The Who We Are Update: To January 24

Wednesday May 9, 2007 04:08 PM

Who We Are

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 This fortnight of David Dale's television ratings blog is no longer current.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.

COMMENTS

Hmm, another Sunday paper has a story saying that Peter Overton is replacing Mark Ferguson as the nightly 6pm news reader, with Mark relegated to weekends... Think this is a really bad move, if Mark was to be replaced, the worse person to replace him with is Overton. Peter comes across as far too smug and arrogant, besides it is not the reader that is the problem. It is the content.... Too often, the lead story is some visiting airhead to our shores, not real news...

by Kate on January 11, 2009 at 12:48 PM

Apparently PETER OVERTON's promotion/demotion (depending on how you look at it) to newsreader at CHANNEL NINE was shrouded in secrecy - his appointment was kept top secret. The biggest question is WHY? NEIN NEWS has been struggling and the rumour mill was rife that MARK FERGUSON would be replaced. FERGUSON is a good newsreader and so is OVERTON so it will be interesting to see how he goes against ROSCO. I think the only way NEIN could beat ROSCO is if they bring back JIM WALEY. Sydney viewers in particular seem to gravitate to the older more credible style of newsreaders like BRIAN HENDERSON and WALEY! It will be an interesting battle at 6pm though.
As for the dreaded 6.30 - 7.00 pm slot and ACA versus TODAY TONIGHT - enough said. I might start watching NIGELLA on the ABC at 6.30 - tonight's food express episode is entitled GET UP AND GO - could mean anything??

by GJ on January 12, 2009 at 10:18 AM

Happy new year everyone. First day back at work and life is exciting! I just wanted to raise a little thing that irked me on the weekend with Channel 7's tennis coverage. I wonder if it irked anyone else? All last week they were televising the Brisbane International tournament. Yesterday was the men's final. It was also the first day for the Sydney International tournament. There was a first round match up of Sam Stosur (Aussie) and Serena Williams. Sam almost beat Serena but she choked. Exciting game? Yeah it was ok. More exciting than the men's final in Brisbane? You wouldn't have thought so. Thanks to Channel 7 I'll never know. They aired the first round Williams v Stosur match-up from Sydney to its conclusion and then joined the men's final in Brisbane with one game to go in the first set. Why is that 7 always think that we would prefer to watch the Aussies over ANY other players/sports that might be on at that time? I seem to recall them doing this during the Olympics. It is mightily frustrating. Why did they bother airing the Brisbane Intl ALL week if they were only going to televise the last 2 sets of the men's final (arguably the main event of any tournament)?
Ok there endeth my rant. On another note, I was thinking about the new channels the stations get this year. I know 10 is going to have a 24/7 sport channel. I think one of the other networks should have a movie channel. Easy programming for them and it means they don't have to spend much money producing new shows - which we know they won't do anyway. What does everyone think?

by mel on January 12, 2009 at 10:32 AM

WIN News need to get with the programme. No sooner had the Nein newsbreak reader mentioned Peter Overton reading the 6pm tonight, there was a quick promo with Mark Ferguson in the pimpage spot. BWAH!

by Bereft Skerrick on January 12, 2009 at 12:07 PM

Ooh thanks for the new page. When does official ratings start again? I'm just curious because Ch 10 is not showing the Globes tonight (which they usually do with low ratings). I really wanted to see Kate and Heath's wins. And the fashion, of course.

Tribal Mind replies: February.

by Kym on January 12, 2009 at 01:44 PM

A Happy New Year to everyone. I am back at work, worse luck!

Quite enjoyed the movie/doco about the Lusitania on Sunday night. A bit like Titanic but shorter. The movie, I mean. Also am a fan of John Hannah ( I just love his accent) and we just dont see enough of him on our screens. I thought he would have made an interesting Dr Who. Not too sure about the guy they chose though.

Also Top Gear was great last night. Don't know if it was a repeat but I hadn't seen it before.

And saw the ad this morning on Nein advertising Peter Overton as their new newsreader. Interesting to see how he does. Never really been a fan but willing to see how he goes before I judge.

by em on January 13, 2009 at 07:19 AM

It would seem based on last night's figures that NEIN's ' a change is happening' campaign hasn't swayed viewers. PETER OVERTON at 6pm was beaten by SEVEN NEWS and also the ABC. Wouldn't be surprised to see MARK FERGUSON having a quiet chuckle in the NEIN loos after seeing these figures. Expect more changes at NEIN I think!

Tribal Mind replies: Bit early yet for Seven to gloat.

by GJ on January 13, 2009 at 09:33 AM

TM - agree it is too early for SEVEN to gloat but NEIN has simply been saturating its commercial space with ads for OVERTON and there has also been considerable coverage in the papers and on talkback over the last few days about OVERTON replacing FERGUSON. One would have expected the curiousity factor alone to have kicked in. I think NEIN are looking a little desperate at the moment and shuffling the deckchairs and starting last night's bulletin with a nothing story and doing a live cross really looked silly. I watched OVERTON for five minutes last night, then switched across to the BOLD and the BEAUTIFUL to see the forrestors in bed with each other again...it was far more entertaining! I then switched across to SBS WORLD NEWS at 6.30pm and then to the ABC at 7pm to get my news feed for the day!

by GJ on January 13, 2009 at 10:13 AM

Hello everybody....welcome to the new year. Good to have you back TM....where do we see the piccies??
Housekeeping:
So a Party Animal becomes The Doctor ?? He does seem to have that "quirky" sense about him. I thought the Party Animal brother may have been better.
SBS's Carla Cometti seemed a bit tooo much stereotyped (Italian female not married, that sort of thing) but should be worth another look.
Top Gear topping the million mark....way to go fellows!!! (Mrs PJ & I received tickets for the Sydney show from Santa!!)
As my "security code" was 999999....I guesss I should make a comment re Ch9. Enjoyed the cricket, but have no interest in their "news" services

TM replies: I finally got to see Tennant on the last night of Hamlet. He was moving slowly, but performing powerfully.

by PJ453 on January 13, 2009 at 10:33 AM

Kym, I too was disappointed to see that 10 wasn't showing the globes - had to live vicariously through the live blog and watching the youtube clips - which lasted all of 8 hours before being taken down thanks to Dick Clarke productions. But I got to see Heath and Kate's big moments. I loved Kate's second speech - although it has been bagged out a fair bit, I thought she was genuinely shocked and did really well to remember more than her own name! I also gained some satisfaction that she forgot Angelina's name - after the death glares she gave Ann Hathaway at the Critics Choice, she could come down a peg or two...

Loved Top Gear last night - every time I see the British version, I'm just reminded by how bad the Aussie one is... em, SBS went straight into season 12 after the end of season 11, so unless you're a downloader, they're all new. Even when Hamster, Captain Slow and Clarkson are trying to be factual and "not entertaining" to comply with Visa requirements (so funny, a huge chuckle over that) they are a million times better than the Aussies. Not that they are doing anything bad, and they are trying hard, and they are fine at doing what they do - it's just that the comparison is just too difficult to live up to!

by Beckala on January 13, 2009 at 10:51 AM

So glad we're seeing the very recent series 12 of Top Gear here, instead of lagging way behind. Wish all the media trying to "out" the Stig presently would shut the hell up and stop trying to ruin the mystique.

by Bereft Skerrick on January 13, 2009 at 11:24 AM

TM...Seeing Tennant was a bonus, he was flat on his back over Xmas & not expected to do any shows until the 2nd week of Jan....which accent did Tennant use ??? He's the voice-over of the ABC show Highest Hospital in the World, 2nd episode this week, & it is nice hearing that natural Scottish brogue. The Golden Globes came up with mostly the favourites winning. Saw Slumdog Millionaire during holidays & it certainly is one of the best movies of the year if not the decade, a deserved winner.

