The Sun-Herald

The Tribal Mind: Register your Bogie nominations

by David Dale
PERFECT breasts. That's what it takes to make a hit TV show these days. Perfect New Zealand breasts, to be precise. Plus some sort of crime story that will justify displaying the breasts at least five times per episode.

The PBs in the first two episodes of Underbelly 2 belonged to Jenna Lind, who plays Maria Muhary, the kiwi girlfriend of drug dealer Terry Clark. In the third episode, the PBs belonged to Anna Hutchison, who plays Alison Dine, the other kiwi girlfriend of Terry Clark (his first girlfriend's PBs having ceased to be available for public viewing, because she had become a mother). The second PBs were slightly smaller than the first PBs, but still able to be aesthetically appreciated by persons of all genders and sexual orientations.

Tonight the radio broadcaster Kate Ritchie joins the cast of U2. We suspect that persons hoping to see her PBs will be disappointed (because she plays a mother). But no doubt there will be other compensations -- the producers know they must feed the addiction they created, to sustain audiences above 2 million.

With any luck, they've started a trend that will carry Australian television back to the glory days of Number 96. "Bare the breast" could replace "jump the shark" as industry jargon for a desperate strategy to raise ratings. All of which brings us to this column's big announcement: We are hereby opening nominations for the 2009 Bogie Awards (television's Hall of Shame), and introducing an extra category: "Best Use Of Breasts To Exploit Viewers' Base Instincts".

With the Oscars out of the way, it's the television industry's turn to pat itself on the back. TV Week magazine is already accepting nominations for the Logies (to be announced on May 3), so we're doing the same for our alternative awards.

These are some of the categories for which we are seeking your input:
Most annoying person (won lost year by Kyle Sandilands);
Most unnecessary personality (last year, Jackie O);
Most offputting commercial (the Commonwealth Bank Mad Max koala ad);
Most unnecessary program (Out Of The Question);
Most unnecessary adaptation of an overseas show (Top Gear Australia);
Most overhyped (Cashmere Mafia);
Most Underrated (the UK version of Life On Mars);
Most jerked around by the networks (Scrubs);
Most missed (The Chaser's War On Everything);
Most repeated (The Simpsons);
Most embarrassing program - the Naomi Robson Cup (shared by Today Tonight and A Current Affair);
Furthest past use-by date - the Bert Newton Trophy (Daryl Somers);
The Black Bogie -- the Eddie McGuire Chalice (Kyle Sandilands).

And, new this year, Best Use of Breasts. If you assume U2 has a lock on this award, that would be because you don't have Foxtel, which offers at least two other candidates -- Satisfaction (the tale of a Melbourne brothel that employs impossibly beautiful courtesans) and True Blood (the tale of a Louisiana village where even the vampires are sex-obsessed). And by the time our awards are presented, BUB nominees may well include A Current Affair, Rove and Domestic Blitz.

Feel free to nominate more categories as well as people and programs. Go to Your Bogie votes and vent your spleen.

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark this.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 11:22 PM
• Comments (50)

The Who We Are update: Week 10

To learn why Australia is losing its virginity again, go to The Tribal Mind.

To find out what, how and whether Australians read, go to Who We Are.

The ratings race, updated 8 am Monday
Channel Seven easily won the first "normal" week of the ratings year, averaging 30.0 per cent of the prime time audience, to Nine's 27.0 (Ten 21.7 thanks to NCIS and SYTYCDA, ABC 15.4, thanks to Spicks and Specks, and SBS 5.5, thanks to Top Gear).

This is likely to be the pattern for the first half. Nine is already so resigned to losing that it does not even quote the "total people" results in its weekly release, restricting itself to narrower audience bands such as 16-39 and 25-54, where it does better.

This was Pay TV's acount of itself for the week: "The Australian cricket team's tour of South Africa proved popular this week with Friday night's live coverage of the second test, Live: Cricket: Test RSA v Aus Day 1 S2, watched by 355,000 viewers (the second highest audience ever for cricket on subscription TV). In other sport, Live: AFL: NAB Cup Carlton v Hawthorn was seen by 225,000 people, the Socceroos' efforts to compete in the next Asian Football Cup were viewed by 198,000 people in Live: Football: AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers Aust v Kuwait and the Rugby rivalry between NSW & Queensland drew 145,000 people to Friday night's match Live: Rugby Union: S14 Waratahs v Reds (all on FOX Sports).

"In entertainment programming, The Simpsons on FOX8 on Saturday morning was watched by 140,000 people, Family Guy (also on FOX8) on Tuesday night was seen by 116,000 and TV1's broadcast of NCIS on Sunday night was viewed by 106,000 people. In week 10, for the third week in a row, subscription TV was the number one source of television across Australia. STV channels accounted for 24.7% of all metropolitan viewing between 6am and midnight,"

What Australia watched, week ending March 7
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 UNDERBELLY: A TALE OF TWO CITIES Nine 2,234,000 720,000 739,000 365,000 197,000 214,000
2 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,875,000 547,000 621,000 297,000 175,000 235,000
3 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,641,000 415,000 570,000 285,000 151,000 221,000
4 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,546,000 416,000 484,000 291,000 142,000 214,000
5 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,514,000 391,000 450,000 294,000 175,000 204,000
6 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,490,000 397,000 479,000 310,000 141,000 164,000
7 NCIS Ten 1,480,000 445,000 397,000 298,000 162,000 178,000
8 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,473,000 368,000 432,000 338,000 148,000 186,000
9 CUSTOMS Nine 1,374,000 427,000 390,000 254,000 144,000 158,000
10 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,361,000 359,000 396,000 261,000 156,000 188,000
11 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Seven 1,343,000 329,000 459,000 237,000 157,000 162,000
12 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,341,000 330,000 396,000 274,000 149,000 192,000
13 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,335,000 397,000 376,000 258,000 138,000 165,000
14 TRIPLE ZERO HEROES Seven 1,320,000 331,000 407,000 296,000 133,000 153,000
15 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA Ten 1,296,000 384,000 460,000 250,000 103,000 99,000
16 NCIS RPT Ten 1,270,000 371,000 360,000 236,000 149,000 153,000
17 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,267,000 359,000 326,000 284,000 146,000 152,000
18 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,253,000 315,000 397,000 253,000 130,000 157,000
Continued here.

19 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,253,000 314,000 418,000 268,000 104,000 148,000
20 BONDI RESCUE Ten 1,241,000 394,000 312,000 278,000 114,000 144,000
21 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,222,000 354,000 426,000 160,000 134,000 148,000
22 ADULTS ONLY 20 TO 1 Nine 1,221,000 305,000 404,000 234,000 137,000 142,000
23 GETAWAY Nine 1,188,000 316,000 440,000 214,000 102,000 116,000
24 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,187,000 349,000 407,000 217,000 148,000 67,000
25 SUNDAY NIGHT Seven 1,173,000 298,000 322,000 278,000 140,000 136,000
26 60 MINUTES Nine 1,161,000 355,000 332,000 259,000 130,000 85,000
27 THE MENTALIST Nine 1,150,000 316,000 398,000 201,000 122,000 113,000
28 TWO AND A HALF MEN -MON Nine 1,149,000 296,000 337,000 240,000 125,000 151,000
29 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 1,146,000 313,000 345,000 241,000 128,000 119,000
30 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,136,000 317,000 324,000 220,000 130,000 145,000
31 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,135,000 401,000 304,000 212,000 110,000 108,000
32 NINE NEWS Nine 1,125,000 267,000 382,000 257,000 124,000 95,000
33 WIPEOUT AUSTRALIA Nine 1,104,000 298,000 374,000 185,000 127,000 120,000
34 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,092,000 328,000 324,000 232,000 93,000 115,000
35 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,088,000 320,000 348,000 181,000 102,000 136,000
36 M-CASINO ROYALE Seven 1,087,000 306,000 322,000 196,000 113,000 151,000
37 GHOST WHISPERER Seven 1,082,000 282,000 342,000 216,000 126,000 116,000
38 CSI Nine 1,080,000 312,000 303,000 236,000 126,000 103,000
39 TWO AND A HALF MEN -EP1 Nine 1,079,000 286,000 385,000 200,000 106,000 102,000
73 THE WEDDING SINGER -RPT Nine 838,000 212,000 299,000 164,000 89,000 75,000
118 OLD SCHOOL Nine 477,000 132,000 188,000 116,000 40,000
167 MEDIUM Ten 306,000 184,000 Not shown 122,000 Not shown Not shown
182 LAW & ORDER FRI Ten 272,000 160,000 Not shown 113,000 Not shown Not shown

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,267,000 359,000 326,000 284,000 146,000 152,000
2 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,057,000 232,000 390,000 248,000 110,000 75,000
3 IN THE BUSH WITH MALCOLM DOUGLAS Seven 957,000 286,000 249,000 216,000 106,000 100,000
4 NEW TRICKS RPT ABC1 936,000 271,000 262,000 187,000 115,000 102,000
5 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS Nine 896,000 213,000 289,000 228,000 90,000 75,000
6 THE VICAR OF DIBLEY Seven 886,000 210,000 321,000 205,000 78,000 71,000
7 KATH & KIM (R) Seven 859,000 211,000 313,000 180,000 74,000 81,000
8 THE BILL ABC1 847,000 233,000 240,000 172,000 84,000 117,000
17 AFL Seven 429,000 33,000 287,000 9,000 55,000 45,000
22 RIPPING YARNS Seven 384,000 136,000 128,000 48,000 31,000 40,000
24 ROCKWIZ SBS 355,000 89,000 140,000 56,000 29,000 42,000
29 IRON CHEF SBS 261,000 67,000 99,000 43,000 31,000 22,000
36 STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS Ten 207,000 41,000 62,000 45,000 24,000 35,000

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,335,000 397,000 376,000 258,000 138,000 165,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,295,000 373,000 349,000 239,000 159,000 174,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,252,000 346,000 355,000 240,000 139,000 172,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,089,000 315,000 315,000 196,000 115,000 148,000
5 M-CASINO ROYALE Seven 1,087,000 306,000 322,000 196,000 113,000 151,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 966,000 246,000 336,000 204,000 100,000 81,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 908,000 226,000 335,000 184,000 93,000 70,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC1 875,000 258,000 296,000 141,000 83,000 98,000
9 TRIAL AND RETRIBUTION: MIRROR IMAGE ABC1 863,000 247,000 255,000 129,000 106,000 127,000
14 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) Ten 720,000 177,000 193,000 169,000 74,000 106,000
21 AFL - COLLINGWOOD V ESSENDON Ten 522,000 9,000 348,000 14,000 74,000 77,000
28 SUNRISE Seven 391,000 108,000 96,000 91,000 36,000 61,000
36 TODAY Nine 289,000 98,000 98,000 49,000 21,000 23,000
50 THE THIRTIES IN COLOUR SBS 202,000 55,000 67,000 45,000 21,000 14,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Friday
Channel Nine won last night, but not by much, and the prime time audience shares for the week so far are Seven 29.3 per cent, Nine 27.9, Ten 22.6, ABC 14.8, SBS 5.4.

Life On Mars seems to have lost 300,000 viewers since it started. Having thoroughly dissected the problems of House, readers of this column might now care to explain what's gone wrong with the US remake of Mars. Go to Comments, below.

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,441,000 347,000 446,000 284,000 175,000 189,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,226,000 283,000 362,000 265,000 151,000 165,000
3 ADULTS ONLY 20 TO 1 Nine 1,222,000 305,000 404,000 235,000 136,000 141,000
4 GETAWAY Nine 1,188,000 316,000 440,000 213,000 102,000 116,000
5 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 1,145,000 312,000 347,000 240,000 127,000 119,000
6 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,092,000 329,000 324,000 232,000 93,000 115,000
7 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,088,000 313,000 359,000 203,000 107,000 106,000
8 GHOST WHISPERER Seven 1,082,000 283,000 342,000 216,000 126,000 116,000
9 NINE NEWS Nine 1,031,000 258,000 336,000 239,000 121,000 77,000
10 CSI: MIAMI -THU Nine 1,025,000 260,000 316,000 177,000 135,000 137,000
15 BONDI VET Ten 840,000 244,000 196,000 210,000 86,000 104,000
17 PRIVATE PRACTICE Seven 805,000 234,000 267,000 140,000 80,000 84,000
21 LIFE ON MARS Ten 717,000 197,000 237,000 123,000 67,000 93,000
25 Q & A ABC1 527,000 183,000 163,000 99,000 43,000 39,000
29 SCRUBS Seven 429,000 132,000 140,000 71,000 35,000 52,000
39 LIFE ON MARS EP 2 Ten 304,000 Not shown 186,000 Not shown 49,000 69,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Thursday
Why has House lost half a million viewers between 2008 and 2009? That's the question Channel Ten must be asking. Two years ago, combined with Thank God You're Here, the grumpy doctor brought Ten close to winning most Wednesday nights. Care to suggest how he lost his mojo?

