The Sun-Herald

The Tribal Mind: You can look but you better not touch

To discuss if Flash Forward is a flash in the pan, go to the daily update.

by David Dale
EVERYBODY loves a happy ending, so lets start today's column with one: Yay, we did it. What a team we make, you and I. Four weeks ago this column urged readers to go out and see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, in order to prevent Australia being shamed in the eyes of the world (click here to read that). At that point Harry was lagging behind Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in box office takings, and it seemed Hollywood had zombified our young people into preferring non-stop explosions to the archetypal storytelling ingredients of plot, character, and emotional engagement.

We are proud to report that on Wednesday Harry left the multiplexes with total ticket sales of $40.3 million, making it the ninth highest grossing film of all time in Australia and putting it ahead of the Trannies, who totalled $40.2 million. In other words, 3,357,000 Australians saw Harry and 3,351,000 saw the Trannies. Thanks to 6,000 cinephiles for making our nation look less stupid.

ANOTHER kind of happy ending provoked an avalanche of complaint this week about Australia's most watched TV series, Packed to the Rafters. You realize how much society has changed when a show designed to be watched by the whole family, from primary schoolers to grandmothers, devotes a plotline to the theme of masturbation - and not just teenage fumblings, but self-indulgence by a mature married man (pictured below with wife). They don't call this decade The Noughties for nothing.

No doubt you're inclined to blame the 1998 film There's Something About Mary for this collapse of public standards over a formerly taboo topic, but I think the culprit can be found elsewhere.

Mary's most famous scene involved Cameron Diaz arriving at Ben Stiller's door and noticing a blob of white stuff on his ear. He tells her it's gel, so she scoops it off and runs it through her hair, creating a spectacular quiff. But it was actually the result of Stiller's efforts to relieve his tension before a Big Date.

Mary's writers were following a train of thought that started with a 1993 Seinfeld episode called "The Contest", in which the four heroes competed to see how long each could remain "master of my domain" (resistant to frustration). Appearing on mainstream US television without complaint, it launched an increasingly relaxed public conversation. In a recent episode of The United States of Tara, Toni Collette found her husband masturbating in the shower, and apologized for intruding upon his "gentleman's time".

But Mary, Seinfeld and Tara are adult entertainments, of little interest to people under 15. It was a different story with Friends, which attracted 2.3 million viewers in the mainland capitals when it showed at 7pm on Monday nights. In 2003, research by The Tribal Mind found the programs most watched by Australians aged 5 to 15 were The Simpsons and Friends, which that year featured an episode called "The One With The Sharks". Monica came home unexpectedly and found her boyfriend Chandler masturbating. He'd barely had time to change the TV channel from the porno he was watching to a documentary about sharks, which Monica then assumed must be his secret sexual obsession.

If a family sitcom from conservative America in 2003 could treat masturbation so casually, you can understand why the writers of an Australian dramedy in 2009 might imagine they'd get away with a similarly frivolous approach.

Go to Comments to offer other examples and tell us what you make of the Rafters reverberations.

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

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 04:57 PM
• Comments (5)

The Tribal Mind: Finally, your chance to fix everything

To offer your recipe for Australia's National Dish, go to Who We Are.

by David Dale
Stop your bitching and moaning about the dire state of commercial television, and address yourself to this challenge: If you had to program a new channel, what kind of shows would you put on?

That's Channel Seven's dilemma at the moment, as it realises that Channel Nine's second station, called GO, is distracting enough viewers from Seven to give Nine the biggest audience share for the week. Seven needs to retaliate with its own station that will pull viewers from other networks without cannibalising Seven's existing fan base. But this requires a leap of the imagination that has so far eluded most Australian network moguls.

We're here to help. This column's readers have proved themselves to be both imaginative and generous, and we know they will jump at the chance to be Programming God For A Day. This column hereby launches the "Lets Create The Perfect Channel" project -- no idea too outlandish.

Seven has given no hint about the content or even the timing of its planned new station. We know it won't be sport, because Ten has done that with ONE; it won't be nostalgia, because Nine does that with GO!; and it won't be 48-hours-later replays, because nobody needs that. Four rumours flourish:

An all movie channel Seven has few deals in place with US movie studios, so it would need to buy rights from other networks to avoid excessive repetition of such stockpiled items as Pretty Woman, True Lies, Jurassic Park, Mrs Doubtfire, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Finding Nemo. But don't let budgetary issues limit you. Tell us which movies you'd put in high rotation on your new channel.

An all comedy channel Seven is better endowed for this option - it owns such classics as Fast Forward, Fawlty Towers, The Naked Vicar Show, Kath and Kim, Acropolis Now, Will and Grace, The Norman Gunston Show and Hey Dad, plus American quirk it has shown late at night, such as 30 Rock, Family Guy, My Name is Earl, Ugly Betty, American Dad and Scrubs, plus recent failures such as TV Burp and Doubletake. What laughmakers would you add?

An all crime channel Again, Seven is well endowed with ancient treasures. It may not have the CSI, NCIS or Law and Order franchises, but it has 12 years of Homicide and Blue Heelers, Cop Shop, Jack The Ripper, Heartbeat, JAG, Australia's Most Wanted, and, most recently Criminal Minds, 24, Bones and City Homicide. Where might you source more mayhem?

An all Aussie channel Did we mention 12 years of Homicide and Blue Heelers? And these icons showed on Seven: A Country Practice, All Saints, Against The Wind, Home and Away, Skyways, Kingswood Country, A Town Like Alice, Sons and Daughters, All The Rivers Run and Always Greener. What else would pull in the patriots?

Perhaps there's a new approach nobody has thought of yet -- all-soap, all-miniseries, all-medicine, all-lifestyle, all-Lotto, all-dancing, all-Mel-and-Kochie? If anyone can do this kind of lateral thinking, you can. In addition to the satisfaction of setting Australian popular culture to rights, the most creative suggestions will win the last unremaindered copies of this column's small book called Who We Are - A snapshot of Australia today.

To offer your solution, go to Comments. Seven will be soooo grateful.

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

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 11:54 AM
• Comments (35)

WHO WE ARE: The national dish

To help create the perfect television station, go to The Tribal Mind.
For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

by David Dale
How reassuring that research has finally confirmed what this column has been asserting for years -- that spag bol has replaced meat pie as The National Dish (go here for earlier discussion).

The question was "What are you having for dinner tonight?" A Pollinate survey of 2000 people, conducted for Adelaide's Sunday Mail newspaper, got this answer: 1 Spaghetti bolognese; 2 Roast chicken and vegetables 3 Steak with salad or vegetables; 4 Fish with salad or vegetables; 5 Pizza.

I'd actually been wondering whether, by now, pad Thai noodles would have the strongest claim to the title "Australia's national dish". But it would be more accurate to call them "the national takeaway", while spag bol is the king of home cooking.

Next we need a new survey to ascertain the preferred recipe of the majority of consumers -- beef and tomatoes, obviously, but what percentage include celery, carrot, bacon, oregano, thyme, red wine, onions or garlic?

Go to Comments to join this column's totally unreliable survey. Give us your perfect recipe for The National Dish.

David Dale is the author of The Little Book of Australia -- A snapshot of who we are (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 06:03 PM
• Comments (4)

The Who We Are update: Week 39

This week's forum is now a heritage item - worth studying but no longer current. For the latest on Australian attitudes and media trends, go to blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

To discuss if Packed to the Rafters is too self-indulgent, go to The Tribal Mind.
To offer your recipe for Australia's National Dish, go to Who We Are.

The ratings race, updated 9am Monday
If GO were counted as a separate station, then Channel Seven won the week. Since GO is counted as part of Channel Nine for audience share purposes, we have to say that a combination of GO and biffo won the week for Nine -- but only just. The prime time shares were: Nine and GO 28.4 per cent; Seven 28.1; TEN and ONE 21.2; ABC1&2 17.0; SBS1&2 5.3.

If you're wondering how TEN could have done so poorly when on Saturday it had the second-most-watched program of the year, bear in mind that the AFL grand final did not occur in prime time. Although the OzTAM chart shows the GF getting 2.7 million, Ten is saying the match itself averaged 2.88m, and was the most watched GF of all time in Melbourne. To see how the audience for this year's GF compares with the audience records across the mainland capitals, go to The TV shows Australia loved.

Now here's your challenge: since the NRL grand final this year involves a Melbourne team against a Sydney team, will it pick up enough Melbourne viewers to outrate the AFL grand final across the mainland capitals? After all, the AFL grand final has done best in years when the Sydney Swans have been involved. Go to Comments to register your prediction for the biffo audience.

And this was Pay TV's account of itself: "Family Guy topped the week in subscription TV with 136,000 viewers for the Tuesday night broadcast on FOX8. NCIS on TV1 was seen by 127,000 viewers, America's Next Top Model on FOX8 was seen by 117,000 and the movie Notting Hill on TV1 had its best result of the year with 116,000 people. The Disney Channel original movie Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie was seen by 103,000 viewers, Property Ladder on Lifestyle was seen by 83,000 viewers and the premiere of CIA: Cop Killer: The Winchester Assassination on Crime & Investigation was watched by 82,000 people.

"Saturday evening's broadcast of the ICC cricket contest, Live: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy was seen by 99,000 people, Live: Rugby League: Toyota Cup was viewed by 82,000 people and 71,000 fans tuned in to watch one of the great Manchester Premier League derbies, Live: Football: EPL Man Utd v Man City (all on FOX Sports).

"In week 39, STV channels represented 19.6% of all metropolitan viewing between 6am and midnight, 20.1% of all regional viewing and 53.1% of all viewing in subscription TV homes."

What Australia watched, week ending September 26
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TEN'S AFL FINALS 2009: GRAND FINAL ST KILDA V GEELONG Ten 2,704,000 309,000 1,426,000 254,000 403,000 312,000
2 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,766,000 542,000 532,000 268,000 198,000 226,000
3 HIGHWAY PATROL Seven 1,698,000 390,000 637,000 283,000 195,000 194,000
4 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,512,000 399,000 396,000 344,000 181,000 192,000
5 THE 2009 GRAND FINAL PRE MATCH ENTERTAINMENT Ten 1,505,000 120,000 920,000 92,000 225,000 147,000
6 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,501,000 391,000 451,000 266,000 186,000 207,000
7 MIDSOMER MURDERS-SU ABC1 1,479,000 436,000 470,000 220,000 150,000 203,000
8 BORDER SECURITY - AUSTRALIA'S FRONT LINE Seven 1,432,000 438,000 408,000 268,000 156,000 162,000
9 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,414,000 378,000 381,000 269,000 187,000 199,000
10 LAST CHANCE SURGERY Seven 1,394,000 389,000 411,000 240,000 164,000 190,000
11 RUGBY LEAGUE FINAL SERIES PF2 Nine 1,353,000 578,000 324,000 431,000 13,000 7,000
12 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED Nine 1,344,000 348,000 433,000 271,000 136,000 156,000
13 THE FORCE - BEHIND THE LINE Seven 1,341,000 419,000 375,000 251,000 146,000 149,000
14 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,333,000 352,000 362,000 260,000 169,000 190,000
15 WORLD'S STRICTEST PARENTS-UK Seven 1,319,000 377,000 354,000 235,000 182,000 172,000
16 SUNDAY NIGHT Seven 1,308,000 349,000 355,000 262,000 161,000 181,000
17 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,275,000 355,000 284,000 274,000 162,000 200,000
18 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,217,000 374,000 356,000 203,000 149,000 134,000
19 GETAWAY Nine 1,164,000 307,000 435,000 163,000 125,000 134,000
20 NINE NEWS Nine 1,162,000 333,000 359,000 230,000 130,000 111,000
21 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,158,000 316,000 308,000 216,000 158,000 161,000
22 CITY HOMICIDE-WED Seven 1,154,000 334,000 343,000 192,000 122,000 163,000

23 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,151,000 377,000 325,000 169,000 138,000 143,000
24 YELLOWSTONE ABC1 1,148,000 327,000 351,000 211,000 113,000 145,000
25 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,146,000 339,000 315,000 168,000 136,000 187,000
26 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,140,000 291,000 384,000 227,000 116,000 122,000
27 60 MINUTES Nine 1,132,000 321,000 342,000 231,000 111,000 126,000
28 MONEY FOR JAM Nine 1,123,000 307,000 331,000 242,000 122,000 121,000
29 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 1,119,000 193,000 568,000 97,000 143,000 118,000
30 NCIS WED RPT Ten 1,118,000 322,000 291,000 211,000 163,000 131,000
31 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,112,000 421,000 271,000 194,000 115,000 110,000
55 TOP GEAR SBS ONE 918,000 265,000 248,000 196,000 98,000 111,000
161 INSPECTOR REX RPT SBS ONE 299,000 82,000 93,000 43,000 35,000 45,000
201 WIPEOUT GO! 215,000 20,000 98,000 23,000 49,000 25,000
207 THE 2009 GRAND FINAL POST MATCH REVIEW AND CELEBRATION ONE 208,000 8,000 108,000 7,000 46,000 39,000
297 JUNKYARD WARS ABC2 128,000 40,000 23,000 17,000 27,000 21,000
298 THE BIG BANG THEORY GO! 127,000 11,000 51,000 25,000 17,000 24,000
318 DOCTOR WHO ABC2 117,000 11,000 42,000 30,000 19,000 16,000
390 GILLIGAN'S ISLAND -RPT Nine 88,000 not shown 59,000 not shown 11,000 18,000
643 TWO MEN IN A TRENCH RPT SBS TWO 37,000 8,000 6,000 9,000 1,000 14,000