Tribal Mind replies: English with occasional Scots lapses. Tennant came back against doctor's orders to fulfil his obligation to the people who had booked seats. His great talent is to be dangerously unpredictable - frivolous verging on menacing.

by PJ453 on January 13, 2009 at 11:48 AM

Watched the last ep in Waking the Dead Series 7,I do like that show,hope the make series 8,also halfway through series 6 of Spooks,hopeful of getting hold of 7 and 8 soon.
Started to watch a show called The Fixed which looks interesting have to wait and see if the make series 2,Bonekickers was another interesting show but they canned it after the 1st series
I am hopefull our friend can get some more new shows this year

by John Ryan on January 13, 2009 at 05:55 PM

The Bold and The Beautiful is moving back to 430pm, anyone know why?

by dave on January 13, 2009 at 06:43 PM

dave: Perhaps Ten did it to annoy "davo", who declared his utter disdain for B&B so eloquently in the previous chapter of this blog. Actually it was meant to be an "experiment".

by Bereft Skerrick on January 13, 2009 at 08:21 PM

dave, Channel teen claimed that the Bold experiment was only a summer fling. Ha, the title of Bold allowed me to create some poetic prose! Just checked Monday's listing (thanks to yourtv.com.au - credit where it's due!) and they've got Simpsons back. Season 8 episodes (the one for monday is the third episode of season 8). Continuing with Friends at 7pm, also season 8!! Lucky coincidence, I know, but maybe there is some mystical numeracy theory being tested in the hopes of ratings gains!... (I fear that being so close to going back to work with the hundreds of teenagers I've managed to avoid thinking about since December - except for when their HSC results came out, because I do care about them - has sent me slightly insane. The things you notice when you are avoiding writing a Shakespeare program for students with learning difficulties!!)
Am loving Eli Stone - such a shame ABC America has cancelled...

by Beckala on January 13, 2009 at 09:06 PM

I did try Carla Cametti and although it is a bit of a stereotype I enjoyed it and will watch the remaining 5 eps. Caught the Nein "sneak peek" of flashpoint - mainly because Enrico Colatoni (Keith Mars) was on - found it to be same same but slightly different - does not really stretch the mind. Like Beckala I have enjoyed Eli Stone and will miss it after Thursday. Not surprised no notice from Shirl re removing In Plain Sight why would they tell us when they change things?
Read today that (no shock here) Prison Break ends this season in US - there are 4 more eps which they will air in April (they may make a couple of others eps just to tie up a few ends but no guarantees).
Have seen 5 movies already this year (Back to work tomorrow - wanted a very short week to start) including Milk with Sean Penn at OpenAir Cinema on Monday as I won a double pass. Excellent movie - audience applauded at the end. Have also seen Frost/Nixon and Seven Pounds - both good although Seven Pounds is predictable. I saw Slumdog Millionaire last year and like others I highly recommend it

by Cathy on January 14, 2009 at 09:05 AM

A MASSIVE brick bat to Seven for screening the extra episodes of The Unit completley out of sequence. They broke up a 2 part episode to screen 2 episodes that may have even been from the prior series. You really have to wonder why they bother...

by ozinoz on January 14, 2009 at 09:14 AM

Tuesday nights are proving a good night on the box. Last night's dose of DESPERATELY SEEKING DOCTORS on SBS at 7.30 continues to impress and PARTY ANIMALS on the ABC is still going strong. It's a shame it's only an 8 part series and I think we are up to episode 7. The guy who will play DR WHO is very well cast in this series and I can see why he was chosen to replace TENNANT.
Am bored silly with the AUSTRALIA versus SOUTH AFRICA stoush in the cricket - can't imagine why 2 million Australians find it so entertaining but it is a result for NEIN so they should be happy!
Not so happy will NEIN be about their news and current affairs line-up. The 6pm news lost another 20,000 viewers last night, compared to Monday, and A CURRENT AFFAIR is again way behind TODAY TONIGHT - maybe they should start 20/20 at 6pm??

by GJ on January 14, 2009 at 09:53 AM

@ ozinoz. The Unit episodes that aired on a Thursday a couple weeks back were from the previous season, episodes which the idiots strangely skipped before jumping into the new season.

by Brodie on January 14, 2009 at 10:50 AM

TM,
Any figures for The Museum and Party Animals on ABC1 Tuesday night? Two surprisingly good shows.

Tribal Mind replies: 499,000 and 300,000. What does that tell you?

by Samuel on January 14, 2009 at 03:04 PM

"Watched the last ep in Waking the Dead Series 7,I do like that show,hope the make series 8"
John, where was this being shown? Nine had it scheduled once and pulled it.

by Gary on January 14, 2009 at 03:04 PM

Wondering whether the lenient sentence given to Ajay over her Centrelink Fraud ($70 court costs + 12mth good behaviour bond) will affect the ratings of Biggest Loser this season.
Or will it just be the distinct lack of Bob and Jillian? Change to Couples? Only just so many wacky twists, turns and surprised the TBL gibbons can think of?

by Bereft Skerrick on January 14, 2009 at 07:20 PM

Bereft, it will be the lack of Bob and Jillian factor. Most people hate the Australian trainers - the alleged woman beater was christened "Kel Night" due to his similarities to the Glenn robbins character - absolute idiot but ridiculously enthusiastic about EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING!! (caps lock was on purpose, to illustrate the depth of Kel's enthusiasm). And again, that nickname was christened before the abuse allegations made it into the media. As for whatever her name is - she's just a waste of space. Ajay - the only fun with her is watching her weight rise and rise as she eats the leftovers of the different challenges... (I'll admit, that sledge is not my own, a friend came up with it, but it is very apt and true, particularly looking at the Today Tonight footage when promoting her court case).

Enjoying Long Way Down - I bought this for Mr Beckala for Christmas last year, so I have seen it a few times, but always enjoyable. The episode when he goes to Rwanda is truly moving - doesn't matter how many times I see it, I always get choked up. Although I always get annoyed at the episode where his wife tags along - I think I empathise with Charley when he is watching her fall off the bike for the tenth time...

by Beckala on January 14, 2009 at 08:14 PM

Quoth Bereft Skerrick on January 13, 2009 at 11:24 AM: "Wish all the media trying to "out" the Stig presently would shut the hell up and stop trying to ruin the mystique."

Last year, a workmate of mine told me who The Stig was. The name meant nothing to me, so I forgot it within seconds. :) Who cares, he's The Stig!

John Ryan on January 13, 2009 at 05:55 PM: I've actually heard fairly dire reports of "Bonekickers". I've been watching "The Middleman" (very silly US sci-fi/comedy, but strangely highly entertaining and quite addictive) and have copies of "Lost in Austen" and "Merlin" from my downloading buddies to watch when I find the time.

Tribal Mind replies: 499,000 and 300,000. What does that tell you?

Tells me that I went to the pub and forgot to set the recorder! D'oh!

Only thing watched this week was The Simpsons on Monday and the end of Top Gear. I don't mind the set being off that much...

Oh, Mr Bear has discovered The Clone Wars thinggy on Ten on Saturday. We have managed to get organised and record one episode. It *had* to have Jar-Jar Binks in it, didn't it? Serves us right for not being more organised and getting earlier episodes recorded, I guess. (Mr Bear has discovered the PS2 and the Star Wars Lego game. He's not watching much TV at the mo...)

by tqd on January 15, 2009 at 10:58 AM

Apparently AJ ROCHESTOR (that's her stage name for goodness sake) will return as the host of the BIGGEST LOSER - I'm not sure what to make of the media attention given to this story - while I think she may have been a victim of her C Grade celebrity status, and therefore probably has suffered enough from the bad press, I have to ask why all the fuss? - she paid back the debt, yet the media scrum yesterday outside the court was equivalent to that given to Nicole Kidman last year. It just seemed such a nothing story made more newsworthy because there was not a lot on yesterday.
I understand a lot of people think she got away without a conviction because of her so called 'celebrity status' but I think her celebrity status meant in a way she was punished enough - all the attention she received, as unnecessary as it was will probably stay with her while she remains a public figure.

As for the show itself - one wonders what motivates people to go on the show, fame, money or simply to improve their health. How many ex-contestants have we heard about who upon leaving the show, miss the limelight and pour the weight back on. Will be interesting to see how the show and its contestants rate with viewers this year but dare I say it will probably rate well. As for the trainers haven't watched that much of the show in the past to know who they are but one has to question their motivation as well for being involved in a show that really offers questionable methods for the contestants to lose weight! One minute they're asking these poor devils to run up hills with tyres on their backs and then in the next episode their tempting the same contestant with a dozen crispy kremes on a platter just to avoid elimination. For goodness sake give me a break!