At this point in the week, Seven is averaging 29.8 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine has 27.7, Ten has 22.6, the ABC has 14.4 and SBS has 5.5.

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,565,000 389,000 449,000 315,000 179,000 233,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,443,000 330,000 431,000 303,000 152,000 228,000
3 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,360,000 359,000 396,000 261,000 156,000 188,000
4 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Seven 1,342,000 329,000 459,000 237,000 157,000 162,000
5 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,251,000 314,000 418,000 267,000 104,000 148,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,161,000 250,000 411,000 279,000 129,000 93,000
7 THE MENTALIST Nine 1,158,000 317,000 401,000 203,000 122,000 114,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,148,000 318,000 317,000 236,000 125,000 153,000
9 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,146,000 405,000 307,000 215,000 111,000 109,000
10 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,140,000 258,000 413,000 213,000 128,000 129,000
11 GANGS OF OZ Seven 1,062,000 397,000 309,000 149,000 83,000 123,000
12 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,057,000 300,000 347,000 209,000 97,000 105,000
13 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,008,000 214,000 350,000 238,000 122,000 84,000
14 COLD CASE Nine 1,006,000 237,000 350,000 177,000 140,000 102,000
15 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) Ten 962,000 278,000 255,000 200,000 100,000 129,000
16 HOUSE Ten 907,000 272,000 257,000 140,000 107,000 131,000
23 THE NEW INVENTORS ABC1 745,000 244,000 196,000 133,000 101,000 71,000
24 GUERRILLA GARDENERS Ten 702,000 243,000 174,000 148,000 55,000 83,000
27 CHANDON PICTURES ABC1 488,000 155,000 150,000 80,000 54,000 49,000
33 LOST Seven 380,000 121,000 122,000 64,000 40,000 33,000
37 RUDDY HELL! IT'S HARRY AND PAUL ABC1 341,000 102,000 87,000 55,000 54,000 42,000
38 TRIBE SBS 339,000 112,000 90,000 75,000 27,000 34,000

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,876,000 547,000 621,000 297,000 175,000 235,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,651,000 437,000 515,000 311,000 168,000 220,000
3 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,642,000 416,000 570,000 285,000 151,000 221,000
4 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,546,000 416,000 484,000 291,000 142,000 214,000
5 NCIS Ten 1,481,000 446,000 397,000 298,000 162,000 178,000
6 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,402,000 337,000 435,000 263,000 147,000 221,000
7 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,288,000 339,000 399,000 238,000 138,000 175,000
8 NCIS EP 2 RPT Ten 1,265,000 370,000 359,000 235,000 148,000 153,000
9 NINE NEWS Nine 1,249,000 313,000 414,000 272,000 143,000 108,000
10 BONDI RESCUE Ten 1,239,000 393,000 312,000 277,000 114,000 144,000
11 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,234,000 304,000 431,000 288,000 131,000 79,000
12 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,221,000 354,000 426,000 160,000 133,000 148,000
15 WIPEOUT AUSTRALIA Nine 1,101,000 297,000 373,000 185,000 127,000 119,000
21 AUSSIE LADETTE TO LADY Nine 837,000 221,000 309,000 115,000 84,000 109,000
26 SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL Nine 545,000 123,000 241,000 74,000 45,000 62,000
27 ELI STONE Seven 502,000 144,000 198,000 69,000 46,000 46,000
45 FIRST TUESDAY BOOK CLUB ABC1 255,000 95,000 66,000 44,000 20,000 31,000
46 INDIA REBORN SBS 248,000 82,000 74,000 38,000 21,000 33,000
48 DIRTY SEXY MONEY - TUE Seven 236,000 66,000 104,000 29,000 17,000 21,000

The ratings race, updated 11am Tuesday
Channel Seven won Sunday night narrowly (thanks to Border Security and City Homicide, which seems to have won the war with CSI), Channel Nine won Monday night massively (thanks to U2, which has found a different audience from the Despos) and at this point in the week, Nine is averaging 29.5 per cent of the prime time audience to Seven's 27.5 (with Ten on 22.2, ABC on 14.7 and SBS on 6.1). But Packed To The Rafters is yet to come.

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 UNDERBELLY: A TALE OF TWO CITIES Nine 2,233,000 720,000 739,000 363,000 197,000 214,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,613,000 407,000 490,000 320,000 194,000 202,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,383,000 354,000 400,000 299,000 155,000 176,000
4 CUSTOMS Nine 1,373,000 430,000 390,000 251,000 142,000 159,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,201,000 269,000 415,000 282,000 120,000 114,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,178,000 350,000 337,000 215,000 143,000 132,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -MON Nine 1,151,000 298,000 338,000 239,000 125,000 151,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,121,000 337,000 377,000 211,000 88,000 108,000
9 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,088,000 320,000 348,000 181,000 102,000 136,000
10 CRIME INVESTIGATION AUSTRALIA Nine 1,071,000 339,000 351,000 123,000 116,000 143,000
11 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,057,000 257,000 307,000 253,000 123,000 118,000
12 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,054,000 266,000 411,000 268,000 108,000
13 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - ELIMINATION Ten 1,048,000 300,000 297,000 216,000 95,000 140,000
14 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - RESULTS Ten 993,000 297,000 294,000 201,000 90,000 110,000
15 BROTHERS & SISTERS Seven 991,000 298,000 359,000 159,000 89,000 85,000
20 TOP GEAR SBS 885,000 214,000 312,000 150,000 107,000 103,000
21 AUSTRALIAN STORY ABC1 868,000 296,000 216,000 195,000 67,000 93,000
23 GOOD NEWS WEEK Ten 755,000 185,000 237,000 163,000 95,000 77,000
25 FOUR CORNERS ABC1 632,000 186,000 168,000 121,000 60,000 96,000
26 MEDIA WATCH ABC1 566,000 174,000 144,000 105,000 59,000 84,000
27 BOSTON LEGAL Seven 522,000 168,000 185,000 75,000 52,000 42,000
28 DEXTER Ten 506,000 116,000 171,000 92,000 60,000 67,000
42 30 ROCK Seven 273,000 87,000 90,000 43,000 23,000 30,000

Where is this week's Tribal Mind?
In its 13 year lifespan, the Tribal Mind column has been in more places than Forrest Gump. For the past three years it has appeared every Monday on the back page of The Sydney Morning Herald, and also online. It's about to move again.

From this Saturday, your weekly dose of popular culture analysis will appear on the back page of the SMH News Review section, next to Annabel Crabb (which is a pretty exciting prospect). The Tribal Mind online will continue to appear at http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare, but from now on it will be posted at midnight Friday. So it's goodbye from Mondays and hello to Saturdays.

Meanwhile, if you'd like to nominate the most annoying, embarrassing and underrated people or programs on television, go to The Bogies.

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,490,000 397,000 479,000 310,000 141,000 164,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,473,000 368,000 432,000 338,000 148,000 186,000
3 TRIPLE ZERO HEROES Seven 1,320,000 331,000 407,000 296,000 133,000 153,000
4 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Ten 1,293,000 382,000 459,000 249,000 104,000 98,000
5 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,253,000 315,000 397,000 253,000 130,000 157,000
6 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,189,000 349,000 408,000 216,000 149,000 67,000
7 SUNDAY NIGHT Seven 1,173,000 298,000 322,000 278,000 140,000 136,000
8 60 MINUTES Nine 1,161,000 354,000 332,000 259,000 130,000 85,000
9 CSI Nine 1,082,000 312,000 302,000 238,000 126,000 103,000
10 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - THE WEIGH-IN Ten 1,062,000 301,000 353,000 194,000 110,000 104,000
11 CSI: MIAMI Nine 1,039,000 282,000 351,000 163,000 125,000 118,000
12 ROVE Ten 1,025,000 295,000 361,000 186,000 101,000 82,000
13 ABC NEWS-SU ABC1 931,000 287,000 286,000 164,000 98,000 97,000
14 DOMESTIC BLITZ Nine 925,000 282,000 263,000 196,000 112,000 73,000
18 CRANFORD ABC1 702,000 219,000 192,000 104,000 84,000 104,000
21 FAWLTY TOWERS Seven 547,000 163,000 161,000 116,000 51,000 55,000
22 COMPASS ABC1 545,000 178,000 168,000 83,000 58,000 57,000
23 UNDERBELLY: A TALE OF TWO CITIES -ENCORE Nine 542,000 161,000 210,000 59,000 61,000 50,000
28 24 Seven 362,000 96,000 138,000 36,000 48,000 45,000
42 WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN-AM ABC1 242,000 53,000 101,000 49,000 15,000 24,000
43 DATELINE SBS 231,000 58,000 83,000 41,000 27,000 21,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

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

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind, in whoweare-index at 09:03 AM
• Comments (83)

The Who We Are update: Week 9

To find out what, how and whether Australians read, go to Who We Are.

To nominate the most annoying, embarrassing and underrated people or programs for this year's Bogie awards, go to The Tribal Mind.

The ratings race, updated 10 am Sunday
Despite having the most watched series and the most successful Oscars broadcast in years, Channel Nine could not win the week. This seems likely to be the pattern for the first half of 2009: Seven averaged 28.5 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 27.9, Ten 21.3 (thanks to NCIS, SYTYCDA and LTM), ABC 16.1 (thanks mainly to Spicks and Specks, with The Gruen Transfer bound to boost the numbers from mid-March) and SBS 6.1 (a rise due almost entirely to Top Gear, which seems to have stolen viewers from Underbelly by going half an hour longer than usual).

Is this column silly enough to predict the year, only two weeks into "official" ratings? You bet we are. Seven to win, with slightly reduced audience share, Nine up slightly, Ten the same, ABC down slightly, SBS the same.

And of course, Pay TV will be up considerably, mainly due to sport. This was Pay's account of itself for last week: "For the second week running, subscription TV was the number one source of TV viewing across Australia. In week 9, 2009 STV channels accounted for 24.2% of all metropolitan viewing between 6am and midnight, was 21.9% of all regional viewing and 61.2% of all viewing in subscription TV homes. This week in particular saw an abundance of high quality sporting events on subscription TV as the summer seasons finished and the winter competitions commenced.

"Live: Cricket: Test RSA v Aus Session 2 was watched by 307,000 viewers on Saturday night; 246,000 viewers watched Melbourne Victory prevail over Adelaide FC in Live: Football: A-League Grand Final and 172,000 watched the thrilling conclusion of the domestic one day cricket as Queensland beat Victoria in Live: Cricket: Ford Ranger Cup Final. With the commencement of the winter football codes, Live: AFL: NAB Cup Sydney v Port Adel was watched by 154,000 people; 106,000 subscribers watched the Rabitohs beat St. George in their traditional season opener Live: Rugby League: Charity Shield and 100,000 watched the Waratahs win their third game on the trot in Live: Rugby Union: S14 W'tahs v H'land. In entertainment programming, The Simpsons on Saturday morning was watched by 156,000 people, and M*A*S*H on Tuesday night was seen by 104,000."

