000 94,000 132,000
31 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT RPT Ten 938,000 284,000 261,000 213,000 92,000 88,000
32 SUDDEN IMPACT Nine 924,000 241,000 270,000 183,000 80,000 149,000
33 JACK OF ALL TRADES Nine 915,000 229,000 304,000 161,000 112,000 110,000
34 LAW AND ORDER: SVU RPT Ten 914,000 277,000 231,000 227,000 85,000 94,000
35 POLICE TEN 7 Nine 905,000 212,000 274,000 209,000 70,000 140,000
36 CSI: MIAMI -RPT Nine 903,000 216,000 253,000 197,000 103,000 133,000
37 OUTBACK WILDLIFE RESCUE Seven 901,000 302,000 312,000 129,000 158,000
38 DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS THURS Ten 890,000 223,000 259,000 233,000 88,000 86,000
43 COLD CASE -RPT Nine 800,000 230,000 255,000 125,000 99,000 92,000
46 THE WAITING ROOM Nine 781,000 205,000 219,000 170,000 74,000 113,000
50 M-NINE MONTHS Seven 756,000 212,000 256,000 114,000 83,000 90,000
51 THE SIMPSONS WED Ten 750,000 213,000 251,000 125,000 71,000 91,000
52 7.30 REPORT SUMMER EDITION ABC1 750,000 218,000 208,000 135,000 80,000 109,000
57 NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE Nine 715,000 179,000 191,000 177,000 65,000 103,000
61 NEIGHBOURS Ten 681,000 216,000 202,000 126,000 61,000 76,000
62 MY FAMILY ABC1 679,000 143,000 177,000 132,000 86,000 141,000
63 TEMPTATION Nine 678,000 165,000 222,000 163,000 64,000 64,000
64 FRIENDS - DAILY Ten 664,000 172,000 204,000 131,000 63,000 93,000
69 LAW & ORDER FRI EP 2 Ten 643,000 191,000 185,000 113,000 77,000 78,000
71 THE BILL ABC1 641,000 163,000 189,000 111,000 76,000 102,000
72 FRIENDS - DAILY RPT Ten 622,000 186,000 159,000 130,000 64,000 83,000
77 TRIAL AND RETRIBUTION: CLOSURE ABC1 593,000 148,000 144,000 94,000 88,000 119,000
79 E.R. Nine 593,000 126,000 205,000 133,000 62,000 67,000
80 PAYCHECK -RPT Nine 586,000 208,000 216,000 95,000 67,000
81 LAW & ORDER FRI Ten 571,000 163,000 169,000 105,000 63,000 71,000
82 ABOUT A BOY RPT Ten 562,000 163,000 171,000 90,000 57,000 81,000
87 ABSOLUTE POWER -RPT Nine 537,000 171,000 152,000 117,000 38,000 60,000
93 THE TRIAL OF TONY BLAIR ABC1 518,000 156,000 168,000 72,000 51,000 70,000
99 E.R. -EP2 Nine 484,000 109,000 158,000 91,000 60,000 66,000
103 FOOD SAFARI SBS 455,000 130,000 136,000 105,000 30,000 55,000
105 MADE IN CHICAGO: THE MAKING OF BARACK OBAMA ABC1 434,000 120,000 145,000 59,000 38,000 72,000
107 THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Ten 428,000 118,000 117,000 89,000 40,000 64,000
111 LONG WAY DOWN SBS 422,000 108,000 118,000 92,000 39,000 66,000
112 MCLEOD'S DAUGHTERS Nine 410,000 122,000 129,000 65,000 55,000 38,000
123 SOUTH PARK SBS 374,000 90,000 129,000 70,000 38,000 47,000
125 SUNRISE Seven 363,000 113,000 66,000 98,000 34,000 52,000
126 MYTHBUSTERS SBS 362,000 96,000 98,000 60,000 58,000 50,000
130 CARLA CAMETTI PD SBS 335,000 118,000 99,000 45,000 29,000 44,000
133 NIGELLA EXPRESS ABC1 329,000 73,000 87,000 81,000 30,000 58,000
134 PARTY ANIMALS ABC1 328,000 102,000 78,000 42,000 41,000 65,000
135 CHANDON PICTURES ABC1 326,000 83,000 98,000 60,000 33,000 52,000
142 REX IN ROME SBS 309,000 70,000 118,000 54,000 42,000 27,000
146 TODAY Nine 296,000 90,000 90,000 69,000 20,000 27,000
148 MONSTER HOUSE Nine 289,000 117,000 80,000 30,000 21,000 40,000
152 THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART Ten 278,000 88,000 86,000 23,000 32,000 50,000
165 SPEER AND HITLER RPT SBS 245,000 71,000 80,000 38,000 33,000 24,000
181 THE INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT OBAMA: HIGHLIGHTS-PM ABC1 209,000 63,000 61,000 40,000 19,000 25,000
184 ROCKWIZ SBS 208,000 60,000 61,000 33,000 31,000 23,000
195 THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW Nine 192,000 48,000 75,000 41,000 12,000 16,000
196 THE OFFICE Ten 192,000 62,000 66,000 19,000 15,000 30,000
198 MAN STROKE WOMAN RPT ABC1 186,000 61,000 53,000 32,000 17,000 23,000
200 THE ETERNITY MAN ABC1 185,000 66,000 61,000 21,000 17,000 20,000
(Extrapolated from OzTAM's sample of 3,000 households, mainland capitals)

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 08:05 AM
• Comments (60)

The Tribal Mind: Do you get Australia?

To discuss why the dingo and the octopus should be on our coat of arms, go to Who We Are.

by David Dale
You can judge a nation by the things that amuse it. Thus, to hurry your heart and pump your pride, here's a test of how well you understand your compatriots on their national day.

These questions are derived from entertainments embraced by more than 2 million Australians during the past 10 years. For big hints, and more details on Australia's favourite films, albums, TV programs and DVDs, go to The culture.

If you don't get at least 8 correct, you're unAustralian, and should start packing your bags. But of course, it won't come to that.

1 Name the three children of Julie and Dave Rafter. In what street do they live? (From the most popular Australian TV series of the past five years).

2 Complete the quote: "He endured blistering winds and scorching deserts, he climbed the highest bloody room of the tallest bloody tower, and what does he find? Some ..." (from the highest grossing movie this decade).

3 Who defeated whom in the men's final of the 2005 Australian Open (the most watched TV program this decade)?

4 Complete the verse: "I've learned to love/ Be understanding/ And believe in life/ But you've got to make choices/ Be wrong or right/ Sometimes you've got to ..." (from the best selling music album this decade)

5 The best selling DVD of all time in Australia features characters called Marlin, Gill, Bloat, Peach and Nigel. Name it. And who played Nigel?

6 Complete the quote: "The man who can wield the power of this sword can summon to him an ..." (from the second highest grossing movie of the past ten years).

7 Name the winner and the runner up in the most watched non-sporting television event of the past ten years (hint: 2004).

8 "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We are tonight's entertainment! I only have one question ..." Who, played by whom, said this? And what was the question?

9 Name, in order, the 3 most popular Harry Potter movies, as measured by DVD sales.

10 From the top selling album of the past 5 years, "I'm not ... what? .. just floating"; "I'm not ... what? .. just changing"; "I was never looking for ... what? ... from anyone but you". Who sang this?

11 Name the gay renovators in The Block (the most watched series of 2003) and the couple who won that year.

12 Name the daughter of Brett Craig and Kim Day, and the father of Kim.

13 Since 1999, 13 Australians (or people trained in Australia) have won Oscars. Name them and the relevant movies.

14 Who held up a sign saying "Free Th Refugees"? And who attempted to engage in an activity called turkey slapping? In what series?

15 The most successful locally made film of this decade includes products with the brand names Poor Fella, Kangaroo and Boomerang. What were they?

16 Identify the images on this page, which would be familiar to more than 2 million Australians.

Not that you need them, but just for reassurance, you'll find the answers by scrolling down below.

Here are the answers ...
1 Nathan, Rachel, Ben in Packed to the Rafters. Riverview Street, Concord.
2 "... gender-confused wolf telling him that his princess is already married!" (the Fairy Godmother in Shrek 2).
3 Marat Safin beat Lleyton Hewitt.
4 "... sacrifice the things you like." Born To Try, by Delta Goodrem.
5 Finding Nemo. Geoffrey Rush.
6 "... army more deadly than any that walks this earth. Put aside the ranger. Become who you were born to be." Elrond to Aragorn in Return of the King.
7 Casey Donovan and Anthony Callea in Australian Idol.
8 The Joker (Heath Ledger) in The Dark Knight. "Where is Harvey Dent?"
9 Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Chamber of Secrets.
10 dead ... scared ... approval. Pink.
11 Warren and Gavin. Fiona and Adam.
12 Epponnee Rae. Gary Poole (in Kath and Kim)
13 David Lee and Steve Courtley (The Matrix); Russell Crowe (Gladiator); Catherine Martin and Angus Strathie (Moulin Rouge); Andrew Lesnie (Lord of the Rings); Nicole Kidman (The Hours); Adam Elliott (Harvey Krumpet); Russell Boyd (Master and Commander); Cate Blanchett (The Aviator); Dion Beebe (Memoir of a Geisha); George Miller (Happy Feet); Eva Orner (Taxi to the Dark Side).
14 Merlin. John and Ashley on Camilla. In Big Brother.
15 Poor Fella rum, Kangaroo Bitter beer, Boomerang harmonica (in Australia).
16 The final appearance of Sally Fletcher in Home and Away; Hector Barbossa and Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean; Zac Ephron of High School Musical meets The Veronicas; Russell Coight in All Aussie Adventures.

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 04:59 PM
• Comments (49)

The Tribal Mind: What are you looking forward to in 2009?

To discuss why the dingo should be on our coat of arms, go to Who We Are.

by David Dale
It's going to be a wonderful year. Oh, we may lose our jobs and our homes, but to balance the misery there'll be unprecedented opportunities for escapism - on half price Tuesdays at the multiplex, in the little Lebanese tapas trattoria round the corner and via the big screen TV we bought before the bubble burst. Here's an alphabetical analysis of the entertainments I'm looking forward to this year:

Avatar. James Cameron, creator of Terminator and Titanic, returns with a sci-fi epic in which Australia's Sam Worthington plays a human whose mind occupies the body of a genetically engineered alien.

Bruno. Moving on from Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen finds there are still Americans dumb enough to believe he's an Austrian fashion writer. Sample dialogue: interviewing a conservative clergyman, Bruno asks "So hypothetically I can admire a man's penis in the shower, but the moment I put it in my mouth, some sort of line has been crossed?"

Che. Steven Soderbergh, director of Ocean's 11 and Erin Brockovich, gets serious in a two-part biopic about the socialist saint, starring Benicio del Toro.

Desperate Housewives. The new season has blacker humour, as we see how the women have changed five years after last year's season. Gabby is fat!

Eating honestly instead of pretentiously. Restaurants which have been importing foie gras, gold leaf and truffles to decorate main courses that cost $60 will disappear, along with the expense account exhibitionists who sustained them. Peasant will replace pheasant.

Flaming Sword of Fire. The new British sitcom parodies Dungeons and Dragons games. Its hero, Krod Mandoon, is a sensitive freedom fighter who battles the wicked Chancellor Dongalor (Matt Lucas of Little Britain)

Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes. Recovering from a series of flops that included his marriage to Madonna, the director of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels recruited Robert Downey Jnr to play the cocaine-addicted detective and Jude Law for Dr Watson. How can he go wrong?

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. The trailers make it look dark, thrilling and not for kids.

Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. This was an unfinished project for Heath Ledger, and director Terry Gilliam (ex Monty Python animator) replaced him with Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell.

Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. The creator of Buffy and Firefly is back with a spy series starring underappreciated hottie Eliza Dushku.

Killing Nazis and scalping them. That's the theme of Quentin Tarantino's latest comeback attempt, which he insists on spelling Inglourious Basterds. Brad Pitt leads a team of Jewish soldiers trying to spread fear through the German populace.

Lost. Yes, it did get complicated, and we did suspect the writers were throwing in random mysteries, but enough has been explained to give season five a second chance.

Monsters v Aliens, the next amazing animation from Dreamworks. It may manage to surpass the spectacle of Pixar's Wall-E (out this week on DVD).

Neurotic geniuses, preferably British, are the problem-solvers of prime time TV. After House, Monk, Bones, Criminal Minds and The Mentalist, Tim Roth is an English eccentric who can read body language in Channel Ten's Lie To Me.

Our sexiest export is what we'll be calling Melissa George, as she moves from playing a sex addicted patient in In Treatment to playing a sex addicted doctor in Grey's Anatomy, just before it jumps the shark.

Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones is on a smaller scale than King Kong and Lord of the Rings, but has a typical twist: a girl watches from heaven as her family tries to find her murdered corpse.

Queer as Folk, the pioneering series about gay men, was created by Russell T Davies, who then became head writer for Doctor Who. That's why some viewers imagined a homoerotic subtext in the male bonding and female fearing of The Next Doctor, the Christmas special on the ABC this Sunday. They will continue to seek it in the other specials Davies writes this year before he leaves the show, along with David Tennant.

Revolutionary Road and The Reader both won Golden Globes for Kate Winslet, who plays a yummy mummy stultified by suburbia in the first and a former concentration camp guard who has an affair with a 15 year old boy in the second.

Sandra Bullock soared as a comic talent in Speed, peaked in Miss Congeniality, then slumped into sentimentality. In The Proposal, she plays a calculating bitch, and a star is reborn.