by GJ on January 15, 2009 at 11:01 AM

Hi Gary it has not been shown here nine who have it, I doubt they will show it as its a bit above the combined mental capacity of the people running 9 to understand it.
Friend of mine is into downloading a lot of shows so I asked if he would he said OK.
If you have Pay it will turn up on UKTV sooner or later

by John Ryan on January 15, 2009 at 12:08 PM

OUT OF THE BLUE will finish tonight in its current timeslot. It will return in the new weekly timeslot of 6pm Sundays from this week.
Here's Ten's schedule for the last week of non-ratings and the first week of 2009 ratings:
SUNDAY Feb 1
6.30 The Biggest Loser (Season Premiere)
7.30 SYTYCD Australia - 1st Audition (Season Premiere)
9.00 Movie: Election
11.00 The Office
MONDAY Feb 2
7.00 The Biggest Loser
7.30 SYTYCD Australia - 2nd Audition
8.30 Movie: The Devil Wears Prada
TUESDAY Feb 3
7.00 The Biggest Loser
8.00 Bondi Rescue (Season Premiere)
8.30 NCIS (Season Return)
9.30 Lie to Me (Series Premiere)
WEDNESDAY Feb 4
7.00 The Biggest Loser
7.30 SYTYCD Australia - 3rd Audition
9.00 House (Season Return)
10.00 Life (Season Return)
THURSDAY Feb 5
7.00 The Biggest Loser
8.00 Bondi Vet (Series Premiere)
8.30 Law & Order: SVU (Season Premiere)
9.30 Life on Mars (Series Premiere)
FRIDAY Feb 6
7.00 The Biggest Loser
7.30 The All New Simpsons (Season Premiere)
8.00 The Simpsons (rpt)
8.30 Law & Order - double episode
10.25 Orange Roughies
Saturday, Feb 7
6.00 The Simpsons (rpt)
6.30 Movie: Honey (rpt)
8.30 Movie: Billy Elliot (rpt)
10.30 Life on Mars (Encore)
SUNDAY Feb 8
6.30 The Biggest Loser
7.30 SYTYCD Australia - Top 100 Part One
9.00 ROVE (Season Premiere)
MONDAY Feb 9
7.00 The Biggest Loser
7.30 SYTYCD Australia - Top 100 Part Two
8.30 Good News Week (Series Return)
9.30 Dexter (Season Premiere)
TUESDAY Feb 10
7.00 The Biggest Loser
8.00 Bondi Rescue
8.30 NCIS
9.30 Lie to Me
WEDNESDAY Feb 11
7.00 The Biggest Loser
7.30 SYTYCD Australia - The Green Mile
9.00 House
10.00 Life
THURSDAY Feb 12
7.00 The Biggest Loser
8.00 Bondi Vet
8.30 Law & Order: SVU
9.30 Life on Mars
FRIDAY Feb 13
7.00 The Biggest Loser
7.30 The All New Simpsons
8.00 All New Futurama (Series Return)
8.30 Law & Order
9.30 Law & Order (Season Final)
THE DOCTORS premieres on Monday Feb 9 at 12pm on Ten.
FOX8 has decided to delay screening CHUCK till later this year - so it will not premiere on Jan 21 as advertised. It will be replaced by all new KYLE XY.
Elsewhere, Nine will begin showing the original New Zealand series THE ZOO on weekdays from Monday 5pm. It will be followed by ANTIQUES ROADSHOW at 5.30.
BRITANNIA HIGH returns to Seven (with the first episode) on Saturday Jan 31 at 12pm.
For those of you who missed the original screening, Seven will repeat 24: REDEMPTION on Saturday, January 31 @ 11pm but it won't be simulcast in High Definition with Seven showing a movie on 7HD.
Nine has signalled that it will continue with the next season of ER once the current season finishes on Wednesday Jan 28 with the season final at 9.30 & the new season premiere at 10.30.
On ABC1, THE CUT (with John Wood) premieres on Monday February 23 at 9.30pm.

by cpandilo on January 15, 2009 at 04:05 PM

TM,
I've picked up somewhere that the ABC's W-League broadcasts out rate pay tv's A-League broadcast, is this actually true ?

Tribal Mind replies: I presume you are referring to some sort of sporting event. How would these things be described in the program list?

by EdgarA on January 16, 2009 at 07:44 AM

Does anyone know what happened to America's Next Top Model? They played a few episodes and now it's gone from the schedule? I love the show for some reason and I'm missing it!

by Nic on January 16, 2009 at 07:57 AM

I have to agree with GJ. TBL seems to me to be a show more about public humilation than any real attempt to help people. Have rarely watched it and won't start this year either. As for the so called "celebrity" AJ Whatshername, the media's behaviour is typical and they should be ashamed of themselves. She paid the money back and has gone through a trial etc so get over it and move on. How about reporting on some real news instead?
Been watching Nein news this past week and I just can't get into Peter Overton. I think I will go back to watching ABC news at 7 instead. Peter just seems awkward or something. Just don't like him.
Glad to hear that Nein is going to keep showing ER. Though I won't hold my breath that it will stay at the same timeslot. ER has seen better days though. I just don't like John Stamos. Never have. And his character in ER is so full of himself and I have never seen a doctor in real life look so scruffy. I know it's TV but really.... Is he supposed to be the shows new sex symbol or something? He doesn't do it for me and I am getting rather tired of his character. Wish a helicopter would fall on him!

by em on January 16, 2009 at 08:21 AM

Thanks for ten's schedule cpandilo. Lots of SYTYCD watching from Feb then!
W-League is on ABC on Sat arvos I think. Not interested to be honest, I'd rather play soccer than watch it...
Ugly Betty's ratings dramatically up (850k versus last few weeks' 650k); it was certainly one of those cliffhanger episodes. Could this be the start of an upward trend in their ratings, or have they jumped the shark?

Tribal Mind replies: A show jumps the shark when it does something desperate to try to grab back audience. In America, it hasn't needed to do that yet. Here, Seven has written off Ugly Betty.

by arthur on January 16, 2009 at 08:49 AM

Enjoying Everest ER but the area is now almost a mini township, soooo many climbers. The one thing it does show is how remarkable Hillary & Tensing (sp?)were without already installed ropes & ladders, they were truly amazing. Carla Cometti seems to be improving & we'll be watching each week

by PJ453 on January 16, 2009 at 09:16 AM

Stronger ratings for the season finales of both Ugly Betty and Eli Stone. Don't know if either of them are strong enough to warrant a return in prime time during ratings season though. After Seven have finished running the final Boston Legal episodes on Monday nights at 10.30pm, they could follow it with the second series of Eli Stone. With Dirty Sexy Money at 11.30pm until it ends. If Seven decide to build on he popularity of Scrubs and 30 Rock by showing them on a Tuesday night at 10.30pm, they could show Ugly Betty in that timeslot later in the year.

by J Bar on January 16, 2009 at 10:01 AM

TM do you have last night's ratings for Out of the Blue? and also The Bold and the Beautiful? as both will be gone from their slots next week.
Cheers

Tribal Mind replies: In the chart now.

by Jason on January 16, 2009 at 10:52 AM

Hey TM - you and I both agreed that on Tuesday it was too early that SEVEN gloat about the poor performance of PETER OVERTON. Well it's been barely a week and SEVEN have come out today and described OVERTON's first week as a 'dog of a result' Gosh they don't hold back do they?? According to several media outlets OVERTON is coming last with Sydney viewers when compared to SEVEN, ABC and TEN.
I have given up on watching NEIN news this week but I guess viewers are either not warming to the way NEIN have handled this - ie the public dumping of MARK FERGUSON or they just don't like OVERTON. Anyone else got any views??
It will be interesting to see how OVERTON stacks up against IAN ROSS once all the media hype dies down. I suspect ROSCO will win but I hope JUANITA PHILLIPS on the ABC does well with her ratings this year - she and FELICITY DAVEY are the quiet achievers of Australian newsreading!

by GJ on January 16, 2009 at 10:58 AM

Ozinoz & Brodie... re the 2 eps of The Unit on Thurs night a few weeks back. 7 apparantly decided to hold back those 2 unaired eps from the previous season in preference to starting afresh wth new plot lines in season 4. After watching those 2 eps I can understand why... the old Unit was sinking, while the fresh new season is miles ahead of the pack. Dirty Sexy Money has also found a new set of teeth, but no-one seems to care. Can't see 7 fast-tracking new season of 24 - the first screening of 2 hour telemovie Redemption attracted hardly any viewers. No idea why they're repeating it (& so late at night.) By the way, what's the betting that by the end of 2009 a certain Mr Murdoch (not saying which one) ends up owning Network TEN, while WIN-TV ends up owning what's left of the Nine Network????? And both purchases for bargain basement prices.

by David @ Green Point on January 16, 2009 at 12:08 PM

My first posting this year, so let me start off by wishing everyone all the best for the new year!
It doesn't happen often in summer, both of my PVRs working on a given night at 8:30 but it did last night. I do concede that I only had to record 3 programmes but we normally watch whatever we decide to watch time delayed to flick out the commercials.
Carla Cammetti PD, while attracting fewer viewers then last week, certainly deserves to do better and it is logged in to be recorded weekly. I enjoy both Eli Stone and Cold case as well so with the capacity to record 4 shows at a given time and watch a fifth, I don't really have to make a decision, on the rare occasion that it may occur, regarding what to watch or not to watch.
In case you wonder why two PVRs, I have had one for a number of years, it broke down so I bought a new HD one. Then one day, to kill a bit of time I thought I would have a look at the broken down unit to see what was actually under its bonnet, found that the HD had succumbed to some unknown disease and died, replaced it and am now stuck with two of the bloody things so no decadence involved but it does come in handy from time to time.

by Zjonn on January 16, 2009 at 01:00 PM

tqd: Methinks Mr Bear and Master 7.52 should get together to "discuss" their joint addiction to the Star Wars Lego PS2 games. Had been thinking abut getting same for their Wii as I've heard you can get "lightsaber" attachments for the controllers.
I'm sure someone at 7 released the story about the Ferguson/Overton rift, but I still got the feel of weekend newsreader from him when I watched the other night. Bring Back Jim Waley!!!

by Bereft Skerrick on January 16, 2009 at 01:31 PM

TM, do you have figures for the US Kath & Kim on Monday night? Finally after 8 or so episodes, a decent one. It begs the question, though, how many others will have waited this long for a decent episode??