What Australia watched, week ending February 28
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 UNDERBELLY: A TALE OF TWO CITIES Nine 2,334,000 783,000 722,000 373,000 214,000 242,000
2 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,839,000 566,000 597,000 309,000 165,000 202,000
3 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,635,000 475,000 505,000 282,000 171,000 202,000
4 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,507,000 422,000 457,000 278,000 165,000 185,000
5 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,440,000 383,000 409,000 278,000 170,000 200,000
6 NCIS Ten 1,388,000 413,000 356,000 295,000 155,000 168,000
7 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,384,000 376,000 457,000 268,000 126,000 157,000
8 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Seven 1,370,000 397,000 420,000 257,000 139,000 157,000
9 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,365,000 366,000 392,000 255,000 151,000 201,000
10 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,337,000 344,000 373,000 286,000 142,000 193,000
11 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,333,000 364,000 396,000 261,000 143,000 169,000
12 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA Ten 1,315,000 398,000 414,000 257,000 105,000 142,000
13 CUSTOMS Nine 1,313,000 395,000 386,000 263,000 118,000 151,000
14 60 MINUTES Nine 1,289,000 354,000 383,000 267,000 139,000 145,000

15 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,258,000 341,000 404,000 261,000 116,000 135,000
16 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,237,000 405,000 381,000 148,000 145,000 159,000
17 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,233,000 357,000 386,000 352,000 139,000
18 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,231,000 326,000 393,000 236,000 138,000 138,000
19 TRIPLE ZERO HEROES Seven 1,222,000 343,000 373,000 238,000 113,000 155,000
20 THE 81ST ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS Nine 1,203,000 428,000 360,000 188,000 87,000 140,000
21 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,184,000 251,000 487,000 221,000 137,000 88,000
22 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,182,000 350,000 351,000 244,000 104,000 132,000
23 LIE TO ME Ten 1,176,000 300,000 340,000 243,000 132,000 160,000
24 GANGS OF OZ Seven 1,157,000 398,000 365,000 150,000 118,000 126,000
25 BONDI RESCUE Ten 1,145,000 356,000 296,000 257,000 121,000 114,000
26 NINE NEWS Nine 1,124,000 275,000 398,000 251,000 112,000 88,000
27 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,112,000 328,000 290,000 230,000 123,000 142,000
28 CSI Nine 1,105,000 311,000 312,000 236,000 127,000 118,000
29 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,085,000 283,000 371,000 176,000 108,000 147,000
30 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - THE WEIGH-IN Ten 1,085,000 317,000 324,000 211,000 99,000 135,000
31 SUNDAY NIGHT Seven 1,070,000 263,000 345,000 241,000 104,000 117,000
32 ADULTS ONLY 20 TO 1 Nine 1,060,000 337,000 287,000 198,000 120,000 118,000
33 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,055,000 247,000 384,000 231,000 113,000 80,000
34 GETAWAY Nine 1,051,000 333,000 343,000 180,000 91,000 106,000
35 SOUTH PARK RPT SBS 1,042,000 249,000 345,000 221,000 101,000 127,000
36 THE MENTALIST Nine 1,041,000 357,000 310,000 170,000 129,000 75,000
37 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,039,000 287,000 344,000 192,000 100,000 117,000
38 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - RESULTS Ten 1,035,000 339,000 315,000 185,000 86,000 112,000
39 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - ELIMINATION Ten 1,033,000 314,000 289,000 216,000 106,000 107,000
40 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,033,000 355,000 268,000 206,000 77,000 127,000
41 WIPEOUT AUSTRALIA Nine 1,026,000 302,000 351,000 186,000 93,000 94,000
42 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,013,000 274,000 368,000 166,000 83,000 122,000
43 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,011,000 264,000 343,000 207,000 95,000 102,000
44 TOP GEAR SBS 1,011,000 256,000 330,000 199,000 106,000 119,000
45 KATH & KIM (R) Seven 1,009,000 289,000 300,000 192,000 109,000 119,000

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,365,000 366,000 392,000 255,000 151,000 201,000
2 KATH & KIM (R) Seven 1,009,000 289,000 300,000 192,000 109,000 119,000
3 NEW TRICKS RPT ABC1 1,008,000 300,000 304,000 158,000 119,000 127,000
4 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 992,000 235,000 357,000 225,000 100,000 74,000
5 IN THE BUSH WITH MALCOLM DOUGLAS Seven 984,000 278,000 265,000 198,000 108,000 135,000
6 THE VICAR OF DIBLEY Seven 971,000 265,000 307,000 171,000 109,000 119,000
7 ABC NEWS ABC1 940,000 272,000 327,000 139,000 95,000 107,000
8 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS Nine 868,000 236,000 258,000 174,000 100,000 100,000
9 THE BILL ABC1 844,000 254,000 247,000 135,000 85,000 122,000
10 50 FIRST DATES -RPT Nine 836,000 254,000 242,000 163,000 90,000 86,000
25 IRON CHEF SBS 307,000 90,000 98,000 40,000 44,000 35,000
26 M-THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SPIN AND MARTY Seven 307,000 75,000 74,000 68,000 40,000 50,000
27 ROCKWIZ SBS 298,000 90,000 96,000 44,000 36,000 31,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Saturday
No way to tell which network is going to win this week. A former favourite for Seven, Grey's Anatomy, is sliding down the plughole of history. But Better Homes and Gardens pulled Seven back into contention on Friday. So far, it is averaging 28.4 per cent of the prime time audience, with Nine on 28.1, Ten on 22.2, ABC on 15.4 and SBS on 5.9.

Tonight, Nine is pitting Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore against Seven's Magda Szubanski and Dawn French -- a case of weight and see. This column will keep up with every change throughout the weekend.

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,320,000 332,000 382,000 267,000 161,000 178,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,238,000 295,000 368,000 271,000 127,000 178,000
3 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,231,000 326,000 393,000 236,000 138,000 138,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 965,000 248,000 340,000 203,000 95,000 79,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 955,000 273,000 232,000 218,000 113,000 120,000
6 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 919,000 256,000 287,000 139,000 122,000 115,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 894,000 212,000 327,000 194,000 101,000 61,000
8 TRIAL AND RETRIBUTION: CURRICULUM VITAE ABC1 879,000 261,000 241,000 132,000 115,000 130,000
9 ABC NEWS ABC1 876,000 243,000 308,000 144,000 100,000 82,000
10 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 876,000 226,000 308,000 175,000 93,000 75,000
15 YOURS, MINE OURS Nine 699,000 254,000 207,000 162,000 76,000
20 MEDIUM Ten 612,000 168,000 192,000 118,000 75,000 58,000
21 LAW & ORDER FRI Ten 583,000 183,000 179,000 94,000 82,000 46,000
25 2009 sponsor name AFL CUP Seven 435,000 14,000 270,000 1,000 77,000 72,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,381,000 387,000 368,000 274,000 167,000 184,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,309,000 364,000 347,000 281,000 146,000 171,000
3 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,121,000 334,000 263,000 239,000 138,000 148,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,064,000 281,000 398,000 207,000 114,000 64,000
5 GETAWAY Nine 1,056,000 332,000 346,000 180,000 91,000 107,000
6 ADULTS ONLY 20 TO 1 Nine 1,053,000 335,000 286,000 195,000 120,000 117,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,040,000 250,000 414,000 197,000 116,000 62,000
8 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,037,000 289,000 339,000 205,000 89,000 115,000
9 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,013,000 264,000 337,000 184,000 99,000 129,000
10 CSI: MIAMI -THU Nine 982,000 265,000 319,000 164,000 127,000 107,000
11 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 979,000 291,000 296,000 195,000 101,000 97,000
12 GHOST WHISPERER Seven 965,000 268,000 278,000 185,000 116,000 117,000
15 BONDI VET Ten 826,000 187,000 255,000 196,000 91,000 97,000
18 Sponsor name CUP - COLLINGWOOD V RICHMOND Ten 713,000 24,000 448,000 4,000 93,000 143,000
19 PRIVATE PRACTICE Seven 709,000 218,000 217,000 124,000 75,000 74,000
25 SCRUBS Seven 511,000 164,000 153,000 81,000 66,000 48,000
27 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 502,000 306,000 Not shown because of some sort of football 196,000 Not shown Not shown
29 Q & A ABC1 446,000 174,000 125,000 76,000 40,000 31,000
32 TEN LATE NEWS WITH SPORTS TONIGHT Ten 368,000 90,000 164,000 41,000 43,000 30,000
36 LIFE ON MARS Ten 333,000 223,000 Not shown because of football 111,000 Not shown Not shown

The ratings race, updated 10 am Thursday
Whoo it's close. At this point in the week, Channel Nine is averaging 28.7 per cent of the prime time audience, while Seven is averaging 28.5. Will tonight's Life on Mars take viewers from Nine or from Seven?

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,427,000 387,000 353,000 291,000 177,000 219,000
2 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Seven 1,370,000 397,000 420,000 256,000 139,000 157,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,339,000 342,000 347,000 289,000 137,000 224,000
4 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,334,000 364,000 396,000 262,000 143,000 169,000
5 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,184,000 352,000 351,000 245,000 104,000 132,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,166,000 280,000 416,000 261,000 114,000 95,000
7 GANGS OF OZ Seven 1,162,000 399,000 367,000 152,000 118,000 126,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,145,000 338,000 293,000 233,000 117,000 164,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,084,000 259,000 380,000 244,000 124,000 78,000
10 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,065,000 249,000 376,000 233,000 102,000 105,000
11 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,050,000 362,000 271,000 210,000 77,000 129,000
12 THE MENTALIST Nine 1,038,000 357,000 309,000 168,000 129,000 75,000
16 HOUSE Ten 871,000 246,000 251,000 138,000 88,000 148,000
19 COLD CASE Nine 789,000 236,000 267,000 98,000 110,000 77,000
21 GUERRILLA GARDENERS Ten 712,000 240,000 173,000 149,000 61,000 88,000
29 LOST Seven 465,000 186,000 113,000 89,000 37,000 39,000
30 CHANDON PICTURES ABC1 431,000 142,000 139,000 74,000 33,000 43,000
33 GUERRILLA GARDENERS RPT Ten 387,000 77,000 108,000 95,000 60,000 45,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Wednesday
It's going to be close this week. After three days of ratings, Nine is averaging 29.5 per cent of the prime time audience, while Seven is on 27.4 (Ten 22.7, ABC 14.1, SBS 6.4). The ABC and Ten will do well tonight, but will they take viewers from Seven or from Nine? Care to predict the week's result?

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,833,000 565,000 594,000 308,000 165,000 201,000
2 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,643,000 477,000 510,000 282,000 171,000 202,000
3 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,512,000 425,000 458,000 278,000 165,000 186,000
4 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,412,000 367,000 426,000 248,000 161,000 211,000
5 NCIS Ten 1,389,000 414,000 356,000 296,000 154,000 168,000
6 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,288,000 317,000 375,000 253,000 142,000 203,000
7 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,223,000 400,000 376,000 145,000 144,000 158,000
8 LIE TO ME Ten 1,181,000 302,000 341,000 244,000 132,000 161,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,161,000 350,000 319,000 211,000 133,000 149,000
10 BONDI RESCUE Ten 1,137,000 354,000 296,000 254,000 120,000 113,000
11 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,121,000 263,000 370,000 294,000 102,000 92,000
12 NINE NEWS Nine 1,116,000 255,000 362,000 304,000 100,000 95,000
13 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,077,000 297,000 341,000 205,000 106,000 128,000
15 WIPEOUT AUSTRALIA Nine 1,026,000 302,000 350,000 187,000 93,000 94,000
18 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - ELIMINATION Ten 969,000 287,000 274,000 199,000 99,000 109,000
20 AUSSIE LADETTE TO LADY Nine 832,000 239,000 290,000 126,000 80,000 96,000
25 SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL Nine 587,000 171,000 217,000 80,000 54,000 65,000
28 ELI STONE Seven 481,000 138,000 168,000 46,000 68,000 60,000
33 DOCTOR WHO RPT ABC1 427,000 145,000 102,000 78,000 38,000 64,000
47 DIRTY SEXY MONEY Seven 243,000 71,000 104,000 22,000 23,000 24,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Tuesday
If there were any doubts about who is Australia's favourite person, they were dispelled by Monday's audience figures. Not only did half a million stay-at-homes watch Hugh Jackman host the live version of the Oscars over the entire afternoon, but then 1.2 million in the mainland capitals stuck with the replayed ceremony from 9.30 pm till long after midnight.

It didn't hurt that Underbelly 2 delivered 2.2 million viewers to Jackman's opening routine, but it's entirely to his credit that a million were still there for his farewell, surrounded by beaming Indians. (Mind you, Nine may wonder if it needs to raise the breast content of U2, given the disappearance of 200,000 people who had admired the charms of Anna Hutchison last week.)

Nine is averaging 32.1 per cent of the prime time audience, with Seven on 24.4, Ten on 21.7, ABC 14.8, and SBS a healthy 7.0 (thanks to Top Gear, which got record figures, apparentlly stolen from U2).

What did you think of the Oscars? And do you think U2 is maintaining its quality?