Tina Fey is legendary for impersonating Sarah Palin but that won't convince Channel Seven to give a better timeslot to Fey's satirical sitcom 30 Rock, forcing viewers to resort to paragraph W, below.

Underbelly Two will convince the nation that Sydney's criminals are as interesting as Melbourne's.

Vampires are cool again, thanks to Twilight, and they'll extend their fangs in True Blood, a series for which Anna Paquin won a Golden Globe.

Watching TV programs on your computer will be the theme of next week's column.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine lets Hugh Jackman show his dark side (a relief after Australia) and introduces new shapeshifters Gambit, Sabretrooth, Deadpool, the Beak and The Blob.

Year of the Terminator. Channel Nine will pass The Sarah Connor Chronicles to Fox 8, which will give them due respect, and Christian (Batman) Bale will play John Connor in the fourth movie, Terminator: Salvation.

Zachary Quinto was the brain-sucking Sylar in Heroes, but will redeem himself as young Spock in the sexy reimagining of Star Trek by Lost creator J. J. Abrams.

Live long and prosper. Go to Comments to discuss what you are looking forward to this year.

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 04:58 PM
• Comments (14)

WHO WE ARE: Going to the dog

For a preview of the movies and TV shows worth escaping to in 2009, go to The Tribal Mind.

A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 18/1/2009
In the imagination of the world, what is the most powerful idea about Australia? I'm not talking about scenery, or fauna, or personalities. We can assume the world knows about kangaroos and Uluru and Nicole Kidman and the shrimps on Paul Hogan's barbie. But the world's response to that sort of stuff is never more than slight amusement.

I'm talking about one notion that intrigues them, excites them, stimulates their sense of wonder, makes Australia seem like a place of thrilling menace. On the principle that two sightings could be a coincidence, three sightings signifies a trend, and four sightings is a phenomenon, what do we make of these five observations:

1. In the recent film Tropic Thunder, Robert Downey Jr plays Kirk Lazarus, an Australian actor who has been cast as a black American in a war movie. The only genuinely black actor in the cast, Alpa Chino, refers to him contemptuously as "Crocodile Dundee" ...

"Lazarus: Pump your brakes, kid. That man is a national treasure.
Chino: I just wanted to throw another shrimp on your barbie.
Lazarus: That s--- ain't funny.
Chino: I'm just f---ing with you, Kangaroo Jack! I'm sorry a dingo ate your baby.
Lazarus: You know that's a true story? Lady lost her kid."

2. In an episode of the cult TV cartoon series Family Guy, the talking dog Brian and the preternaturally articulate infant Stewie host a radio show called "Dingo and the Baby".

3. In the cult vampire series Buffy, a character called Daniel Osbourne, nicknamed Oz, leads a band called Dingoes Ate My Baby.

4. In the cult New York sitcom, Seinfield, the character Elaine suggests to a woman who can't find her fiancee at a party: "Maybe the dingo ate your baby".

5. In his latest book When You Are Engulfed in Flames, the American columnist David Sedaris describes a 2007 visit to Australia to attend a conference (probably the Sydney Writers Festival). He says he had four hours of spare time on a Saturday morning and decided to visit Taronga Zoo to see a dingo.

"I never saw that Meryl Streep movie, and as a result the creature was a complete mystery to me. Were someone to say 'I left my window open and a dingo flew in', I would have believed it and if he said 'Dingoes! Our pond is completely overrun with them', I would have believed that as well. Two legged, four legged, finned or feathered: I simply had no idea, which was exciting, actually, a rarity in the age of 24 hours nature channels."

Finally Sedaris and his friend reach the dingo pen, where Sedaris covers his face to prolong the suspense: "I saw some trees - and a tail - and then I couldn't stand it any more and dropped my hands. 'Why, they look just like dogs,' I said. 'Are you sure we're in the right place?'"

All this suggests Australia is not making enough of a national asset. To discuss if we should start a campaign to have the dingo included on the coat of arms, go to Comments

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 08:04 PM
• Comments (43)

WHO WE ARE: Gassy gamblers and boozy bodgies

A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald 11/1/2009
"MY MUM used to talk about bodgies and widgies -- what are they?" This was a question sent in recently to the ABC TV series Can We Help. The show's producers phoned the author of this column in search of an answer, making me wonder if they were making an assumption about my age (since bodgies and widgies vanished from our land about the time we started buying Beatles records).

But the producers added some other questions which made me wonder if they considered me some sort of expert (and if so, on what?). The other questions went like this:
1. "How do we compare to other countries with our greenhouse gas emissions?"
2. "Where did AFL draw its origins from?"
3. "Compared to other nations, are Australians big gamblers?" and
4. "Do you think there is an upcoming change in the beerdrinking culture of Australians?"

Readers were kind enough to advise me on other questions in last week's column, so I'm looking forward to your input on these intended answers:

1. Greenhouse? We are shockers. Because we use coal for 80 per cent of our electricity, Australia produces about 1.5 per cent of the world's greenhouse gases. Per capita, we are the fourth highest emitter of nasty fumes in the developed world (behind Turkey, Spain, and Portugal).

2. AFL? It started in Melbourne in the 1850s as a way of keeping cricketers fit during the winter, and was an adaptation of English rugby. Until the 1870s, the rules kept changing and the first "official" game, between Scotch College and Melbourne Church of England Grammar School, had 40 players on each side and lasted three days.

3. Gambling? On average, every Australian loses $1,000 a year on poker machines, horse racing, lotteries, casinos and other bits of risky business. Finding comparable figures for other Western countries in difficult, but in 2004 it was estimated that American gamblers lose $US 73 billion a year, Britons lose $US 75 bn a year, and Australians lose $US 12 bn a year. Considering the relative populations, that makes us the biggest losers.

4. Beer? Consumption is declining while wine consumption is growing, but each Australian over the age of 15 still drinks 106 litres of beer a year (or about 8 glasses a week) compared with 29 litres of wine a year (5 glasses a week). Coffee consumption is growing fastest, and has reached 5 cups a week (compared with one cup of tea).

5. Bodgies and widgies? If you want to know what they looked like, visualise John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in the final scene of Grease - only less glamorous.

The word "bodgie" originally meant "fake" or "dubious", and referred to the material in suits worn by young men trying to look like gangsters in the late 1940s. The term came to cover any boy following the latest US look, which by the late 1950s involved a leather jacket and hair Brylcreemed to resemble Elvis Presley (later, Bob Hawke's shiny bouffant earned him the nickname "The Silver Bodgie"). The widgie girlfriend wore Capri pants and tight sweaters and danced to the music of Bill Haley on the jukebox. But the bodgie and widgie style vanished around 1964. The boys threw away the grease and grew their hair long and the girls replaced the capri pants with mini skirts.

Am I somewhere near the truth in any of this? If you'd like to amplify or correct these impressions, 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 04:34 PM
• Comments (6)

The Tribal Mind: United in seasonal sensations

by David Dale
What, if any, were the experiences Australians shared over the Christmas break? Apart from ham and plum pudding, were there any pleasures that brought the nation together, or has our society fragmented into 21 million islands of purely personal entertainment?

This column is now in a position to answer those questions, because the data-gathering agencies which continued their labours between December 19 and January 2 have just delivered their discoveries. Here are a few clues on what might unite us ...

The TV we watched. Although it's officially a "non-ratings period", the people meters attached to TV sets in 3000 urban homes allowed OzTAM's computer to estimate that 1.8 million saw Carols By Candlelight, while the test matches between Australia and South Africa occasionally managed 1.4 million, and most nights 1.2 million have been watching Seven's news. Other hot properties were Shrek The Halls (9) 1.2m; A Very Specky Christmas (ABC) 1.2m; Outback Wildlife Rescue (7) 1.1m; repeats of Bones (7) and NCIS (10) 1.1 million; Top Gear (SBS) 880,000 and the Queen's Christmas message (ABC) 510,000.

In the absence of anything adventurous on the free networks, Pay TV flourished, and its top performers were America's Next Top Model (Fox 8) 190,000; Futurama (Fox 8) 180,000; The Vicar of Dibley (UK TV) 141,000; and the Bond flick For Your Eyes Only (Fox Classics) 138,000.

The movies we queued for. The cinemas sent their box office totals to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia, which reveals that over the past fortnight more than a million Australians saw Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa; while 500,000 saw Twilight and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; 400,000 saw Australia, The Day The Earth Stood Still and Bedtime Stories, and 250,000 saw Quantum of Solace (probably for the second time, having rented Casino Royale in the meantime to find out what the chase at the beginning is all about).

And the readers who entered this column's contest to predict the success of Australia might like to know that as it nears the end of its run, it has so far made $27 million here and $US47 million over there. To discover the most successful films of 2008 and of all time, go here.

The music we played. The Australian Record Industry Association reports that the $20 notes in the Christmas card from grandma mostly went on the albums Funhouse by Pink, Only By The Night by the Kings of Leon, Unessential Listening by Hamish and Andy, the soundtrack of High School Musical 3, and Circus by Britney Spears.

So in the past two weeks, if you heard no Pink and saw no carols, cricket or cartoon animals, you are a splendid individualist -- and deeply unAustralian.

Footnote: Last week this column asked readers to name the decade, and the 40 responders suggested such notions as the Facebook Decade, The Decayed, the D'Ohcade, the 3D (Dumbed Down Decade), the Meltdown Decade, the Viral Decade and Decade of Squandered Opportunity. But the consensus stayed with The iDecade, where the initial letter stands for iPhone, iPod, internet, Islam, Iraq, imbeciles (who kill people for religious reasons or start wars for political reasons), ignorant, inept, indulgent, and ego (since this is above all a decade of vanity).

So we've settled on the theme. Spread the iWord.

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 03:53 PM

WHO WE ARE: What Australians do best

To learn how Australians amused themselves during the New Year break, go to The Tribal Mind.

A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 4/1/2009
The producers of the ABC TV series Can We Help are under the impression the author of this column knows something about Australia. I got a flattering phone call the other day asking if I would be willing to go on and attempt to answer questions sent in by viewers. I pointed out that more wisdom resides in the column's readers than in its author, and asked if they'd give me advance warning. They emailed the following list, which I present for your analysis of my intended answers:

1. What are Australians the best in the world at or what do we think we are the best at?

Well, we're certainly not the best at cricket, though we used to be. Australians fluctuate between the cultural cringe, whereby we assume the Americans and the British do everything better than we do, and the cultural strut, whereby we think we have nothing to learn from any other nation because we produce the world's top models, singers, chefs, sports men and women, directors, winemakers, medical researchers and media magnates.

In fact, the one thing at which we are unchallengeably the best is imitating the accents of other countries, which has enabled an astonishing number of our actors to keep getting work in world movies and television -- Frances O'Connor, Anna Torv, Abbie Cornish, Jesse Spencer, Melissa George, Rose Byrne, Simon Baker, Rachel Griffiths, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto, Russell Crowe, Naomi Watts, Anthony LaPaglia, Poppy Montgomery, Teresa Palmer, Hugh Jackman, Rachael Taylor and so on.

And that's not even mentioning Nicole Kidman (because apparently she annoys people). It would be nice to be able to claim Sam Neill and the Conchords, but we'd better leave the Kiwis something.

Americans, by contrast, cannot do Australian accents.

2. We all know what a Bogan is, but where on earth did it come from?

As used these days, the word is roughly synonymous with the US term "trailer trash" and may have originally referred to people who came from west of the Bogan River in central NSW, who were assumed to be crude.

But it could have an earlier derivation, from an old Scottish word for people who live around a bog or swamp. It seems to have been first popularised by Kylie Mole in The Comedy Company in the late 1980s.

3. When did Australia adopt green and gold as its national colours?

The Australian cricket team that toured England in 1899 first wore gumtree green and wattle yellow, and the first time some of our competitors wore green and gold at the Olympics was in 1908. But they weren't officially declared our colours until Bob Hawke in 1984.

4. Who is our greatest music industry person and by what criterion?

If you go by album sales, you'd have to say John Farnham, whose Whispering Jack sold 1.7 million copies and whose Age of Reason sold 800,000.

Close behind in album sales would be Savage Garden, Delta Goodrem and Jimmy Barnes. But Dame Nellie Melba is the only Australian music industry person to be immortalised in a desert and a breakfast (at the Savoy Hotel in London in the 1890s, chef Georges August Escoffier created Peach Melba and Melba Toast).

I'll continue next week with answers about bodgies and widgies, gambling, greenhouse gas emissions, and the origin of AFL. If you'd care to add your wisdom, 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 04:31 PM
• Comments (27)

The Who We Are Update: To January 24

The dogs have barked and the caravan has moved on. This fortnight of David Dale's television ratings blog is no longer current. For the latest audience data, go here.
For the movies and TV shows worth looking forward to this year, go to The Tribal Mind.
To discuss why the dingo and the octopus should be on our coat of arms, go to Who We Are.