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TEN'S AFL FINALS 2009: GRAND FINAL ST KILDA V GEELONG Ten 2,704,000 309,000 1,426,000 254,000 403,000 312,000
2 THE 2009 GRAND FINAL PRE MATCH ENTERTAINMENT Ten 1,505,000 120,000 920,000 92,000 225,000 147,000
3 RUGBY LEAGUE FINAL SERIES PF2 Nine 1,353,000 578,000 324,000 431,000 13,000 7,000
4 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,275,000 355,000 284,000 274,000 162,000 200,000
5 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Ten 1,074,000 175,000 537,000 84,000 174,000 105,000
6 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS Nine 1,056,000 319,000 284,000 234,000 123,000 95,000
7 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,046,000 296,000 298,000 241,000 149,000 62,000
8 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC1 1,037,000 336,000 323,000 171,000 86,000 121,000
9 MRS. DOUBTFIRE Ten 936,000 217,000 340,000 132,000 146,000 101,000
10 M-GREASE Seven 932,000 259,000 269,000 141,000 156,000 107,000
11 M-PRETTY WOMAN Seven 897,000 250,000 349,000 120,000 107,000 69,000
12 THE 2009 GRAND FINAL PREVIEW Ten 869,000 79,000 541,000 47,000 117,000 85,000
13 HEART AND SOUL ABC1 784,000 259,000 219,000 91,000 96,000 119,000
14 THE BILL ABC1 738,000 206,000 232,000 90,000 77,000 134,000
16 DIE HARD: WITH A VENGEANCE RPT Ten 667,000 156,000 224,000 119,000 96,000 71,000
18 COLD BLOOD ABC1 522,000 144,000 143,000 74,000 72,000 90,000
181 RUGBY LEAGUE FINAL SERIES PF 1 Nine 13,000 already shown already shown already shown 9,000 3,000

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,248,000 332,000 335,000 246,000 164,000 171,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,176,000 335,000 329,000 215,000 138,000 159,000
3 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,146,000 339,000 315,000 168,000 136,000 187,000
4 GEORGE GENTLY ABC1 1,084,000 312,000 320,000 138,000 144,000 170,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,064,000 300,000 272,000 203,000 138,000 151,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,058,000 234,000 410,000 194,000 117,000 103,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 987,000 256,000 332,000 182,000 113,000 103,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 932,000 211,000 310,000 212,000 110,000 89,000
11 RUGBY LEAGUE FINAL SERIES PF1 Nine 765,000 765,000 Other cities listed separately for reasons known only to OzTAM. If the cities were totalled, the biffo would be No 2 most watched for the night, with 1.21m
14 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 597,000 169,000 175,000 99,000 91,000 62,000
17 THE 7PM PROJECT Ten 568,000 171,000 146,000 117,000 85,000 49,000
18 HOT SEAT Nine 560,000 136,000 200,000 120,000 65,000 39,000
21 M*A*S*H Seven 454,000 136,000 134,000 73,000 75,000 36,000
22 RUGBY LEAGUE FINAL SERIES PF 1 Nine 448,000 Listed separately 34,000 382,000 21,000 11,000
26 SUNRISE Seven 381,000 98,000 89,000 75,000 52,000 67,000
36 TODAY Nine 303,000 93,000 97,000 60,000 20,000 33,000
42 THE STORY OF PLAYBOY SBS ONE 266,000 86,000 87,000 34,000 33,000 26,000
72 SEVEN'S AFL: GRAND FINAL PARADE Seven 141,000 Not shown 141,000 Not shown
81 JUNKYARD WARS ABC2 124,000 37,000 17,000 13,000 29,000 27,000
99 TORCHWOOD ABC2 93,000 5,000 37,000 15,000 12,000 24,000
108 VFL FOOTBALL 2009 ABC1 79,000 Not shown 79,000 Not shown
120 BEWITCHED -RPT GO! 64,000 14,000 28,000 9,000 11,000 2,000
127 LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN Ten 58,000 17,000 11,000 9,000 13,000 8,000
130 SPORTS TONIGHT ONE 56,000 8,000 15,000 14,000 5,000 14,000
140 TRIPLE J TV WITH THE DOCTOR ABC1 51,000 19,000 Not shown 9,000 11,000 11,000
141 I DREAM OF JEANNIE -RPT GO! 51,000 6,000 27,000 7,000 7,000 4,000
214 RAGE ABC1 19,000 5,000 5,000 1,000 5,000 3,000
215 THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY GO! 18,000 0 15,000 0 3,000 0
269 MY GYM PARTNER IS A MONKEY GO! 2,000 0 0 1,000 0 0

The ratings race, updated 10 am Friday
Goodness, masturbation on Packed to the Rafters on Tuesday and premature ejaculation on Glee on Thursday. Hasn't teenage television changed? That's the topic of the weekly Tribal MInd column (here). See below for the comparative audiences attracted to those two sexual issues.

At this point in the week, the prime time audience shares stand thus: Seven 29.4 per cent, Nine and GO 27.3 per cent, Ten and ONE 21.1, ABC1&2 16.7, SBS1&2. But the biffo will change all that.

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,309,000 372,000 345,000 224,000 181,000 187,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,261,000 324,000 383,000 224,000 160,000 170,000
3 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 1,204,000 226,000 583,000 117,000 151,000 127,000
4 GETAWAY Nine 1,160,000 305,000 434,000 164,000 125,000 133,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,151,000 314,000 328,000 213,000 148,000 147,000
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,055,000 250,000 396,000 199,000 100,000 110,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,041,000 281,000 360,000 194,000 108,000 97,000
8 NINE NEWS Nine 1,009,000 268,000 350,000 187,000 107,000 97,000
9 RUSH Ten 1,008,000 303,000 249,000 184,000 138,000 134,000
10 GLEE Ten 967,000 265,000 260,000 194,000 122,000 126,000
12 THE AMAZING RACE Seven 877,000 279,000 257,000 155,000 111,000 76,000
19 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 671,000 227,000 191,000 92,000 95,000 67,000
22 THE 7PM PROJECT Ten 638,000 165,000 208,000 117,000 86,000 63,000
23 HOT SEAT Nine 583,000 145,000 185,000 126,000 62,000 65,000
78 ADBC SBS ONE 132,000 40,000 39,000 34,000 6,000 13,000
80 JUNKYARD WARS ABC2 121,000 33,000 24,000 24,000 20,000 21,000
107 THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE ONE 74,000 18,000 23,000 18,000 11,000 5,000
111 THE NANNY GO! 71,000 28,000 18,000 15,000 5,000 4,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,556,000 423,000 421,000 312,000 182,000 218,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,392,000 375,000 326,000 324,000 164,000 204,000
3 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED Nine 1,342,000 349,000 431,000 270,000 135,000 156,000
4 WORLD'S STRICTEST PARENTS-UK Seven 1,319,000 377,000 354,000 235,000 182,000 172,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,287,000 390,000 366,000 284,000 134,000 114,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,211,000 336,000 376,000 263,000 133,000 103,000
7 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,172,000 311,000 292,000 243,000 169,000 157,000
8 CITY HOMICIDE-WED Seven 1,154,000 334,000 343,000 192,000 122,000 163,000
9 MONEY FOR JAM Nine 1,126,000 305,000 334,000 246,000 120,000 122,000
10 NCIS WED RPT Ten 1,116,000 321,000 290,000 210,000 163,000 131,000
11 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,112,000 421,000 271,000 194,000 115,000 110,000
27 UNITED STATES OF TARA ABC1 687,000 244,000 197,000 116,000 61,000 69,000
120 MY SMALL BREASTS AND I ABC2 76,000 21,000 28,000 11,000 7,000 9,000
124 TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES GO! 71,000 13,000 20,000 14,000 18,000 6,000
164 BODY & BRAIN OVERHAUL ONE 47,000 23,000 13,000 8,000 4,000

The ratings race, updated 9am Wednesday
Nine apparently thought it could recover some ground last night with a gamble that Australians were still infatuated with 'Oges, but, as Croc Dundee did not say: "Tell 'em they're dreamin'". (Did anyone catch the Croc last night? How does it hold up after 23 years? Go here for this column's 20th birthday discussion of its significance.)

Another lapsed icon, Magda Szubanski, managed to raise her audience by 121,000 since last week -- presumably viewers rushing to avoid icon number 3, Bert Newton.

Channel Ten may have the AFL Grand Final on Saturday, but at this point Seven looks unbeatable for the week. After Monday's biffo pissup and Tuesday's Rafter roundup, the prime time audience shares stand at: Seven 31.3 per cent, Nine and GO 27.6, Ten and ONE 20.2, ABC1&2 17.1, SBS1&2 6.3.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,766,000 542,000 532,000 268,000 198,000 226,000
2 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,501,000 391,000 451,000 266,000 186,000 207,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,466,000 396,000 401,000 259,000 207,000 203,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,415,000 381,000 391,000 263,000 185,000 195,000
5 LAST CHANCE SURGERY Seven 1,394,000 389,000 411,000 240,000 164,000 190,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,213,000 335,000 342,000 197,000 168,000 171,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,187,000 325,000 371,000 250,000 121,000 120,000
8 NINE NEWS Nine 1,169,000 352,000 354,000 210,000 134,000 118,000
9 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,151,000 377,000 325,000 169,000 138,000 143,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,146,000 327,000 335,000 255,000 125,000 103,000
12 20 TO 1 -TUE Nine 1,011,000 274,000 323,000 184,000 112,000 119,000
13 THE VERY BEST OF THE PAUL HOGAN SHOW Nine 989,000 259,000 312,000 213,000 94,000 111,000
16 THE SPEARMAN EXPERIMENT Ten 808,000 249,000 246,000 149,000 87,000 77,000
22 CROCODILE DUNDEE -RPT Nine 695,000 178,000 228,000 128,000 87,000 74,000
80 SURVIVOR: GABON GO! 127,000 28,000 37,000 17,000 24,000 22,000
87 JUNKYARD WARS ABC2 116,000 31,000 22,000 12,000 30,000 21,000
109 THE WIRE ABC2 76,000 38,000 21,000 9,000 3,000 4,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Tuesday
Last night's viewing figures were all mixed around because Seven was showing some sort of biffo pissup that split the nation. It may have been confusing, but it worked a treat for Seven, because these were the prime time audience shares: Seven 35.7 per cent; Nine 22.1; Ten 16.0; ABC 14.5; SBS 7.5; ABC2 1.6; GO 1.4; SBS2 0.3.

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 HIGHWAY PATROL Seven 1,699,000 390,000 637,000 283,000 195,000 194,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,494,000 366,000 403,000 305,000 202,000 218,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,420,000 342,000 383,000 278,000 198,000 219,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,253,000 365,000 345,000 273,000 151,000 119,000
5 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,238,000 328,000 416,000 243,000 120,000 131,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,202,000 319,000 367,000 274,000 134,000 107,000
7 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,199,000 320,000 310,000 224,000 167,000 179,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,097,000 352,000 324,000 186,000 106,000 130,000
9 2009 BROWNLOW MEDAL Seven 1,038,000 Not shown 685,000 Not shown 188,000 164,000
10 2009 BROWNLOW BLUE CARPET SPECIAL Seven 1,014,000 Not shown 613,000 Not shown 199,000 202,000
12 FOUR CORNERS ABC1 936,000 321,000 230,000 193,000 75,000 117,000
13 TOP GEAR SBS ONE 924,000 267,000 249,000 197,000 99,000 112,000
31 ASHES TO ASHES ABC1 454,000 159,000 113,000 65,000 52,000 64,000
43 THE 61ST ANNUAL EMMY AWARDS Ten 303,000 109,000 94,000 42,000 28,000 29,000
63 SOUTH PARK SBS ONE 197,000 49,000 58,000 44,000 20,000 26,000
81 JUNKYARD WARS ABC2 139,000 57,000 22,000 19,000 25,000 17,000
89 DOCTOR WHO ABC2 118,000 11,000 42,000 30,000 19,000 16,000
113 DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER GO! 79,000 18,000 23,000 17,000 15,000 6,000
136 ONE WEEK AT A TIME RPT ONE 55,000 4,000 28,000 10,000 8,000 5,000
138 THE NANNY GO! 54,000 17,000 24,000 3,000 7,000 3,000
139 THE FLINTSTONES -RPT GO! 53,000 10,000 22,000 9,000 9,000 3,000
226 RESPIRO: GRAZIA'S ISLAND RPT SBS TWO 18,000 1,000 5,000 5,000 3,000 3,000