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 UNDERBELLY: A TALE OF TWO CITIES Nine 2,291,000 768,000 709,000 366,000 210,000 238,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,659,000 443,000 516,000 310,000 184,000 207,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,505,000 396,000 431,000 334,000 157,000 187,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,294,000 310,000 472,000 271,000 133,000 108,000
5 CUSTOMS Nine 1,269,000 380,000 373,000 256,000 115,000 146,000
6 THE 81ST ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS Nine 1,251,000 442,000 375,000 199,000 91,000 145,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,234,000 333,000 397,000 257,000 113,000 135,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,195,000 341,000 412,000 224,000 88,000 130,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,191,000 349,000 345,000 251,000 118,000 129,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,147,000 252,000 434,000 234,000 125,000 101,000
11 SOUTH PARK RPT SBS 1,069,000 255,000 354,000 227,000 104,000 130,000
12 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 1,039,000 247,000 406,000 153,000 114,000 119,000
13 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - RESULTS Ten 1,037,000 339,000 316,000 185,000 86,000 112,000
14 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - ELIMINATION Ten 1,034,000 315,000 290,000 217,000 106,000 107,000
15 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,013,000 274,000 368,000 166,000 83,000 122,000
16 TOP GEAR SBS 1,011,000 256,000 330,000 199,000 106,000 119,000
19 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 920,000 246,000 316,000 191,000 76,000 90,000
20 AUSTRALIAN STORY ABC1 911,000 302,000 246,000 177,000 73,000 114,000
22 BROTHERS & SISTERS Seven 839,000 235,000 323,000 107,000 75,000 100,000
24 GOOD NEWS WEEK Ten 757,000 226,000 206,000 157,000 85,000 84,000
30 THE 81ST ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS -LIVE Nine 545,000 170,000 180,000 117,000 35,000 42,000
31 DEXTER Ten 508,000 142,000 126,000 98,000 76,000 66,000
52 30 ROCK Seven 228,000 75,000 80,000 25,000 23,000 25,000

The ratings race, updated 11am Monday
It was the first "normal" Sunday of the ratings year -- no cricket, no bushfire specials -- and thus may give a sense of the way the first half of 2009 will develop for the stations. Nine won it, with 27.9 per cent of the prime time audience, and will no doubt win tonight, thanks to Underbelly, but this is unlikely to be enough to give it the whole week.

What was more interesting was Ten's surge to 26.3 per cent, which put it ahead of Seven's 25.7. Expect SYTYCDA to run longer and longer from now on -- it's Ten's top asset for the first half. The ABC has not really started its run yet, managing only 15.1 per cent last night, while SBS got its usual 5.0. The morning memorial service totalled more than a million viewers.

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,440,000 357,000 386,000 352,000 139,000 206,000
2 BORDER SECURITY - AUSTRALIA'S FRONT LINE Seven 1,369,000 372,000 453,000 267,000 125,000 152,000
3 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA Ten 1,311,000 395,000 413,000 256,000 104,000 142,000
4 60 MINUTES Nine 1,288,000 354,000 383,000 267,000 139,000 145,000
5 TRIPLE ZERO HEROES Seven 1,228,000 345,000 376,000 238,000 113,000 156,000
6 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,183,000 251,000 489,000 220,000 136,000 87,000
7 CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION Nine 1,105,000 311,000 312,000 236,000 128,000 119,000
8 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,086,000 283,000 372,000 177,000 108,000 147,000
9 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - THE WEIGH-IN Ten 1,073,000 314,000 320,000 208,000 98,000 133,000
10 SUNDAY NIGHT Seven 1,071,000 263,000 345,000 242,000 104,000 117,000
11 DOMESTIC BLITZ Nine 998,000 259,000 332,000 221,000 90,000 95,000
12 ABC NEWS-SU ABC1 945,000 299,000 250,000 161,000 109,000 126,000
13 ROVE Ten 922,000 264,000 335,000 156,000 66,000 101,000
14 CSI: MIAMI Nine 881,000 249,000 267,000 155,000 110,000 100,000
18 CRANFORD ABC1 704,000 237,000 163,000 121,000 86,000 97,000
20 COMPASS ABC1 567,000 168,000 162,000 82,000 70,000 84,000
21 THE EINSTEIN FACTOR ABC1 561,000 149,000 154,000 116,000 75,000 67,000
27 WEEKEND SUNRISE-EXTENDED Seven 386,000 83,000 159,000 68,000 24,000 51,000
30 NINE NEWS SPECIAL - NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING Nine 339,000 68,000 176,000 47,000 32,000 17,000
32 THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR BUSHFIRE VICTIMS-AM ABC1 324,000 87,000 142,000 32,000 28,000 36,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

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

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind, in whoweare-index at 10:37 AM
• Comments (51)

WHO WE ARE: The loved ones

To nominate people or programs for this year's Bogie awards, go to The Tribal Mind.

A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 22/2/2009
IT'S A COMPLIMENT to the good taste of Australians that, when polled on the people they like best, they agree on this top ten:

1. Hugh Jackman
2 Andrew Denton
3 Jennifer Hawkins
4 Ernie Dingo
5 Dave Hughes
6 Magda Szubanski
7 Glenn Robbins
8 Hamish Blake
9 John Clarke
10 Shane Bourne.

Those results emerged last November when an organization called Audience Development Australia showed 600 photos to a sample of 2000 adults in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and asked them to say who they recognised and how much they liked them on a scale from 0 to 4. The research, called the Q Scores, is bought by television networks who want to know if they are paying their personalities too little or too much.

You'd be tempted to conclude that the qualities Australians value in a public figure, apart from pleasant looks, are intelligence, irreverence, curiosity, independence, enthusiasm, straightforwardness, and a capacity for self-mockery.

Hugh Jackman displayed most of those qualities when he hosted the Oscars.

Perhaps you are dubious about using one survey as an indicator of national values. Is a sample of 2000 people on the east coast enough to reveal the attitudes of "real Australia"? As it happens, there is support for the Q Scores from another survey, conducted on a different group of 1000 Australians at the end of last year by UMR Research.

They were shown a list and asked this question: "On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is strongly negative and 10 is strongly positive, please indicate how you feel about each of the following people." They also had the option to tick "never heard of".

In the "UMR Celebrity Report Card", these personalities were rated most positively: 1 Hugh Jackman; 2 Geoffrey Rush; 3 Cate Blanchett; 4 Andrew Denton; 5 Eric Bana.

The least-liked personalities (in order of negativity) were: 1 Kyle Sandilands; 2 Lara Bingle; 3 Sophie Monk; 4 Paul Hogan; 5 Bert Newton.

Kyle Sandilands scored 50 per cent negative and 18 per cent "never heard of", while Bert Newton scored 36 per cent negative and 2 per cent "never heard of". This is sad news for Bert, who has suffered a total turnaround in five years. When the Q Scores survey was conducted in 2004, these people were the nation's most recognized and most liked: 1 Magda Szubanski; 2 Andrew Denton; 3 Ernie Dingo; 4 Rove McManus; 5 John Wood; 6 Bert Newton; 7 Jamie Durie; 8 John Clarke; 9 Lisa McCune; 10 Sigrid Thornton.

Back then, Bert Newton possessed the qualities his compatriots admire. Now he seems to have overstayed his welcome, joining Sandilands and Hogan in that miserable category which Australians tend to label "Celebrities Who Are Up Themselves".

Meanwhile, four people have remained high in our estimation throughout the decade: Denton, Szubanski, Dingo and Clarke. That's the kind of revelation that makes me feel proud to be Australian.

Tell us at Comments if you agree that Australians have good taste.

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

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 04:12 PM
• Comments (18)

The Who We Are update: Week 8

To nominate people or programs for this year's Bogie awards, go to The Tribal Mind.
To find out who Australians like the best, go to Who We Are.

The ratings race, updated 8am Monday
It's got to be a bad omen for Channel Nine. In a week when it had the top program, with record ratings, it was nevertheless beaten by Channel Seven. The average prime time audience shares went like this: Seven 29.2 per cent; Nine 27.5; Ten 21.5; ABC 16.2; SBS 5.4. Nine just can't get past Seven's Tuesday punch.

Pay TV gave this account of itself for the week: "Subscription TV was the number one source of TV viewing across Australia in week 8 of 2009. STV channels accounted for 23.7% of all metropolitan viewing between 6am and midnight, was 22.1% of all regional viewing and 60.1% of all viewing in subscription TV homes, more than any other network in all of those markets. In live sport this week, Live: Rugby Union: S14 Waratahs v Chiefs on FOX Sports drew 167,000 viewers, Live: AFL: NAB Cup Hawthorn v Melbourne was watched by 142,000 people and the preliminary final of the A-League competition, Live: Football: A-League PF Adel v Qld, was seen by 124,000 subscribers. In entertainment programming, Family Guy on FOX8 was watched by 153,000 people and NCIS on TV1 was watched by 135,000 people. In addition, the premiere of the Will Smith movie I Am Legend on Movie One drew 128,000 people, and 106,000 people watched Hannah Montana on Disney Channel."

What Australia watched, week ending February 21
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 UNDERBELLY: A TALE OF TWO CITIES Nine 2,476,000 823,000 778,000 369,000 241,000 265,000
2 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,740,000 557,000 514,000 293,000 163,000 213,000
3 TWENTY/20 - AUSTRALIA V NEW ZEALAND Nine 1,626,000 482,000 487,000 320,000 184,000 153,000
4 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,617,000 434,000 427,000 422,000 154,000 180,000
5 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,592,000 462,000 525,000 303,000 131,000 172,000
6 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,525,000 376,000 505,000 332,000 132,000 180,000
7 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,497,000 401,000 422,000 300,000 165,000 209,000
8 CUSTOMS Nine 1,478,000 469,000 426,000 258,000 153,000 172,000
9 TRIPLE ZERO HEROES Seven 1,453,000 388,000 466,000 294,000 113,000 191,000
10 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Seven 1,417,000 382,000 434,000 285,000 154,000 163,000
11 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,389,000 368,000 450,000 282,000 114,000 175,000
12 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA Ten 1,372,000 412,000 460,000 244,000 127,000 129,000
13 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,371,000 393,000 366,000 318,000 133,000 160,000

14 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,367,000 367,000 370,000 289,000 132,000 208,000
15 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,352,000 353,000 376,000 287,000 142,000 194,000
16 NCIS Ten 1,342,000 374,000 356,000 273,000 160,000 179,000
17 SUNDAY NIGHT Seven 1,335,000 325,000 438,000 318,000 118,000 135,000
18 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,329,000 358,000 393,000 304,000 118,000 156,000
19 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,310,000 329,000 452,000 250,000 160,000 118,000
20 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,258,000 361,000 385,000 229,000 123,000 161,000
21 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,201,000 317,000 406,000 211,000 116,000 151,000
22 LIE TO ME Ten 1,198,000 324,000 373,000 226,000 142,000 134,000
23 GANGS OF OZ Seven 1,189,000 348,000 407,000 193,000 100,000 141,000
24 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,134,000 360,000 319,000 161,000 136,000 158,000
25 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 1,128,000 336,000 318,000 207,000 125,000 142,000
26 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,094,000 320,000 294,000 228,000 118,000 134,000
27 NINE NEWS Nine 1,089,000 278,000 349,000 256,000 121,000 85,000
28 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,072,000 348,000 312,000 200,000 97,000 116,000
29 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,072,000 310,000 324,000 210,000 107,000 122,000
30 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - THE WEIGH-IN Ten 1,058,000 276,000 310,000 222,000 126,000 124,000
31 AUSSIE LADETTE TO LADY Nine 1,056,000 315,000 346,000 166,000 103,000 127,000
32 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,054,000 298,000 355,000 201,000 100,000 99,000
33 WIPEOUT AUSTRALIA Nine 1,042,000 316,000 291,000 200,000 121,000 113,000
34 BONDI RESCUE Ten 1,036,000 359,000 251,000 182,000 109,000 135,000
35 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,030,000 320,000 338,000 199,000 83,000 91,000
36 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,029,000 299,000 365,000 164,000 105,000 96,000
37 BONES (R) Seven 1,023,000 291,000 316,000 171,000 111,000 134,000
38 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - RESULTS Ten 1,023,000 338,000 307,000 184,000 91,000 103,000
39 ADULTS ONLY 20 TO 1 Nine 1,015,000 257,000 257,000 226,000 132,000 144,000
40 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 988,000 260,000 321,000 228,000 106,000 73,000