What Australia watched, Saturday.
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,317,000 411,000 321,000 281,000 136,000 168,000
2 INSIDE QUEEN MARY 2 Seven 1,166,000 366,000 304,000 250,000 116,000 130,000
3 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,121,000 309,000 402,000 233,000 101,000 76,000
4 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 6 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,091,000 320,000 403,000 177,000 96,000 96,000
5 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC1 757,000 219,000 239,000 123,000 68,000 108,000
6 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Ten 717,000 229,000 160,000 145,000 89,000 94,000
7 THE JACKAL RPT Ten 716,000 206,000 243,000 135,000 68,000 64,000
8 BILLY MADISON RPT Ten 706,000 219,000 192,000 151,000 82,000 62,000
9 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW SUMMER SERIES -RPT Nine 663,000 209,000 200,000 165,000 89,000
10 The BILL ABC1 641,000 163,000 189,000 111,000 76,000 102,000
11 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 6 Seven 602,000 185,000 204,000 99,000 58,000 56,000
13 SUPERMAN III -RPT Nine 551,000 191,000 122,000 123,000 60,000 54,000

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 NINE NEWS Nine 1,324,000 342,000 496,000 274,000 124,000 88,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,259,000 325,000 373,000 239,000 144,000 178,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,248,000 318,000 314,000 263,000 168,000 184,000
4 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 5 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,148,000 334,000 412,000 189,000 108,000 105,000
5 CRICKET: ONE DAY SERIES - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 1,079,000 337,000 308,000 223,000 122,000 90,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,077,000 312,000 254,000 247,000 117,000 147,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 841,000 330,000 340,000 Not shown 95,000 75,000
8 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 5 NIGHT SESSION - LATE Seven 798,000 228,000 337,000 92,000 79,000 62,000
9 ABC NEWS ABC1 778,000 210,000 267,000 127,000 86,000 87,000
16 TRIAL AND RETRIBUTION: CLOSURE ABC1 593,000 148,000 144,000 94,000 88,000 119,000
19 ABSOLUTE POWER -RPT Nine 537,000 171,000 152,000 117,000 38,000 60,000
20 KYLIE KWONG: MY CHINA ABC1 484,000 132,000 118,000 104,000 54,000 76,000
56 TEMPTATION Nine 179,000 22,000 30,000 126,000 Not shown 1,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,419,000 338,000 429,000 290,000 151,000 211,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,240,000 342,000 348,000 235,000 134,000 182,000
3 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,123,000 350,000 259,000 265,000 107,000 142,000
4 TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 4 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,068,000 294,000 392,000 184,000 95,000 103,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,033,000 245,000 339,000 260,000 117,000 73,000
6 ABC NEWS ABC1 976,000 282,000 305,000 156,000 94,000 139,000
7 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT RPT Ten 938,000 284,000 261,000 213,000 92,000 88,000
8 LAW AND ORDER: SVU RPT Ten 914,000 277,000 231,000 227,000 85,000 94,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 912,000 210,000 305,000 236,000 105,000 56,000
10 DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS THURS Ten 890,000 223,000 259,000 233,000 88,000 86,000
21 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 4 Seven 534,000 156,000 223,000 71,000 39,000 44,000
29 THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Ten 410,000 102,000 115,000 99,000 35,000 58,000
33 CARLA CAMETTI PD SBS 334,000 117,000 98,000 45,000 29,000 44,000
36 REX IN ROME SBS 310,000 69,000 118,000 54,000 42,000 27,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,449,000 416,000 384,000 271,000 162,000 216,000
2 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 3 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,435,000 433,000 543,000 214,000 120,000 126,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,281,000 370,000 349,000 215,000 154,000 192,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,203,000 314,000 438,000 275,000 87,000 89,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,170,000 360,000 318,000 217,000 113,000 161,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,134,000 315,000 392,000 252,000 95,000 80,000
7 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,073,000 290,000 332,000 194,000 109,000 148,000
8 CSI: MIAMI -RPT Nine 903,000 216,000 253,000 197,000 103,000 134,000
9 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 896,000 298,000 242,000 134,000 98,000 123,000
10 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 3 NIGHT SESSION - LATE Seven 827,000 250,000 349,000 94,000 68,000 66,000
11 7.30 REPORT SUMMER EDITION ABC1 815,000 218,000 236,000 135,000 91,000 135,000
12 10 TO 1 Nine 796,000 263,000 245,000 197,000 91,000
23 E.R. Nine 546,000 118,000 185,000 114,000 62,000 67,000
THE INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT OBAMA: HIGHLIGHTS-PM ABC1 209,000 63,000 61,000 40,000 19,000 25,000
NINE NEWS SPECIAL Nine 141,000 38,000 60,000 18,000 14,000 11,000
SEVEN MORNING NEWS Seven 132,000 75,000 57,000
SEVEN NEWS SPECIAL Seven 111,000 31,000 38,000 17,000 12,000 12,000
OBAMA INAUGURAL CELEBRATION SBS 91,000 13,000 32,000 17,000 13,000 16,000
ABC NEWS SPECIAL: THE INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT OBAMA ABC1 76,000 29,000 24,000 14,000 3,000 7,000
TEN EARLY NEWS Ten 50,000 11,000 12,000 17,000 5,000 4,000
PRESIDENT OBAMA INAUGURATION SBS 50,000 19,000 14,000 3,000 5,000 8,000
MADE IN CHICAGO: THE MAKING OF BARACK OBAMA RPT ABC1 43,000 9,000 17,000 11,000 3,000 1,000
TEN NEWS PRESENTATION: INAUGURATION OF BARACK OBAMA Ten 39,000 12,000 11,000 10,000 3,000 3,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,519,000 384,000 452,000 279,000 162,000 241,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,290,000 354,000 380,000 205,000 152,000 198,000
3 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,170,000 388,000 310,000 203,000 116,000 152,000
4 NCIS RPT Ten 1,158,000 326,000 368,000 209,000 120,000 135,000
5 NCIS EP 2 RPT Ten 1,122,000 328,000 340,000 201,000 119,000 134,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,081,000 298,000 376,000 210,000 112,000 85,000
7 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 2 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,067,000 307,000 400,000 165,000 97,000 97,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,027,000 312,000 291,000 160,000 104,000 159,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,000,000 303,000 321,000 200,000 88,000 88,000
10 SUDDEN IMPACT Nine 919,000 239,000 268,000 182,000 80,000 149,000
11 POLICE TEN 7 Nine 917,000 216,000 283,000 212,000 70,000 136,000
14 TEMPTATION Nine 824,000 215,000 280,000 165,000 73,000 90,000
19 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2009 AUST OPEN - DAY 2 Seven 645,000 170,000 292,000 77,000 57,000 48,000
25 THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Ten 444,000 141,000 110,000 83,000 54,000 56,000
28 BLOOD AND GUTS: A HISTORY OF SURGERY SBS 357,000 95,000 105,000 56,000 56,000 44,000
32 THE ZOO Nine 338,000 69,000 108,000 60,000 54,000 47,000
34 PARTY ANIMALS ABC1 323,000 101,000 77,000 41,000 41,000 64,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,443,000 361,000 408,000 291,000 179,000 205,000
2 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,263,000 373,000 353,000 242,000 134,000 160,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,263,000 305,000 353,000 236,000 161,000 208,000
4 SEVEN'S TENNIS: AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2009 - DAY 1 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,164,000 331,000 457,000 184,000 104,000 88,000
5 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,094,000 284,000 383,000 248,000 100,000 80,000
6 FLASHPOINT Nine 1,092,000 310,000 320,000 234,000 106,000 121,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,091,000 274,000 359,000 245,000 114,000 98,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,068,000 283,000 353,000 182,000 113,000 137,000
9 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,027,000 286,000 300,000 254,000 89,000 97,000
10 TOP GEAR SBS 1,024,000 236,000 383,000 192,000 105,000 107,000
11 THE BIG BANG THEORY Nine 1,019,000 306,000 297,000 235,000 84,000 97,000
22 THE SIMPSONS Ten 516,000 181,000 166,000 53,000 45,000 71,000
23 RULES OF ENGAGEMENT MON RPT Ten 504,000 140,000 167,000 93,000 43,000 62,000
26 MADE IN CHICAGO: THE MAKING OF BARACK OBAMA ABC1 440,000 122,000 147,000 60,000 38,000 73,000
28 THE CONTENDER Ten 425,000 128,000 117,000 70,000 54,000 56,000
30 THE ZOO Nine 380,000 84,000 112,000 84,000 68,000 31,000
87 PARKINSON ABC1 127,000 32,000 26,000 36,000 21,000 13,000

The ratings race, updated Monday 11 am
This was Pay TV's report of its audience last week: "In the third week of 2009, 134,000 viewers watched American Idol Auditions as the eighth season of the talent show premiered on FOX8. 117,000 people watched America's Next Top Model (also on FOX8) and 112,000 watched the Julia Roberts movie Notting Hill on TV1.

"The Vicar of Dibley on UKTV was watched by 102,000 viewers, The Man with the Golden Gun was seen by 86,000 on FOX Classics and Relocation Relocation was viewed by 77,000 people on Lifestyle.

"In sport, Live: Cricket: Twenty20 Big Bash was watched 154,000 on FOX Sports, and 81,000 subscribers saw Live: Football: A-League Adelaide v Qld (also on FOX Sports). In week 3 of 2009, subscription TV channels accounted for 25.2% of metropolitan viewing between 6am and midnight, 22.6% of regional viewing and 62.7% of all viewing in subscription TV homes."

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,397,000 375,000 520,000 278,000 136,000 88,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,339,000 331,000 350,000 322,000 161,000 175,000
3 ONE DAY CRICKET - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA GAME 2 SESSION 2 Nine 1,285,000 334,000 436,000 229,000 144,000 142,000
4 20 TO 1 -RPT Nine 1,216,000 341,000 425,000 242,000 105,000 104,000
5 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,116,000 337,000 325,000 228,000 100,000 126,000
6 FLASHPOINT Nine 1,112,000 296,000 325,000 272,000 109,000 111,000
7 HOT PROPERTY Seven 1,068,000 251,000 310,000 262,000 111,000 135,000
8 JACK OF ALL TRADES Nine 1,043,000 267,000 344,000 178,000 131,000 123,000
11 EYE FOR AN ELEPHANT ABC1 943,000 288,000 245,000 187,000 101,000 122,000
14 ONE DAY CRICKET - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA GAME 2 SESSION 1 Nine 851,000 221,000 279,000 147,000 104,000 99,000
17 M-NINE MONTHS Seven 756,000 212,000 256,000 114,000 83,000 90,000
19 ABOUT A BOY RPT Ten 562,000 163,000 171,000 90,000 57,000 81,000
21 THE TRIAL OF TONY BLAIR ABC1 519,000 156,000 168,000 73,000 51,000 71,000
25 NUREMBERG: NAZIS ON TRIAL SBS 310,000 97,000 99,000 48,000 29,000 37,000
27 THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART Ten 278,000 88,000 86,000 23,000 32,000 50,000
29 SPEER AND HITLER RPT SBS 245,000 71,000 80,000 38,000 33,000 24,000
32 HOLBY BLUE Seven 219,000 46,000 92,000 27,000 32,000 22,000
37 THE OFFICE Ten 192,000 62,000 66,000 19,000 15,000 30,000
38 THE ETERNITY MAN ABC1 186,000 66,000 62,000 21,000 17,000 20,000