Tribal Mind replies: I'll include it in the weekly chart on Sunday morning.

by Elizabeth on January 16, 2009 at 02:21 PM

Am I in a time warp? Channel 10 is showing "About A Boy" yet again!!!!!!

by Rob1966 on January 16, 2009 at 02:50 PM

cpandilo - it is common courtesy to acknowledge that you source your programming information to the TV Tonight website, where you have quite obviously copy/pasted from.

by Ryan on January 16, 2009 at 04:27 PM

Nic asked: "Does anyone know what happened to America's Next Top Model? They played a few episodes and now it's gone from the schedule? I love the show for some reason and I'm missing it!"
America's Next Top Model has been moved to Sat 12.00 at night.

by vanessa on January 17, 2009 at 12:49 AM

Attn Nick Falloon and Channel ten management ..... Shocking music is still on during law and order ads. You are playing your 'shocking' demographic music to an older audience - not interested ..... also interesting to note that during the ad breaks of law and order, it appeared that 1/2 the ads were for channel ten programs and 1/2 were for sponsors ...... doesn't exactly inspire confidence for potential sponsors ........

by Randwick Geoff on January 17, 2009 at 11:09 AM

Frankly, I don't give a damn whether it's Mark Ferguson or Peter Overton - they both look smug. Carla Cametti seemed alright when I tuned in the other day. Now Eli Stone's finished, I can give my full attention to the PD. I do wish Ch 7 would show season two of Stone at a late time slot, compared to nothing at all. And Rob1966, what a time warp! It's About a Boy this week, so it can't be too long until Love Actually.

by Kym on January 17, 2009 at 04:13 PM

I don't know if other people saw what appeared to be poor quality, low resolution cameras having been used by NINE for the cricket yesterday.
Watching the telecast in HD, the pictures broadcast were clearly not HD, the background pictures of the crowds in the background showed extremely poor pixelation to the degree that the crowds displayed as blurred rectangular blobs.
The more I see of HD, the more I have come to conclude that it is no more than a massive con to get people to invest in new technology for the sake of it as I really have to say, low resolution cameras do not work for HD, nor do black and white movies enhance HD in any way and that is all that is being presented by our TV networks!

by Zjonn on January 17, 2009 at 04:31 PM

Zjonn, I feel you are limiting the use of your HD. It's not just about FTA tv. I have had many special dvd moments - and I'm about to go to Blueray (thanks to Merrick and Rosso and Kate Ritchie - I won a Playstation 3 from them, which has the Blueray/Bluray - not sure on the spelling!! Sorry!! technology1) and going to invest in the Dark Knight. HD is not about FTA, not for a while - it's starting, but is not there yet! But it makes dvds look freaking awesome - and also, there are certain programs (american dramas, for example) that are now being shot in HD. I can't remember what it was (and mr Beckala has gone to bed, so I can't confirm with him), but there were a few shows on during the week that WERE in HD. Might have been one of the crime shows...? It wasn't something I usually watched, but we could definitely see the difference. When you do see it, it is totally worth it! Might need to wait a while with some of the other stuff, but the potential is there, and being enjoyed by many!! I know it must be frustrating, particularly when you are hoping your sport is going to be in the ultimate viewing standard - but a little more patience is needed. I think it will get there - but it will take a little while longer for the technology tol spread. These are my thoughts, others my have more technical knowledge, so I'm not claiming to be the expert! In my own, slightly educated way, I'm offering my opinion, I'm happy to be wrong, if someone has a more educated opinion!!
Good lord, the ads right now are just disgusting!! Shows how the standard drops once 12am starts!! Ye gads, I'm putting a dvd on, simply to avoide the ads!!

by Beckala on January 17, 2009 at 11:40 PM

TV Tonight has reported new seasons of these shows being programmed by 7 to return within weeks...
New Seasons:
Scrubs, 30 Rock, Boston Legal, All Saints: Medical Response Unit, How I Met Your Mother, Brothers and Sisters, Greyï¿½s Anatomy, 24, Eli Stone.
Season Returns
City Homicide, Criminal Minds, Packed To The Rafters, Ghost Whisperer.
Dirty Sexy Money, interupted by the tennis, resumes February 3rd.

by David @ Green Point on January 18, 2009 at 06:39 AM

Hey TM, just wondering if you could tell us how Flashpoint went. It looks to have been revised down quite a lot from it's 1m audience, due to the cricket over-run. Thanks.

Tribal Mind replies: In the chart now. What kind of program is it?

by Dino on January 18, 2009 at 10:47 AM

Thanks a lot for that TM. Wow, I can't believe it's audience was practically halved!
I can't believe you havent heard of it. It's 9's new Canadian swat style procedural. Not too bad a show, but not that great either. There's another sneak peek tonight 8.30, as well as Monday. Though 9 are playing the episodes out of order (have no idea why) so it could get confusing.

by Dino on January 18, 2009 at 11:50 AM

I bet America's Next Top Model is pleased with its new 12:15am-2:15am Sunday morning timeslot on Ten. How did it rate, TM? I'm guessing the figure will be rather microscopic.

by Elizabeth on January 18, 2009 at 04:20 PM

Just had the realisation today, after David @ Green Point's post, that Eli Stone actually has TWO seasons! I'm a very happy camper now! Admittedly, a short season (9 eps) and I'm not entirely sure if they are going with a 3rd (I keep seeing reports that ABC America has cancelled, yet www.tv.com is reporting it as a returning series, yet gives no date for the next episode. But it did air up to end of December 2008. So that will have to be sorted). But I'm glad that there are more eps to watch.
ABSOLUTELY THRILLED!!! That Seven are picking up the new season of Scrubs, only a few weeks behind!! I'm hoping it will be a ratings success! But I know of at least 15 people who will watch it (and they're the ones i'm in contact with now - I've got another 50 or so that I will catch up with in a week - ie my students - that will probably tune in too!) So happy to see them finally treat that show with the respect it deserves! They should look at the dvd sales - I know of at least 5 or 6 people in my FAMILY that buy the new season each year - that's in my family!! Let alone other families, complete strangers etc. It has a following, it just needed 7 to treat it with a bit more respect. Hooray, let's hope this works!

by Beckala on January 18, 2009 at 08:29 PM

Hi everybody (Hi Dr Nick). First day back after the hols and I'm dropping my New Year's Resolution (to be nice). What's the fun in that?
Spent the last four weeks watching:
5 seasons of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'.
Season 1 of 'Mad Men'.
Season 2 of '30 Rock'.
First 2 Seasons of 'The Sopranos'.
So......Brand new episodes of 'Hole in the Wall' and 'Fatty Boombas Cry on Cue' (aka Biggest Loser) just aint gonna cut it I'm afraid. I need to be entertained in the manner to which I've become accustomed.
I already freshly detest Bonnie Lithgoe having seen 2 seconds of her on a promo. I will call her 'Ironed Barbie'.
And it's only January 19.
Also saw 'Slumdog Miyonare', 'Curious Case of Blah Blah Blah', and 'Doubt'. Loved the first and last and the middle one was so-so (a trade off with a visiting female parent who tried to get me to see 'Australia' but relented when I insisted it would result in ritual suicide).
Hello 2009.

by darren on January 19, 2009 at 08:39 AM

And another thing - tv options were APPALLING last night! About A Boy - dear god, I think i've got it memorised!! Ended up watchng one of the new dvds we got for Christmas - Charley Boorman's new documentary "by Any Means". Very interesting viewing, about how he gets from Ireland to Australia "by any means" possible, excluding commercial airlines. Wonder if SBS will show it... Then again, it took them a good year after the dvd release to show Long Way Down!

by Beckala on January 19, 2009 at 10:00 AM

to Randwick Geoff.. I COULD NOT AGREE MORE, the music that ten plays when Law and Order goes to an ad break is terrible my 55 year old father turns the tv on mute so now he missess all the ads too.. bad move channel ten!

by dave on January 19, 2009 at 11:03 AM

Beckala: there's already been 4 episodes of Scrubs (not sure why US ABC is rushing through the episodes thusly) but not holiding my breath to see it at a reasonable i.e. non-insomniac timeslot.