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,512,000 399,000 396,000 344,000 181,000 192,000
2 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC1 1,471,000 434,000 467,000 219,000 150,000 202,000
3 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,423,000 433,000 406,000 266,000 156,000 162,000
4 THE FORCE Seven 1,350,000 422,000 379,000 253,000 146,000 150,000
5 SUNDAY NIGHT Seven 1,307,000 348,000 354,000 262,000 162,000 181,000
6 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,213,000 374,000 354,000 203,000 148,000 134,000
7 YELLOWSTONE ABC1 1,148,000 327,000 351,000 211,000 113,000 145,000
8 60 MINUTES Nine 1,131,000 319,000 343,000 230,000 111,000 129,000
9 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 976,000 352,000 222,000 173,000 112,000 117,000
10 ABC NEWS-SU ABC1 959,000 269,000 311,000 163,000 83,000 134,000
11 ABC NEWS UP-DATE ABC1 933,000 283,000 264,000 164,000 100,000 123,000
12 RESCUE SPECIAL OPS Nine 933,000 291,000 281,000 169,000 105,000 86,000
13 TV'S BEST OF THE BEST Nine 913,000 279,000 277,000 164,000 92,000 101,000
14 ROVE Ten 869,000 247,000 280,000 169,000 82,000 90,000
15 TALKIN' 'BOUT YOUR GENERATION SUN RPT Ten 823,000 257,000 218,000 144,000 101,000 103,000
16 M-I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK & LARRY Seven 798,000 231,000 232,000 135,000 102,000 97,000
40 THE BIG BANG THEORY GO! 216,000 19,000 89,000 39,000 29,000 41,000
41 WIPEOUT GO! 215,000 20,000 98,000 23,000 49,000 25,000
44 AFL GAME DAY Seven 205,000 131,000 40,000 35,000
73 THE FLINTSTONES -RPT GO! 118,000 38,000 38,000 25,000 17,000 1,000
89 ONE WEEK AT A TIME ONE 89,000 8,000 51,000 3,000 15,000 13,000
93 HORNBLOWER ABC2 84,000 27,000 21,000 24,000 4,000 9,000
94 WAFL LIVE LEAGUE FOOTBALL 2009-PM ABC1 84,000 84,000
98 VFL FOOTBALL 2009-PM ABC1 82,000 82,000
105 THE SANFL-PM ABC1 63,000 63,000
118 SUPER LEAGUE Nine 50,000 27,000 23,000
120 CLASSIC AFL GRAND FINAL ONE 49,000 9,000 20,000 8,000 6,000 7,000
126 SEX, DRUGS AND ROCK 'N' ROLL: THE 60S REVEALED ABC2 45,000 11,000 13,000 6,000 13,000 2,000
140 I FISH ONE 35,000 4,000 9,000 4,000 6,000 11,000
146 AFL REPLAY RPT ONE 31,000 2,000 12,000 1,000 7,000 9,000
163 FIFA FUTBOL MUNDIAL SBS ONE 23,000 3,000 5,000 2,000 3,000 9,000
165 SEVEN'S R.U: BLEDISLOE CUP: N Z V AUS Seven 23,000 18,000 5,000
(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 blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 08:45 AM
• Comments (66)

The Tribal Mind: Imagination vs Vegetation

To learn how Skippy brainwashed Australia, go to Who We Are.

by David Dale
Here's an anomaly: Australians love science fiction at the cinema, and hate it on television. As usual, this column has a theory. It's to do with the different ways Australians are using different media to satisfy different needs, as they move from the Noughties to the decade we'll come to call the Teens. First, the evidence ...

If you examine the 50 movies that sold the most tickets in the past 50 years, you find that more than half the list (although topped by The Sound of Music, Crocodile Dundee and Titanic) can be classified as sci fi/ fantasy.

Our favourites were the Lord of the Rings trilogy, E.T., the Star Wars series, Jurassic Park, Independence Day, The Sixth Sense, the Harry Potter series, the Indiana Jones series, several iterations of Batman, Superman and Spiderman, and a couple of Transformers (I didn't say they were all good, just that they were popular).

Even in the past month, the biggest hits at the cinema have been speculative thrillers - District 9 and Inglourious Basterds (which is a war movie set in an alternative universe, and that's all I can say without revealing a plot detail).

But if you look at the 50 most watched drama series on television over the past 50 years, you're hard pressed to find any sci fi at all. The list is dominated by cops and doctors (the likes of Homicide, CSI, Underbelly, Blue Heelers, Water Rats, Division 4, NCIS, Midsomer Murders, Grey's Anatomy, House, E .R., All Saints, and A Country Practice).

The highest rating fantasy series of all time in Australia was Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman in the mid 90s, but that was more of a romantic comedy. The first few episodes of Lost in 2005 and Heroes in 2006 attracted nearly 2 million viewers in the mainland capitals, but by this year both had dropped below 200,000 - similar to the slide suffered by The X-Files in the 1990s.

The latest incarnation of Dr Who pulled 1 million viewers last year, which delighted the ABC but didn't break any audience records. Classics such as Buffy, Battlestar Galactica, Farscape, The Prisoner and the mutations of Star Trek and StarGate were cult favourites but never mass drawcards.

In the past month, the most watched sci fi shows on the box have been Fringe on GO with 117,000 viewers, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on GO with 114,000, Torchwood on ABC2 with 89,000, and Dollhouse on Fox8 with 70,000.

So why the difference? It's the age of multitasking. These days most of us watch TV with half an eye and a quarter of a brain, simultaneously sending text messages, surfing the net, eating a pizza, holding two cyber-conversations and one real one, and doing our homework.

When that becomes too much, we use television to turn off our mind, relax and float downstream. We want to lay down all thought, surrender to the void. Neither multitasking nor veging-out is conducive to the appreciation of science fiction, which requires concentration, imagination and intellectual engagement.

With cinema, we have committed to travelling, queueing up, and sitting in the dark for two hours focussed on just one activity. We look forward to stretching our attention spans. We expect to be stimulated and challenged, so engagement leads to escapism. And a science fiction epic, more than any other kind of movie, satisfies those expectations. It's the necessary antidote to television.

Go to Comments to discuss this theory and nominate the science fiction everyone ought to see -- on the box or at the flicks.

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

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 05:48 AM
• Comments (19)

WHO WE ARE: The marsupial messiah

For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

A column by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 10/09/2009
THERE'S every good reason for Australians to eat kangaroos (healthier than beef or lamb for both the consumer and the environment) and only one reason why we don't: The Skippy Complex. Half of this country's population is over the age of 37, which means that in their youth they were saturated with a TV series in which a superintelligent mammal regularly saved humans from death, deception and wrongful imprisonment. Some 10 million Australians are pathologically incapable of sinking their teeth into a creature they see as the dolphin of the land.

This misplaced sentimentality will be challenged when the ABC shows a documentary called Skippy, Australia's First Superstar. It reports that between 1967 and 1969, Fauna Productions made 91 episodes of a series that presented the kangaroo as the next best thing to Batman. Initially shown on Channel Nine on Monday nights, Skippy The Bush Kangaroo was repeated endlessly in Australia for the next 20 years and went on to be seen by 300 million people in 128 countries.

In the process it became a merchandising phenomenon, generating toys, pyjamas, icecreams, ashtrays, jewellery, soap, talcum powder, comics, jellybeans, rulers, pencils, puzzles, toothpaste, T-shirts, towels, soft drinks, moneyboxes and corn flakes. And a mythical view of marsupials.

The only Western nation which resisted the roo's relentless rollout was Sweden, which politely declined to show the series because it might give children "a misleading impression of an animal's abilities". What? Just because Skippy can make phone calls, open a safe, handle the controls of a helicopter, play the piano and the drums, and communicate at a level of sophistication rarely achieved by a 12 year old human being?

(Sample dialogue, after Skippy brings an engine part to ranger Tony Bonner ...
Skippy: Tchk tchk tchk.
Bonner: It's from Jim!
Skippy: Tchk tchk tchk.
Bonner: He's in trouble, his car's broken down, he can't get to the show! Is that it, Skip?
Skippy: Tchk tchk tchk.
Bonner: Come on, Skip, we haven't much time.)

In the documentary, various animal wranglers reveal that kangaroos are impossible to train, because they are "dumber than sheep". Their acting range is limited to sitting still, looking around and hopping away, so the producers filmed 14 different animals in the hope of capturing enough variety of movement to fit with script needs. Before any scene, the chosen roo was kept in a hessian bag, so that she (yes, Skippy was female) would emerge dazed and compliant for a couple of minutes before making her escape.

Skippy's astonishing dexterity was achieved by filming close-ups of paws on sticks manipulated by puppeteers. Skippy's vocalizations came from a human with a tongue in his cheek. The sounds were matched to mouth movements achieved by putting dry grass, chewing gum or a rubber band in the star's mouth.

This is not to suggest that the documentary (to be shown on ABC1 at 8.30pm on September 17) is a scathing expose. It's an affectionate look at Australia's first venture into international program-making, and at how Skippy paved the way for more versatile actresses such as Nicole Kidman, Toni Collette, Cate Blanchett and Rachel Griffiths. But it may serve as a reality check which allows a less romanticised view of an animal whose flavour far exceeds its intelligence.

Go to Comments to discuss why Australians sentimentalise their fauna.

To estimate the IQ of our politicians and personalities, go to The Tribal Mind.

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

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 09:45 AM
• Comments (46)

The Who We Are update: Week 37

This week's forum is now a heritage item - worth studying but no longer current. For the latest on Australian attitudes and media trends, go to blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

To discuss the future of science fiction, go to The Tribal Mind.

The ratings race, updated 9am Monday
One day can make all the difference. Until Saturday, Channel Seven was winning the week, but Saturday night's audience boost for Channel Nine (with tiny help from GO) led to these audience shares for the week: Nine and GO 28.1 per cent; Seven 27.9 per cent; Ten and ONE 20.8; ABC1 and ABC2 1.3; SBS and SBSTWO 5.8.

This was Pay TV's account of itself (and it's worth comparing these audience numbers with the numbers for the digital channels in the chart below): "On Tuesday night, 165,000 viewers watched Jarryd Hayne of the Parramatta Eels win the Dally M Player of the Year Award in Live: Rugby League: Dally M Awards. Twenty four hours earlier, 96,000 viewers saw Gary Ablett Jr. of Geelong awarded the AFL players' MVP trophy in AFL: Players Association Awards (both on FOX Sports). Live: NRL Broncos v Raiders was watched by 221,000 people, 111,000 people saw South Africa win the Tri Nations cup by beating New Zealand in Live: Rugby Union: Tri Nations and 82,000 watched Live: Cricket: ODI Eng v Aus 2nd ODI (all on FOX Sports).

"America's Next Top Model on FOX8 was watched by 147,000 people, NCIS on TV1 was seen by 110,000 people, and Project Runway Australia on Arena was viewed by 107,000 people. Hannah Montana on Disney Channel was viewed by 90,000 people, Garden Angels on Lifestyle had its best result year-to-date with 72,000 viewers and Nightmare Nannies premiered on Crime & Investigation with 65,000 viewers.

"In week 37, STV channels represented 21.1% of all metropolitan viewing between 6am and midnight, 20.4% of all regional viewing and 55.3% of all viewing in subscription TV homes. "

What Australia watched, week ending September 12
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,913,000 539,000 594,000 321,000 208,000 252,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,644,000 374,000 628,000 303,000 160,000 177,000
3 DANCING WITH THE STARS 9 - GRAND FINAL Seven 1,573,000 452,000 455,000 318,000 151,000 197,000
4 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,461,000 514,000 428,000 264,000 118,000 138,000
5 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,452,000 391,000 417,000 274,000 159,000 211,000
6 WORLD'S STRICTEST PARENTS Seven 1,395,000 417,000 439,000 240,000 151,000 149,000
7 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,388,000 376,000 403,000 269,000 144,000 197,000
8 HAMISH AND ANDY'S AMERICAN CARAVAN OF COURAGE Ten 1,307,000 283,000 500,000 258,000 116,000 150,000
9 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,295,000 378,000 462,000 212,000 148,000 96,000
10 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,272,000 320,000 455,000 232,000 102,000 162,000
11 CITY HOMICIDE-MON Seven 1,262,000 356,000 399,000 210,000 123,000 175,000
12 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,256,000 321,000 425,000 246,000 111,000 153,000
13 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED Nine 1,238,000 320,000 385,000 268,000 119,000 145,000
14 20 TO 1 -RPT Nine 1,227,000 335,000 407,000 208,000 116,000 160,000
15 WORLD FOOD SPECTACULAR Seven 1,226,000 342,000 368,000 240,000 124,000 152,000
16 20 TO 1 -THU Nine 1,208,000 366,000 347,000 209,000 126,000 159,000
17 60 MINUTES Nine 1,204,000 382,000 378,000 240,000 96,000 109,000
18 TEN'S AFL FINALS 2009: 1ST SEMI FINAL COLL V ADEL Ten 1,202,000 80,000 536,000 64,000 330,000 193,000
19 SEVEN'S AFL: SEMI-FINAL 2: WESTERN BULLDOGS V BRISBANE LIONS Seven 1,187,000 79,000 580,000 165,000 184,000 179,000