What Australia watched, week ending January 17
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TWENTY/20 - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA GAME 2 Nine 2,123,000 616,000 688,000 377,000 216,000 225,000
2 TWENTY/20 - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 2,039,000 557,000 690,000 371,000 217,000 204,000
3 NINE'S SNEAK PEEK 2009 Nine 1,837,000 576,000 694,000 360,000 207,000 Not shown
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,352,000 356,000 390,000 257,000 154,000 196,000
5 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,320,000 366,000 359,000 243,000 158,000 194,000
6 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,297,000 299,000 336,000 339,000 151,000 172,000
7 ONE DAY SERIES - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 1,187,000 365,000 381,000 202,000 131,000 107,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,131,000 314,000 356,000 242,000 117,000 103,000
9 NINE NEWS Nine 1,123,000 291,000 381,000 230,000 119,000 103,000
10 THE RICH LIST - MON Seven 1,111,000 287,000 331,000 205,000 121,000 167,000
11 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,104,000 258,000 404,000 216,000 135,000 91,000
12 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,104,000 270,000 290,000 246,000 116,000 183,000
13 AIR CRASH INVESTIGATIONS Seven 1,085,000 255,000 322,000 239,000 112,000 156,000
14 TOP GEAR SBS 1,061,000 303,000 339,000 209,000 132,000 79,000
15 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,045,000 280,000 341,000 239,000 107,000 77,000
16 BONES - MON (R) Seven 1,020,000 257,000 309,000 199,000 127,000 126,000
17 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (R) Seven 1,002,000 243,000 326,000 208,000 101,000 125,000
18 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW SUMMER SERIES -RPT Nine 991,000 296,000 248,000 242,000 87,000 118,000
19 SUDDEN IMPACT Nine 989,000 268,000 283,000 202,000 91,000 144,000
20 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 979,000 248,000 316,000 205,000 84,000 127,000
21 ABC NEWS ABC1 976,000 296,000 277,000 167,000 98,000 138,000
22 COLD CASE Nine 972,000 210,000 340,000 167,000 131,000 125,000
23 OUTBACK WILDLIFE RESCUE Seven 964,000 282,000 363,000 Not shown 151,000 169,000
24 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS SUMMER Seven 963,000 278,000 310,000 158,000 98,000 119,000
25 THE WAITING ROOM Nine 959,000 249,000 282,000 195,000 93,000 140,000
26 NCIS EP 2 RPT Ten 942,000 236,000 257,000 231,000 103,000 114,000
27 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT RPT Ten 937,000 314,000 267,000 165,000 103,000 88,000
28 DOUBLE JEOPARDY Ten 925,000 291,000 245,000 184,000 97,000 109,000
29 CSI: MIAMI -RPT Nine 917,000 224,000 302,000 173,000 107,000 111,000
30 SECRET MILLIONAIRE Nine 910,000 214,000 305,000 118,000 138,000 136,000
31 10 TO ONE Nine 895,000 225,000 300,000 202,000 73,000 95,000
32 NCIS RPT Ten 879,000 236,000 246,000 190,000 107,000 100,000
33 HOUSE EP 2 RPT Ten 871,000 238,000 298,000 159,000 87,000 89,000
34 THE MENTALIST -RPT Nine 868,000 215,000 309,000 189,000 68,000 87,000
35 UGLY BETTY - THU Seven 858,000 233,000 259,000 181,000 104,000 81,000
38 THE BIG BANG THEORY Nine 857,000 224,000 254,000 201,000 68,000 110,000
40 ELI STONE - THU Seven 851,000 275,000 240,000 176,000 87,000 72,000
49 LAS VEGAS Seven 791,000 207,000 261,000 151,000 64,000 108,000
52 TEMPTATION Nine 745,000 206,000 224,000 158,000 69,000 88,000
53 HOUSE RPT Ten 736,000 177,000 244,000 154,000 73,000 88,000
57 THE SIMPSONS WED Ten 706,000 164,000 259,000 119,000 82,000 82,000
61 NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE Nine 692,000 192,000 241,000 133,000 58,000 68,000
62 THE UNIT - WED Seven 688,000 140,000 249,000 137,000 87,000 74,000
64 THE BILL ABC1 686,000 182,000 198,000 119,000 89,000 97,000
69 DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS THURS Ten 654,000 157,000 223,000 118,000 96,000 60,000
74 LAW & ORDER FRI EP 2 Ten 623,000 166,000 193,000 106,000 91,000 67,000
75 E.R. Nine 616,000 160,000 212,000 101,000 72,000 72,000
77 MCLEOD'S DAUGHTERS Nine 605,000 178,000 178,000 111,000 76,000 63,000
78 LAW & ORDER FRI Ten 589,000 179,000 182,000 97,000 61,000 72,000
80 SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW Ten 587,000 157,000 162,000 138,000 64,000 66,000
81 FRIENDS - DAILY Ten 585,000 181,000 176,000 106,000 68,000 55,000
83 HEROES - THU Seven 571,000 151,000 215,000 101,000 55,000 50,000
86 FLASHPOINT Nine 561,000 154,000 162,000 112,000 52,000 82,000
87 E.R. -EP2 Nine 561,000 116,000 234,000 86,000 70,000 54,000
89 KILLING HITLER Seven 553,000 125,000 191,000 110,000 55,000 72,000
90 THE SIMPSONS FRI EP 1 Ten 546,000 151,000 195,000 89,000 54,000 57,000
94 SEVEN'S TENNIS: sponsor name INTERNATIONAL 2009 - NIGHT 7 Seven 499,000 140,000 152,000 114,000 46,000 47,000
101 THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Ten 457,000 131,000 137,000 87,000 46,000 55,000
105 THE LONG WAY DOWN SBS 446,000 133,000 136,000 72,000 60,000 46,000
110 NIGGER LOVERS-LE ABC1 436,000 125,000 143,000 70,000 46,000 52,000
113 MYTHBUSTERS SBS 421,000 109,000 111,000 87,000 53,000 60,000
115 FOOD SAFARI SBS 398,000 117,000 152,000 59,000 39,000 32,000
118 NIGELLA EXPRESS ABC1 387,000 88,000 123,000 94,000 38,000 45,000
122 SOUTH PARK SBS 372,000 123,000 101,000 65,000 54,000 28,000
124 CARLA CAMETTI PD SBS 366,000 134,000 117,000 56,000 33,000 26,000
129 REX IN ROME SBS 356,000 116,000 118,000 50,000 41,000 32,000
130 OUT OF THE BLUE - DAILY Ten 348,000 95,000 110,000 47,000 46,000 50,000
134 MY PENIS AND EVERYONE ELSE'S RPT SBS 342,000 80,000 135,000 63,000 41,000 24,000
141 SUNRISE Seven 315,000 96,000 55,000 89,000 25,000 50,000
142 MONSTER HOUSE Nine 308,000 72,000 99,000 45,000 36,000 56,000
145 PARTY ANIMALS ABC1 298,000 98,000 82,000 35,000 30,000 53,000
169 TODAY Nine 255,000 81,000 74,000 64,000 14,000 22,000
178 SCRUBS (R) Seven 245,000 65,000 78,000 34,000 35,000 33,000
180 ROCKWIZ SBS 245,000 89,000 66,000 36,000 30,000 24,000
224 KATH & KIM THE AMERICAN SERIES - MON Seven 180,000 48,000 54,000 33,000 19,000 26,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,368,000 419,000 324,000 257,000 157,000 211,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,363,000 398,000 361,000 249,000 156,000 198,000
3 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,067,000 284,000 312,000 263,000 126,000 82,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,036,000 255,000 342,000 233,000 128,000 78,000
5 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (R) Seven 1,001,000 267,000 313,000 199,000 110,000 111,000
6 SUDDEN IMPACT Nine 984,000 268,000 281,000 205,000 91,000 139,000
7 COLD CASE Nine 973,000 209,000 340,000 169,000 131,000 124,000
8 THE WAITING ROOM Nine 953,000 251,000 276,000 193,000 91,000 141,000
14 UGLY BETTY - THU Seven 858,000 233,000 259,000 181,000 104,000 81,000
16 ELI STONE Seven 851,000 276,000 240,000 176,000 87,000 72,000
19 DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS THURS Ten 654,000 157,000 223,000 118,000 96,000 60,000
22 HEROES Seven 571,000 151,000 215,000 100,000 55,000 50,000
28 THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Ten 440,000 143,000 127,000 91,000 39,000 41,000
29 NIGGER LOVERS ABC1 436,000 125,000 143,000 70,000 46,000 52,000
30 OUT OF THE BLUE - DAILY Ten 395,000 117,000 121,000 49,000 57,000 51,000
32 MONSTER HOUSE Nine 381,000 91,000 129,000 51,000 42,000 69,000
33 CARLA CAMETTI PD SBS 366,000 135,000 117,000 55,000 33,000 27,000
34 REX IN ROME SBS 354,000 112,000 118,000 50,000 42,000 32,000
36 TENNIS: melbourne D2/brisbane D5 Seven 340,000 126,000 90,000 62,000 31,000 32,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,410,000 374,000 408,000 279,000 157,000 192,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,369,000 383,000 411,000 237,000 165,000 173,000
3 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (R) Seven 1,111,000 262,000 350,000 259,000 99,000 141,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,094,000 241,000 408,000 223,000 119,000 102,000
5 AIR CRASH INVESTIGATIONS Seven 1,085,000 255,000 322,000 239,000 112,000 156,000
6 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,028,000 296,000 289,000 195,000 117,000 130,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,023,000 242,000 381,000 216,000 91,000 94,000
8 CSI: MIAMI -RPT Nine 915,000 224,000 301,000 173,000 107,000 110,000
9 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 903,000 261,000 257,000 159,000 105,000 122,000
10 10 TO ONE Nine 892,000 225,000 299,000 201,000 73,000 95,000
11 HOUSE EP 2 RPT Ten 871,000 238,000 298,000 159,000 87,000 89,000
12 TEMPTATION Nine 832,000 221,000 257,000 174,000 78,000 103,000
13 LAS VEGAS Seven 791,000 207,000 261,000 151,000 64,000 108,000
14 HOUSE RPT Ten 736,000 177,000 244,000 154,000 73,000 88,000
20 THE UNIT - WED Seven 688,000 140,000 249,000 137,000 87,000 74,000
21 MY FAMILY ABC1 683,000 192,000 170,000 143,000 74,000 103,000
22 E.R. Nine 592,000 140,000 223,000 95,000 71,000 64,000
24 THE OMID DJALILI SHOW ABC1 510,000 134,000 146,000 106,000 46,000 79,000
29 THE LONG WAY DOWN SBS 445,000 132,000 136,000 72,000 60,000 46,000
30 FOOD SAFARI SBS 401,000 118,000 153,000 59,000 39,000 32,000
34 OUT OF THE BLUE - DAILY Ten 370,000 98,000 132,000 60,000 37,000 44,000
35 SEVEN'S TENNIS: Melbourne D1/Brisbane D4 Seven 335,000 99,000 115,000 52,000 38,000 31,000

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TWENTY/20 - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA GAME 2 Nine 2,160,000 629,000 700,000 381,000 219,000 232,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,392,000 347,000 408,000 266,000 164,000 207,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,350,000 346,000 399,000 235,000 177,000 193,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,080,000 268,000 358,000 220,000 114,000 119,000
5 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (R) Seven 995,000 219,000 366,000 182,000 91,000 136,000
6 ABC NEWS-EV ABC1 968,000 309,000 287,000 132,000 97,000 144,000
7 NCIS EP 2 RPT Ten 942,000 236,000 257,000 231,000 103,000 114,000
8 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 904,000 196,000 291,000 138,000 144,000 136,000
9 NCIS RPT Ten 879,000 236,000 246,000 190,000 107,000 100,000
10 COASTWATCH - TUE Seven 850,000 232,000 240,000 169,000 80,000 128,000
11 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 840,000 280,000 325,000 126,000 108,000
12 WILD VETS - TUE Seven 829,000 205,000 255,000 165,000 83,000 120,000
13 ELI STONE Seven 787,000 260,000 230,000 144,000 62,000 91,000
24 THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Ten 478,000 122,000 170,000 80,000 48,000 58,000
27 IT'S ME OR THE DOG RPT Ten 400,000 83,000 150,000 71,000 42,000 54,000
28 EXTREME: SKINNY CELEBRITY MUMS Seven 388,000 105,000 124,000 64,000 48,000 47,000
29 BLOOD AND GUTS: A HISTORY OF SURGERY SBS 336,000 99,000 110,000 46,000 42,000 39,000
31 TENNIS: Sponsor name INTERNATIONAL 2009 - DAY 3 Seven 332,000 86,000 102,000 58,000 53,000 33,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,358,000 348,000 378,000 273,000 158,000 200,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,354,000 362,000 365,000 273,000 165,000 190,000
3 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,261,000 368,000 381,000 247,000 132,000 133,000
4 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,127,000 354,000 298,000 200,000 108,000 166,000
5 THE RICH LIST - MON Seven 1,111,000 287,000 331,000 205,000 121,000 167,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,100,000 290,000 361,000 234,000 99,000 116,000
7 TOP GEAR SBS 1,061,000 303,000 339,000 209,000 132,000 79,000
8 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (R) Seven 1,059,000 246,000 308,000 250,000 120,000 135,000
9 BONES - MON (R) Seven 1,020,000 257,000 309,000 199,000 127,000 126,000
10 TEMPTATION Nine 999,000 280,000 297,000 200,000 100,000 122,000
12 DOUBLE JEOPARDY Ten 926,000 291,000 245,000 184,000 97,000 109,000
16 THE BIG BANG THEORY Nine 850,000 219,000 252,000 200,000 68,000 111,000
19 CHOIR OF HARD KNOCKS RPT ABC1 636,000 199,000 136,000 125,000 77,000 99,000
21 KILLING HITLER Seven 553,000 125,000 191,000 110,000 55,000 72,000
29 SOUTH PARK SBS 374,000 124,000 101,000 66,000 55,000 28,000
33 OUT OF THE BLUE - DAILY Ten 313,000 75,000 105,000 40,000 42,000 52,000
35 SCRUBS (R) Seven 297,000 78,000 98,000 46,000 35,000 41,000

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TWENTY/20 - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 2,055,000 567,000 702,000 378,000 218,000 191,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,298,000 299,000 336,000 339,000 152,000 172,000
3 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,105,000 258,000 405,000 216,000 135,000 91,000
4 FLASHPOINT Nine 1,030,000 241,000 280,000 169,000 97,000 243,000
5 OUTBACK WILDLIFE RESCUE Seven 964,000 282,000 363,000 150,000 169,000
6 DIE HARD: WITH A VENGEANCE Ten 832,000 253,000 215,000 151,000 77,000 135,000
7 HOT PROPERTY Seven 823,000 251,000 311,000 125,000 137,000
8 LUSITANIA: MURDER ON THE ATLANTIC ABC1 793,000 239,000 214,000 147,000 61,000 132,000
9 M-WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING Seven 792,000 228,000 236,000 141,000 91,000 96,000
10 ABC NEWS-SUN ABC1 783,000 302,000 214,000 111,000 54,000 102,000
12 THE RICH LIST - SUN Seven 727,000 198,000 222,000 134,000 75,000 98,000
13 PENGUINS OF THE ANTARCTIC ABC1 699,000 230,000 176,000 147,000 55,000 91,000
19 SEVEN'S TENNIS: BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL D7 / MEDIBANK D1 Seven 427,000 118,000 103,000 104,000 43,000 59,000
23 DOES MY BUM LOOK BIG? Seven 297,000 141,000 156,000
24 THE GERMANIC TRIBES SBS 289,000 101,000 80,000 54,000 24,000 30,000
25 THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART Ten 281,000 52,000 92,000 28,000 33,000 76,000
26 HOLBY BLUE Seven 277,000 63,000 80,000 40,000 32,000 63,000