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,367,000 367,000 370,000 289,000 132,000 208,000
2 NEW TRICKS RPT ABC1 965,000 301,000 263,000 202,000 100,000 99,000
3 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS Nine 950,000 297,000 255,000 178,000 95,000 126,000
4 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 934,000 241,000 315,000 190,000 112,000 76,000
5 OPEN SEASON Nine 915,000 265,000 299,000 167,000 97,000 87,000
6 IN THE BUSH WITH MALCOLM DOUGLAS Seven 910,000 257,000 220,000 217,000 85,000 131,000
7 KATH & KIM (R) Seven 905,000 284,000 241,000 176,000 84,000 120,000
8 THE VICAR OF DIBLEY Seven 881,000 228,000 250,000 190,000 88,000 125,000
9 ABC NEWS-SA ABC1 847,000 262,000 271,000 159,000 70,000 85,000
10 THE BILL ABC1 823,000 224,000 243,000 157,000 88,000 111,000
15 GARDENING AUSTRALIA ABC1 540,000 158,000 179,000 109,000 47,000 47,000
16 SPIDERMAN 2 Nine 525,000 137,000 180,000 86,000 65,000 56,000
20 2009 sponsor name CUP - GEELONG V ADELAIDE Ten 426,000 10,000 249,000 15,000 100,000 52,000
30 ROCKWIZ SBS 273,000 77,000 76,000 58,000 23,000 38,000
32 IRON CHEF SBS 261,000 69,000 84,000 48,000 23,000 37,000

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,406,000 369,000 394,000 269,000 162,000 212,000
2 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,258,000 361,000 385,000 229,000 123,000 161,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,199,000 298,000 332,000 253,000 123,000 193,000
4 ABC NEWS ABC1 993,000 275,000 299,000 195,000 122,000 102,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 962,000 266,000 295,000 217,000 109,000 74,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 939,000 262,000 243,000 184,000 107,000 143,000
7 THE SIMPSONS FRI Ten 909,000 247,000 266,000 169,000 103,000 124,000
8 THE ALL NEW SIMPSONS Ten 907,000 237,000 294,000 164,000 90,000 122,000
9 TRIAL AND RETRIBUTION: CURRICULUM VITAE ABC1 903,000 255,000 258,000 168,000 105,000 117,000
10 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 879,000 239,000 241,000 164,000 116,000 120,000
20 LAW & ORDER FRI Ten 652,000 159,000 201,000 131,000 88,000 75,000
24 2009 sponsor name CUP: CARLTON V NORTH MELBOURNE Seven 511,000 28,000 283,000 12,000 97,000 91,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,407,000 357,000 381,000 308,000 162,000 199,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,229,000 279,000 353,000 272,000 140,000 185,000
3 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 1,129,000 336,000 318,000 207,000 125,000 142,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,068,000 288,000 304,000 235,000 129,000 113,000
5 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,063,000 306,000 326,000 215,000 105,000 112,000
6 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,031,000 320,000 338,000 199,000 83,000 91,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,027,000 284,000 290,000 250,000 126,000 77,000
8 ADULTS ONLY 20 TO 1 Nine 1,016,000 257,000 257,000 226,000 133,000 144,000
9 GHOST WHISPERER Seven 983,000 268,000 286,000 208,000 105,000 115,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 943,000 282,000 266,000 235,000 95,000 66,000
11 GETAWAY Nine 919,000 270,000 264,000 198,000 99,000 88,000
14 CSI: MIAMI -THU Nine 884,000 220,000 277,000 160,000 100,000 128,000
15 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) Ten 884,000 267,000 209,000 214,000 89,000 105,000
16 LIFE ON MARS Ten 866,000 264,000 244,000 148,000 104,000 106,000
18 BONDI VET Ten 822,000 203,000 178,000 224,000 99,000 118,000
19 PRIVATE PRACTICE Seven 780,000 233,000 266,000 137,000 59,000 85,000
26 SCRUBS Seven 512,000 110,000 208,000 92,000 45,000 57,000
28 Q AND A ABC1 466,000 169,000 143,000 58,000 57,000 39,000
40 INSPECTOR REX RPT SBS 320,000 87,000 106,000 46,000 33,000 48,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Thursday
Wow, what a turnaround. After last night, Channel Seven is ahead for the week. Despite huge numbers for cricket on Sunday and Underbelly on Monday, Nine is now averaging 28.8 per cent of the prime time audience, while Seven holds 30.0 per cent (Ten 21.7, ABC 14.4, SBS 5.1).

Nine's Ladette to Lady fell away badly on its second night, and A Current Affair and The Mentalist are well down on last year's performance. Tonight Bert Newton has the burden of saving Nine's bacon with Adults Only 20 To 1, but we somehow suspect that won't be enough. The solution might be for Underbelly's female stars to start presenting Nine's news and ACA -- get the night off to an invigorating start.

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,476,000 399,000 424,000 285,000 160,000 207,000
2 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Seven 1,417,000 382,000 434,000 285,000 154,000 163,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,413,000 386,000 412,000 282,000 148,000 185,000
4 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,329,000 358,000 393,000 304,000 118,000 156,000
5 GANGS OF OZ Seven 1,189,000 348,000 407,000 193,000 100,000 141,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,155,000 324,000 320,000 236,000 131,000 144,000
7 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,071,000 347,000 310,000 200,000 97,000 115,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,070,000 304,000 362,000 175,000 104,000 123,000
9 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,053,000 298,000 354,000 201,000 100,000 99,000
10 NINE NEWS Nine 1,048,000 228,000 341,000 256,000 127,000 95,000
12 THE MENTALIST Nine 955,000 279,000 328,000 168,000 86,000 94,000
14 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 931,000 233,000 311,000 223,000 102,000 62,000
17 HOUSE Ten 846,000 251,000 207,000 152,000 132,000 105,000
22 GUERRILLA GARDENERS Ten 687,000 245,000 147,000 127,000 75,000 93,000
24 FLASHPOINT Nine 632,000 151,000 216,000 115,000 80,000 71,000
25 COLD CASE Nine 561,000 169,000 198,000 58,000 68,000 67,000
26 LOST Seven 516,000 131,000 176,000 103,000 32,000 75,000
31 CHANDON PICTURES ABC1 457,000 156,000 142,000 61,000 45,000 54,000
33 RUDDY HELL! IT'S HARRY AND PAUL ABC1 387,000 128,000 121,000 41,000 48,000 49,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Wednesday
Packed To The Rafters has lost 300,000 viewers since last year, and has slipped behind Underbelly to become Australia's second favourite drama. The gorgeous Rafter women must start thinking about making the sacrifice of modesty that has been made so successfully by the women of U2. As a ratings booster, that would be preferable to introducing regular murders into the extended family household. Go to Comments to tell us how you think the Rafters could win the viewers back.

Channel Seven won last night, but Nine is too far ahead from Sunday and Monday to lose the week. The shares of prime time audience so far are Nine 30.1 per cent, Seven 28.9, Ten 22.1, ABC 13.7, SBS 5.2.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,737,000 556,000 513,000 294,000 162,000 212,000
2 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,585,000 456,000 525,000 302,000 131,000 172,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,549,000 437,000 439,000 299,000 171,000 203,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,477,000 407,000 404,000 314,000 151,000 202,000
5 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,376,000 364,000 446,000 280,000 112,000 173,000
6 NCIS Ten 1,325,000 372,000 351,000 268,000 157,000 177,000
7 LIE TO ME Ten 1,227,000 332,000 379,000 233,000 145,000 138,000
8 NINE NEWS Nine 1,187,000 309,000 400,000 271,000 105,000 100,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,156,000 370,000 292,000 248,000 106,000 139,000
10 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,154,000 365,000 325,000 165,000 137,000 161,000
11 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,060,000 318,000 291,000 233,000 95,000 123,000
12 WIPEOUT AUSTRALIA Nine 1,041,000 316,000 291,000 200,000 121,000 112,000
13 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,041,000 257,000 364,000 228,000 105,000 87,000
14 BONDI RESCUE Ten 1,011,000 355,000 242,000 176,000 106,000 131,000
21 AUSSIE LADETTE TO LADY Nine 841,000 241,000 301,000 112,000 86,000 100,000
28 SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL Nine 508,000 119,000 194,000 76,000 55,000 65,000
31 DOCTOR WHO RPT ABC1 460,000 142,000 115,000 99,000 51,000 52,000
46 DIRTY SEXY MONEY Seven 253,000 49,000 90,000 37,000 21,000 55,000
61 ERKY PERKY ABC1 190,000 61,000 33,000 35,000 24,000 37,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 UNDERBELLY: A TALE OF TWO CITIES Nine 2,465,000 820,000 775,000 368,000 238,000 264,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,648,000 442,000 474,000 337,000 171,000 224,000
3 CUSTOMS Nine 1,449,000 463,000 415,000 258,000 145,000 168,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,432,000 391,000 376,000 312,000 150,000 204,000
5 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,366,000 394,000 366,000 317,000 131,000 160,000
6 AUSSIE LADETTE TO LADY Nine 1,360,000 397,000 452,000 223,000 130,000 157,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,211,000 300,000 420,000 283,000 132,000 77,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,175,000 346,000 340,000 230,000 107,000 151,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,157,000 363,000 303,000 244,000 120,000 127,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,149,000 300,000 373,000 264,000 123,000 88,000
11 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,090,000 281,000 328,000 237,000 121,000 123,000
12 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,029,000 299,000 365,000 164,000 105,000 96,000
13 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - RESULTS Ten 1,024,000 335,000 310,000 186,000 90,000 104,000
16 AUSTRALIAN STORY ABC1 972,000 296,000 249,000 214,000 105,000 107,000
17 BROTHERS & SISTERS Seven 969,000 291,000 363,000 135,000 90,000 90,000
18 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - ELIMINATION Ten 940,000 254,000 310,000 191,000 80,000 105,000
19 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 932,000 246,000 300,000 186,000 89,000 112,000
21 TOP GEAR SBS 879,000 234,000 278,000 164,000 108,000 95,000
22 FOUR CORNERS ABC1 852,000 240,000 242,000 180,000 78,000 112,000
26 GOOD NEWS WEEK Ten 692,000 204,00 177,000 159,000 85,000 67,000
27 STEPHEN FRY: THE SECRET LIFE OF THE MANIC DEPRESSIVE ABC1 583,000 204,000 158,000 83,000 64,000 73,000
29 DEXTER Ten 531,000 122,000 159,000 101,000 84,000 64,000
35 BOSTON LEGAL Seven 398,000 171,000 88,000 65,000 74,000
40 TEN LATE NEWS WITH SPORTS TONIGHT Ten 342,000 81,000 120,000 51,000 48,000 43,000
42 30 ROCK Seven 306,000 83,000 98,000 48,000 34,000 42,000

The ratings race, updated 11 am Monday
Will this wretched cricket never end? Last night it blocked the relaunch of Channel Nine's Sunday staples 60 Minutes and CSI, thus preventing popular culture scholars such as this column's readers from getting a sense of how the weekly pattern of the ratings year will develop.

Not that Nine is complaining. The cricket let it win Sunday, with 31.9 per cent of the prime time audience (Seven 28.1, Ten 24.0, ABC 11.6, SBS 4.5). Next Sunday we start real programming, and viewers will chose between Australian murders and American murders.

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 MORE BLOODY CRICKET: TWENTY/20 - ANZ Nine 1,625,000 482,000 487,000 320,000 183,000 153,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,616,000 434,000 427,000 422,000 154,000 180,000
3 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,511,000 377,000 504,000 325,000 132,000 174,000
4 TRIPLE ZERO HEROES Seven 1,469,000 388,000 467,000 304,000 117,000 194,000
5 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA Ten 1,373,000 412,000 460,000 245,000 127,000 129,000
6 SUNDAY NIGHT Seven 1,335,000 325,000 439,000 318,000 118,000 135,000
7 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,309,000 329,000 452,000 250,000 160,000 117,000
8 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,201,000 317,000 405,000 212,000 116,000 151,000
9 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - THE WEIGH-IN Ten 1,052,000 274,000 308,000 221,000 125,000 124,000
11 ROVE Ten 898,000 253,000 292,000 153,000 96,000 103,000
12 ABC NEWS-SUn ABC1 882,000 291,000 277,000 125,000 78,000 112,000
14 DOMESTIC BLITZ Nine 663,000 359,000 304,000
16 CRANFORD ABC1 659,000 234,000 182,000 82,000 69,000 92,000
21 24 Seven 494,000 122,000 157,000 74,000 60,000 81,000
24 COMPASS ABC1 406,000 145,000 111,000 66,000 38,000 45,000
36 OUT OF THE BLUE SUN Ten 278,000 75,000 73,000 55,000 34,000 41,000
47 DARWIN'S LOST PARADISE SBS 221,000 74,000 59,000 36,000 30,000 22,000
53 DATELINE SBS 207,000 62,000 55,000 41,000 29,000 19,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

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

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind, in whoweare-index at 09:45 AM
• Comments (54)

The Tribal Mind: Now we know who understands Australia

To discuss if Gen X and Y can overcome the boomers, go to Who We Are.

by David Dale
We are ready to carry out a postmortem on Australia -- the movie, that is, not the country, which probably still has a year or two of life in it.