20 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,179,000 301,000 402,000 240,000 109,000 126,000
21 MIDSOMER MURDERS-SU ABC1 1,177,000 341,000 368,000 165,000 125,000 178,000
22 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,175,000 288,000 328,000 268,000 137,000 154,000
23 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,166,000 366,000 352,000 175,000 139,000 135,000
24 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,163,000 335,000 341,000 204,000 137,000 145,000
25 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,144,000 424,000 403,000 137,000 71,000 109,000
26 NINE NEWS Nine 1,142,000 326,000 355,000 229,000 121,000 112,000
27 RUSH Ten 1,138,000 273,000 422,000 195,000 114,000 134,000
28 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,115,000 296,000 364,000 234,000 111,000 110,000
29 RPA Nine 1,113,000 309,000 340,000 226,000 133,000 106,000
30 RUSH EP 2 Ten 1,105,000 289,000 388,000 166,000 121,000 140,000
31 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,089,000 315,000 366,000 234,000 111,000 63,000
32 GETAWAY Nine 1,080,000 327,000 320,000 232,000 95,000 106,000
33 MONEY FOR JAM Nine 1,079,000 257,000 403,000 207,000 110,000 102,000
34 SEVEN'S AFL: QUALIFYING FINAL 1: ST KILDA VS COLLINGWOOD Seven 1,077,000 59,000 592,000 73,000 174,000 178,000
35 THE BIG BANG THEORY Nine 1,076,000 336,000 389,000 209,000 142,000
36 AUSTRALIAN STORY-EV ABC1 1,073,000 372,000 295,000 213,000 81,000 112,000
37 DOMESTIC BLITZ Nine 1,070,000 322,000 351,000 197,000 114,000 86,000
38 CRIMINAL MINDS (R) Seven 1,060,000 314,000 300,000 205,000 120,000 120,000
39 GEORGE GENTLY-EV ABC1 1,055,000 360,000 281,000 161,000 120,000 133,000
40 THE SPEARMAN EXPERIMENT Ten 1,047,000 301,000 310,000 180,000 114,000 141,000
219 WIPEOUT GO! 205,000 45,000 91,000 11,000 40,000 19,000
318 DOCTOR WHO ABC2 118,000 17,000 44,000 22,000 19,000 15,000
349 ONE WEEK AT A TIME ONE 104,000 8,000 49,000 17,000 18,000 12,000
483 IRON CHEF RPT SBS TWO 55,000 13,000 19,000 13,000 3,000 6,000
(OzTAM mainland capitals)
What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TEN'S AFL FINALS 2009: 1ST SEMI FINAL COLL V ADEL Ten 1,202,000 80,000 536,000 64,000 330,000 193,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,175,000 288,000 328,000 268,000 137,000 154,000
3 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,089,000 315,000 366,000 234,000 111,000 63,000
4 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS Nine 752,000 131,000 319,000 116,000 57,000 129,000
5 RUGBY LEAGUE FINAL SERIES QF2 Nine 714,000 401,000 11,000 284,000 11,000 8,000
6 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC1 690,000 215,000 238,000 73,000 60,000 104,000
7 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Ten 679,000 181,000 201,000 122,000 75,000 100,000
8 THE GREAT OUTDOORS Seven 671,000 233,000 190,000 110,000 55,000 82,000
9 THE BILL ABC1 669,000 225,000 156,000 112,000 60,000 116,000
10 HEART AND SOUL ABC1 605,000 208,000 148,000 92,000 56,000 101,000
13 M-ANNE OF GREEN GABLES Seven 767,000 237,000 191,000 Not shown 64,000 74,000
19 SEVEN'S V8 SUPERCARS ROUND 9: PHILIP ISLAND D1 Seven 302,000 89,000 64,000 77,000 51,000 21,000
32 ONE DAY CRICKET AUS V ENG G4 HIGHLIGHTS SBS ONE 233,000 66,000 67,000 33,000 37,000 30,000
77 VFL FOOTBALL 2009-PM ABC1 91,000 91,000
81 CSI: MIAMI GO! 75,000 14,000 12,000 18,000 21,000 11,000
82 SEINFELD GO! 75,000 10,000 30,000 13,000 14,000 8,000
84 ADVENTURES OF BOTTLE TOP BILL AND HIS BEST FRIEND-AM ABC2 74,000 9,000 38,000 18,000 8,000 0
86 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2009 - QUAL ONE 73,000 5,000 24,000 2,000 16,000 26,000
105 IRON CHEF RPT SBS TWO 55,000 13,000 19,000 13,000 3,000 6,000
111 WAFL LIVE LEAGUE FOOTBALL 2009-PM ABC1 51,000 51,000
113 RUGBY LEAGUE: (QLD) 2009-PM ABC1 48,000 48,000
117 RUGBY UNION: SHUTE SHIELD (NSW) 2009-PM ABC1 45,000 45,000
158 SIMPLY FOOTY Ten 25,000 25,000
169 RUGBY LEAGUE FINAL SERIES QF 1 Nine 21,000 8,000 4,000 9,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,393,000 412,000 398,000 271,000 134,000 179,000
2 AFL: SEMI-FINAL 2: WESTERN BULLDOGS V BRISBANE LIONS Seven 1,187,000 79,000 580,000 165,000 184,000 179,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,115,000 336,000 386,000 258,000 135,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,091,000 299,000 338,000 197,000 129,000 128,000
5 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,056,000 272,000 339,000 239,000 93,000 114,000
6 GEORGE GENTLY ABC1 1,055,000 360,000 281,000 161,000 120,000 133,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,008,000 275,000 306,000 198,000 111,000 117,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC1 874,000 293,000 258,000 124,000 86,000 112,000
9 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 827,000 424,000 403,000
10 RUGBY LEAGUE FINAL SERIES QF1 Nine 810,000 467,000 47,000 273,000 11,000 11,000
19 M-THE FULL MONTY RPT Ten 560,000 211,000 112,000 111,000 62,000 63,000
40 M-NINE MONTHS Seven 261,000 80,000 67,000 44,000 27,000 43,000
82 THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING GO! 115,000 28,000 44,000 26,000 11,000 7,000
86 TORCHWOOD ABC2 107,000 26,000 24,000 25,000 9,000 23,000
101 JUNKYARD WARS ABC2 78,000 18,000 19,000 4,000 15,000 21,000
113 TRIPLE J TV WITH THE DOCTOR ABC1 62,000 12,000 22,000 7,000 8,000 13,000
115 BEWITCHED -RPT GO! 62,000 18,000 24,000 7,000 5,000 9,000
136 NFL REPLAY RPT ONE 43,000 23,000 8,000 6,000 3,000 3,000
179 UNTOLD SCANDAL RPT SBS TWO 22,000 4,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 6,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Friday
With the help of a couple of Aussie comedians in America, the velociraptor took down the Tyrannosaurus Rex last night (metaphor for Ten beating Seven). With Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation gone and Idol going down the toilet, it was the raptor's only good news all week.

Last night GO, ONE and ABC2 all caught 1.4 per cent of the free to air audience. At this point, the prime time audience shares look like this: Seven 28.4 per cent; Nine and GO 27.7; Ten and ONE 20.6; ABC1 and ABC2 17.5; SBS and SBSTWO 5.8.

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,402,000 383,000 383,000 268,000 145,000 223,000
2 HAMISH AND ANDY'S AMERICAN CARAVAN OF COURAGE Ten 1,307,000 283,000 500,000 258,000 116,000 150,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,297,000 353,000 362,000 253,000 143,000 185,000
4 20 TO 1 -THU Nine 1,198,000 365,000 343,000 209,000 125,000 157,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,150,000 335,000 325,000 207,000 136,000 146,000
6 RUSH Ten 1,136,000 272,000 422,000 195,000 113,000 134,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,126,000 288,000 400,000 224,000 95,000 118,000
8 RUSH EP 2 Ten 1,107,000 289,000 390,000 167,000 121,000 140,000
9 GETAWAY Nine 1,088,000 326,000 326,000 233,000 95,000 107,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,080,000 293,000 349,000 243,000 102,000 92,000
11 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,041,000 336,000 318,000 155,000 87,000 146,000
12 NINE NEWS Nine 1,032,000 316,000 314,000 218,000 102,000 82,000
14 THE AMAZING RACE Seven 841,000 271,000 258,000 129,000 91,000 92,000
15 PEDIGREE DOGS EXPOSED ABC1 826,000 281,000 253,000 119,000 69,000 103,000
17 GARY UNMARRIED Seven 753,000 249,000 203,000 144,000 71,000 86,000
18 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 744,000 172,000 218,000 119,000 90,000 145,000
20 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 676,000 215,000 199,000 116,000 60,000 85,000
22 HOT SEAT Nine 609,000 171,000 189,000 132,000 67,000 50,000
23 THE 7PM PROJECT Ten 597,000 140,000 171,000 152,000 56,000 78,000
24 TV BURP Seven 596,000 181,000 202,000 92,000 64,000 57,000
30 DOUBLE TAKE Seven 441,000 133,000 139,000 80,000 46,000 43,000
61 ADBC SBS ONE 174,000 54,000 55,000 36,000 11,000 18,000
88 JUNKYARD WARS ABC2 111,000 34,000 21,000 10,000 21,000 25,000
109 MOONLIGHT GO! 74,000 21,000 21,000 17,000 14,000 1,000
117 UFC WIRED ONE 66,000 10,000 18,000 17,000 10,000 11,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australians watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,446,000 367,000 425,000 268,000 181,000 206,000
2 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,445,000 507,000 425,000 259,000 117,000 137,000
3 WORLD'S STRICTEST PARENTS Seven 1,395,000 417,000 439,000 240,000 151,000 149,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,354,000 373,000 392,000 263,000 143,000 183,000
5 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED Nine 1,233,000 318,000 383,000 269,000 121,000 142,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,133,000 315,000 353,000 203,000 130,000 132,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,120,000 292,000 359,000 227,000 124,000 118,000
8 RPA Nine 1,116,000 309,000 343,000 225,000 133,000 106,000
9 MONEY FOR JAM Nine 1,093,000 260,000 405,000 211,000 111,000 106,000
10 NINE NEWS Nine 1,079,000 302,000 337,000 219,000 108,000 114,000
15 THE LIBRARIANS ABC1 936,000 290,000 300,000 145,000 80,000 121,000
19 WITHOUT A TRACE Nine 841,000 239,000 254,000 147,000 92,000 109,000
23 UNITED STATES OF TARA ABC1 737,000 242,000 260,000 104,000 61,000 70,000
46 INSPECTOR REX RPT SBS ONE 300,000 97,000 97,000 37,000 26,000 43,000
91 JUNKYARD WARS ABC2 119,000 27,000 25,000 14,000 25,000 28,000
93 FRINGE GO! 117,000 41,000 38,000 16,000 14,000 7,000
94 THE BEATLES IN THE STUDIO Nine 115,000 27,000 49,000 17,000 10,000 11,000
95 TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES GO! 114,000 29,000 42,000 17,000 12,000 14,000
114 FAMILY BRAT CAMP ABC2 73,000 25,000 15,000 5,000 16,000 11,000
121 PRO BULL RIDING ONE 66,000 17,000 16,000 16,000 7,000 9,000

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,912,000 539,000 593,000 321,000 208,000 252,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,563,000 413,000 455,000 297,000 162,000 236,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,535,000 388,000 448,000 280,000 171,000 247,000
4 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,311,000 311,000 466,000 264,000 127,000 143,000
5 WORLD FOOD SPECTACULAR Seven 1,228,000 342,000 369,000 240,000 124,000 152,000
6 20 TO 1 -RPT Nine 1,228,000 335,000 408,000 208,000 117,000 160,000
7 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,195,000 355,000 338,000 212,000 152,000 139,000
8 NINE NEWS Nine 1,175,000 319,000 378,000 238,000 135,000 105,000
9 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,163,000 366,000 351,000 173,000 139,000 135,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,106,000 261,000 378,000 235,000 126,000 106,000
11 THE SPEARMAN EXPERIMENT Ten 1,039,000 300,000 307,000 178,000 113,000 140,000
19 THE 7PM PROJECT Ten 731,000 228,000 189,000 152,000 69,000 93,000
25 AUSTIN POWERS: GOLDMEMBER -RPT Nine 579,000 137,000 253,000 80,000 60,000 48,000