What Australia watched, week ending January 10, 2009
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,402,000 397,000 519,000 223,000 167,000 97,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,245,000 293,000 340,000 279,000 126,000 207,000
3 OUTBACK WILDLIFE RESCUE Seven 1,218,000 346,000 313,000 247,000 119,000 192,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,213,000 372,000 395,000 238,000 114,000 94,000
5 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,203,000 293,000 323,000 242,000 140,000 204,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,171,000 344,000 371,000 245,000 111,000 100,000
7 NCIS RPT Ten 1,165,000 288,000 350,000 247,000 118,000 161,000
8 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,161,000 289,000 284,000 245,000 141,000 202,000
9 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,100,000 244,000 286,000 244,000 106,000 220,000
10 20 TO 1 -RPT Nine 1,077,000 271,000 361,000 193,000 156,000 97,000
11 BONES - MON (R) Seven 1,063,000 249,000 360,000 211,000 120,000 123,000
12 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS SUMMER Seven 1,045,000 256,000 326,000 203,000 117,000 142,000
13 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,040,000 261,000 331,000 215,000 100,000 133,000
14 HOT PROPERTY Seven 1,020,000 265,000 290,000 225,000 99,000 141,000
15 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,008,000 258,000 380,000 208,000 98,000 65,000
16 THE RICH LIST - MON Seven 1,004,000 257,000 287,000 210,000 104,000 145,000
17 AIR CRASH INVESTIGATIONS Seven 996,000 222,000 267,000 234,000 113,000 161,000
18 ABC NEWS ABC1 985,000 303,000 275,000 185,000 105,000 117,000
19 CSI: MIAMI -RPT Nine 981,000 279,000 311,000 159,000 118,000 114,000
20 TOP GEAR SBS 969,000 250,000 321,000 188,000 114,000 96,000
21 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (R) Seven 943,000 209,000 291,000 207,000 95,000 142,000
22 M-DUPLEX Seven 923,000 255,000 309,000 148,000 99,000 112,000
23 THE RICH LIST - SUN Seven 920,000 200,000 284,000 205,000 100,000 131,000
24 10 TO ONE Nine 918,000 259,000 248,000 208,000 91,000 113,000
25 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT RPT Ten 918,000 254,000 289,000 162,000 124,000 90,000
26 TEMPTATION Nine 904,000 269,000 260,000 182,000 94,000 99,000
27 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW SUMMER SERIES -RPT Nine 897,000 224,000 286,000 210,000 87,000 90,000
28 THIRD TEST - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 892,000 282,000 262,000 168,000 101,000 80,000
29 THE BIG BANG THEORY Nine 889,000 219,000 274,000 195,000 83,000 118,000
30 COASTWATCH - TUE Seven 888,000 194,000 293,000 207,000 80,000 112,000
31 EMERGENCY Nine 879,000 186,000 252,000 214,000 104,000 122,000
32 POLICE TEN 7 Nine 863,000 241,000 255,000 194,000 78,000 95,000
33 SUDDEN IMPACT Nine 857,000 220,000 254,000 181,000 92,000 110,000
34 COLD CASE Nine 857,000 218,000 283,000 153,000 96,000 106,000
35 ABC NEWS-SA ABC1 853,000 251,000 258,000 157,000 76,000 111,000
36 WILD VETS - TUE Seven 840,000 165,000 261,000 203,000 102,000 109,000
37 NIGEL MARVEN'S UGLY ANIMALS-EV ABC1 838,000 289,000 175,000 163,000 81,000 129,000
38 ABC NEWS-SU ABC1 833,000 264,000 182,000 173,000 81,000 133,000
39 LAW AND ORDER: SVU RPT Ten 830,000 254,000 209,000 163,000 123,000 81,000
40 THE WAITING ROOM Nine 821,000 184,000 256,000 167,000 96,000 117,000
41 DADDY DAYCARE -RPT Nine 819,000 207,000 281,000 185,000 78,000 67,000
42 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 805,000 195,000 230,000 174,000 83,000 123,000
43 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Ten 804,000 204,000 211,000 172,000 94,000 122,000
44 BILL ABC1 795,000 234,000 245,000 129,000 85,000 102,000
45 TWISTED Ten 792,000 223,000 225,000 144,000 103,000 97,000
46 M-MARY POPPINS Seven 784,000 188,000 226,000 155,000 89,000 127,000
47 DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS THURS Ten 773,000 231,000 191,000 159,000 117,000 76,000
48 ELI STONE Seven 772,000 227,000 251,000 146,000 66,000 82,000
49 SECRET MILLIONAIRE Nine 772,000 184,000 237,000 131,000 90,000 130,000
50 THE MENTALIST -RPT Nine 749,000 230,000 209,000 155,000 65,000 91,000
125 SCRUBS (R) Seven 368,000 69,000 95,000 103,000 59,000 42,000
149 HOLBY BLUE Seven 280,000 40,000 117,000 44,000 37,000 41,000
200 DIRTY SEXY MONEY - TUE Seven 185,000 44,000 69,000 32,000 13,000 27,000
(OzTAM mainland capitals)

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 09:41 AM
• Comments (114)

The Tribal Mind: The year of living vicariously

by David Dale
As reality grows darker, we are drawn to the light of fantasy, and this tough year offers almost too many soft options. In last week's column I began an alphabetical analysis of the best avenues of escapism in 2009, and we got as far as ....

Monsters v Aliens, the next amazing animation from Dreamworks. It may manage to surpass the spectacle of Pixar's Wall-E (out this week on DVD).

Neurotic geniuses, preferably British, are the problem-solvers of prime time TV.
After House, Monk, Bones, Criminal Minds and The Mentalist, Tim Roth is an English eccentric who can read body language in Channel Ten's Lie To Me.

Our sexiest export is what we'll be calling Melissa George, as she moves from playing a sex addicted patient in In Treatment to playing a sex addicted doctor in Grey's Anatomy, just before it jumps the shark.

Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones is on a smaller scale than King Kong and Lord of the Rings, but has a typical twist: a girl watches from heaven as her family tries to find her murdered corpse.

Queer as Folk, the pioneering series about gay men, was created by Russell T Davies, who then became head writer for Doctor Who. That's why some viewers imagined a homoerotic subtext in the male bonding and female fearing of The Next Doctor, the Christmas special on the ABC this Sunday. They will continue to seek it in the other specials Davies writes this year before he leaves the show, along with David Tennant.

Revolutionary Road and The Reader both won Golden Globes for Kate Winslet, who plays a yummy mummy stultified by suburbia in the first and a former concentration camp guard who has an affair with a 15 year old boy in the second.

Sandra Bullock soared as a comic talent in Speed, peaked in Miss Congeniality, then slumped into sentimentality. In The Proposal, she plays a calculating bitch, and a star is reborn.

Tina Fey is legendary for impersonating Sarah Palin but that won't convince Channel Seven to give a better timeslot to Fey's satirical sitcom 30 Rock, forcing viewers to resort to paragraph W, below.

Underbelly Two will convince the nation that Sydney's criminals are as interesting as Melbourne's.

Vampires are cool again, thanks to Twilight, and they'll extend their fangs in True Blood, a series for which Anna Paquin won a Golden Globe.

Watching TV programs on your computer will be the theme of next week's column.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine lets Hugh Jackman show his dark side (a relief after Australia) and introduces new shapeshifters Gambit, Sabretrooth, Deadpool, the Beak and The Blob.

Year of the Terminator. Channel Nine will pass The Sarah Connor Chronicles to Fox 8, which will give them due respect, and Christian (Batman) Bale will play John Connor in the fourth movie, Terminator: Salvation.

Zachary Quinto was the brain-sucking Sylar in Heroes, but will redeem himself as young Spock in the sexy reimagining of Star Trek by Lost creator J. J. Abrams. Live long and prosper.

Go to Comments to discuss what you are looking forward to this year.

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 10:10 PM
• Comments (1)

The Silly Season update: Until January 8

The caravan has moved on. This episode of the blog is no longer current. For the latest media discussion, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,221,000 310,000 325,000 263,000 133,000 190,000
2 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,093,000 329,000 328,000 257,000 90,000 89,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,070,000 264,000 273,000 230,000 129,000 173,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,000,000 282,000 304,000 229,000 92,000 92,000
5 ABC NEWS ABC1 938,000 312,000 263,000 153,000 109,000 101,000
6 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT RPT Ten 918,000 254,000 289,000 162,000 124,000 90,000
7 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (R) Seven 896,000 241,000 235,000 215,000 78,000 126,000
8 TEMPTATION Nine 885,000 249,000 267,000 185,000 90,000 93,000
9 EMERGENCY Nine 879,000 186,000 252,000 214,000 104,000 122,000
10 COLD CASE Nine 859,000 218,000 283,000 154,000 97,000 107,000
11 LAW AND ORDER: SVU RPT Ten 830,000 254,000 209,000 163,000 123,000 81,000
13 THE WAITING ROOM Nine 816,000 184,000 255,000 165,000 95,000 116,000
15 SECRET MILLIONAIRE Nine 771,000 184,000 237,000 131,000 90,000 129,000
16 ELI STONE Seven 746,000 193,000 225,000 170,000 64,000 93,000
17 UGLY BETTY - THU Seven 691,000 196,000 205,000 139,000 62,000 89,000
18 EVEREST ER ABC1 660,000 231,000 177,000 122,000 58,000 71,000
23 HEROES Seven 505,000 164,000 155,000 109,000 37,000 41,000
24 WHO KILLED STALIN? ABC1 487,000 176,000 119,000 82,000 43,000 67,000
27 CARLA CAMETTI PD SBS 457,000 197,000 125,000 53,000 31,000 51,000
30 REX IN ROME SBS 378,000 146,000 110,000 49,000 35,000 38,000
31 OUT OF THE BLUE - DAILY Ten 368,000 136,000 90,000 52,000 41,000 48,000
32 THE FLOATING BROTHEL RPT ABC1 364,000 115,000 130,000 48,000 35,000 36,000
Continued here

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 NINE NEWS Nine 1,377,000 480,000 455,000 216,000 118,000 108,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,254,000 301,000 331,000 260,000 142,000 219,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,208,000 299,000 302,000 254,000 142,000 211,000
4 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,201,000 370,000 393,000 227,000 115,000 95,000
5 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (R) Seven 1,051,000 216,000 331,000 248,000 97,000 158,000
6 AIR CRASH INVESTIGATIONS Seven 996,000 222,000 267,000 234,000 113,000 161,000
7 ABC NEWS ABC1 994,000 286,000 288,000 197,000 97,000 125,000
8 CSI: MIAMI -RPT Nine 980,000 279,000 310,000 160,000 117,000 113,000
9 10 TO ONE Nine 917,000 260,000 245,000 208,000 92,000 113,000
10 TEMPTATION Nine 902,000 297,000 220,000 187,000 93,000 104,000
11 THIRD TEST - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 847,000 287,000 229,000 173,000 86,000 73,000
13 LAS VEGAS Seven 743,000 202,000 184,000 170,000 74,000 112,000
14 NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE Nine 718,000 199,000 231,000 127,000 75,000 86,000
15 THE UNIT - WED Seven 689,000 176,000 215,000 136,000 80,000 81,000
16 MY FAMILY ABC1 678,000 174,000 208,000 107,000 85,000 105,000
19 E.R. Nine 639,000 156,000 233,000 104,000 68,000 78,000
22 HOUSE RPT Ten 591,000 153,000 179,000 122,000 63,000 74,000
25 FOOD SAFARI SBS 513,000 148,000 193,000 69,000 51,000 51,000

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 NINE NEWS Nine 1,334,000 395,000 462,000 259,000 122,000 96,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,213,000 315,000 267,000 274,000 154,000 203,000
3 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,197,000 323,000 430,000 234,000 115,000 96,000
4 NCIS RPT Ten 1,165,000 288,000 350,000 247,000 118,000 161,000
5 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,143,000 281,000 299,000 230,000 148,000 186,000
6 ABC NEWS ABC1 991,000 308,000 261,000 201,000 91,000 130,000
7 TEMPTATION Nine 932,000 258,000 303,000 182,000 94,000 94,000
8 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (R) Seven 923,000 203,000 265,000 216,000 99,000 139,000
9 COASTWATCH - TUE Seven 888,000 194,000 293,000 207,000 80,000 112,000
10 POLICE TEN 7 Nine 867,000 245,000 258,000 192,000 78,000 93,000
11 SUDDEN IMPACT Nine 863,000 218,000 257,000 187,000 92,000 109,000
12 WILD VETS - TUE Seven 839,000 165,000 261,000 203,000 102,000 109,000
14 THIRD TEST - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 783,000 247,000 233,000 151,000 94,000 59,000
15 ELI STONE Seven 772,000 227,000 251,000 146,000 66,000 82,000
17 THE SIMPSONS TUES Ten 739,000 175,000 266,000 130,000 73,000 94,000
20 IN PLAIN SIGHT Ten 702,000 149,000 250,000 140,000 72,000 91,000
25 THE MUSEUM ABC1 515,000 150,000 134,000 97,000 65,000 69,000
26 THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Ten 494,000 143,000 158,000 84,000 49,000 60,000
28 HUSTLE ABC1 421,000 126,000 128,000 71,000 42,000 55,000
30 DESPERATELY SEEKING DOCTORS SBS 378,000 118,000 121,000 47,000 33,000 59,000
31 PARTY ANIMALS ABC1 359,000 104,000 113,000 62,000 35,000 46,000
32 BLOOD AND GUTS: A HISTORY OF SURGERY SBS 355,000 117,000 93,000 43,000 55,000 46,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,419,000 450,000 424,000 270,000 151,000 124,000
2 NINE NEWS Nine 1,409,000 446,000 484,000 236,000 141,000 102,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,262,000 287,000 368,000 230,000 152,000 226,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,221,000 279,000 353,000 233,000 134,000 222,000
5 BONES - MON (R) Seven 1,063,000 249,000 360,000 211,000 120,000 123,000
6 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,036,000 307,000 299,000 190,000 118,000 122,000
7 TEMPTATION Nine 1,020,000 322,000 285,000 190,000 108,000 116,000
8 THE RICH LIST - MON Seven 1,004,000 257,000 287,000 210,000 104,000 145,000
9 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (R) Seven 1,003,000 201,000 355,000 177,000 98,000 174,000
10 TOP GEAR SBS 991,000 255,000 329,000 193,000 117,000 98,000
14 THIRD TEST - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 787,000 251,000 225,000 147,000 102,000 62,000
16 THE MENTALIST -RPT Nine 751,000 228,000 212,000 155,000 65,000 91,000
17 GANGLAND GRAVEYARD ABC1 744,000 217,000 199,000 133,000 70,000 126,000
21 CHOIR OF HARD KNOCKS RPT ABC1 615,000 173,000 182,000 115,000 63,000 82,000
25 AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL MON Ten 488,000 143,000 134,000 100,000 57,000 54,000
26 THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Ten 467,000 146,000 128,000 97,000 48,000 48,000
30 ARMY WIVES Ten 413,000 119,000 127,000 69,000 44,000 54,000
35 KATH & KIM THE AMERICAN SERIES - MON Seven 313,000 82,000 86,000 47,000 30,000 68,000
45 MONSTER HOUSE Nine 239,000 47,000 89,000 41,000 31,000 31,000
52 OUT OF THE BLUE - DAILY Ten 221,000 51,000 85,000 16,000 33,000 36,000