Last November, under the heading "How well do you understand the mind and mood of your nation?", this column asked readers to predict the box office for Australia here and in America. We got 172 entries, most of them pessimistic, and many of them vitriolic. You can read them all here.

Today we announce the winners, though what matters is not who was right or wrong, but what we learned from the process, which was that Australians will go to see an Australian movie ...

EVEN WHEN much of its dialogue is embarrassing, its acting is hammy, its special effects are unconvincing, it is an hour too long, its leading actress is unpopular and some critics list it among the worst movies of the year ...

AS LONG AS the story is stirring, the budget is huge, it is massively hyped, and it is showing on more than 500 screens during a holiday period when there isn't much else around.

So now future filmmakers in this country know how to create a hit -- and Australia was definitely that, selling $36.5 million worth of tickets in 12 weeks. This means it was seen by more than 3 million of us (or by Baz Luhrmann 3 million times). It is the third highest grossing local film in history (after Crocodile Dundee, which made $48 million in 1986, and Babe, which made $37 m in 1995) and the number 14 moneymaker of all time here, just ahead of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

The Americans were less keen. It made a modest $US49m there. And across the world it made $US190m. Half those earnings would have gone to the ticket sellers and the distributors, but when the DVDs are done and dusted, it could well cover its budget of $150m.

Two readers came close to the correct figures. They were Cassi, who predicted $A35m and $US50m, and Kate, who predicted $A34m and a world total of $160m. They'll win books which modesty forbids me from naming. And books will also go to ...

Emma, who thought Australia would "resonate with cinema-goers in light of the global financial crisis. The film communicates basic themes that are relevant - in times of hardship, it is your loved ones that matter the most."

Capn Pugwash, who found it "fitting that Australia already represents a perfect summation of everything gone wrong with Australian films in the last decade, and the narrow patronising cultural banality so prevalent during the Howard years."

And Les, who argued: "If they wanted Australia to be successful they would have made the character of Hugh Jackman a serial killer with Nicole Kidman fighting for her life."

They were all correct.

What's your postmortem on Australia? Will you buy the DVD (or, if Luhrmann is consistent with past habits, the five disc box set)? Tell us at Comments. And go to The Films Australia Loved for more background.

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

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 06:48 PM
• Comments (18)

WHO WE ARE: Get together, one more time

To join the postmortem on Australia, go to The Tribal Mind.

A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 15/2/2008
So the Gen Xers hate the Boomers because the Boomers won't hand over their jobs, and the Boomers hate Gen Y because they won't stick at anything for more than two years. The iGens hate Boomers, Xers and Ys because they ruined the planet, and the Xers hate the iGens because they want everything right away, without working for it, and don't even bother to use spellcheck.

It's amazing that civil war didn't break out long ago in this country, if we're to judge by the rage provoked by last week's column, which discussed how the Bureau of Statistics is using the term "iGeneration" for people born after 1986. Reading the responses, I was reminded of this song:

Five to one, baby, one in five.
No one here gets out alive.
The old get older and the young get stronger.
May take a week and it may take longer.
They got the guns but we got the numbers.
Gonna win, yeah, we're takin' over.
(Go here to hear it)

Five to One was the anthem of the Baby Boomers, written by The Doors in 1968 in response to statistics showing that people aged under 40 outnumbered the oldies five to one.

Now, of course, it's the boomers who are over 40, and who have the guns. But they are outnumbered by Generation X, Generation Y and the iGeneration -- not quite five to one, but easily two to one. Here's how the Bureau divides the nation:

Generation XY (born between 1966 and 1986): There are 5.5 million of them, of whom 49 per cent live with a romantic partner and 16 per cent live with their parents; 25 per cent have a university degree; 56 per cent describe themselves as Christians; and 5 per cent are unemployed (compared with 3 per cent of boomers). The bureau says they were "the first generation to experience increased rates of parental separation and divorce. They are also regarded as having fewer opportunities than their baby boomer predecessors, being the first to experience user-pays higher education and job insecurity. When Generation X and Y were entering the workforce, unemployment levels were high."

The iGen (born after 1986): There are 5.3 million of them. Go here to learn more.

The boomers (born between 1946 and 1966): There are 5.5 million of them, of whom 68 per cent are living with a romantic partner; and 67 per cent describe themselves as Christians. The bureau says: "As the first group to be raised with televisions in their homes, boomers were exposed to world events including the Cold War, the Viet Nam war, the sexual revolution, peace movements and the birth of rock and roll. They are considered more liberal minded than Australia's older generations." They were once called The Me Generation, because they were perceived to be self-indulgent, but apparently, the ballroom days are over.

The Lucky Generation (1926-1946): There are 2.9 million of them, of whom 61 per cent are living with a romantic partner; 36 per cent were born overseas and 69 per cent are "not in the labour force". The bureau calls them lucky because "as young adults they experienced full employment and prosperity during the post World War II economic boom."

The oldest (born before 1926): There are 727,000 of them, of whom 39 per cent left school at year 8 or below (compared with 2 per cent of Gen X); 33 per cent are living alone; 17 per cent are in nursing homes; and 80 per cent are Christian.

When the civil war comes, which group will emerge the winner? Tell us at Comments

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

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 06:11 AM
• Comments (28)

The Tribal Mind: The superstars of endless summer

by David Dale
Give that woman her own series. The most watched piece of television so far this summer has been Jelena Dokic's last match during the Australian Open, which attracted 2.3 million viewers in the mainland capitals. The men's final, which has been the most watched program of several previous years, drew only 2.2 m this year (for all the record breakers, go to The TV Australia loved).

If this were America, Dokic would by now be hosting a talk show about defeating depression or a reality show about girls freeing themselves from loony fathers. Since this is Australia, she is simply the summer's temporary talking point.

Every silly season seems to throw up one individual who captures the conversation of a nation with nothing better to do. The superstar of early 2008 was Corey Worthington, who went from public nuisance to Big Brother participant. In February 2007, Schapelle Corby's sister Mercedes had her 15 days of fame.

This summer, we've been lucky enough to get two heroes, both with stories much more inspiring than Worthington's. The second was already a familiar figure, mainly because of her impeccable interpretation of an earlier icon, Lindy Chamberlain, in the film Evil Angels. She cemented her place in our hearts during the past three months because she became entangled in Australia's continuing obsession with all things ABBA.

The research organisation GFK Australia has just revealed that the best selling DVD of 2008 was not Underbelly or The Dark Knight, as everyone assumed, but Mamma Mia! Released in November, it is already the number 15 best selling DVD of all time in Australia (just ahead of The Matrix). With 450,000 copies out there, it remains in the top 20 sales chart this week and has a good chance of bumping Finding Nemo off our all-time number one spot, as it has just done in Britain (for full details, go to The DVDs Australia loved).

Mamma Mia! isn't Meryl Streep's only claim on summer stardom. Last Monday The Devil Wears Prada attracted 1.4 million viewers in the mainland capitals, outrating the once unstoppable Desperate Housewives and becoming the most watched TV movie of the past 12 months. Every programmer knows movies don't work on television any more, but Channel Ten took a risk because if anyone can overturn conventional wisdoms, it's Our Meryl.

And in the art cinemas, Streep is knocking them dead in Doubt, where she plays a paranoid nun. Sister Aloysius Beauvier is as different from Donna Sheridan in Mamma Mia! as Donna is from Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada. Compare the performances and you are sure these must be three different actresses.

Which points to a clear conclusion: Streep will have no trouble playing the lead in Baz Luhrmann's next project, Comeback: The Jelena Dokic Story. Unless Dokic gets in first and stars in Chameleon: The Meryl Streep Story, set to the music of Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-Frid, and opening in the summer of 2011.

If Meryl Steep is not the greatest actress of all time, tell us who is at Comments. And while you at it, please explain Australia's obsession with ABBA.

To learn why geeky heathens will inherit the earth, go to Who We Are.

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

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 04:30 AM
• Comments (19)

WHO WE ARE: From Me to i

To learn why Jelena Dokic should play Meryl Streep in her biopic, and vice versa, go to The Tribal Mind.

A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald 8/2/2009
At last, there's a clever new tool for analysing our society - and it has official sanction.

Remember the golden age (the 80s and 90s) when the pop sociologists seemed to come up with a new label every week - first they talked about
Baby boomers (people born between the end of World War Two and the start of the Vietnam War), then
Yuppies (Young Upwardly-mobile Professionals),
DINKS (Double income No Kids),
Sitcoms (Single Income Two Children Oppressive Mortgage),
SKINs (parents who Spend the Kids' Inheritance Now) and, best of all,
Generation X, a term invented in 1991 by the novelist Douglas Coupland to cover people born between 1965 and 1976, who supposedly felt overshadowed by the boomers.
Then the labellers ran out of imagination. People a bit younger than Generation X were lazily called Generation Y, and we were facing the prospect of Generation Z for those who came after them. But the Bureau of Statistics has fixed that. In its latest report, it has laid down all the social labels we need, and for people born between 1986 and 2006, it has created the term The iGeneration.

This clarification comes just in time. A lot of nonsense is being written in the name of demographic dissection. For example, in a book called Please Just F* off ... It's our turn now, the Australian author Ryan Heath offers these generationalisations:

"Boomers are particularly skilled at whining and slutting their way into society's spotlight ... It's Boomer suburbanites, your Kath and your Kel, who are the majority. They are usually conservative, materialistic and insular ...

"Generation X was a label for drifters with an embittered but denied sense of entitlement and removed from any actual demographic trend ...

"Whereas Boomers wallow in remembrance of the good ol' days, [Generation Y] live change everyday, and rather like it ... My generation is populated by strong and professional individuals with resilience, ideas and critical capabilities ... We are flexible, resilient and can multi-task well. [But] We are often so busy being Yeppies (Young Experimenting Perfection Seekers) -- unable to commit to love or a career because we can never meet our unreasonable expectations".

Sound like anybody you know? The Bureau takes a different approach. Instead of fomenting generational warfare, it uses data from the 2006 census to divide us into five categories: 1 The Oldest Australians (born before 1926); 2 The Lucky Generation (born between 1926 and 1946); 2 Baby Boomers (1946-1966); 4 Generation X and Y (1966-1986); and 5 The iGeneration (born after 1986).

The Bureau says the last group is the most technological and the least spiritual of all the five, which has significant implications for the future shape of society: "They take computers and the internet and a host of electronic consumables, such as DVDs, mobile phones and MP3 players, for granted," says the Bureau. "In 2006, 80 per cent of the youngest generation had access to the internet at home ... The iGeneration, along with Generation X and Y, are the most secular generations, with almost one in four reporting no religion." By comparison, only 9 per cent of the over 60s and 17 per cent of the 40-60s say they follow no faith (go here to read the bureau's report).

So our society is about to be taken over by a generation of geeky heathens.

We'll continue this discussion next week, with full analysis of Boomers, Xers, Luckies and iGens. In the meantime, go to Comments to tell us if you think the Bureau has got it right

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

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 03:18 AM
• Comments (59)

The Tribal Mind: What will you cut back this year?

To discuss whether spag bol, pad Thai or tiramisu should be our national dish, go to Who We Are.

by David Dale
This is a year in which you are going to have to choose which side you're on. There are two types of people in Australia, multiplied by five:

1 Those who like to get their news and insights from printed newspapers Versus Those who are content to scroll through media websites.

2 Those who like to watch movies on the cinema screen Versus Those who don't mind renting a DVD six months later.

3 People who are content with the mass market pap presented by the free to air TV networks (70 per cent of Australians) Versus People who are prepared to pay $60 a month for the greater diversity offered by subscription TV (30 per cent).

4 People who can live with the arrogant and inconsistent programming policies of network television Versus People who are prepared to break copyright laws by going online to download programs (11 million Australians can now hunt and steal their entertainments, because they have broadband internet connections).

5 People who simply enjoy a good story and don't mind if it's delivered via book, play, newspaper, magazine, TV set, cinema screen or computer terminal Versus People who must see the latest thing, even if it's almost indecipherable on the screen of a mobile phone, and even if it's pretty lame.