83 EAST WEST 101 RPT SBS ONE 126,000 52,000 32,000 19,000 6,000 16,000
86 SURVIVOR: GABON GO! 123,000 25,000 20,000 40,000 16,000 21,000
87 JUNKYARD WARS ABC2 119,000 34,000 30,000 17,000 25,000 12,000
93 THE WIRE ABC2 99,000 46,000 23,000 12,000 11,000 7,000
141 THE BEAST ABC2 44,000 21,000 8,000 3,000 3,000 10,000
161 2009 MOTOGP RPT ONE 37,000 12,000 7,000 11,000 2,000 4,000
What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,481,000 406,000 430,000 284,000 165,000 196,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,409,000 402,000 416,000 272,000 136,000 183,000
3 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,330,000 355,000 457,000 274,000 120,000 124,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,318,000 391,000 401,000 272,000 125,000 129,000
5 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,275,000 322,000 458,000 229,000 102,000 163,000
6 CITY HOMICIDE-MON Seven 1,262,000 356,000 399,000 210,000 123,000 175,000
7 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,257,000 323,000 425,000 246,000 111,000 152,000
8 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,244,000 338,000 432,000 238,000 104,000 132,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,210,000 360,000 363,000 194,000 130,000 163,000
10 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,081,000 375,000 308,000 168,000 87,000 143,000
11 AUSTRALIAN STORY ABC1 1,068,000 371,000 293,000 212,000 80,000 112,000
14 TOP GEAR SBS ONE 1,000,000 281,000 312,000 223,000 84,000 102,000
15 GOOD NEWS WEEK Ten 953,000 277,000 276,000 166,000 125,000 108,000
17 RELENTLESS ENEMIES: LIONS AND BUFFALO Seven 891,000 269,000 260,000 150,000 90,000 122,000
18 7.30 REPORT ABC1 889,000 332,000 228,000 160,000 62,000 107,000
19 ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER? Ten 832,000 234,000 275,000 139,000 85,000 98,000
25 THE 7PM PROJECT Ten 720,000 194,000 228,000 142,000 82,000 74,000
47 MURDER SHE WROTE Seven 263,000 61,000 69,000 57,000 32,000 44,000
62 FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS SBS ONE 208,000 61,000 60,000 46,000 23,000 18,000
88 JUNKYARD WARS ABC2 129,000 36,000 33,000 15,000 22,000 23,000
91 SKINS SBS ONE 125,000 20,000 45,000 29,000 14,000 18,000
97 ENTOURAGE SBS ONE 115,000 29,000 37,000 26,000 9,000 16,000
102 ONE WEEK AT A TIME ONE 104,000 8,000 49,000 17,000 18,000 12,000
109 DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER GO! 92,000 14,000 50,000 7,000 17,000 4,000
118 GOOD GAME ABC2 81,000 18,000 23,000 15,000 10,000 15,000
137 THE NANNY GO! 62,000 26,000 10,000 13,000 11,000 1,000
216 TRIPLE J TV WITH THE DOCTOR ABC2 22,000 2,000 5,000 6,000 2,000 6,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,644,000 374,000 628,000 303,000 160,000 177,000
2 DANCING WITH THE STARS 9 Seven 1,572,000 451,000 455,000 318,000 151,000 197,000 (disappointing result for a grand finale)
3 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,296,000 378,000 463,000 212,000 148,000 96,000
4 60 MINUTES Nine 1,200,000 380,000 376,000 239,000 96,000 108,000
5 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC1 1,176,000 341,000 368,000 165,000 125,000 178,000
6 ABC NEWS UP-DATE ABC1 1,097,000 335,000 343,000 147,000 118,000 153,000
7 SEVEN'S AFL: QUALIFYING FINAL 1: ST KILDA VS COLLINGWOOD Seven 1,077,000 59,000 592,000 73,000 174,000 178,000
8 DOMESTIC BLITZ Nine 1,070,000 322,000 351,000 197,000 114,000 86,000
9 STEPHEN FRY IN AMERICA ABC1 986,000 332,000 277,000 146,000 109,000 123,000
10 RESCUE SPECIAL OPS Nine 910,000 288,000 278,000 191,000 76,000 77,000
11 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 883,000 267,000 252,000 165,000 93,000 107,000
12 ABC NEWS-SU ABC1 875,000 257,000 276,000 128,000 89,000 125,000
13 M-THE QUEEN Seven 839,000 266,000 257,000 121,000 102,000 94,000
14 ROVE Ten 777,000 174,000 289,000 139,000 81,000 95,000
20 NINE'S SUNDAY FOOTBALL Nine 404,000 272,000 132,000
27 ONE DAY CRICKET AUS V ENG G2 S1 SBS ONE 311,000 85,000 108,000 45,000 36,000 37,000
29 AFL GAME DAY Seven 264,000 190,000 39,000 35,000
40 WIPEOUT GO! 205,000 45,000 91,000 11,000 40,000 18,000
75 SEINFELD GO! 97,000 28,000 32,000 16,000 19,000 2,000
84 HORNBLOWER ABC2 80,000 32,000 24,000 4,000 10,000 9,000
117 VFL FOOTBALL 2009 ABC1 41,000 41,000
118 2009 MOTOGP ONE 41,000 8,000 3,000 11,000 4,000 15,000
119 CYCLING: 2009 TOUR OF IRELAND SBS ONE 40,000 7,000 8,000 8,000 8,000 8,000
125 NINE'S SUNDAY FOOTBALL LATE Nine 35,000 19,000 10,000 5,000
132 2009 NETBALL TEST SERIES ONE 32,000 8,000 8,000 3,000 5,000 8,000
156 SEVEN'S R.U: TRI-NATIONS: AUS V S A Seven 19,000 9,000 10,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

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

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 07:52 AM
• Comments (62)

The Who We Are update: What women watch (Week 38)

This week's forum is now a heritage item - worth studying but no longer current. For the latest on Australian attitudes and media trends, go to blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

To offer your recipe for Australia's National Dish, go to Who We Are.
To help create the perfect television station, go to The Tribal Mind.

The ratings race, updated 10am Monday
These were the prime time audience shares for the week: Nine and GO 28.9 per cent, Seven 27.5 per cent, Ten and ONE 20.7, ABC1&2 17.7, SBS1&2 5.2. This was Pay TV's account of itself: "Melbourne designer Anthony Capon defeated William Lazootin and Lauren Vieyra in the finale of the designer competition, Project Runway Australia: Finale. The Wednesday night broadcast on Arena achieved a season high 191,000 viewers for the second series of the program. America's Next Top Model on FOX8 was watched by 157,000 people, NCIS on TV1 was seen by 143,000 subscribers, The Simpsons on Fox 8 133,000 and the Disney Channel premiere of Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie was watched by 119,000 people. Deadliest Catch on Discovery Channel had a year-to-date biggest audience of 118,000 people, Property Ladder on Lifestyle was viewed by 101,000 people and Summer Heights High on Comedy Channel was seen by 60,000 people.

"Live: Rugby Union: Bledisloe Cup on FOX Sports was seen by 132,000 viewers, AFL: On the Couch was watched by 112,000 people and the AFL: All Australian team was announced on Monday night to 95,000 viewers (all on FOX Sports). Sky Racing's coverage of the spring racing carnival on Saturday, Sky Raceday, was seen by 87,000 viewers.

"In week 38, STV channels represented 21.3% of all metropolitan viewing between 6am and midnight, 20.4% of all regional viewing and 55.2% of all viewing in subscription TV homes."

Just for a change, what women aged 25-54 watched, week ending September 19
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 546,000 188,000 147,000 83,000 55,000 74,000
2 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE -FINALE Nine 534,000 140,000 185,000 109,000 40,000 60,000
3 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 452,000 115,000 155,000 98,000 33,000 51,000
4 WORLD'S STRICTEST PARENTS-UK Seven 426,000 130,000 122,000 70,000 54,000 49,000
5 20 TO 1 -RPT Nine 363,000 116,000 119,000 57,000 28,000 43,000
6 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 354,000 113,000 99,000 72,000 31,000 40,000
7 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 349,000 99,000 113,000 72,000 36,000 29,000
8 LAST CHANCE SURGERY Seven 347,000 116,000 95,000 64,000 30,000 42,000
9 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 347,000 131,000 104,000 66,000 29,000 16,000
10 60 MINUTES Nine 346,000 100,000 114,000 67,000 34,000 30,000
11 ALL SAINTS Seven 342,000 124,000 103,000 46,000 31,000 38,000
12 AFL: PRELIMINARY FINAL 1: ST KILDA V WESTERN BULLDOG Seven 341,000 26,000 211,000 18,000 51,000 33,000

13 BORDER SECURITY Seven 340,000 101,000 86,000 74,000 28,000 51,000
14 THE FORCE - BEHIND THE LINE Seven 339,000 102,000 80,000 72,000 30,000 55,000
15 10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LOSING WEIGHT Seven 335,000 95,000 102,000 52,000 33,000 53,000
16 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED Nine 332,000 91,000 109,000 68,000 32,000 32,000
17 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 331,000 81,000 121,000 63,000 32,000 34,000
18 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 329,000 107,000 82,000 64,000 41,000 35,000
19 DOMESTIC BLITZ Nine 327,000 100,000 111,000 64,000 27,000 25,000
20 20 TO 1 Nine 313,000 86,000 85,000 73,000 32,000 37,000
21 RESCUE SPECIAL OPS Nine 312,000 87,000 96,000 69,000 26,000 35,000
22 RUSH Ten 310,000 85,000 105,000 49,000 29,000 41,000
23 THE AMAZING RACE-EP 2 Seven 310,000 90,000 110,000 45,000 36,000 30,000
24 RPA Nine 308,000 111,000 95,000 53,000 21,000 28,000
25 CITY HOMICIDE-WED Seven 308,000 76,000 98,000 63,000 30,000 41,000
26 HOME AND AWAY Seven 308,000 95,000 79,000 60,000 30,000 45,000
27 MONEY FOR JAM Nine 308,000 94,000 109,000 56,000 22,000 27,000
28 THE GIFT Nine 307,000 104,000 98,000 51,000 23,000 33,000
29 GOOD NEWS WEEK Ten 303,000 86,000 81,000 62,000 38,000 36,000
30 ROVE Ten 292,000 87,000 83,000 62,000 26,000 34,000
31 CITY HOMICIDE-MON Seven 291,000 82,000 101,000 41,000 32,000 34,000
32 SEVEN NEWS Seven 289,000 79,000 72,000 62,000 28,000 48,000
33 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 288,000 79,000 102,000 53,000 26,000 28,000
34 AFL FINALS 2009: 2ND PRELIM. FINAL GEE V COL Ten 287,000 33,000 173,000 8,000 37,000 36,000
35 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 287,000 60,000 76,000 72,000 36,000 44,000
36 THE BIG BANG THEORY Nine 285,000 63,000 109,000 75,000 39,000
37 SUNDAY NIGHT Seven 284,000 74,000 86,000 63,000 22,000 38,000
38 GLEE THURS ENCORE Ten 279,000 76,000 86,000 48,000 33,000 36,000
39 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 278,000 95,000 87,000 52,000 23,000 21,000
40 THE AMAZING RACE Seven 275,000 86,000 102,000 38,000 31,000 18,000
65 TOP GEAR SBS ONE 201,000 67,000 54,000 39,000 23,000 19,000
179 WIPEOUT GO! 60,000 5,000 15,000 16,000 12,000 11,000
231 THE GIRL WITH EIGHT LIMBS-LE ABC2 41,000 15,000 13,000 7,000 4,000 2,000
246 THE BIG BANG THEORY -RPT GO! 37,000 5,000 11,000 10,000 5,000 5,000
251 MOONLIGHT GO! 35,000 4,000 10,000 10,000 5,000 6,000
258 TORCHWOOD ABC2 34,000 9,000 10,000 9,000 2,000 5,000
(OzTAM mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 AFL FINALS 2009: 2ND PRELIM. FINAL GEE V COL Ten 1,449,000 125,000 792,000 64,000 226,000 242,000
2 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,254,000 429,000 298,000 342,000 110,000 75,000
3 RUGBY LEAGUE FINAL SERIES SF2 Nine 1,037,000 555,000 36,000 408,000 23,000 15,000
4 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS Nine 1,036,000 348,000 246,000 256,000 72,000 114,000
5 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 901,000 179,000 373,000 96,000 141,000 112,000
6 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC1 866,000 265,000 263,000 190,000 57,000 90,000
7 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Ten 762,000 178,000 239,000 121,000 70,000 153,000
8 THE BILL ABC1 729,000 223,000 197,000 116,000 65,000 128,000
9 HEART AND SOUL ABC1 676,000 214,000 182,000 107,000 76,000 97,000
15 DIRTY DANCING Nine 390,000 Not shown 204,000 Not shown 90,000 97,000
20 SEVEN'S R.U: BLEDISLOE CUP: N Z V AUS Seven 289,000 146,000 23,000 85,000 8,000 27,000
34 JAMIE'S RETURN TO SCHOOL DINNERS Ten 197,000 71,000 82,000 44,000
48 ROCKWIZ RPT SBS ONE 155,000 47,000 40,000 15,000 19,000 34,000
72 VFL FOOTBALL 2009-PM ABC1 103,000 103,000
73 ADVENTURES OF BOTTLE TOP BILL AND HIS BEST FRIEND-AM ABC2 95,000 51,000 12,000 20,000 12,000
92 SEINFELD GO! 69,000 16,000 22,000 9,000 15,000 6,000
110 UFC COUNTDOWN RPT ONE 56,000 5,000 16,000 11,000 10,000 15,000
116 RUGBY UNION: SHUTE SHIELD (NSW) 2009-PM ABC1 49,000 49,000
141 RUGBY LEAGUE FINAL SERIES SF1 Nine 38,000 20,000 13,000 5,000
156 IRON CHEF RPT SBS TWO 30,000 12,000 9,000 4,000 2,000 4,000
158 MARX & VENUS RPT SBS TWO 29,000 10,000 9,000 1,000 2,000 7,000