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,402,000 397,000 520,000 223,000 165,000 97,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,245,000 293,000 340,000 279,000 126,000 207,000
3 OUTBACK WILDLIFE RESCUE Seven 1,218,000 346,000 313,000 247,000 119,000 192,000
4 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,135,000 275,000 373,000 235,000 123,000 129,000
5 THIRD TEST - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 1,132,000 336,000 352,000 200,000 120,000 124,000
6 20 TO 1 -RPT Nine 1,076,000 271,000 360,000 193,000 156,000 96,000
7 HOT PROPERTY Seven 1,020,000 265,000 290,000 225,000 99,000 141,000
8 THE BIG BANG THEORY Nine 944,000 211,000 283,000 220,000 103,000 127,000
9 THE CRICKET SHOW Nine 938,000 251,000 306,000 178,000 107,000 95,000
10 THE RICH LIST - SUN Seven 920,000 200,000 284,000 205,000 100,000 131,000
11 ABC NEWS-SU ABC1 839,000 266,000 184,000 175,000 81,000 133,000
12 NIGEL MARVEN'S UGLY ANIMALS ABC1 826,000 285,000 174,000 160,000 80,000 127,000
13 TWISTED Ten 792,000 223,000 225,000 144,000 103,000 97,000
14 M-SHALLOW HAL Seven 737,000 166,000 244,000 141,000 84,000 102,000
17 MAGNIFICENT 7-EV ABC1 628,000 192,000 180,000 89,000 56,000 111,000
19 DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS Ten 493,000 144,000 142,000 88,000 69,000 50,000
21 AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL Ten 403,000 102,000 115,000 78,000 60,000 48,000
25 M-THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY II Seven 328,000 102,000 95,000 51,000 31,000 49,000
26 THE GERMANIC TRIBES SBS 315,000 102,000 103,000 36,000 42,000 33,000
33 THE WEDGE SUN Ten 245,000 61,000 62,000 29,000 25,000 67,000

What Australia watched, week ending January 2, 2009
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,346,000 288,000 358,000 342,000 135,000 222,000
2 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,313,000 392,000 446,000 248,000 154,000 74,000
3 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,161,000 340,000 414,000 223,000 115,000 69,000
4 NCIS RPT Ten 1,148,000 280,000 371,000 209,000 135,000 152,000
5 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,138,000 289,000 248,000 323,000 79,000 199,000
6 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,124,000 251,000 330,000 222,000 133,000 189,000
7 BONES - MON (R) Seven 1,076,000 264,000 362,000 184,000 126,000 139,000
8 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,074,000 246,000 322,000 219,000 120,000 168,000
9 OUTBACK WILDLIFE RESCUE Seven 1,072,000 280,000 284,000 235,000 96,000 177,000
10 SEVEN WONDERS OF THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD Seven 1,060,000 286,000 281,000 251,000 106,000 135,000
11 NINE NEWS Nine 1,016,000 249,000 341,000 220,000 109,000 97,000
12 HOT PROPERTY Seven 988,000 263,000 300,000 203,000 77,000 145,000
13 THIRD TEST - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 968,000 286,000 274,000 189,000 112,000 108,000
14 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS SUMMER Seven 958,000 200,000 335,000 200,000 93,000 131,000
15 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW SUMMER SERIES -RPT Nine 949,000 294,000 221,000 219,000 112,000 104,000
16 AGATHA CHRISTIE'S MISS MARPLE RPT ABC1 943,000 267,000 272,000 141,000 127,000 137,000
17 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 927,000 232,000 295,000 212,000 96,000 92,000
18 ABC NEWS-SA ABC1 917,000 244,000 275,000 168,000 97,000 134,000
19 THE RICH LIST - MON Seven 896,000 217,000 313,000 133,000 96,000 138,000
20 HOSTAGE -RPT Nine 874,000 258,000 263,000 171,000 91,000 90,000
21 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 874,000 233,000 287,000 170,000 90,000 94,000
22 TOP GEAR SBS 865,000 220,000 331,000 146,000 102,000 67,000
23 EMERGENCY Nine 865,000 194,000 241,000 237,000 89,000 104,000
24 SECOND TEST - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 849,000 259,000 261,000 152,000 90,000 87,000
25 COASTWATCH - TUE Seven 838,000 222,000 257,000 168,000 85,000 106,000
26 ABC NEWS ABC1 837,000 235,000 245,000 152,000 92,000 113,000
27 THE BIG BANG THEORY Nine 836,000 236,000 269,000 151,000 83,000 97,000
28 THE BILL ABC1 828,000 245,000 238,000 124,000 86,000 135,000
29 EDINBURGH MILITARY TATTOO 2008 ABC1 821,000 221,000 238,000 141,000 107,000 113,000
30 THE WAITING ROOM Nine 813,000 187,000 237,000 207,000 87,000 95,000
31 WILD VETS - TUE Seven 802,000 207,000 216,000 196,000 84,000 100,000
32 POLICE TEN 7 Nine 800,000 155,000 290,000 169,000 93,000 94,000
33 SUDDEN IMPACT Nine 798,000 150,000 274,000 188,000 84,000 101,000
34 20 TO 1 -RPT Nine 791,000 228,000 242,000 161,000 86,000 75,000
35 NEW YEAR'S EVE 2008 - MIDNIGHT FIREWORKS Ten 787,000 425,000 111,000 129,000 77,000 45,000
150 KATH & KIM THE AMERICAN SERIES - MON Seven 261,000 64,000 78,000 34,000 25,000 60,000

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,155,000 254,000 393,000 244,000 123,000 142,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,134,000 248,000 357,000 245,000 122,000 162,000
3 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS SUMMER Seven 958,000 200,000 335,000 200,000 93,000 131,000
4 AGATHA CHRISTIE'S MISS MARPLE RPT ABC1 943,000 267,000 272,000 141,000 127,000 137,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 938,000 238,000 277,000 213,000 91,000 119,000
6 ABC NEWS ABC1 819,000 245,000 211,000 160,000 98,000 105,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 792,000 185,000 243,000 186,000 71,000 107,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 NINE NEWS Nine 1,143,000 276,000 414,000 257,000 117,000 80,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,106,000 210,000 341,000 208,000 148,000 199,000
3 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,002,000 247,000 314,000 252,000 97,000 93,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,001,000 198,000 295,000 206,000 134,000 168,000
5 ABC NEWS-EV ABC1 891,000 221,000 273,000 172,000 102,000 123,000
6 EMERGENCY Nine 865,000 194,000 241,000 237,000 89,000 104,000
7 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT EP 2 RPT Ten 822,000 224,000 285,000 145,000 87,000 80,000
8 THE WAITING ROOM Nine 814,000 188,000 237,000 207,000 87,000 95,000
15 ELI STONE Seven 697,000 179,000 254,000 138,000 60,000 66,000
16 DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS THURS Ten 684,000 155,000 253,000 135,000 64,000 77,000
17 SECRET MILLIONAIRE Nine 668,000 142,000 206,000 116,000 90,000 115,000
19 UGLY BETTY - THU Seven 601,000 129,000 204,000 133,000 72,000 63,000
25 THE UNIT - THU Seven 470,000 121,000 153,000 92,000 43,000 60,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 981,000 238,000 259,000 193,000 112,000 178,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 928,000 247,000 232,000 196,000 98,000 155,000
3 NINE NEWS Nine 822,000 196,000 266,000 167,000 92,000 102,000
4 EDINBURGH MILITARY TATTOO 2008 ABC1 821,000 221,000 238,000 141,000 107,000 113,000
5 NEW YEAR'S EVE 2008 - MIDNIGHT FIREWORKS Ten 790,000 427,000 111,000 130,000 78,000 45,000
6 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 737,000 172,000 213,000 157,000 74,000 121,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 706,000 171,000 208,000 159,000 77,000 91,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC1 682,000 182,000 233,000 107,000 70,000 91,000
12 2008 THE YEAR THAT WAS Nine 572,000 185,000 150,000 97,000 59,000 81,000
20 NEW YEAR'S EVE 2008 - FAMILY FIREWORKS Ten 404,000 182,000 94,000 55,000 24,000 49,000
22 NEW YEARS EVE PARTY ZONE Nine 398,000 116,000 123,000 74,000 40,000 43,000
24 VIDEO HITS PRESENTS: ABBA Ten 367,000 82,000 102,000 84,000 40,000 59,000
28 2009 NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS Seven 319,000 62,000 139,000 45,000 32,000 41,000
29 LAS VEGAS Seven 313,000 60,000 86,000 67,000 39,000 60,000
30 THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Ten 310,000 91,000 96,000 52,000 32,000 40,000
32 PRISON BREAK Seven 295,000 68,000 78,000 59,000 36,000 55,000
41 MELBOURNE FIREWORKS Nine 248,000 Not shown 248,000 Not shown Not shown Not shown
53 VIDEO HITS NEW YEARS EVE CELEBRATIONS Ten 195,000 92,000 48,000 15,000 27,000 13,000
58 M-MOULIN ROUGE Seven 179,000 52,000 70,000 33,000 11,000 12,000

What Australia watched, Tuesday
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,252,000 274,000 357,000 229,000 165,000 226,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,239,000 265,000 370,000 238,000 149,000 218,000
3 NCIS RPT Ten 1,148,000 280,000 371,000 209,000 135,000 152,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 940,000 176,000 309,000 249,000 113,000 93,000
5 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 910,000 204,000 311,000 223,000 92,000 79,000
6 ABC NEWS ABC1 858,000 237,000 237,000 159,000 99,000 127,000
7 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (R) Seven 856,000 195,000 288,000 174,000 73,000 125,000
8 COASTWATCH - TUE Seven 838,000 222,000 257,000 168,000 85,000 106,000
9 TEMPTATION Nine 812,000 212,000 239,000 206,000 89,000 67,000
10 POLICE TEN 7 Nine 805,000 157,000 290,000 170,000 94,000 93,000
11 WILD VETS - TUE Seven 802,000 207,000 216,000 196,000 84,000 100,000
12 SUDDEN IMPACT Nine 794,000 149,000 271,000 188,000 85,000 100,000
16 RUSH HOUR 2 -RPT Nine 669,000 181,000 220,000 135,000 50,000 84,000
17 IN PLAIN SIGHT Ten 667,000 162,000 229,000 124,000 60,000 92,000
20 ELI STONE Seven 585,000 150,000 208,000 105,000 54,000 69,000
21 GHOST WHISPERER - TUE Seven 571,000 136,000 189,000 94,000 77,000 76,000
26 SECOND TEST - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 418,000 114,000 154,000 57,000 54,000 39,000
29 PRISON BREAK - TUE Seven 372,000 76,000 151,000 62,000 39,000 46,000
30 PARTY ANIMALS ABC1 356,000 98,000 100,000 61,000 46,000 51,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 NINE NEWS Nine 1,233,000 364,000 434,000 213,000 130,000 92,000
2 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,228,000 350,000 406,000 241,000 139,000 92,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,154,000 284,000 336,000 235,000 118,000 180,000
4 BONES - MON (R) Seven 1,076,000 264,000 362,000 184,000 126,000 139,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,069,000 264,000 326,000 216,000 97,000 165,000
6 ABC NEWS ABC1 936,000 288,000 271,000 164,000 92,000 120,000
7 TEMPTATION Nine 896,000 277,000 288,000 165,000 91,000 75,000
8 THE RICH LIST - MON Seven 896,000 217,000 313,000 133,000 96,000 138,000
9 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 883,000 237,000 285,000 174,000 92,000 95,000
10 TOP GEAR SBS 880,000 224,000 337,000 148,000 103,000 68,000
11 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (R) Seven 862,000 204,000 305,000 169,000 82,000 102,000
12 THE BIG BANG THEORY Nine 854,000 259,000 269,000 152,000 79,000 95,000
13 SECOND TEST - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 835,000 259,000 264,000 137,000 89,000 86,000
14 THE MENTALIST -RPT Nine 759,000 231,000 259,000 132,000 69,000 68,000
20 SCRUBS Seven 546,000 134,000 181,000 80,000 58,000 93,000
22 638 WAYS TO KILL CASTRO-EV ABC1 499,000 178,000 160,000 73,000 36,000 53,000
24 HOW TO LOOK GOOD NAKED Ten 448,000 119,000 116,000 83,000 51,000 78,000
25 ARMY WIVES Ten 406,000 110,000 140,000 61,000 31,000 64,000
26 JAMIE AT HOME - DAILY RPT Ten 391,000 95,000 122,000 83,000 41,000 49,000

The peripatetic Tribal Mind reports from London:
The Doctor Who Christmas special (shown on BBC Dec 25 and scheduled for ABC Jan 25) is not up to the standard of previous years. Fine special effects, but there's no chemistry between the Doctor and his potential assistants, the villains are same-old-same-old (even duller than the Daleks), and the mood is unseasonably sad. Russell T. Davies, your time is done. Bring on Steven Moffat.