Which of those ten categories are going to grow this year, and which are going to shrink? If the economic downturn were the only factor in play here, then the shrinkers would be 1A, 2A, 3B, 4B and 5B.

In tough times, why pay $1.30 for a newspaper when you can get most of its content for free online? Why pay $16 to admit one person to a multiplex when four people can watch a DVD for $8? Why buy TV shows when most will be repeated anyway on the free stations? Why subsidise a teenager to waste time on technological bells and whistles when dad just lost his job?

To put it another way: it would be logical to predict declines in Pay TV signups, mobile phone contracts, newspaper circulations and cinema attendances in 2009.

But some of us may give priority to other factors. Photos simply don't look as good, and lengthy journalism is harder to read on a computer screen compared with, say, Good Weekend. A movie such as Slumdog Millionaire has far less power to exhilarate on a small screen. Pay TV now plays new masterpieces that have been ignored or mistreated by free to air - such as In Treatment, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Mad Men and True Blood.

Money may not be the only thing that matters in Australia's entertainment choices this year ... but we'll certainly go through changes.

How will you alter your entertainment pattern this year ... cancel Foxtel? Stay away from the multiplex? Simplify the mobile contract? Go to Comments to predict the cultural effects of the economic crisis

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

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 05:38 PM
• Comments (16)

WHO WE ARE: The national pick-me-up

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

A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald 1/2/2009
Adopting and adapting: That's Australia's specialty. We may not initiate many big ideas that change the world, but we're brilliant at borrowing small ideas and making them our own - for example, the bikini, barbecues, Vegemite, thongs and the poker machine. In that context, I want to examine this question today: what is Australian's national dish?

Last year this column answered the question with spaghetti bolognese, which Australians make at home as often they order it when they're out. But now I want to put up a different candidate: tiramisu.

I spent a week in Paris just after Christmas, and I was fascinated to observe that tiramisu is the latest craze there. It's on the dessert menu of every modest-priced restaurant (along with the Paris cliches of creme caramel and rice pudding), and a packaged version is prominently displayed in every supermarket under the title "Tiramisu Italien". So the culinary capital of the world has finally discovered a dish that Australians had the good taste to embrace nearly 30 years ago.

Yes, it's another Aussie claim to fame: In its relentless conquest of the planet, tiramisu reached us first. It was brought here in 1977 by Giuseppe Zuzza, an immigrant from north east Italy. He had been lucky enough to be working as a waiter in the town of Treviso (near Venice) -- the area where tiramisu was invented in 1972 as a way of using up old coffee

(Some scholars claim the dish was actually invented in the town of Trieste in the 1950s, and was only given its name -- which translates as "pick me up" -- in Treviso. That's uncannily similar to the dispute between Australia and New Zealand over the origins of the pavlova, which was invented there and named here.)

Giuseppe Zuzza first served it in a Sydney restaurant called Darcy's, and it became his signature dish when he opened his own place, The Mixing Pot in the Sydney suburb of Glebe, in 1980. Customers responded instantly to the layers of coffee-soaked sponge covered with mascarpone, other restaurants rushed to copy it, and the fad began.

Tiramisu's next victim was America. In 1993, screenwriter Nora Ephron used it as a sociological signifier in the movie Sleepless in Seattle. Tom Hanks plays a widower about to go on a date for the first time in 13 years.

His friend, played by Rob Reiner, tells him dating is now a different process from when he was last "out there" because, for example, the woman will pay for her own meal, and in the unlikely event they end up having sex, he'll have to use a condom. And, of course, there is now tiramisu ...

"Hanks: What is tiramisu? Reiner: You'll find out. Hanks: Well, what is it? Reiner: You'll see! Hanks: You better tell me. Some woman is gonna want me to do it to her and I'm not gonna know what it is."

Millions of Australians had no trouble getting the joke because we'd been doing it to each other for 13 years by then. And it was another 15 years before the Parisians got around to sharing our pleasure.

If tiramisu symbolises the way Australian foodies are decades ahead of the French, then I'd say it -- along with Giusepe Zuzza -- is a prime candidate for national recognition. What do you think?

Go to Comments to tell us what should be the national dish

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

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 11:54 AM
• Comments (42)

The Who We Are update: Week 7

This week of the blog is now a heritage item - worth studying but no longer immediate. For the latest discussion of Australia's popular culture, go here.
To discuss if Gen X and Y can overcome the boomers, go to Who We Are.
To join the postmortem on Australia, go to The Tribal Mind.

The ratings race, updated 9 am Monday
It was a week of guns, breasts, balls and ashes, with Nine dominating on the first three and Seven dominating on the last. Underbelly 2 gave Nine such a commanding lead on Monday, backed up by the cricket, that Seven could not recover, despite strong bushfire coverage.

Nine won the first official ratings week with 31.6 per cent of the prime time audience (Seven 27.5, Ten 20.4, ABC 15.5, SBS 5.0). The ABC is in a slump, with no programs in the top 30 and its million-plus efforts confined to Spicks and Specks and The 7.30 Report. SBS did best with Top Gear (808,000), Mythbusters (473,000), Long Way Down (383,000) and Rockwiz (359,000).

Ten would be disappointed with The Biggest Loser, but delighted with the continuing success of its new 9.30pm shows Lie To Me and Life on Mars. Are brisk three-word titles the new black in television?

The most watched shows on Pay TV last week included Soccer World Cup Qualifier Japan v Aus (Fox Sports 3) 273,000; The Simpsons (Fox 8) 204,000; NCIS (TV1) 174,000; and Bushfires live coverage (Sky news) 158,000.

What Australia watched, week ending February 14
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 UNDERBELLY: A TALE OF TWO CITIES - EPISODE 1 Nine 2,582,000 831,000 871,000 414,000 208,000 259,000
2 UNDERBELLYmEPISODE 2 Nine 2,397,000 767,000 818,000 362,000 215,000 236,000
3 SEVEN NEWS - SUNDAY Seven 1,896,000 530,000 518,000 389,000 176,000 283,000
4 NINE NEWS - SUNDAY Nine 1,896,000 568,000 774,000 320,000 234,000
5 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,786,000 470,000 528,000 398,000 151,000 241,000
6 TRIPLE ZERO HEROES Seven 1,725,000 481,000 536,000 331,000 148,000 228,000
7 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,688,000 527,000 536,000 278,000 151,000 196,000
8 CUSTOMS Nine 1,671,000 519,000 543,000 314,000 128,000 167,000
9 SEVEN NEWS - EXTENDED BUSHFIRE EDITION Seven 1,637,000 431,000 442,000 351,000 194,000 219,000
10 SUNDAY NIGHT Seven 1,634,000 434,000 472,000 378,000 132,000 218,000
11 SEVEN NEWS - MON-FRI Seven 1,608,000 442,000 437,000 317,000 181,000 231,000
12 ONE DAY CRICKET - ANZ GAME 3 PRIMETIME Nine 1,567,000 479,000 514,000 276,000 176,000 121,000
13 SEVEN NEWS - EXTENDED BUSHFIRE EDITION Seven 1,539,000 394,000 428,000 308,000 171,000 238,000
14 NCIS Ten 1,457,000 358,000 460,000 283,000 159,000 197,000
15 ONE DAY CRICKET GAME 4 PRIMETIME Nine 1,444,000 468,000 439,000 293,000 133,000 112,000

16 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,437,000 387,000 451,000 262,000 154,000 183,000
17 NINE NEWS SPECIAL -VICTORIAN BUSHFIRES Nine 1,401,000 329,000 591,000 202,000 149,000 131,000
18 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,396,000 354,000 402,000 298,000 149,000 191,000
19 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,361,000 376,000 424,000 257,000 122,000 182,000
20 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Seven 1,328,000 353,000 341,000 261,000 182,000 191,000
21 SEVEN NEWS - SATURDAY Seven 1,309,000 360,000 302,000 273,000 151,000 222,000
22 LIE TO ME Ten 1,306,000 327,000 399,000 275,000 158,000 147,000
23 NINE NEWS Nine 1,287,000 334,000 461,000 262,000 128,000 102,000
24 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,277,000 344,000 426,000 292,000 94,000 121,000
25 BONDI RESCUE Ten 1,272,000 372,000 416,000 228,000 109,000 147,000
26 ONE DAY CRICKET - GAME 5 SESSION 2 Nine 1,252,000 395,000 337,000 268,000 123,000 129,000
27 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,237,000 382,000 377,000 195,000 107,000 176,000
28 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,236,000 346,000 331,000 257,000 143,000 159,000
29 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - TOP 100 PART 1 Ten 1,207,000 362,000 390,000 236,000 95,000 125,000
30 ONE DAY CRICKET - GAME 3 SESSION 1 Nine 1,177,000 386,000 333,000 218,000 129,000 111,000
31 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,127,000 369,000 338,000 173,000 121,000 127,000
32 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,123,000 332,000 293,000 223,000 122,000 153,000
33 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,116,000 299,000 387,000 250,000 102,000 77,000
34 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,113,000 315,000 392,000 208,000 109,000 88,000
35 AUSTRALIA UNITES Nine 1,101,000 251,000 465,000 185,000 115,000 85,000
36 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,089,000 322,000 348,000 216,000 97,000 106,000
37 HOUSE Ten 1,086,000 329,000 286,000 185,000 130,000 156,000
38 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,070,000 341,000 281,000 200,000 110,000 138,000
39 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - TOP 100 PART 2 Ten 1,070,000 334,000 327,000 182,000 87,000 139,000
40 7.30 REPORT ABC1 1,056,000 329,000 330,000 184,000 98,000 114,000
41 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS Nine 1,047,000 293,000 318,000 209,000 97,000 130,000
42 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 1,040,000 282,000 348,000 181,000 108,000 121,000
43 ABC NEWS-SUN ABC1 1,032,000 257,000 390,000 166,000 108,000 111,000
44 GANGS OF OZ Seven 1,026,000 359,000 281,000 170,000 103,000 113,000
45 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 995,000 321,000 225,000 207,000 111,000 130,000
46 ABC NEWS ABC1 990,000 309,000 304,000 168,000 88,000 120,000
47 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 985,000 286,000 298,000 194,000 85,000 122,000
48 NEW TRICKS ABC1 976,000 288,000 240,000 210,000 122,000 115,000
49 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC1 974,000 289,000 308,000 151,000 115,000 110,000
50 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 970,000 277,000 303,000 175,000 94,000 120,000
(OzTAM mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,309,000 360,000 302,000 273,000 151,000 222,000
2 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,116,000 299,000 387,000 250,000 102,000 77,000
3 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS Nine 1,047,000 293,000 318,000 209,000 97,000 130,000
4 NEW TRICKS ABC1 976,000 288,000 240,000 210,000 122,000 115,000
5 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC1 974,000 289,000 308,000 151,000 115,000 110,000
6 KATH & KIM (R) Seven 885,000 271,000 223,000 225,000 62,000 104,000
8 IN THE BUSH WITH MALCOLM DOUGLAS Seven 868,000 231,000 219,000 220,000 84,000 113,000
10 THE BILL ABC1 836,000 224,000 243,000 134,000 102,000 133,000
13 FAWLTY TOWERS Seven 579,000 200,000 Not shown 214,000 72,000 92,000
14 2009 sponsor name CUP - BRISBANE V ST KILDA Ten 563,000 18,000 284,000 81,000 91,000 89,000
17 GARDENING AUSTRALIA ABC1 529,000 165,000 131,000 99,000 75,000 57,000
19 MYTHBUSTERS SBS 473,000 133,000 157,000 84,000 53,000 46,000
25 SECONDS FROM DISASTER: SPACE SHUTTLE CHALLENGER Seven 366,000 116,000 95,000 79,000 36,000 41,000
26 ROCKWIZ SBS 359,000 100,000 103,000 79,000 39,000 37,000
27 IRON CHEF SBS 357,000 99,000 109,000 80,000 34,000 36,000