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 AFL: PRELIM FINAL 1: ST KILDA V WESTERN BULLDOG Seven 1,458,000 106,000 808,000 102,000 231,000 209,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,320,000 338,000 372,000 279,000 151,000 180,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,106,000 335,000 365,000 269,000 137,000
4 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,024,000 278,000 346,000 210,000 84,000 106,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,010,000 276,000 300,000 202,000 118,000 114,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 990,000 262,000 301,000 201,000 106,000 119,000
7 GEORGE GENTLY ABC1 981,000 325,000 226,000 181,000 113,000 136,000
8 RUGBY LEAGUE FINAL SERIES SF1 Nine 937,000 556,000 22,000 320,000 25,000 15,000
9 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 932,000 347,000 372,000 213,000
10 ABC NEWS ABC1 811,000 276,000 215,000 150,000 69,000 101,000
11 AFL: PRELIM FINAL 1: ST KILDA V WESTERN BULLDOG-AF Seven 715,000 38,000 388,000 53,000 128,000 108,000
81 JUNKYARD WARS ABC2 121,000 38,000 21,000 14,000 25,000 22,000
84 THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS GO! 116,000 35,000 33,000 25,000 14,000 9,000
88 TORCHWOOD-EV ABC2 109,000 36,000 15,000 32,000 7,000 19,000
136 UFC COUNTDOWN ONE 43,000 1,000 13,000 15,000 7,000 7,000
143 THE FLINTSTONES -RPT GO! 38,000 5,000 9,000 14,000 2,000 8,000
194 THE JETSONS -RPT GO! 23,000 0 7,000 12,000 0 3,000
196 THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY GO! 22,000 1,000 3,000 10,000 4,000 4,000
227 THE MIRACLE OF BERN RPT SBS TWO 14,000 5,000 3,000 3,000 1,000 2,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,363,000 332,000 394,000 268,000 150,000 219,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,332,000 355,000 345,000 283,000 133,000 215,000
3 20 TO 1 Nine 1,133,000 308,000 319,000 233,000 126,000 147,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,117,000 328,000 355,000 196,000 130,000 107,000
5 GETAWAY Nine 1,091,000 327,000 353,000 200,000 110,000 103,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,055,000 299,000 346,000 218,000 109,000 83,000
7 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,053,000 284,000 283,000 233,000 121,000 132,000
8 RUSH Ten 1,050,000 290,000 342,000 168,000 122,000 128,000
12 SKIPPY: AUSTRALIA'S FIRST SUPERSTAR ABC1 892,000 317,000 223,000 146,000 78,000 129,000
13 GLEE THURS ENCORE Ten 871,000 250,000 246,000 155,000 94,000 126,000
15 THE AMAZING RACE-EP 2 Seven 816,000 277,000 260,000 119,000 87,000 73,000
17 GARY UNMARRIED Seven 800,000 205,000 244,000 179,000 78,000 94,000
18 THE AMAZING RACE Seven 792,000 258,000 267,000 123,000 82,000 63,000
20 THE 7PM PROJECT Ten 680,000 189,000 189,000 127,000 79,000 96,000
30 DOUBLE TAKE Seven 433,000 149,000 140,000 50,000 48,000 44,000
44 COSTA'S GARDEN ODYSSEY SBS ONE 301,000 93,000 86,000 58,000 23,000 41,000
81 JUNKYARD WARS ABC2 129,000 50,000 26,000 12,000 20,000 21,000
107 MOONLIGHT GO! 76,000 11,000 24,000 17,000 14,000 10,000
114 DROP DEAD DIVA GO! 64,000 16,000 18,000 10,000 16,000 4,000
117 UFC WIRED ONE 62,000 10,000 20,000 4,000 11,000 18,000
132 GOSSIP GIRL GO! 52,000 7,000 12,000 19,000 8,000 6,000
149 PARLIAMENT QUESTION TIME-PM ABC1 45,000 10,000 11,000 16,000 5,000 4,000
191 XTREME PAINTBALL: BEYOND THE PAINT ONE 27,000 2,000 13,000 0 7,000 6,000
192 HONOLULU RPT SBS TWO 27,000 6,000 8,000 5,000 5,000 3,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Thursday
Oh the power of the readers of this forum. They complained about the way Channel Ten has suddenly started behaving like Channel Nine in its arrogant heyday, moving programs around the schedule before they've had a chance to find an audience. We just got a call from a spokesperson for Ten, offering something that Nine would never have given: An Explanation.

It seems the abrupt movement of Nurse Jackie, Little Britain USA and Dexter can all be blamed on Australian Idol. Idol was not working in its 6.30 pm Sunday slot, so Ten decided to move it to 7.30pm, where it was last year. That would have pushed Nurse Jackie and Little Britain USA back to times when the only available audience would be insomniacs. So Ten decided to move them to 10pm and 10.30pm Monday (except for next week because the Emmies are on). Having moved them to Monday, Ten needed to find a space for Dexter, and Saturdays after the footy proved to be the only available slot for a series they feel has been "underperforming". It's the domino theory.

The publicist added that there are no plans to move The Spearman Experiment, currently approaching the borders of Yasminland. She also pointed out that the musical dramedy Glee begins tonight (a repeat of the pilot episode shown in July), and that Glee will remain consistent, both in quality and in timeslot.

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,457,000 394,000 419,000 274,000 178,000 192,000
2 WORLD'S STRICTEST PARENTS-UK Seven 1,407,000 404,000 437,000 242,000 163,000 162,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,233,000 348,000 343,000 236,000 137,000 170,000
4 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,214,000 407,000 338,000 233,000 108,000 128,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,206,000 361,000 305,000 261,000 144,000 135,000
6 CITY HOMICIDE-WED Seven 1,175,000 311,000 385,000 192,000 113,000 174,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,135,000 317,000 326,000 261,000 106,000 125,000
11 RPA Nine 1,074,000 337,000 324,000 197,000 105,000 111,000
13 MONEY FOR JAM Nine 1,018,000 290,000 330,000 212,000 86,000 99,000
14 THE GIFT Nine 1,018,000 307,000 321,000 185,000 106,000 99,000
15 7.30 REPORT ABC1 949,000 312,000 242,000 203,000 85,000 108,000
24 UNITED STATES OF TARA ABC1 715,000 234,000 227,000 140,000 57,000 58,000
25 STAR STORIES ABC1 712,000 260,000 195,000 128,000 66,000 63,000
26 THE 7PM PROJECT Ten 671,000 183,000 203,000 111,000 93,000 81,000
43 INSPECTOR REX RPT SBS ONE 277,000 63,000 96,000 42,000 34,000 41,000
80 JUNKYARD WARS ABC2 144,000 40,000 27,000 33,000 19,000 26,000
87 FRINGE GO! 121,000 35,000 42,000 14,000 18,000 11,000
93 TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES GO! 112,000 20,000 45,000 17,000 19,000 11,000
95 MR BEAN WITH ROWAN ATKINSON ABC2 108,000 35,000 18,000 24,000 13,000 19,000
124 POKER: LATIN AMERICAN TOUR ONE 56,000 6,000 27,000 10,000 5,000 8,000
173 SPORTS SOUP ONE 30,000 12,000 7,000 2,000 9,000 2,000
203 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DELAYED 2 SBS TWO 21,000 11,000 5,000 0 1,000 4,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

The ratings race, updated 4pm Wednesday
Seven will need to move fast to launch its new digital channel, to counterbalance the effect of GO for Nine. Let your imagination run riot -- what should Seven do with its new toy?

You may find inspiration in this press release, issued Wednesday afternoon by Channel Nine (the bold capitals are theirs): "Coming in October, GO! will present all new Australian premiere episodes of some of the world's most anticipated television series including THE WIRE (series 5), CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM (series 6), WEEDS (series 3) and the premiere of the hottest new series direct form the United States this Fall TV season - THE VAMPIRE DIARIES (Monday September 28 at 8.30pm). Adding to this already must-watch line up are hit series from Comedy Central, the breathtakingly irreverent and ruthlessly funny SOUTH PARK and the hilarious uncripted adventure and high octane thriller RENO 911, which were secured as part of a new content partnership between GO! and MTV Networks International."

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,806,000 571,000 532,000 293,000 187,000 223,000
2 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,493,000 423,000 446,000 293,000 157,000 174,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,417,000 393,000 349,000 284,000 169,000 222,000
4 LAST CHANCE SURGERY Seven 1,403,000 426,000 398,000 273,000 142,000 164,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,374,000 384,000 339,000 280,000 156,000 216,000
6 20 TO 1 -RPT Nine 1,258,000 372,000 409,000 214,000 111,000 152,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,205,000 325,000 381,000 229,000 117,000 153,000
8 NINE NEWS Nine 1,199,000 328,000 381,000 251,000 115,000 124,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,194,000 379,000 306,000 215,000 136,000 158,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,158,000 334,000 355,000 243,000 113,000 113,000
11 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,055,000 354,000 312,000 141,000 129,000 119,000
17 THE 7PM PROJECT Ten 780,000 226,000 235,000 152,000 79,000 88,000
21 THE SPEARMAN EXPERIMENT Ten 699,000 223,000 201,000 108,000 91,000 77,000
22 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 672,000 198,000 188,000 117,000 89,000 79,000
25 HOT SEAT Nine 603,000 173,000 173,000 136,000 65,000 56,000
33 FEAR, STRESS AND ANGER ABC1 411,000 136,000 131,000 51,000 39,000 54,000
79 JUNKYARD WARS ABC2 146,000 32,000 35,000 25,000 33,000 21,000
83 SURVIVOR: GABON GO! 129,000 24,000 37,000 33,000 13,000 22,000
94 MR BEAN WITH ROWAN ATKINSON ABC2 110,000 24,000 25,000 12,000 26,000 24,000
107 THE WIRE ABC2 75,000 29,000 23,000 9,000 8,000 6,000
123 THE BEAST ABC2 54,000 16,000 13,000 2,000 7,000 16,000
150 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2009 RPT ONE 39,000 13,000 10,000 9,000 4,000 4,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,513,000 400,000 395,000 300,000 202,000 215,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,455,000 406,000 387,000 303,000 173,000 187,000
3 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE -FINALE Nine 1,422,000 411,000 455,000 280,000 119,000 156,000
4 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,265,000 322,000 432,000 267,000 122,000 122,000
5 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,263,000 327,000 454,000 249,000 113,000 121,000
6 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,263,000 330,000 408,000 271,000 105,000 148,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,236,000 365,000 407,000 229,000 108,000 126,000
8 CITY HOMICIDE-MON Seven 1,189,000 327,000 391,000 173,000 142,000 156,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,150,000 359,000 320,000 199,000 134,000 138,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,146,000 328,000 385,000 205,000 103,000 125,000
11 10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LOSING WEIGHT Seven 1,090,000 324,000 322,000 175,000 117,000 151,000
13 THE BIG BANG THEORY Nine 1,018,000 265,000 407,000 235,000 109,000
14 GOOD NEWS WEEK Ten 978,000 316,000 262,000 187,000 112,000 100,000
15 TOP GEAR SBS ONE 944,000 302,000 245,000 196,000 98,000 103,000
20 ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER? Ten 801,000 258,000 203,000 130,000 103,000 106,000
24 THE 7PM PROJECT Ten 681,000 188,000 197,000 132,000 77,000 88,000
34 DEXTER Ten 393,000 112,000 120,000 55,000 52,000 54,000
69 SOUTH PARK SBS ONE 179,000 46,000 70,000 33,000 13,000 17,800
JUNKYARD WARS ABC2 136,000 47,000 23,000 20,000 26,000 19,000
97 ONE WEEK AT A TIME ONE 97,000 14,000 54,000 9,000 15,000 5,000
99 DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER GO! 95,000 23,000 34,000 17,000 12,000 8,000
198 LEMMING SBS TWO 22,000 12,000 3,000 1,000 2,000 5,000