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,348,000 290,000 357,000 342,000 135,000 224,000
2 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,161,000 340,000 415,000 223,000 114,000 70,000
3 OUTBACK WILDLIFE RESCUE Seven 1,096,000 279,000 290,000 248,000 101,000 178,000
4 SEVEN WONDERS OF THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD Seven 1,054,000 287,000 280,000 248,000 104,000 134,000
5 20 TO 1 -RPT Nine 1,020,000 271,000 341,000 225,000 111,000 73,000
6 SECOND TEST - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 1,013,000 309,000 295,000 197,000 108,000 104,000
7 HOT PROPERTY Seven 975,000 261,000 297,000 200,000 76,000 141,000
8 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 878,000 231,000 293,000 171,000 92,000 92,000
9 HOSTAGE -RPT Nine 877,000 258,000 264,000 172,000 92,000 91,000
10 THE BIG BANG THEORY Nine 816,000 211,000 271,000 148,000 86,000 100,000
14 M-BRAVEHEART Seven 622,000 165,000 165,000 138,000 66,000 88,000
17 PRINCES IN THE TOWER ABC1 558,000 157,000 146,000 83,000 81,000 92,000

What Australia watched, week ending December 27
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,474,000 480,000 496,000 227,000 171,000 101,000
2 SHREK THE HALLS -RPT Nine 1,229,000 316,000 372,000 286,000 106,000 148,000
3 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,218,000 237,000 324,000 286,000 145,000 226,000
4 SPICKS AND SPECKS: A VERY SPECKY CHRISTMAS ABC1 1,198,000 323,000 374,000 208,000 143,000 149,000
5 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,145,000 292,000 263,000 252,000 115,000 223,000
6 OUTBACK WILDLIFE RESCUE Seven 1,110,000 235,000 261,000 265,000 133,000 216,000
7 SECOND TEST - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 1,102,000 324,000 340,000 194,000 125,000 118,000
8 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,092,000 328,000 353,000 206,000 151,000 55,000
9 BONES - MON (R) Seven 1,089,000 292,000 370,000 176,000 120,000 131,000
10 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW SUMMER SERIES -RPT Nine 1,046,000 298,000 311,000 201,000 127,000 110,000
11 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,045,000 251,000 325,000 192,000 115,000 163,000
12 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,044,000 256,000 313,000 198,000 121,000 157,000
13 NCIS RPT Ten 1,041,000 260,000 326,000 179,000 113,000 162,000
14 HOT PROPERTY Seven 1,007,000 235,000 251,000 236,000 126,000 159,000
15 THE RICH LIST - MON Seven 988,000 268,000 334,000 158,000 86,000 142,000
16 CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT Nine 972,000 235,000 445,000 114,000 98,000 80,000 (disputed figure)
17 OCEAN'S TWELVE -RPT Nine 965,000 317,000 318,000 170,000 80,000 80,000
18 SECRET MILLIONAIRE -RPT Nine 921,000 186,000 467,000 78,000 88,000 103,000
19 FIRST TEST - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 891,000 242,000 311,000 176,000 108,000 53,000
20 MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING -RPT Nine 884,000 313,000 283,000 118,000 77,000 94,000
21 ABC NEWS-SU ABC1 882,000 249,000 282,000 130,000 86,000 134,000
22 ABC NEWS-SA ABC1 882,000 232,000 266,000 150,000 99,000 134,000
23 SEVEN WONDERS OF THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD Seven 872,000 215,000 235,000 186,000 96,000 140,000
24 THE WORLD'S FASTEST INDIAN Ten 871,000 236,000 233,000 196,000 88,000 118,000
25 NINE NEWS Nine 870,000 230,000 288,000 180,000 101,000 71,000
26 M-SURVIVING CHRISTMAS Seven 869,000 269,000 270,000 138,000 87,000 104,000
27 WILD VETS - TUE Seven 864,000 231,000 220,000 176,000 106,000 131,000
28 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS SUMMER Seven 857,000 231,000 273,000 157,000 99,000 97,000
29 THE CRICKET SHOW Nine 851,000 237,000 275,000 153,000 99,000 87,000
30 ABC NEWS ABC1 830,000 245,000 242,000 138,000 102,000 102,000
31 VICAR OF DIBLEY PART 2 RPT ABC1 818,000 198,000 269,000 129,000 114,000 108,000
32 THE BILL ABC1 809,000 235,000 264,000 100,000 97,000 113,000
33 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 807,000 207,000 271,000 173,000 85,000 70,000
34 COASTWATCH - TUE Seven 784,000 216,000 193,000 151,000 117,000 108,000
35 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 774,000 218,000 246,000 150,000 78,000 82,000
36 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (R) Seven 772,000 195,000 235,000 158,000 71,000 114,000
37 TOP GEAR SBS 764,000 192,000 264,000 138,000 94,000 76,000
43 SUDDEN IMPACT Nine 713,000 194,000 237,000 134,000 63,000 85,000
49 POLICE TEN 7 Nine 685,000 181,000 237,000 137,000 63,000 67,000
103 THE UNIT - WED Seven 395,000 102,000 119,000 72,000 45,000 57,000
105 CALIFORNICATION Ten 392,000 83,000 149,000 42,000 41,000 77,000

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 NINE NEWS Nine 1,275,000 390,000 433,000 241,000 133,000 77,000
2 SECOND TEST - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 1,121,000 329,000 341,000 196,000 131,000 123,000
3 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,066,000 293,000 376,000 202,000 106,000 88,000
4 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,013,000 252,000 280,000 195,000 138,000 147,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 962,000 250,000 271,000 194,000 116,000 131,000
6 THE WORLD'S FASTEST INDIAN Ten 871,000 236,000 233,000 196,000 88,000 118,000
7 ABC NEWS ABC1 864,000 248,000 237,000 147,000 125,000 106,000
8 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS SUMMER Seven 857,000 231,000 273,000 157,000 99,000 97,000
12 AGATHA CHRISTIE'S MISS MARPLE RPT ABC1 723,000 177,000 237,000 103,000 105,000 100,000
15 AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC - BEST OF AUSTRALIA Nine 614,000 155,000 204,000 111,000 64,000 81,000
18 SYDNEY HOBART YACHT RACE 2008 Seven 454,000 182,000 111,000 84,000 44,000 33,000
25 THE WEDGE FRI Ten 288,000 63,000 66,000 45,000 46,000 67,000
28 THE THICK OF IT ABC1 270,000 67,000 79,000 33,000 44,000 47,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 743,000 184,000 246,000 142,000 70,000 102,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 713,000 168,000 223,000 145,000 70,000 108,000
3 NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION -RPT Nine 709,000 200,000 270,000 107,000 83,000 48,000
4 ABC NEWS ABC1 642,000 188,000 162,000 141,000 71,000 79,000
5 EVER AFTER Ten 535,000 166,000 139,000 102,000 44,000 84,000
6 BLAST FROM THE PAST -RPT Nine 526,000 171,000 183,000 71,000 53,000 47,000
7 THE QUEEN'S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE 2008 ABC1 510,000 131,000 130,000 108,000 67,000 75,000
8 TEMPTATION Nine 500,000 124,000 169,000 112,000 50,000 45,000
9 NINE NEWS Nine 478,000 114,000 157,000 95,000 64,000 49,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 463,000 99,000 140,000 124,000 61,000 39,000
11 DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS THURS Ten 446,000 134,000 130,000 68,000 44,000 70,000
12 WORLD LATIN CHAMPIONSHIPS 2008 Seven 426,000 116,000 159,000 59,000 38,000 54,000
19 AUSTRALIAN DANCESPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS 2008 Seven 334,000 114,000 122,000 24,000 33,000 41,000
20 INSPECTOR REX: THE BEGINNING RPT SBS 281,000 69,000 94,000 48,000 32,000 38,000
24 INSPECTOR REX RPT SBS 226,000 52,000 73,000 51,000 20,000 30,000
27 2008 QUEEN'S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE Nine 204,000 61,000 62,000 31,000 25,000 25,000
28 A BOYFRIEND FOR CHRISTMAS Nine 204,000 45,000 59,000 57,000 29,000 15,000

What Australia watched, Christmas Eve
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT Nine 1,789,000 447,000 821,000 195,000 181,000 145,000
2 SHREK THE HALLS -RPT Nine 1,229,000 316,000 372,000 286,000 106,000 148,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,044,000 261,000 317,000 205,000 92,000 170,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,012,000 256,000 281,000 193,000 109,000 173,000
5 SECRET MILLIONAIRE -RPT Nine 921,000 186,000 467,000 78,000 88,000 103,000
6 VICAR OF DIBLEY PART 2 RPT ABC1 818,000 198,000 269,000 129,000 114,000 108,000
7 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 790,000 194,000 249,000 153,000 80,000 115,000
8 NINE NEWS Nine 777,000 180,000 258,000 189,000 76,000 75,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 763,000 199,000 238,000 190,000 68,000 68,000
10 ABC NEWS ABC1 753,000 201,000 224,000 121,000 102,000 105,000
11 VICAR OF DIBLEY PART 1 RPT ABC1 731,000 171,000 221,000 143,000 85,000 110,000
26 VICTORIA'S SECRET FASHION SHOW 2008 Ten 331,000 87,000 75,000 78,000 39,000 52,000
27 CAROLS FROM ST PATRICK'S ABC1 323,000 110,000 108,000 38,000 25,000 42,000

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,123,000 275,000 334,000 205,000 142,000 167,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,102,000 251,000 353,000 185,000 138,000 175,000
3 NCIS RPT Ten 1,041,000 260,000 326,000 179,000 113,000 162,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 893,000 244,000 282,000 195,000 102,000 71,000
5 MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING -RPT Nine 887,000 313,000 284,000 119,000 76,000 94,000
6 ABC NEWS ABC1 874,000 265,000 257,000 147,000 96,000 109,000
7 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (R) Seven 871,000 237,000 231,000 175,000 91,000 137,000
8 WILD VETS - TUE Seven 864,000 231,000 220,000 176,000 106,000 131,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 849,000 233,000 292,000 174,000 73,000 77,000
17 THE MUSEUM ABC1 662,000 207,000 199,000 115,000 69,000 71,000
19 IN PLAIN SIGHT Ten 629,000 168,000 186,000 85,000 77,000 113,000
55 STEVE MCQUEEN: THE ESSENCE OF COOL RPT SBS 215,000 57,000 70,000 24,000 36,000 28,000
56 DIRTY SEXY MONEY - TUE Seven 212,000 59,000 89,000 23,000 21,000 20,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,370,000 321,000 441,000 245,000 161,000 202,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,314,000 307,000 427,000 231,000 135,000 214,000
3 BONES - MON (R) Seven 1,089,000 292,000 370,000 176,000 120,000 131,000
4 THE RICH LIST - MON Seven 988,000 268,000 334,000 158,000 86,000 142,000
5 ABC NEWS ABC1 960,000 308,000 306,000 135,000 107,000 104,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 924,000 225,000 313,000 175,000 130,000 82,000
12 TOP GEAR SBS 770,000 193,000 266,000 139,000 95,000 76,000
22 SCRUBS Seven 518,000 142,000 191,000 70,000 48,000 68,000
24 ARMY WIVES Ten 469,000 106,000 160,000 84,000 34,000 85,000
50 KATH & KIM THE AMERICAN SERIES - MON Seven 244,000 49,000 103,000 24,000 19,000 49,000

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,218,000 237,000 324,000 286,000 145,000 226,000
2 SPICKS AND SPECKS: A VERY SPECKY CHRISTMAS ABC1 1,206,000 325,000 377,000 209,000 144,000 150,000
3 OUTBACK WILDLIFE RESCUE Seven 1,110,000 235,000 261,000 265,000 133,000 216,000
4 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,093,000 328,000 349,000 204,000 150,000 62,000
5 HOT PROPERTY Seven 1,007,000 235,000 251,000 236,000 126,000 159,000
6 OCEAN'S TWELVE -RPT Nine 965,000 317,000 319,000 171,000 80,000 79,000
7 ABC NEWS-SU ABC1 882,000 249,000 282,000 130,000 86,000 134,000
8 SEVEN WONDERS OF THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD Seven 872,000 215,000 235,000 186,000 96,000 140,000
9 M-SURVIVING CHRISTMAS Seven 869,000 269,000 270,000 138,000 87,000 104,000
10 FIRST TEST - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 827,000 234,000 288,000 163,000 91,000 53,000
19 CALIFORNICATION Ten 392,000 83,000 149,000 42,000 41,000 77,000
26 KYLIE MINOGUE INTERVIEW Seven 287,000 64,000 117,000 54,000 13,000 39,000

And now we celebrate in images the great failures of 2008. How many of the pictured programs can you identify?