At least Dexter has been moved, let's see how long that'll last on a Monday. Mind, we doomsayers did think it'd go down the Torchwood path in the 1st season.

Welcome back from your break darren. The only movie I saw this break (so far) was the mental giant of Bedtime Stories, with Guy Pearce overcamping it again. It was either that or some cartoon thing. Remember the good old days when cartoon movies were few and far between i.e. there was only one Toy Story'ish movie every while or so. Now every 2 bit Hollywood actor seems to be voicing one. And they're trotting Toy Story out for another installment soon (due on my 40th birthday!)

by Bereft Skerrick on January 19, 2009 at 12:39 PM

hello tm do you know what she wore a yellow ribbon rated on saturday night on abc2?
One of the great films directed by ford as with the searchers.

Tribal Mind replies: It was number 365 program for the week, with 80,000 across the mainland capitals. The vast majority of Australians do not know ABC2 exists.

by john on January 19, 2009 at 12:45 PM

A great night watching TV on Channel 10 last Friday! (Note: incredibly heavy sarcasm!!!) Appeared to be a program about adverts and Channel 10 promos that occasionally got interrupted by brief moments of something called Law & Order – mind you, they were so brief I didn’t even get time to make a cup of tea!

But seriously (no pun intended!) – do the commercial networks really think people are watching some of the absolute tripe that is on at the moment (I know that is being unfair to tripe – it can be quite nice if cooked correctly)?

The umpteenth repeat of “About a Boy” by Channel 10, 20 to 1 cut in half to 10 to 1 by Channel 9 (or should that be Channel Denial?)!!

As for “Life on Mars” – Channel 10, I’ll be sick of it before it even starts (and in any case, I’ve seen the UK series!)

Just as well the ABC and SBS provide a modicum of entertainment (albeit a bit sparse on the ground).

by rob1966 on January 19, 2009 at 04:07 PM

tm, i'm just wondering if you have the ratings for 'The World Game' that aired on yesterday (Sunday) at 5pm. Thanks.

Tribal Mind replies: Sadly, it totalled just 35,000 across the capitals.

by Jimbo on January 19, 2009 at 04:26 PM

Bereft, I'm not holding out too much hope, but at least if it's on the tv, I can record and watch it properly. Mr Beckala still needs to learn how to download, so my only other option is watching dodgy uploads on Youtube.

by Beckala on January 19, 2009 at 04:43 PM

SHARK is returning to Seven at the new time of 2pm Monday, February 2. Yes, this progrm will air in daytime.
Also, all the networks will be showing special coverage of the Obama Inauguration on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, here are the timings:
Seven: 3-6am (Live)
Nine: 10.55pm-5.30am (Live)
Ten: 1.30-6am (Live)
ABC1: 3.25-5am (Live) (followed by a repeat of tonight's Obama doco at 5am)
SBS:
12.30-3.30pm: Highlights on Wednesday afternoon.
TM, in response to previous posts by other bloggers to which you asked of FLASHPOINT, What kind of program is it?
on Jan 18 at 10.47am.
FLASHPOINT is a Canadian drama series starring JUST SHOOT ME! & VERONICA MARS' Enrico Colantoni and is about a Strategic Response Unit in Toronto that resolves extreme situations that regular officers cannot handle including hostage-taking, bomb threats and heavily armed criminals. Even though they're backed with high-tech equipment with an arsenal of explosives, tasers, submachine guns, assault and sniper rifles, the SRU operators use intuition and judgement to resolve the situation. (Source: Wikipedia)

by cpandilo on January 19, 2009 at 05:04 PM

TM
Do you have last night's ratings for Out of the Blue - twas it's first airing at 6pm Sunday.

Tribal Mind replies: Twas far worse than before:
43 OUT OF THE BLUE SUN Ten 170,000 46,000 54,000 34,000 19,000 17,000

by Jimmy James on January 19, 2009 at 08:23 PM

Ouch!!!

by Jimmy James on January 19, 2009 at 08:54 PM

Out of the Blue's ratings are freaking awful!! How bad is that for a Sunday 6pm?! Methinks Channel 10 will be axing it before we know it! Even if only to send it back to late night, and replace with more Simpsons...
Very interesting show on ABC about Obama tonight - TM, when you get the ratings, can you let us know how it goes? It was called... (sitting here waiting for epg to update) - Made in Chicago - The Making of Barack. It did his whole journey to office, had quite a few of his speeches that aren't as well known here. The man is just an outstanding speaker, I was talking to Mr Beckala - others, please feel free to disagree or offer other evidence to dispute it - but I think he could be the first orator of this generation (I'm talking about the younger generation here - we're both about to turn 30), so therefore haven't had a lot to compare it with - Dr King was dead long before us - doesn't seem to be any comparable figures until now. I always thought when I first saw him on the scene a few years ago that he had the potential to change the world... So excited for Wednesday early am!! Am half tempted to stay up ridiculously late to watch it all live (I'm on my last week of holidays)

by Beckala on January 19, 2009 at 10:08 PM

Beckala, are you going to watch the 'Sunrise' special hosted by Natalie Bar (a.k.a. Nat)? I'm sure that'll be one serious, in depth analysis ("Did they choose a puppy yet? Where's the puppy?").
I agree with his speakin' skills though. But then compared to W, Elmo is a great orator. Obama has the ability to inspire. Hopefully won't start answering his own questions.
Rob1966......Tripe? Tripe!!? Did you not see 'McCleod's Daughters' on Saturday night? Four hours, yes FOUR, of top quality television. Not to mention all those New Zilland documentaries Seven & Nine have been showing. There was one on yesterday where there was a bird in a tree! And then another one where people were getting in trouble for taking too many pippies of the beach. And then another one where people were getting in trouble for taking too many pippies off the beach. And then another one where people were getting in trouble for taking too many pippies off the beach.
I'm looking forward to repeats during the ratings season.

by darren on January 20, 2009 at 06:01 AM

A CURRENT AFFAIR or should that be A CHANNEL NINE AFFAIR were at their very best last night plugging not one but two shows due for release in the official ratings period.
Their first story last night was a terrible beat up all planned to cross promote the new season of DOMESTIC BLISS - apparently a local council got wind that the wonderkids from the show were coming in to renovate a house and garden and didn't have council approval - so rangers were employed to stalk the residence and block off the street much to the disgust of SCOTT CAM and his posse of show-off gardeners - it was a beat up but heavily designed to promote the show and its stars.
Not content with just one cross promotion in its line-up, ACA then proceeded to do a colour piece on the new UNDERBELLY series complete with interviews and LEILA MCKINNON's reminder at the end of the story about when it would screen on the NEIN network etc.
Is this show serious about current affairs??? Not a bad night for trumpeting NEIN's new shows!
Looking forward to the last episode of DESPERATELY SEEKING DOCTORS on SBS tonight and the continued twists and turns in PARTY ANIMALS on the ABC at 8.30pm - Tuesday nights are going to be a tad duller when these two shows finish!

by GJ on January 20, 2009 at 09:02 AM

Couldn't agree more Beckala re Obama being an orator (which we have been very short of in the last generation). I still get raised hairs on my neck whenever I see/read Dr King's "I have a dream" speech. I was at an age when it was a great influence (Moratoriums & Vietnam etc). Omama seems to really be into symbolism, an example being taking the train to Washington as Abe Lincoln did for the inorgaration. Fingers crossed it's not all talk & no action. Monday night was an excellent night of viewing. Top Gear was one of the best, the Eiger Mountain climbers story & then the Obama story, all different but very entertaining, sort of what tv is supposed to be.

by PJ453 on January 20, 2009 at 10:07 AM

Do you think Obama's inauguration is going to be the moon landing of our generation? I for one am far too excited about it all. Although I doubt I'll be staying up to all hours to watch it, I'm enough of a zombie at the moment.
Caught bits of Top Gear last night. The Hamster's hair is a bit of a giggle, innit?
Darren, I cannot believe you even contemplated attempting such a difficult resolution for 2009.

by tqd on January 20, 2009 at 10:10 AM

What is it about US politics that has the networks allocating time to show it "live" here in Australia? When is the next time that an Australian politician gets the same treatment? Who really gives a damn about yet another unproven US politician? You have to remember, he is a politician, politicians tell people what they want to hear so that he is electable. He is one who had to raise many millions of dollars to fund his campaign and subsequent election. One who is beholding to a hell of a lot of people. Thus one who will deliver to the self interest of those who funded his campaign as with Bush, to the detriment of the greater population.
Sorry to bring politics int this forum but really, in the longer turn, who actually will give a damn?

by Zjonn on January 20, 2009 at 10:59 AM

TM do you have figures for the 6pm Simpsons, Rules of Engagement, The Contender and The Zoo (on Nine)?
Cheers.