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,568,000 575,000 447,000 312,000 156,000 79,000
2 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,543,000 468,000 417,000 320,000 144,000 195,000
3 THE FORCE - BEHIND THE LINE Seven 1,529,000 440,000 424,000 308,000 147,000 210,000
4 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,464,000 303,000 440,000 327,000 168,000 226,000
5 MIDSOMER MURDERS-SU ABC1 1,366,000 407,000 412,000 216,000 158,000 174,000
6 ABC NEWS UP-DATE ABC1 1,324,000 420,000 379,000 232,000 133,000 160,000
7 DOMESTIC BLITZ Nine 1,244,000 387,000 395,000 213,000 141,000 108,000
8 SUNDAY NIGHT Seven 1,241,000 321,000 384,000 257,000 107,000 173,000
9 60 MINUTES Nine 1,230,000 335,000 425,000 215,000 137,000 118,000
10 STEPHEN FRY IN AMERICA ABC1 1,110,000 333,000 334,000 203,000 109,000 131,000
11 RESCUE SPECIAL OPS Nine 1,017,000 294,000 319,000 198,000 98,000 109,000
12 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 990,000 318,000 248,000 196,000 112,000 115,000
14 M-THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM Seven 965,000 297,000 258,000 184,000 102,000 125,000
15 ROVE Ten 816,000 227,000 247,000 170,000 76,000 95,000
16 RUGBY LEAGUE FINAL SERIES QF4 Nine 759,000 469,000 19,000 233,000 15,000 22,000
18 CSI: MIAMI Nine 631,000 157,000 210,000 107,000 77,000 80,000
20 LITTLE BRITAIN USA Ten 537,000 133,000 193,000 75,000 65,000 71,000
23 DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS Ten 396,000 95,000 136,000 50,000 57,000 57,000
24 NURSE JACKIE Ten 396,000 109,000 137,000 41,000 53,000 56,000
32 WIPEOUT GO! 248,000 42,000 65,000 60,000 52,000 29,000
34 THE BIG BANG THEORY -RPT GO! 231,000 37,000 66,000 66,000 23,000 39,000
36 WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? SBS ONE 219,000 60,000 79,000 33,000 18,000 29,000
44 AFL GAME DAY Seven 190,000 133,000 24,000 33,000
66 THE NANNY GO! 114,000 28,000 29,000 27,000 20,000 10,000
74 THE FLINTSTONES -RPT GO! 100,000 17,000 37,000 16,000 17,000 13,000
80 SUPER LEAGUE Nine 94,000 62,000 32,000
85 VFL FOOTBALL 2009-PM ABC1 86,000 86,000
93 THE JETSONS -RPT GO! 68,000 18,000 17,000 5,000 12,000 16,000
98 HORNBLOWER ABC2 62,000 30,000 9,000 4,000 9,000 10,000
111 I FISH ONE 44,000 3,000 19,000 11,000 5,000 6,000
129 RUGBY LEAGUE FINAL SERIES QF3 Nine 32,000 not shown not shown not shown 18,000 13,000
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 blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.
(

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 07:49 AM
• Comments (73)

The Tribal Mind: Are you smarter than a TV star?

To learn how Skippy brainwashed Australia, go to Who We Are.

by David Dale
SOME people are clearly more intelligent than the job they've been given to do. I'm thinking of Lisa Wilkinson as co-host of Today; Andrew Denton or Shaun Micallef when they hosted the Logies; Gretel Killeen when she was host of Big Brother; Tracy Grimshaw as host of A Current Affair; and Sarah Wilson as presenter of MasterChef. Watching them perform their roles with patience and professionalism, you know they are capable of greater things.

Then there are people who are clearly less intelligent than the job they are given. Examples:

Jennifer Hawkins as presenter on The Great Outdoors;
Eddie McGuire when he was chief executive of Channel Nine;
Joe Hockey as Shadow Treasurer;
Jackie O as straightman to Kyle Sandilands (or whatever it is that she does);
Richard Wilkins interviewing most singers and actors;
Nathan Rees as Premier;
Sandra Sully doing anything other than read the news;
Lara Bingle in any role that requires talking.

All give the impression of being slightly out of their depth (although I may be mistaken in my estimate of Lara Bingle's IQ -- earlier this year she got coverage for a twitter comment in which she said of herself: "Hahaha I am such a retart". She seems to have invented a clever portmanteau word to describe a person who is simultaneously dimwitted and flirtatious. Unless it was a spelling error.)

This column was once seated at a dinner party next to a successful actress who has often portrayed highly intelligent women. It became apparent she was unlike her characters. Without a script, she had nothing interesting to say. Acting, it seems, does not require a high IQ, merely an ability to repeat the dialogue of people smarter than yourself.

In total contrast was Julia Gillard's appearance last week on Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?. Most Australians assume that Gillard is just intelligent enough to perform the roles of education minister, industrial relations minister and deputy prime minister, which, I'd estimate, requires an IQ of around 130. Her performance on 5th Grader suggested she might score over 150.

Contestants on that show usually take a random guess when they don't know the answer. Gillard thought she could figure it out, and gave us a glimpse into the workings of a very precise mind.

Asked if the speed of sound was 1200 kph, 2200 kph or 3600 kph, she reflected that some planes are capable of breaking the sound barrier, and it seems unlikely that a plane could travel as fast as 2200 or 3600 kph, so 1200 is the most likely answer. Asked if the earth rotates towards the east or towards the west, she reflected that New Zealand is two hours ahead of us, and is to the east of us, which must mean we are rotating towards the sun, which rises in the east. Such impeccable logic earned $20,000 for Gillard's charity in the first week, and brought her back a second time to display more of it, along with a self-deprecating sense of humour.

Gillard's colleagues won't thank her for setting this precedent. She has given voters a scary new tool for judging their elected representatives.

Intelligence is not an essential quality for a TV personality. It may even be a hindrance. But for a politician whose decisions affect the lives of millions, it is vital. From now on, forget those tedious televised debates before each election. Every candidate will instead be required to take a turn against the 10 year olds on Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? .

Go to comments to suggest how other pollies might perform.

Footnote: Two weeks ago this column urged readers to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, to ensure it sold more tickets than Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Go to How not to look stupid for background). As of September 9, the totals were Harry $40.0 million, Trannies $40.2m. Another 20,000 Harry visits will save us from being shamed in the eyes of the world.
Meanwhile, cinemagoers are proving the Trannies were just a school holiday aberration by embracing Inglourious Basterds ($9m in 3 weeks) and District 9 ($7m in 4 weeks). If we don't manage to get Harry over the line, we may find some consolation in the possibility that IB and D9 will pass the $11.5m earned by The Ugly Truth. And the Paul Hogan/ Shane Jacobson comedy Charlie and Boots had the best opening for any Australian film this year -- $1.2m in its first week. Anybody want to offer a recommendation?

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

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 04:28 PM
• Comments (11)

The Who We Are update: Week 35

This week's forum is now a heritage item - worth studying but no longer current. For the latest on Australian attitudes and media trends, go to blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

To learn how Skippy brainwashed Australia, go to Who We Are.
To estimate the IQ of our politicians and personalities, go to The Tribal Mind.

The ratings race, updated 10 am Monday
The new digital station GO may be attracting less than 2 per cent of the viewing audience most days, but it is helping its parent, Channel Nine, to increase its total share for the week. Here's the prime time audience breakup among the parent networks (with Nine incorporating GO, Ten incorporating ONE, and ABC incorporating ABC2): Seven 27.8 per cent, Nine 27.3, Ten 21.8, ABC 17.8, SBS 5.2.

It's interesting that the advent of GO, ONE and ABC2 does not seem to be cutting into the audiences for Pay TV. In Pay TV's account of itself for the week, compare the audience sizes with GO's numbers in the charts below: "Various television fathers, including Homer Simpson of The Simpsons and Peter Griffin of Family Guy helped subscription TV become the number one television choice in the week leading up to Father's Day. In week 36, subscription TV channels represented 21.9% of all metropolitan viewing between 6am and midnight, 21.8% of all regional viewing and 56.4% of all viewing in subscription TV homes.

"NCIS on TV1, with Leroy Gibbs as the team's father figure, was watched by 130,000 people, The Simpsons on FOX8 was seen by 125,000 people and Family Guy (FOX8) was seen by 121,000 viewers. In other entertainment programming, series seven of Property Ladder on Lifestyle drew a year-to-date highest audience for the program with 105,000 viewers; Project Runway Australia on Arena was seen by 102,000 people and Deadliest Catch on Discovery Channel by 82,000 subscribers.

"AFL topped the week with 263,000 people watching Live: AFL Collingwood v Western Bulldogs, Live: NRL Raiders v Knights was viewed by 253,000 people and Live: AFL: On the Couch had its best ever result with 170,000 viewers (all on FOX Sports). The FOX Sports coverage of the thrilling Tri-Nation match between the Wallabies and Springboks, Live: Rugby Union: Tri Nations, was seen by 146,000 and Sky Raceday on Sky Racing was seen by 63,000 people."

What Australia watched, week ending September 6
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,943,000 587,000 590,000 326,000 198,000 242,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,686,000 438,000 506,000 336,000 166,000 240,000
3 TALKIN' 'BOUT YOUR GENERATION Ten 1,563,000 440,000 513,000 264,000 156,000 189,000
4 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,493,000 410,000 417,000 298,000 165,000 203,000
5 MIDSOMER MURDERS-SUN ABC1 1,491,000 445,000 466,000 228,000 179,000 172,000
6 DANCING WITH THE STARS 9 Seven 1,401,000 430,000 382,000 293,000 129,000 167,000
7 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,397,000 366,000 393,000 294,000 141,000 202,000
8 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,393,000 414,000 414,000 291,000 165,000 110,000
9 CITY HOMICIDE-MON Seven 1,389,000 397,000 446,000 219,000 141,000 187,000
10 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED Nine 1,360,000 337,000 458,000 306,000 128,000 132,000
11 SURF PATROL Seven 1,354,000 352,000 390,000 276,000 151,000 184,000
12 20 TO 1 Nine 1,337,000 413,000 371,000 256,000 138,000 158,000
13 MONEY FOR JAM Nine 1,332,000 340,000 457,000 288,000 122,000 124,000
14 AIR WAYS Seven 1,310,000 351,000 388,000 260,000 136,000 175,000
15 WORLD'S STRICTEST PARENTS-UK Seven 1,307,000 403,000 321,000 274,000 144,000 165,000

16 GETAWAY Nine 1,299,000 378,000 418,000 248,000 139,000 116,000
17 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,255,000 379,000 312,000 290,000 137,000 138,000
18 ABC NEWS UP-DATE ABC1 1,252,000 404,000 389,000 154,000 159,000 146,000
19 DOMESTIC BLITZ Nine 1,248,000 321,000 365,000 256,000 143,000 163,000
20 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,233,000 401,000 334,000 236,000 115,000 147,000
21 STEPHEN FRY IN AMERICA ABC1 1,211,000 378,000 339,000 208,000 148,000 137,000
22 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,194,000 279,000 423,000 217,000 101,000 174,000
23 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,185,000 341,000 329,000 236,000 133,000 145,000
24 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,175,000 359,000 353,000 166,000 144,000 153,000
25 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,172,000 393,000 388,000 230,000 94,000 67,000
26 BATTLE AT KRUGER PARK Seven 1,160,000 331,000 382,000 196,000 125,000 127,000
27 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,159,000 289,000 381,000 246,000 110,000 133,000
28 BONES Seven 1,155,000 291,000 341,000 227,000 129,000 167,000
29 NINE NEWS Nine 1,153,000 323,000 355,000 235,000 125,000 115,000
30 CRIMINAL MINDS (R) Seven 1,146,000 310,000 306,000 263,000 103,000 163,000
31 TEN'S AFL FINALS 2009: 2ND ELIM. FINAL BRIS V CARL Ten 1,140,000 61,000 576,000 137,000 193,000 173,000
32 RPA Nine 1,137,000 311,000 385,000 200,000 122,000 119,000
33 60 MINUTES Nine 1,123,000 294,000 355,000 225,000 108,000 140,000
34 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,115,000 315,000 352,000 223,000 85,000 142,000
35 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,109,000 301,000 346,000 237,000 114,000 111,000
36 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS Nine 1,104,000 279,000 322,000 245,000 129,000 128,000
37 NCIS RPT Ten 1,050,000 253,000 337,000 215,000 119,000 126,000
38 NCIS EP 2 RPT Ten 1,048,000 261,000 346,000 197,000 137,000 106,000
39 RUSH Ten 1,042,000 302,000 368,000 143,000 103,000 126,000
40 SEVEN'S AFL: ELIMINATION FINAL 1: ADELAIDE VS ESSENDON Seven 1,022,000 50,000 491,000 26,000 290,000 164,000
41 ABC NEWS-EV ABC1 1,004,000 318,000 297,000 161,000 93,000 135,000
42 AUSTRALIAN IDOL - WILDCARD Ten 1,000,000 290,000 301,000 174,000 106,000 128,000
43 GEORGE GENTLY ABC1 999,000 327,000 273,000 156,000 95,000 149,000
55 TOP GEAR SBS ONE 870,000 219,000 256,000 204,000 91,000 100,000
213 WIPEOUT GO! 224,000 43,000 75,000 48,000 31,000 28,000
304 ONE WEEK AT A TIME ONE 141,000 10,000 86,000 15,000 24,000 6,000
310 JUNKYARD WARS ABC2 134,000 34,000 26,000 24,000 23,000 26,000
549 THE ELEGANT UNIVERSE RPT SBS TWO 48,000 11,000 6,000 14,000 5,000 12,000