What Australia watched, week ending December 20
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,297,000 391,000 373,000 254,000 142,000 136,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,285,000 332,000 379,000 246,000 137,000 191,000
3 OUTBACK WILDLIFE RESCUE Seven 1,274,000 371,000 348,000 262,000 139,000 153,000
4 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,239,000 325,000 349,000 221,000 135,000 209,000
5 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,227,000 368,000 298,000 255,000 133,000 174,000
6 HOT PROPERTY Seven 1,204,000 350,000 337,000 255,000 120,000 142,000
7 NCIS RPT Ten 1,193,000 303,000 338,000 220,000 132,000 201,000
8 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,166,000 320,000 295,000 245,000 98,000 207,000
9 WOOLWORTHS' CAROLS IN THE DOMAIN Seven 1,144,000 442,000 311,000 131,000 116,000 143,000
10 BONES (R) Seven 1,137,000 318,000 366,000 191,000 135,000 128,000
11 NEWS SUN Nine 1,111,000 298,000 394,000 188,000 137,000 93,000
12 NINE NEWS Nine 1,085,000 303,000 346,000 211,000 125,000 99,000
13 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS SUMMER Seven 1,026,000 248,000 341,000 214,000 91,000 131,000
14 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,012,000 305,000 312,000 191,000 99,000 105,000
15 LAW AND ORDER: SVU RPT Ten 996,000 282,000 306,000 191,000 115,000 103,000
16 THE RICH LIST - MON Seven 993,000 286,000 306,000 159,000 109,000 133,000
17 CSI: MIAMI -RPT Nine 986,000 278,000 318,000 168,000 112,000 111,000
18 SEVEN WONDERS OF THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD Seven 983,000 247,000 280,000 217,000 109,000 130,000
19 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 983,000 277,000 299,000 192,000 114,000 101,000
20 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT RPT Ten 946,000 252,000 299,000 185,000 97,000 112,000
21 M-THE SANTA CLAUSE 2 Seven 941,000 220,000 371,000 142,000 87,000 122,000
22 AGATHA CHRISTIE'S MISS MARPLE RPT ABC1 922,000 280,000 264,000 130,000 120,000 128,000
23 TOP GEAR SBS 915,000 250,000 293,000 156,000 118,000 97,000
24 DIE HARD 2 Ten 908,000 242,000 292,000 180,000 85,000 108,000
25 ABC NEWS ABC1 904,000 270,000 269,000 150,000 97,000 119,000
26 M-SOMEONE LIKE YOU Seven 904,000 255,000 267,000 175,000 89,000 118,000
27 CSI -RPT Nine 888,000 264,000 220,000 177,000 100,000 128,000
28 SUDDEN IMPACT Nine 887,000 202,000 264,000 182,000 103,000 136,000
29 ABC NEWS-SU ABC1 869,000 270,000 269,000 137,000 97,000 95,000
30 SCHOOLS SPECTACULAR 2008 ABC1 867,000 350,000 232,000 129,000 69,000 87,000
31 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (R) Seven 851,000 219,000 276,000 160,000 81,000 115,000
32 POLICE TEN 7 Nine 850,000 197,000 273,000 167,000 93,000 120,000
33 M-ELOISE AT CHRISTMASTIME Seven 847,000 252,000 237,000 180,000 81,000 97,000
34 1ST TEST - A/ SA Nine 832,000 259,000 242,000 158,000 96,000 77,000
35 THE BIG BANG THEORY Nine 829,000 235,000 261,000 168,000 71,000 94,000
36 AIR CRASH INVESTIGATIONS Seven 824,000 210,000 235,000 179,000 86,000 114,000
37 COASTWATCH - TUE Seven 814,000 214,000 207,000 158,000 94,000 142,000
38 OCEAN'S ELEVEN -RPT Nine 797,000 226,000 247,000 149,000 84,000 91,000

(OzTAM mainland capitals)

Here's Pay TV's report of its week: "In week 51, subscription TV was the number one source of TV across Australia when subscription channels accounted for 25.2% of metropolitan viewing between 6am and midnight, 21.6% of regional viewing and 61.2% of all viewing in subscription TV homes. America's Next Top Model on FOX8 was watched by 148,000 viewers, the penultimate episode of Project Runway (series 5) drew 108,000 viewers on Arena and Relocation Relocation on Lifestyle was watched by 102,000. This week's episode of Gossip Girl on FOX8 was seen by 98,000 people and the world premiere of Storm Surfers, a local production by Discovery Channel, was watched by 67,000 people. In sport, the Football: EPL Highlights on FOX Sports were viewed by 93,000 people and Live: Football: A-League Qld v Newc was seen by 80,000 people."

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,174,000 306,000 346,000 228,000 119,000 174,000
2 NINE NEWS Nine 1,133,000 304,000 382,000 230,000 128,000 89,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,101,000 302,000 317,000 194,000 106,000 181,000
4 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS SUMMER Seven 1,026,000 248,000 341,000 214,000 91,000 131,000
5 M-THE SANTA CLAUSE 2 Seven 941,000 220,000 371,000 142,000 87,000 122,000
6 AGATHA CHRISTIE'S MISS MARPLE RPT ABC1 922,000 280,000 264,000 130,000 120,000 128,000
7 FIRST TEST - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 815,000 250,000 242,000 165,000 89,000 69,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC1 797,000 252,000 249,000 115,000 76,000 105,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,216,000 308,000 397,000 230,000 124,000 157,000
2 NINE NEWS Nine 1,163,000 331,000 391,000 228,000 122,000 91,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,135,000 297,000 325,000 202,000 125,000 186,000
4 LAW AND ORDER: SVU RPT Ten 996,000 282,000 306,000 191,000 115,000 103,000
5 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT RPT Ten 946,000 252,000 299,000 185,000 97,000 112,000
6 SECRET MILLIONAIRE Nine 918,000 265,000 318,000 154,000 82,000 99,000
7 ABC NEWS ABC1 816,000 232,000 252,000 131,000 103,000 98,000
8 THE AMAZING RACE 13 Seven 795,000 210,000 296,000 105,000 84,000 100,000
11 ELI STONE Seven 781,000 222,000 253,000 130,000 79,000 98,000
13 FIRST TEST - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 742,000 230,000 238,000 128,000 85,000 60,000
15 UGLY BETTY - THU Seven 732,000 200,000 269,000 118,000 63,000 82,000
19 FRIENDS - DAILY RPT Ten 556,000 142,000 185,000 99,000 61,000 69,000
23 THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Ten 416,000 130,000 123,000 87,000 42,000 34,000
28 REX IN ROME SBS 350,000 134,000 102,000 41,000 36,000 38,000
29 SUNRISE Seven 350,000 111,000 74,000 82,000 36,000 48,000
36 TODAY Nine 273,000 94,000 83,000 55,000 16,000 24,000
79 MORNINGS WITH KERRI-ANNE SUMMER SERIES -RPT Nine 128,000 41,000 31,000 28,000 11,000 16,000
92 THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW Nine 108,000 37,000 51,000 13,000 7,000
What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,405,000 374,000 407,000 287,000 146,000 190,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,264,000 320,000 342,000 248,000 130,000 224,000
3 NINE NEWS Nine 1,172,000 339,000 362,000 226,000 134,000 111,000
4 CSI: MIAMI -RPT Nine 1,082,000 325,000 358,000 171,000 118,000 110,000
5 ABC NEWS ABC1 919,000 272,000 280,000 156,000 89,000 122,000
6 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (R) Seven 905,000 247,000 288,000 174,000 81,000 115,000
7 E.R. Nine 843,000 272,000 297,000 118,000 67,000 89,000
8 AIR CRASH INVESTIGATIONS Seven 824,000 210,000 235,000 179,000 86,000 114,000
9 MY FAMILY ABC1 782,000 183,000 239,000 157,000 94,000 108,000
11 FIRST TEST - AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA Nine 728,000 237,000 199,000 130,000 85,000 76,000
14 LAS VEGAS Seven 696,000 219,000 202,000 155,000 57,000 64,000
15 AC/DC LEGENDS OF ROCK Seven 675,000 166,000 218,000 121,000 98,000 73,000
16 WALLACE AND GROMIT: THE WRONG TROUSERS ABC1 674,000 155,000 210,000 134,000 90,000 84,000
22 THE UNIT - WED Seven 524,000 115,000 184,000 99,000 69,000 56,000
25 GOSSIP GIRL Nine 441,000 137,000 168,000 53,000 32,000 50,000

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,278,000 313,000 371,000 220,000 152,000 222,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,275,000 304,000 368,000 243,000 140,000 219,000
3 NCIS RPT Ten 1,193,000 303,000 338,000 220,000 132,000 201,000
4 ABC NEWS ABC1 951,000 263,000 282,000 168,000 101,000 137,000
5 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 929,000 230,000 305,000 197,000 104,000 94,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 902,000 219,000 314,000 174,000 109,000 86,000
7 SUDDEN IMPACT Nine 885,000 200,000 265,000 181,000 103,000 136,000
10 POLICE TEN 7 Nine 848,000 198,000 271,000 166,000 93,000 119,000
11 TEMPTATION Nine 840,000 211,000 263,000 172,000 84,000 109,000
13 OCEAN'S ELEVEN -RPT Nine 803,000 227,000 248,000 151,000 85,000 92,000
15 ELI STONE Seven 788,000 222,000 218,000 149,000 91,000 108,000
19 IN PLAIN SIGHT Ten 725,000 197,000 200,000 143,000 80,000 105,000
22 GHOST WHISPERER - TUE Seven 595,000 169,000 184,000 70,000 89,000 83,000
23 FRIENDS - DAILY RPT Ten 579,000 133,000 156,000 140,000 63,000 86,000
24 THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Ten 467,000 107,000 147,000 119,000 45,000 49,000
27 HUSTLE ABC1 402,000 90,000 133,000 42,000 64,000 73,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,416,000 390,000 389,000 241,000 161,000 233,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,357,000 367,000 375,000 242,000 158,000 216,000
3 BONES - MON (R) Seven 1,137,000 318,000 366,000 191,000 135,000 128,000
4 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,044,000 327,000 297,000 188,000 125,000 107,000
5 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,038,000 328,000 280,000 181,000 115,000 134,000
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,011,000 330,000 298,000 186,000 86,000 112,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,006,000 317,000 274,000 192,000 127,000 97,000
8 THE RICH LIST - MON Seven 993,000 286,000 306,000 159,000 109,000 133,000
9 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (R) Seven 919,000 256,000 289,000 138,000 93,000 143,000
10 TOP GEAR SBS 915,000 250,000 293,000 156,000 118,000 97,000
17 CELEBRITY: DOMINICK DUNNE ABC1 697,000 235,000 206,000 113,000 58,000 85,000

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 OUTBACK WILDLIFE RESCUE Seven 1,274,000 371,000 348,000 262,000 139,000 153,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,227,000 368,000 298,000 255,000 133,000 174,000
3 HOT PROPERTY Seven 1,204,000 350,000 337,000 255,000 120,000 142,000
4 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,113,000 298,000 396,000 189,000 137,000 93,000
5 SEVEN WONDERS OF THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD Seven 982,000 247,000 280,000 216,000 109,000 130,000
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 962,000 279,000 323,000 194,000 68,000 98,000
7 DIE HARD 2 Ten 908,000 242,000 292,000 180,000 85,000 108,000
8 M-SOMEONE LIKE YOU Seven 905,000 255,000 267,000 175,000 89,000 118,000
9 ABC NEWS-SUN ABC1 869,000 270,000 269,000 137,000 97,000 95,000
10 SCHOOLS SPECTACULAR 2008 ABC1 868,000 351,000 232,000 129,000 69,000 87,000
11 THE BIG BANG THEORY Nine 840,000 213,000 287,000 182,000 71,000 88,000
12 THE GIRL IN THE CAFE RPT ABC1 686,000 191,000 236,000 97,000 87,000 76,000
13 BATTLEFRONTS Nine 684,000 202,000 189,000 143,000 70,000 80,000
14 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SUN Ten 669,000 162,000 166,000 165,000 55,000 121,000
15 DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS Ten 608,000 118,000 222,000 127,000 69,000 71,000
16 NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION 2: COUSIN EDDIE'S ISLA Nine 543,000 125,000 189,000 106,000 72,000 51,000
17 SPORTS TONIGHT SUN Ten 529,000 146,000 110,000 133,000 51,000 89,000
18 2008 MEN'S AUSTRALIAN OPEN GOLF-DAY 4 Seven 494,000 153,000 163,000 87,000 41,000 51,000
19 WEEKEND SUNRISE Seven 428,000 113,000 138,000 91,000 32,000 54,000
20 AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL Ten 415,000 91,000 139,000 77,000 51,000 58,000
21 THE SIMPSONS SUN Ten 353,000 96,000 117,000 63,000 31,000 46,000
22 HOLBY BLUE Seven 342,000 98,000 115,000 43,000 51,000 34,000
23 CALIFORNICATION Ten 332,000 96,000 132,000 40,000 34,000 29,000
24 AT THE MOVIES SUMMER SPECIAL ABC1 292,000 95,000 94,000 44,000 27,000 32,000
25 THE ROMAN EMPIRE RPT SBS 287,000 90,000 73,000 45,000 39,000 39,000
44 THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART Ten 177,000 51,000 71,000 28,000 13,000 14,000
52 2008 FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP ADE UTD V GAM OSA SBS 154,000 39,000 36,000 10,000 56,000 13,000
53 THE BENNY HILL SHOW Seven 147,000 51,000 40,000 16,000 23,000 17,000
69 LEONARD BERNSTEIN'S CANDIDE ABC1 105,000 41,000 31,000 17,000 6,000 10,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, 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 10:59 AM
• Comments (173)