Tribal Mind replies: While I go in search of them, mind telling us why you need to know? What will those audience figures reveal about Australian psychology?

by Jason on January 20, 2009 at 11:26 AM

Hi there, my first post for the year, and I wish you all a recession-free (or better if possible) 2009.
I've found FTA TV a disappointing waste of space this summer, and have only watched about 3 or 4 hours per week in addition to the news. (The Office, Heroes, Scrubs, Dirty Sexy Money, Carla Cametti PD). I used to find summer programming better than the rest of the year on FTA, but no longer.
However the Foxtel sub is worth every cent! There have been more hours of new release programs and movies every week than I could possibly watch. New series of Dexter, Entourage, Mad Men, The Kill Point, Satisfaction, The Tudors, True Dare Kiss, Kyle XY, Vincent, False Witness, Little Britain USA, Brotherhood. Saw the new X Files movie on Sat night, and have 3 repeats of Battlestar Galactica per week to keep me satisfied until the rest of season 4 is released, starting in March.
I'd hoped to catch up on some other series either bought or downloaded, but have not had time!
BTW, I just cannot stand the "all new" boast made about certain programs. I have to yell out "as opposed to only half new, or slightly new? You morons!"
Hubby now cringes in anticipation. Can't help myself.

by Sal on January 20, 2009 at 12:11 PM

Well the FREEVIEW epg lost it on sunday night with none of the programs listed correctly. Was this Oz wide or just here in tassie? I guess its free so we shouldn't expect it to be accurate. Also many programs have no listing, is that normal, not really all that helpful if it isn't accurate and informative, even with a pvr.

Tribal Mind remarks: I guess I should be happy with the principle you've established: "I guess it's free so we shouldn't expect it to be accurate"

by ned on January 20, 2009 at 01:05 PM

RE: The Domestic Blitz beat up - read an interview with Scott Cam about how not being able to take the dog to a day of shooting because of a complaint by the rangers as the "worst day of his professional career". Ye gads, hasn't he had an easy life? In my career, I have to choose between the 7th day of my teaching career when I got a concussion because a student threw a rock at my head, or the day I had to tell a class a student died as the worst moments of my professional career. He's crying because he had to leave his dog at home?!?! A bit of perspective, Scotty!
Ah darren, I'm not sure I could cope with the hugely sappy Natalie Barr - such a high level of journalistic integrity could be a little hard to bare!! I'm also looking forward to the inauguration concert which will be screened on SBS tomorrow - I'm in charge of recording all of this for Mr Beckala, who has to work.
Speaking of the great skills of W, I recorded Letterman last night, and just spent the last few minutes having a huge chuckle at "Farewell to great moments in Presidential Speeches" - paying tribute to W's special oratory power. Good god, how did he get voted in for a second term?!

by Beckala on January 20, 2009 at 03:31 PM

Beckala - re DOMESTIC BLITZ - you've certainly put the whole thing in perspective and you make a very good point - some of these so called stars really amp up the sentiment all to plug their show and sway viewers - last night's piece on ACA was just a dreadful piece of marketing and promotional hype designed to promote a show that was already doing well in the ratings!
Tonight LEILA has an exclusive with TOM CRUISE - why does one station's interview with TOM on one night become an exclusive?? Can't anyone interview him, as long as they don't ask about his kids, nicole, scientology, nicole, his kids, scientology...oh and nicole!...I think we've all heard and seen enough of MR CRUISE! I might switch to TODAY TONIGHT tonight and see what rubbish they'll be offering up!

by GJ on January 20, 2009 at 04:01 PM

I saw Letterman last night too and also really enjoyed the montage of the Great Moments In Presidential Speeches. He may not have been the best President in terms of the economy and foreign relations but he certainly was great and I salut him for making a continual jackass of himself and making such great funny content for Letterman and company. Also noticed Arj Barker towards the end of that episode as well. I think he did quite well.
TM, can you provide the figures from each Network's overage of the Obama Inauguration when you receive them.
Good to see THE BIG BANG THEORY get over a million again.

Yes, if OzTAM labels them appropriately.

by cpandilo on January 20, 2009 at 04:20 PM

Ch Shirl seems to be the home of jackassery. Just saw the promo for Dexter starting "Februay 9". Sure I know the 2nd month of the year is one of the hardest to spell, but shame on the promo monkeys!

by Bereft Skerrick on January 20, 2009 at 08:04 PM

Worst part of the blanket Inauguration coverage: Sunrise crossing to Fifi Pox and the Obama in Pyjamas party. Times like this I wish we had Pay TV to watch a decent coverage that doesn't have ads for Oz Wipeout (yes I channel surfed).
As usual for FTA the ABC2 coverage was the best.

by Bereft Skerrick on January 21, 2009 at 08:27 AM

What a bloody shame two very good shows finished last night - the excellent DESPERATELY SEEKING DOCTORS on SBS seemed all too short - and so too PARTY ANIMALS on the ABC - the election result and win by the Labor Party in last night's final episode while predictable did leave the door open for another series and we didnt get to see what was in the text message sent between the cross party lovers in the final scene - does anyone know if a second series is in the pipeline?? ABC will fill this slot with repeats of DR WHO which will be a nice filler for Tuesday nights.
While I wasn't going to harp on about my two favourite current affairs shows in the 6.30pm slot I confess I did switch to ACA just to see if CRUISE did open up on everything in his life as LEILA MCKINNON promised in her promo - I watched the entire interview and he hardly spoke about anything other than his latest movie and maybe a bit about fatherhood - essentially it was another soft interview....so basically 20 minutes flogging Tom's new film. To round off ACA last night, a reporter in a suit in the studio announced WHEELS car of the year - but not before showing blatant ads for all four cars in the running and then a 60 second ad for the winning car complete with how much it will cost the average viewer - another well rounded balanced story from our dutiful reporters. I won't tell you what car won - they got enough free publicity last night!!!

by GJ on January 21, 2009 at 08:36 AM

Turned the TV on at 5:30 this morning thinking I could catch the tail end of an Historic Moment to see Natalie Barr and Mike Amore discussing her stupid hat and how chilly it was, and Lisa getting Richard Reid's input on Michelle Obama's dress.
Went back to bed.
Tqd, Re my New Year's resolution (to be nice), I think it fell away around the time I saw those 'Neighbours' ads begging Harald not to die ("We love you Harold, Don't die....Please, Don't die") and my secret thought was "Yes, die Harold! Die! And don't wash up in Tasmania again either." Decided to give up right about then.

by darren on January 21, 2009 at 08:40 AM

Do you know what rating Nine got for their Obama coverage from 11:00pm on Tuesday night?