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,255,000 379,000 312,000 290,000 137,000 138,000
2 TEN'S AFL FINALS 2009: 2ND ELIM. FINAL BRIS V CARL Ten 1,140,000 61,000 576,000 137,000 193,000 173,000
3 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS Nine 1,104,000 279,000 322,000 245,000 129,000 128,000
4 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 940,000 249,000 279,000 180,000 123,000 110,000
5 ABC NEWS-SA ABC1 831,000 290,000 207,000 166,000 71,000 96,000
6 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Ten 807,000 113,000 313,000 120,000 130,000 131,000
7 TEN'S AFL FINALS 2009: 2ND QUAL. FINAL GEE V W BUL Ten 781,000 58,000 424,000 62,000 114,000 123,000
8 THE GREAT OUTDOORS Seven 763,000 220,000 200,000 191,000 74,000 78,000
9 THE BILL ABC1 689,000 216,000 182,000 107,000 72,000 112,000
10 EAST OF EVERYTHING ABC1 619,000 229,000 145,000 120,000 50,000 75,000
14 SEVEN'S R.U: TRI-NATIONS: AUS V S A Seven 464,000 250,000 39,000 141,000 14,000 18,000
19 MYTHBUSTERS SBS ONE 333,000 84,000 82,000 86,000 39,000 42,000
62 PENELOPE ABC2 124,000 45,000 35,000 18,000 20,000 6,000
96 CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION GO! 64,000 12,000 17,000 20,000 7,000 8,000
104 NAB RISING STAR AWARD ONE 60,000 9,000 26,000 24,000
112 DANCE YOUR ASS OFF GO! 56,000 9,000 19,000 20,000 3,000 4,000
135 RUGBY UNION: SHUTE SHIELD (NSW) 2009-PM ABC1 38,000 38,000
141 WAFL LIVE LEAGUE FOOTBALL 2009-PM ABC1 34,000 34,000
156 NINE'S FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL LATE Nine 28,000 23,000 4,000 1,000
172 MARX & VENUS RPT SBS TWO 23,000 6,000 6,000 5,000 0 5,000

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,377,000 372,000 414,000 272,000 151,000 168,000
2 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,123,000 327,000 345,000 237,000 98,000 115,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,059,000 309,000 354,000 257,000 139,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,029,000 282,000 327,000 210,000 107,000 104,000
5 SEVEN'S AFL: ELIMINATION FINAL 1: ADELAIDE VS ESSENDON Seven 1,022,000 50,000 491,000 26,000 290,000 164,000
6 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,011,000 393,000 388,000 230,000
7 GEORGE GENTLY ABC1 999,000 327,000 273,000 156,000 95,000 149,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 985,000 270,000 301,000 203,000 92,000 119,000
9 ABC NEWS ABC1 889,000 274,000 253,000 154,000 92,000 115,000
10 NINE'S LIVE FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Nine 802,000 510,000 292,000
26 NINE'S FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Nine 458,000 303,000 155,000
36 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Ten 316,000 82,000 101,000 41,000 60,000 32,000
40 YOUNG VICTORIA SBS ONE 299,000 112,000 88,000 65,000 33,000
85 JUNKYARD WARS ABC2 113,000 37,000 21,000 15,000 19,000 22,000
103 TORCHWOOD ABC2 81,000 19,000 14,000 11,000 12,000 26,000
140 2009 WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIPS ONE 49,000 7,000 17,000 14,000 7,000 4,000
146 THE NANNY GO! 47,000 29,000 10,000 0 5,000 3,000
161 CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION GO! 40,000 5,000 6,000 17,000 6,000 6,000
174 NINE'S FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL LATE Nine 34,000 15,000 7,000 11,000
222 BLUEPRINT RPT SBS TWO 16,000 7,000 5,000 2,000 2,000 1,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,394,000 395,000 391,000 264,000 162,000 182,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,345,000 351,000 393,000 274,000 146,000 180,000
3 20 TO 1 Nine 1,335,000 412,000 371,000 256,000 138,000 158,000
4 GETAWAY Nine 1,300,000 379,000 418,000 248,000 139,000 116,000
5 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,160,000 294,000 391,000 228,000 114,000 133,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,125,000 325,000 324,000 219,000 120,000 137,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,104,000 328,000 311,000 249,000 116,000 100,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,098,000 326,000 315,000 247,000 117,000 92,000
9 RUSH Ten 1,036,000 300,000 364,000 143,000 103,000 126,000
10 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,001,000 321,000 273,000 178,000 87,000 142,000
11 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 965,000 192,000 414,000 126,000 111,000 122,000
12 THE AMAZING RACE Seven 937,000 313,000 284,000 151,000 114,000 76,000
13 GARY UNMARRIED Seven 867,000 242,000 273,000 151,000 115,000 86,000
17 THE 7PM PROJECT Ten 776,000 245,000 222,000 162,000 73,000 73,000
18 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 753,000 218,000 223,000 139,000 91,000 82,000
20 BURN NOTICE Ten 714,000 210,000 214,000 116,000 100,000 74,000
23 HOT SEAT Nine 629,000 208,000 157,000 146,000 82,000 36,000
24 BLACK WAVE: THE LEGACY OF THE EXXON VALDEZ ABC1 610,000 168,000 179,000 105,000 64,000 93,000
25 TV BURP Seven 551,000 154,000 181,000 84,000 80,000 52,000
30 DOUBLE TAKE Seven 426,000 135,000 128,000 55,000 61,000 48,000
34 SUNRISE Seven 381,000 129,000 79,000 88,000 35,000 50,000
43 TODAY Nine 309,000 98,000 103,000 58,000 25,000 25,000
94 JUNKYARD WARS ABC2 126,000 34,000 21,000 11,000 33,000 26,000
101 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC2 104,000 28,000 30,000 11,000 18,000 17,000
102 THE LIBRARIANS ABC2 98,000 32,000 23,000 16,000 16,000 11,000
119 MOONLIGHT GO! 74,000 18,000 32,000 11,000 7,000 6,000
125 UFC WIRED ONE 65,000 13,000 19,000 7,000 10,000 16,000
130 GOSSIP GIRL GO! 62,000 6,000 22,000 20,000 8,000 6,000
155 TWO MEN IN A TRENCH RPT SBS TWO 41,000 8,000 2,000 1,000 6,000 23,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

The ratings race, updated 10 am Thursday
Channel Nine's initial excitement over the success of its new channel GO must now have faded away. Even on sci-fi night, with the wonderful Sarah Connor and Rupert Murdoch's wonderful niece in Fringe, GO fell behind ABC2. These were the prime time audience shares: SBSTWO 0.2 per cent; ONE 1.0; GO 1.8; ABC2 2.2; SBS 4.8; TEN 16.8; ABC 17.6; NIne 27.0; Seven 28.6.

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,551,000 422,000 436,000 298,000 177,000 218,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,390,000 377,000 373,000 294,000 146,000 200,000
3 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED Nine 1,348,000 334,000 451,000 304,000 128,000 133,000
4 MONEY FOR JAM Nine 1,324,000 335,000 454,000 289,000 123,000 123,000
5 WORLD'S STRICTEST PARENTS-UK Seven 1,307,000 403,000 321,000 274,000 144,000 165,000
6 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,233,000 401,000 334,000 236,000 115,000 147,000
23 LAW & ORDER: UK Ten 728,000 209,000 213,000 108,000 115,000 82,000
24 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 726,000 172,000 232,000 142,000 88,000 91,000
25 UNITED STATES OF TARA ABC1 717,000 244,000 228,000 102,000 71,000 73,000
32 THE 7PM PROJECT Ten 602,000 145,000 171,000 118,000 82,000 85,000
36 AT THE MOVIES ABC1 432,000 164,000 127,000 53,000 45,000 43,000
47 INSPECTOR REX RPT SBS ONE 277,000 72,000 100,000 39,000 28,000 40,000
81 JUNKYARD WARS ABC2 165,000 34,000 34,000 34,000 23,000 40,000
114 FRINGE GO! 84,000 27,000 37,000 0 19,000 1,000
116 TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES GO! 82,000 15,000 36,000 3,000 19,000 7,000
131 TEENS HOOKED ON PORN ABC2 61,000 21,000 12,000 14,000 8,000 6,000
144 POKER: LATIN AMERICAN TOUR ONE 52,000 6,000 25,000 7,000 5,000 9,000
234 SWEET MUD RPT SBS TWO 13,000 1,000 3,000 5,000 2,000 2,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Wednesday
So what did you make of The Wire? Will you come back to the mean streets of Baltimore next week?

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,943,000 587,000 590,000 326,000 198,000 242,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,587,000 439,000 412,000 314,000 170,000 252,000
3 TALKIN' 'BOUT YOUR GENERATION Ten 1,554,000 437,000 512,000 262,000 155,000 188,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,441,000 368,000 409,000 290,000 126,000 248,000
5 SURF PATROL Seven 1,354,000 352,000 390,000 276,000 151,000 184,000
6 AIR WAYS Seven 1,310,000 351,000 388,000 260,000 136,000 175,000
7 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,263,000 352,000 331,000 250,000 149,000 180,000
8 NINE NEWS Nine 1,239,000 355,000 368,000 252,000 139,000 125,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,179,000 322,000 376,000 241,000 125,000 115,000
10 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,175,000 359,000 353,000 166,000 144,000 153,000
84 THE WIRE ABC2 138,000 69,000 38,000 8,000 9,000 14,000
101 SURVIVOR: GABON GO! 98,000 14,000 24,000 24,000 15,000 22,000
120 THE BEAST ABC2 70,000 30,000 18,000 2,000 2,000 18,000
140 THE ELEGANT UNIVERSE RPT SBS TWO 48,000 11,000 6,000 14,000 5,000 12,000
167 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2009 RPT ONE 28,000 13,000 5,000 6,000 2,000 3,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,551,000 422,000 430,000 342,000 166,000 192,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,539,000 419,000 433,000 354,000 150,000 184,000
3 CITY HOMICIDE-MON Seven 1,388,000 397,000 446,000 219,000 141,000 186,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,265,000 353,000 418,000 248,000 130,000 117,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,241,000 363,000 351,000 265,000 133,000 129,000
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,199,000 280,000 427,000 218,000 101,000 173,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,195,000 306,000 393,000 264,000 123,000 110,000
8 BATTLE AT KRUGER PARK Seven 1,162,000 331,000 382,000 196,000 125,000 128,000
9 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,155,000 255,000 409,000 243,000 106,000 142,000
10 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,114,000 314,000 351,000 223,000 85,000 142,000
13 ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER? Ten 954,000 294,000 287,000 176,000 98,000 99,000
17 TOP GEAR SBS ONE 869,000 219,000 256,000 204,000 91,000 100,000
22 THE 7PM PROJECT Ten 763,000 198,000 238,000 167,000 70,000 90,000
23 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 752,000 216,000 242,000 148,000 75,000 71,000
25 HOT SEAT Nine 708,000 201,000 212,000 169,000 69,000 57,000
32 DEXTER Ten 460,000 101,000 156,000 67,000 69,000 66,000
71 FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS SBS ONE 179,000 50,000 56,000 40,000 20,000 14,000
83 ONE WEEK AT A TIME ONE 141,000 10,000 86,000 15,000 24,000 6,000
86 JUNKYARD WARS ABC2 132,000 35,000 27,000 29,000 23,000 18,000
92 SKINS SBS ONE 122,000 32,000 26,000 18,000 23,000 22,000
99 MR BEAN WITH ROWAN ATKINSON ABC2 108,000 35,000 30,000 14,000 18,000 12,000
117 DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER GO! 75,000 17,000 25,000 10,000 16,000 7,000

(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,686,000 438,000 506,000 336,000 166,000 240,000
2 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC1 1,484,000 443,000 464,000 227,000 178,000 172,000
3 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,390,000 415,000 413,000 289,000 165,000 108,000
4 DANCING WITH THE STARS 9 Seven 1,353,000 418,000 367,000 283,000 123,000 163,000
5 ABC NEWS UP-DATE ABC1 1,252,000 404,000 389,000 154,000 159,000 146,000
6 DOMESTIC BLITZ Nine 1,246,000 321,000 363,000 258,000 143,000 162,000
7 STEPHEN FRY IN AMERICA ABC1 1,211,000 378,000 339,000 208,000 148,000 137,000
8 60 MINUTES Nine 1,115,000 293,000 352,000 224,000 106,000 140,000
9 BONES Seven 1,088,000 276,000 337,000 189,000 129,000 157,000
10 AUSTRALIAN IDOL - WILDCARD Ten 992,000 287,000 301,000 172,000 105,000 127,000
12 RESCUE SPECIAL OPS Nine 906,000 291,000 244,000 188,000 92,000 91,000
13 ROVE Ten 784,000 192,000 268,000 138,000 102,000 84,000
17 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 22: MELBOURNE VS ST KILDA Seven 542,000 47,000 292,000 37,000 87,000 79,000
23 NINE'S SUNDAY FOOTBALL Nine 393,000 256,000 137,000
32 WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? SBS ONE 239,000 72,000 80,000 29,000 29,000 30,000
42 WIPEOUT GO! 224,000 43,000 74,000 48,000 31,000 28,000
48 AFL GAME DAY Seven 206,000 127,000 46,000 32,000
57 THE BIG BANG THEORY -RPT GO! 177,000 51,000 47,000 32,000 19,000 27,000
65 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2009 ONE 147,000 42,000 31,000 26,000 27,000 21,000
103 HORNBLOWER ABC2 66,000 30,000 15,000 4,000 6,000 11,000

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

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 02:21 AM
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