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,428,000 412,000 378,000 278,000 167,000 191,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,267,000 355,000 334,000 260,000 124,000 195,000
3 ONE DAY CRICKET - AUS V NZ GAME 5 SESSION 2 Nine 1,252,000 395,000 337,000 268,000 123,000 129,000
4 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,237,000 382,000 377,000 195,000 107,000 176,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,051,000 272,000 394,000 185,000 117,000 83,000
6 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,004,000 330,000 287,000 162,000 92,000 134,000
7 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 977,000 269,000 289,000 202,000 101,000 116,000
8 THE SIMPSONS FRI Ten 892,000 246,000 267,000 176,000 95,000 109,000
9 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) Ten 858,000 260,000 212,000 167,000 82,000 136,000
10 MEDIUM Ten 820,000 221,000 234,000 160,000 94,000 111,000
13 AFTER THE FIRESTORM ABC1 768,000 226,000 230,000 133,000 80,000 99,000
14 LAW & ORDER FRI Ten 760,000 186,000 230,000 138,000 94,000 112,000
16 TRIAL AND RETRIBUTION: PARADISE LOST ABC1 743,000 205,000 218,000 113,000 82,000 125,000
22 2009 sponsor name CUP: WESTERN BULLDOGS V ESSENDON Seven 456,000 317,000 72,000 67,000
24 UNDERBELLY -ENCORE Nine 422,000 212,000 113,000 97,000
34 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS - ENCORE Seven 304,000 84,000 111,000 64,000 24,000 21,000
46 THE FIRST ZIONIST BUNNY RPT SBS 217,000 61,000 76,000 39,000 21,000 20,000
49 THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW Nine 209,000 55,000 84,000 44,000 11,000 15,000
60 MORNINGS WITH KERRI-ANNE Nine 176,000 56,000 66,000 32,000 8,000 14,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,638,000 436,000 517,000 284,000 172,000 228,000
2 SEVEN NEWS EXTENDED - BUSHFIRE EDITION Seven 1,625,000 394,000 513,000 308,000 171,000 239,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,323,000 288,000 458,000 254,000 141,000 182,000
4 AUSTRALIA UNITES Nine 1,167,000 266,000 490,000 197,000 122,000 92,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,151,000 291,000 365,000 267,000 128,000 99,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,093,000 321,000 301,000 198,000 115,000 158,000
7 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 995,000 322,000 225,000 207,000 111,000 131,000
8 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 993,000 288,000 302,000 194,000 86,000 123,000
10 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) Ten 968,000 288,000 265,000 219,000 82,000 113,000
12 LIFE ON MARS Ten 939,000 297,000 201,000 183,000 111,000 147,000
14 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 902,000 236,000 284,000 166,000 124,000 92,000
15 THE MAN INSIDE DAME EDNA ABC1 870,000 290,000 200,000 170,000 100,000 110,000
16 BONDI VET Ten 847,000 223,000 193,000 234,000 84,000 113,000
20 PRIVATE PRACTICE Seven 731,000 223,000 219,000 142,000 67,000 79,000
27 SCRUBS Seven 422,000 111,000 132,000 74,000 54,000 51,000
37 CARLA CAMETTI PD SBS 311,000 115,000 70,000 56,000 30,000 39,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,583,000 433,000 408,000 323,000 190,000 229,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - EXTENDED - BUSHFIRE DISASTER EDITION Seven 1,544,000 434,000 396,000 313,000 191,000 210,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,331,000 332,000 388,000 290,000 135,000 186,000
4 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Seven 1,328,000 354,000 341,000 261,000 182,000 190,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,263,000 330,000 451,000 269,000 122,000 90,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,242,000 303,000 468,000 257,000 112,000 102,000
7 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,234,000 346,000 330,000 257,000 143,000 158,000
8 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,079,000 299,000 385,000 196,000 113,000 86,000
9 HOUSE Ten 1,079,000 329,000 283,000 185,000 128,000 154,000
10 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,074,000 310,000 351,000 211,000 97,000 104,000
11 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,072,000 344,000 280,000 200,000 110,000 139,000
12 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 1,030,000 283,000 335,000 179,000 101,000 133,000
13 GANGS OF OZ Seven 1,028,000 359,000 284,000 170,000 103,000 112,000
15 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - GREEN MILE Ten 963,000 332,000 267,000 166,000 78,000 119,000
33 LOST Seven 405,000 103,000 102,000 92,000 45,000 63,000
What Australia watched, Tuesday -- approximately
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,685,000 526,000 537,000 277,000 151,000 194,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,677,000 436,000 475,000 354,000 188,000 224,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,556,000 363,000 503,000 328,000 170,000 192,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,503,000 462,000 477,000 313,000 153,000 99,000
5 NCIS Ten 1,460,000 360,000 461,000 283,000 159,000 197,000
6 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,438,000 388,000 449,000 262,000 155,000 185,000
7 LIE TO ME Ten 1,315,000 329,000 402,000 277,000 159,000 148,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,268,000 350,000 345,000 261,000 134,000 177,000
9 BONDI RESCUE Ten 1,262,000 369,000 414,000 226,000 108,000 146,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,157,000 464,000 571,000 122,000
11 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,125,000 369,000 339,000 171,000 120,000 125,000
12 7.30 REPORT ABC1 1,073,000 322,000 370,000 187,000 88,000 106,000
13 ONE DAY CRICKET - AUS V NZ GAME 4 SESSION 2 Nine 982,000 Not shown 442,000 296,000 134,000 110,000
14 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) Ten 979,000 295,000 283,000 187,000 80,000 134,000
20 ELI STONE Seven 558,000 187,000 165,000 77,000 50,000 80,000
21 LEAD BALLOON ABC1 540,000 165,000 177,000 69,000 67,000 62,000
29 DOCTOR WHO RPT ABC1 415,000 127,000 85,000 98,000 48,000 56,000
The ratings race, updated 9 am Tuesday
Guns and bare breasts -- two details lacking from Desperate Housewives last night and plentiful in the new Underbelly. Result: the Despos lose 300,000 viewers and U2 sets a viewing record, capturing 2.6 million in the mainland capitals. That makes it the most watched non-sporting event of the past three years. For details on where it fits among the most watched of all time, go to The TV Australia loved.

Australians were so eager to see U2 that 1.5 million tuned in early and watched Customs, Nine's replica of Border Security. Seven's only strength was in its bushfire coverage. So far this week, Nine is averaging 36.8 per cent of the prime time audience, to Seven's 27.3, Ten's 17.7, ABC's 13.8, and SBS's 4.5. To tell us what you thought of U2, and the rest of last night's TV menu, go to Comments.

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 UNDERBELLY: A TALE OF TWO CITIES -EP1 Nine 2,584,000 831,000 869,000 417,000 207,000 260,000
2 UNDERBELLY: A TALE OF TWO CITIES -EP2 Nine 2,419,000 770,000 825,000 369,000 215,000 239,000
3 SEVEN NEWS - EXTENDED - BUSHFIRE EDITION Seven 1,731,000 468,000 440,000 371,000 191,000 262,000
4 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,657,000 462,000 417,000 329,000 187,000 261,000
5 CUSTOMS Nine 1,518,000 464,000 496,000 294,000 115,000 150,000
6 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,513,000 431,000 338,000 364,000 178,000 201,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,462,000 361,000 557,000 305,000 128,000 112,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,252,000 306,000 476,000 259,000 115,000 95,000
9 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,240,000 330,000 415,000 288,000 94,000 112,000
10 7.30 REPORT ABC1 1,216,000 358,000 425,000 204,000 102,000 126,000
11 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 1,200,000 344,000 432,000 182,000 126,000 116,000
12 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,141,000 360,000 244,000 246,000 142,000 149,000
13 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,115,000 337,000 409,000 170,000 82,000 117,000
14 NINE NEWS SPECIAL Nine 1,100,000 252,000 458,000 147,000 98,000 146,000
15 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - TOP 100 P2 Ten 1,066,000 333,000 325,000 181,000 88,000 139,000
16 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 971,000 275,000 303,000 179,000 94,000 120,000
17 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 963,000 249,000 282,000 209,000 97,000 126,000
20 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - ELIMINATION Ten 865,000 287,000 230,000 163,000 79,000 105,000
21 TOP GEAR SBS 815,000 233,000 237,000 175,000 92,000 78,000
22 NEIGHBOURS Ten 777,000 241,000 251,000 135,000 79,000 71,000
23 GOOD NEWS WEEK Ten 761,000 184,000 234,000 155,000 105,000 82,000
24 BROTHERS & SISTERS Seven 752,000 227,000 265,000 117,000 71,000 70,000
25 FOUR CORNERS ABC1 709,000 200,000 177,000 166,000 78,000 88,000
29 BOSTON LEGAL Seven 510,000 147,000 178,000 79,000 52,000 54,000
32 DEXTER Ten 471,000 98,000 142,000 96,000 72,000 64,000
34 STEPHEN FRY: THE SECRET LIFE OF THE MANIC DEPRESSIVE ABC1 433,000 129,000 109,000 79,000 55,000 61,000

The ratings race, updated 11 am Monday
It was the opening night of the "official" ratings season, and thousands more people than usual turned on their TV sets, but all the best laid plans of the networks were thrown into confusion by the nation's need for news. The ratings chart below is only approximate, because all networks departed from schedule to keep us informed about the fires. Thus what is labelled cricket is partly news coverage; ditto what is labelled City Homicide and 24. The corrected chart appears beneath the original one.

Channel Nine won the opening bout by attracting 34 per cent of the prime time audience, while Seven got 30.9 per cent, Ten 18.7, ABC 13.7 and SBS 2.7.

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,903,000 529,000 527,000 389,000 176,000 282,000
2 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,883,000 592,000 825,000 233,000 234,000
3 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,766,000 470,000 509,000 398,000 151,000 240,000
4 TRIPLE ZERO HEROES Seven 1,732,000 481,000 542,000 331,000 148,000 229,000
5 ONE DAY CRICKET - AUS V NZ GAME 3 SESSION 2 Nine 1,657,000 490,000 568,000 282,000 187,000 130,000
6 SUNDAY NIGHT Seven 1,628,000 434,000 466,000 378,000 132,000 218,000
7 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,417,000 376,000 479,000 257,000 122,000 182,000
8 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - TOP 100 P1 Ten 1,204,000 361,000 388,000 237,000 95,000 124,000
9 ONE DAY CRICKET - AUS V NZ GAME 3 SESSION 1 Nine 1,145,000 392,000 339,000 173,000 130,000 112,000
10 ABC NEWS-SUN ABC1 1,036,000 248,000 402,000 166,000 108,000 111,000
11 BONES (R) Seven 961,000 297,000 310,000 163,000 78,000 112,000
12 FIREWALL -RPT Nine 957,000 189,000 317,000 239,000 93,000 119,000
13 ROVE Ten 882,000 263,000 294,000 157,000 72,000 96,000
14 THE RICH LIST Seven 856,000 277,000 331,000 103,000 67,000 77,000
15 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - THE WEIGH-IN Ten 840,000 258,000 238,000 174,000 70,000 100,000
16 WILD CARIBBEAN ABC1 779,000 219,000 293,000 120,000 67,000 81,000
17 CRANFORD ABC1 741,000 211,000 210,000 123,000 85,000 111,000 19 24 Seven 715,000 158,000 292,000 96,000 72,000 97,000
20 COMPASS ABC1 691,000 209,000 190,000 106,000 85,000 101,000
26 ARE YOU BEING SERVED Seven 477,000 148,000 140,000 85,000 37,000 68,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Sunday's chart corrected:
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Network 7 1,896,274
2 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Network 9 1,895,889
3 BORDER SECURITY - AUSTRALIA'S FRONT LINE Network 7 1,785,866
4 TRIPLE ZERO HEROES Network 7 1,725,220
5 SUNDAY NIGHT Network 7 1,633,609
6 ONE DAY CRICKET - AUSTRALIA V NEW ZEALAND GAME 3 SESSION 2 Network 9 1,566,917
7 NINE NEWS SPECIAL -VICTORIAN BUSHFIRES Network 9 1,401,226
8 CITY HOMICIDE Network 7 1,361,332
9 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - TOP 100 PART 1 Network TEN 1,207,473
10 ONE DAY CRICKET - AUSTRALIA V NEW ZEALAND GAME 3 SESSION 1 Network 9 1,177,405
11 ABC NEWS-SU Network ABC1 1,031,947
12 BONES (R) Network 7 899,143
13 SEVEN AFTERNOON NEWS - SUN Network 7 888,027
14 LATE NEWS - SUNDAY Network 7 885,657
15 ROVE Network TEN 857,216
16 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - THE WEIGH-IN Network TEN 840,156
17 TEN NEWS SPECIAL: VICTORIAN BUSHFIRES Network TEN 776,273
18 CRANFORD Network ABC1 742,783

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

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind, in whoweare-index at 12:33 AM
• Comments (85)