Tribal Mind replies: No specific mention of it in the chart but something called "Nine News Special" got 227,000. Be patient. I will include everything Obamic in tomorrow morning's update.

by newtaste on January 21, 2009 at 10:31 AM

GJ - I too enjoyed Party Animals. Unfortunately a 2nd series was never made.....

by MJH on January 21, 2009 at 11:21 AM

Just some information that u may find interesting.
Rove, is being made at the ABCs ripponleigh studios, it was taken out of the south melb studios so that city homicide could go in there.
Thank God your Here is being made in one of the pavillions at the Melbourne Show Grounds. There is currently a shortage of tv studios in Melbourne.
Also none of these programmes will be recorded in HD.
With working dog getting nearly 1 million per epp u would have thought they would have gone HD

by The man in the carpet suit on January 21, 2009 at 01:10 PM

darren, I think the Harold "Please don't die Harold... Please...Don't...Die..." gets that reaction from many. Mr Beckala saw that ad, yelled from the other side of the house (while we were down the coast, therefore house rather than our unit!) "WHAT THE &%$* was that piece of #$%^?! It's Neighbours, for crying out loud, what the hell does that even mean?" And when I pointed out that Harold had died int he past before... well, let's just say I had to remove the remote from his hand.
Bereft, I missed Fifi's thrilling contribution - and I started watching about 8am, I guess they didn't want her interfering with the walk to the White House stuff. Must say though, I thought Rahni Sadler, although being a bit over the top - showed the genuine excitement in the air. When I compared her with Natalie Barr, well, there was no comparison - I don't think Natalie is naturally endearing, even though she is hired to be cutesy, like Mel. Rahni's reaction was probably the least contrived thing about their coverage, because I at least felt she was being honest - I was excited enough from home! (I recorded the actual inaguration so Mr Beckala and I could watch it together tonight). I'm also currently recording the concert for Obama, which looks like it has a fantastic line up! I'm currently watching Season 1 of Big Love - need to take a break from all things Obama or I'll be totally over it, and Mr Beckala really wants to watch all the coverage tonight.

by Beckala on January 21, 2009 at 01:19 PM

With Fringe coming back from it's Xmas hiatus in the US this week, it'll be interesting seeing if it comes back on Nine, but I'd suggest they slot it in a 10.30 pm slot, where it'll be filler and not be under pressure to post big ratings, or move it to 9HD.

by Tony on January 21, 2009 at 01:34 PM

GJ / MJH - Couldn't agree more about Party Animals, an excellent show. We had to watch last weeks first (recorded) & then straight into the final episode. Well written & well acted. The "new" Dr seems to have promise.
Beckala - You will really enjoy Big Love, one of the best shows to come out of HBO & completely different.
I'll get my Obama fix from the ABC tonight, not from pretend journalists.

by PJ453 on January 21, 2009 at 01:46 PM

So, Harold's died already? He's one of the undead? If I'd known that, I might have watched Neighbours at some stage to see them all taken out by a zombie plague. However, I take it the screenwriters had a much more prosaic take on him returning from the dead.

by tqd on January 21, 2009 at 02:08 PM

What! I missed four (4) long hours of McLeods Daughters!! I must have been engrossed in the hour upon hour upon hour of tennis, cricket, tennis, tennis, tennis ....
But hey, I rickin all thim New Zilund shows is great bro'. Who new pippies cud be so intristing?
TM,
Out of interest, do the countless hours of New Zealand shows about "pippies" count towards the commercial networks "local content"? If so, we are being short changed!

Tribal MInd replies: If they're documentaries, they don't. Drama does. Don't the kiwis pronounce them "puppies"?

by Rob1966 on January 21, 2009 at 02:36 PM

I finally caught a glimpse of FIFI BOX on SUNRISE this morning but I couldn't help thinking she was a character straight out of KATH AND KIM - she was interviewing some poor kid from the Tamworth Music Festival and I swear she sounded like KATH DAY - she made references to our very own KEITH URBAN and NIC and referenced someone being ' up the duff'! Either she is trying to be very country or that's how she speaks. I actually quite like her - but I'm not sure whether she will get the nod from the cult that is the SUNRISE FAMILY - she could overtake MEL as the 'preferred blonde' and could overtake KOCHIE and BERRETS as the funniest person on the show - which wouldn't be hard! As for NAT, the day that girl cracks a smile before 9am will be the day when the sun really does rise.
I'd like to see MISS FIFI in the studio as KOCHIE's sidekick - talk about KATH AND KEL - let's see how she goes but for me she adds a nice bit of quirkiness this show has always been lacking!!!

by GJ on January 22, 2009 at 08:10 AM

I think the story is: Harold was presumed dead for about 10 years or so but was actually washed up in Tassie with amnesia and became a tuba playing Salvation Army goon, eventually finding his way back to Ramsey Street where he suddenly remembered he was a pointless character in a second rate Aussie soap and thereafter spent his days wiping benchtops and carrying milkshakes before finally succumbing to some sort of big C and hopefully they'll concrete over that grave.

by darren on January 22, 2009 at 08:41 AM

*Spoilers*
Wow so many people saw the Dokic match. I didn't know there were so many fans of Dokic! Only caught the second set tiebreak and third set then switched off myself.
She won if anyone's interested, pity about the Aussie fans who stayed up late to watch Tomic lose.

by arthur on January 22, 2009 at 08:53 AM

Quoth darren on January 22, 2009 at 08:41 AM: "I think the story is: Harold was presumed dead for about 10 years or so but was actually washed up in Tassie with amnesia..."

Ahah, the previous mentions to washing-up-in-Tasmania I thought were about Harold Holt (some new conspiracy theory, I haven't been up with them since The X-Files got cancelled). Now it all makes sense. Sort of.

I've been catching up on Heroes from October last year (time does move slow in Chez TQD some days) and have been summarising the plot points for my workmate who gave up when it moved to 10:30pm. It's total soap! "Well, Claire's biological mum and adoptive dad are there with her biological dad and his new squeeze, which is stripper girl's long lost triplet...". I kid thee not. But I'm still addicted.

by tqd on January 22, 2009 at 10:18 AM

PJ453, I have watched Big Love before. When I originally saw it, it was about 3 or 4 eps into Season 1, then SBS went straight into Season 2, which I watched, up until I left for Europe, so I missed the final 3 episodes of Season 2. So it's been a bit of a funny experience. So I now finally have the first two seasons, so I'm experiencing it from start to finish!! Then I found out, they've just started screening it again in the US - hoping SBS will pick it up soon - it got reasonably good ratings when it was in the 8:30pm timeslot! Then again, it was following Top Gear, which did help. Ooh, maybe they could put it on Monday nights! (wistful thinking, I know!!!)

darren, well explained on the Harold thing. You did forget, he came back just in time for him to remember Madge, just before she died, so he got to go through the tragic husband/widow thing, before he was sent off to the general store.

GJ, I actually don't mind Fifi. I think it was a great decision for seven to get her for Sunrise, she has one of those personalities that is just infectious. After listening to her on the Shebang, particularly when she was on DWTS, she was just hilarious, so self-deprecating, completely (scarily) honest. I think that will be her best attribute to Sunrise - that complete honesty - we'll all know it when she stuffs up, and she'll be laughing harder than anyone else. Mel better look out!

by Beckala on January 22, 2009 at 10:28 AM

Harold's dead? The main ads I've been seeing for Neighbours are those kids that have supposedly drowned, or just an easy exit to write off the characters. Darren, couldn't agree more with your analysis of Harold.
Settled with ABC footage of the early inauguration. Seven was bugging me with it's mini square boxes. I was surprised Today finished at 11am yesterday. Although, I wish I hadn't seen it. They were all debating about what colour dress Michelle Obama was wearing. I think they kind of settled on mustard yellow, after disagreeing with lemon grass.

by Kym on January 22, 2009 at 11:35 AM

TM, did OzTAM label Sunrise and Today on Wednesday morning as separate programmes? How did they rate?

by Samuel on January 22, 2009 at 11:56 AM

Please let me in on your secret, channel 7.
I don't watch sports, any sports.
To advertise a new show or new season of something as "coming after the tennis", means absolutely nothing to me!
When will this be?
Soon, I hope.

by Sal on January 22, 2009 at 01:46 PM

The ABC starts "Cranford" on February 8 which was the big winner at last years BAFTA Awards. It has been on UKTV but those who have seen it give it high praise.

by Gary on January 22, 2009 at 02:44 PM

I have been delving in to season 1 of Mad Men - a colleague lent me the DVD - and having been trained in Marketing (in a previous life) found it very interesting. I also found it confronting however 1960 workplace is misogynistic and unhealthy -alcohol and smoking are rampant in both home and work. Very pleased we live in more enlightened times.
Scary I am watching more Nein over this summer than ever - all down to ER really - but sooooo over their promos for the tripe they are offering us this year - Wipeout, Domestic Bliss and Ladette come to mind - bring on February please where some things I actually watch will be back

by Cathy on January 22, 2009 at 05:04 PM

Sal, I, like you, was also a bit mystified about when "after the tennis" is. I've just checked, and I'm assuming after this week, there's another week to go. Dammit! i just want normal television again!
Kym, Harold is not dead. But over the summer series, there was this ridiculously overdramatic advertisements with Harold collapsing and then the message "Harold, please don't die. Harold. Please. Don't. Die". Ridiculous! They're still dealling with the final missing teen, but I don't think he's actually dead, it's just a red herring. Harold's alleged death is coming up a little later in the season - not sure if he is actually being killed off, or if they are creating drama, all we know is Ian Bishop is retiring, probably to the dismay of many British backpackers who go to Ramsey street every year. When are they going to get rid of Toadie?!

by Beckala on January 22, 2009 at 08:09 PM

Good to see Ten holding true to form and showing 'Nanny McPhee' again after what...a month?
I've been watching no TV the last month and looking at DVDs instead. I was screening the third season of 'The Sopranos' this week and it's great but for some reason I feel in the mood to 'wack' someone. Patience... the Aussie version of 'Wipeout' is coming soon. This year promises a veritable smorgas board of 'wackable' programes. We're just warming up.
Anyone else seen 'MadMen' and want to gush? I heard somewhere that SBS is showing it this year. Is that true? From the first note of the title song to the last note of the credit sequence it's perfect.
Now that's TV.

by darren on January 23, 2009 at 06:01 AM

Beckala - I'm glad I've found another FIFI FAN because I do actually like her as well -(particularly with her Kath Day mannerisms). She is very self-deprecating which is a perfect way to describe her.

As for HAROLD from NEIGHBOURS - oh gosh has he got that much of a cult following - he reminds me of that BENNY HILL character that salutes all the time -I'm surprised he's lasted so long but I guess every Aussie soap has to have a relic to keep it going - (think of good ole Alf on HOME and AWAY!)

As for what's coming up after the tennis yes it's very annoying - they assume viewers will be loyal to SEVEN and will know when the tennis finishes...memo to SEVEN...no I don't know when the tennis finishes...can you tell me?

And finally...the travelling garden gnome JAMIE DURIE despite having his contract at SEVEN renewed for 1.5 million a year will not be returning for season 2 of THE OUTDOOR ROOM...it's been axed because it's too expensive to make. Unless Durie finds himself another travel show to spruik it will mean he will make 3 million over the next 2 years for doing squat...nothing!!! In these harsh economic times it's really nice work if you can get it!

by GJ on January 23, 2009 at 07:21 AM

Does anyone know if Nein are going to keep showing ER once ratings begin again? They are just getting to the end of season 13 with another whole season to go before the final season, 15. It would be nice if they keep showing it. But I won't hold my breath.

After all Nein has much more important programs to air. Like Wipeout! Who watches that tripe?

New season of Dexter is brilliant. The writers just keep coming up with great plots. Why can't more TV shows be like this? Hooks me in everytime.

by em on January 23, 2009 at 08:20 AM

Cathy that's spooky synergy. Re 'MadMen', the way they play on the mysogyny, smoking, racism of the 60s etc is done with a light touch though, isn't it. It's just so satisfying to watch a well-crafted series. All the characters develop over the season and I'm really looking forward to finding out what happens to them all in season 2. Can't say the same for 'Neighbours' or 'Packed to the Rafters'. Why can't EVERYTHING be good, if not as perfect?
I even had empathy for the odious Pete Campbell. Every character is so well written. I particularly like Rachel Menckin. She's intelligent and sad and conflicted and ambitious and witty. Great.
Enough gushing now.
As for the Aussie 'Wipeout', Nine will surely ruin any shred of okayness that the U.S. version had (sharply edited at least). The Aussie version will just be 'Hole in the Wall' in the outdoors. Stay tuned for 'Wipeout Australia Celebrity Slam' when the ratings die (quickly).

by darren on January 23, 2009 at 08:40 AM

Have to say I am enjoying Carla Cametti PD - very well crafted and acted. Hope they want to do a second one.
On the tripe offered on Nein forgot Farmer wants a wife -they are ruining a perfectly good Queen song with the promos.
Darren - I occasionally felt sympathy for Pete Campbell too (after all he was Connor on Angel!) but when he got annoyed with the wife for not getting his story published in a better magazine or journal and the whole blackmail attempt any kind feelings left me! I like Peggy too although her complete denial of what was painfully obvious blew my mind - even in 1960 you would have a clue!. Sorry to other TMers reading this - am tyring to be a bit vague in case anyone has a chance to watch it and does not want spoilers.
On the Oscar noms today - Have so far seen 4 of 5 best picture noms - Only one not seen was The Reader as it is not here yet (saw preview of Milk). Overall my feeling is it should go to Slumdog Millionaire - best one for me

by Cathy on January 23, 2009 at 09:52 AM

Quoth darren on January 23, 2009 at 06:01 AM: "Anyone else seen 'MadMen' and want to gush?"
I've seen enough to know that I need to see more! A friend showed me a bit, but we had kids underfoot so I missed 90% of it.
Still catching up on Heroes. And going to a mate's house tonight for a semi-regular viewing of Twins Peaks. Ah, now *there* was great TV!
Saw ads for Robin Hood repeats on ABC2 on Sunday nights. I'm happy, although I will have to wrest the TV away from PS2 Lego Star Wars, so Mr Bear may not be quite so happy...

by tqd on January 23, 2009 at 10:38 AM

Caught a "new" ad on Channel 10 the other night (or at least it was the first time I've seen it - I generally zap the ads) for the 2009 season of House.

It seems Ch 10 will show 12 (count them - 12!!!) episodes over 12 weeks WITHOUT ANY REPEATS!!! I'm guessing that we (the viewer) are supposed to feel impressed and/or beholden to 10 for this amazing priviledge (heavy sarcasm).

Has Oz commercial TV sunk so low that networks now feel we will be impressed that they are not actually showing a repeat. I note all three now feel the need to put "New Episode" in their "Whats On This Evening" promos.

by Rob1966 on January 23, 2009 at 04:51 PM

Hi TM, is that figure for the cricket an all day figure? Was there a 'day session' somewhere in the ratings lineup? If not, could you post the nightly shares for Seven and Nine, and that should tell us, who won the night, thus which rated more, tennis or cricket

TM replies: There is no other reference to cricket on the chart, so presumably that is an average over the entire time the match was on. While I am seeking the other data you request, I would like to hear what significance it has. Are you trying to find out whether Australians prefer cricket to tennis, or have you some other sociological purpose?

by bugzy on January 24, 2009 at 11:02 AM

I know it sounds strange but I won't be watching the Doctor tomorrow night (anyhoo have watched it twice!). The Family Skerrick is off camping without TV or portable DVD player!
But will be back well in time to watch the Xmas Episode from Season 2. In other news/spoiler, the chick from The (recent) Bionic Woman who is in The Mentalist - Michelle Ryan - is apparently in the Easter episode.

Tribal Mind asks: Wasn't she the hot one from Dr Jekyll?

by Bereft Skerrick on January 24, 2009 at 11:18 AM

Thanks Beckala for the Neighbours update. I haven't seen it regularly for five years now.
Ch 7 really knows how to cross promote their shows. I think the worst one I've seen so far was a Packed to the Rafters one. They showed the name of the show, the commentators commented on it. Then they focused on one of the actors in the show, and commented on that.
I've read that Michelle Ryan will be appearing in Dr Who, possibly a sidekick for Matt Smith. I don't particularly like Ryan, but here's hoping Moffatt's writing is tip top.

by Kym on January 24, 2009 at 11:42 AM

Hi TM,
May I ask how the Law & Order double episode rated on Friday night? I've been really enjoying them lately. It's a shame most of the older audience would be over on the ABC I'm guessing.

Tribal Mind replies:
12 LAW & ORDER FRI EP 2 Ten 643,000 191,000 185,000 113,000 77,000 78,000
18 LAW & ORDER FRI Ten 571,000 163,000 169,000 105,000 63,000 71,000

by Steve on January 24, 2009 at 06:32 PM

hello. How did the FINAL EVER episode of Temptation rate yesterday at 11.30am? I know it wouldn't be muchm but just curious to see what it got Thanks

Tribal Mind replies: In the chart now. Curiously, it did well in Brisbane.

by Jimbo on January 24, 2009 at 11:31 PM

TM, how did America's Next Top Model go in the dark of night last night on Ten?? I wonder if even in an atrocious timeslot it managed to outperform its Fox8 screenings. Thanks.

Tribal Mind asks: What night are we talking about? I can't find it on the chart for last night.

by Elizabeth on January 25, 2009 at 11:40 AM

Did "Roots" on Fox Classics this past week do any good in the Pay TV ratings? Clever timing to screen it the week the new US Prez is sworn in (twice!).

Tribal Mind replies: Watched by 161,000 -- a good figure for pay TV.

by David @ Green Point on January 25, 2009 at 09:50 PM

TM, re: Next Top Model, it aired on Ten from 12am till 2am on Sunday morning, so it would appear on Saturday's ratings chart I think. Thanks.

b>Tribal Mind replies: I can't find it on any chart. Ten may not have listed it with OzTAM's computer. Would it compensate you to learn that ANTM got 245,000 on Fox 8 last week?

by Elizabeth on January 26, 2009 at 09:15 PM

Thanks for that TM. No doubt that outrated post-midnight screenings on Ten.

by Elizabeth on January 28, 2009 at 09:02 AM

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