Wow… what a year. The sky-touching heights. The earth-shattering lows. The oh-so-creamy middles. Looking through this list of 2010’s best performers is an interesting journey through this year’s history (including the things some of us would like to forget) and highlights some interesting disparity for some shows that may have had money thrown at them and didn’t feature as highly as they should have (yes, I’m talking about you, The X Factor – 61st is not worth $25m).
This is anything but an exact science (DISCLAIMER: Survey Year: Weeks 7-48: Minimum three episodes. Total Individuals. Consolidated 7 February – 19 November and Overnight 20 – 27 November 2010). As soon as I get the list of the Top 100 individual shows (remember the 4+m of the MasterChef finale?), I’ll drop them up here also. Until then, enjoy!…
| Top 100 Programmes | |||
| Audience | |||
| 1 | PACKED TO THE RAFTERS | Seven | 2,040,938 |
| 2 | MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA | Ten | 1,934,302 |
| 3 | MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA – CHALLENGE | Ten | 1,856,560 |
| 4 | UNDERBELLY: THE GOLDEN MILE | Nine | 1,739,621 |
| 5 | GRUEN NATION | ABC1 | 1,616,205 |
| 6 | AUSTRALIA’S GOT TALENT | Seven | 1,615,406 |
| 7 | SEVEN NEWS – SUNDAY | Seven | 1,553,971 |
| 8 | MIDSOMER MURDERS | ABC1 | 1,496,868 |
| 9 | JUNIOR MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA – SUNDAY | Ten | 1,496,394 |
| 10 | MODERN FAMILY | Ten | 1,479,382 |
| 11 | DOC MARTIN | ABC1 | 1,475,582 |
| 12 | NCIS | Ten | 1,460,765 |
| 13 | GLEE | Ten | 1,448,435 |
| 14 | MY KITCHEN RULES – TUESDAY | Seven | 1,426,711 |
| 15 | WORLD’S STRICTEST PARENTS | Seven | 1,419,764 |
| 16 | AIR WAYS | Seven | 1,414,073 |
| 17 | THE GRUEN TRANSFER | ABC1 | 1,411,289 |
| 18 | BORDER SECURITY | Seven | 1,408,398 |
| 19 | TWO AND A HALF MEN | Nine | 1,407,218 |
| 20 | NINE NEWS – SUNDAY | Nine | 1,404,434 |
| 21 | THE FORCE – WEDNESDAY | Seven | 1,395,652 |
| 22 | SEVEN NEWS – MONDAY-FRIDAY | Seven | 1,395,558 |
| 23 | MY KITCHEN RULES – MONDAY | Seven | 1,387,403 |
| 24 | DANCING WITH THE STARS | Seven | 1,385,367 |
| 25 | YES WE CANBERRA! | ABC1 | 1,382,999 |
| 26 | BORDER SECURITY – WEDNESDAY | Seven | 1,371,616 |
| 27 | BONES | Seven | 1,346,882 |
| 28 | THE PACIFIC | Seven | 1,345,636 |
| 29 | TODAY TONIGHT | Seven | 1,338,174 |
| 30 | THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE | Nine | 1,318,887 |
| 31 | TOP GEAR AUSTRALIA | Nine | 1,308,416 |
| 32 | TWO AND A HALF MEN – MONDAY EPISODE 1 | Nine | 1,306,439 |
| 33 | MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA – MASTERCLASS | Ten | 1,298,149 |
| 34 | SEVEN NEWS – SATURDAY | Seven | 1,296,566 |
| 35 | NEW TRICKS | ABC1 | 1,289,297 |
| 36 | GLEE – WEDNESDAY | Ten | 1,286,571 |
| 37 | JUNIOR MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA – MONDAY | Ten | 1,273,483 |
| 38 | TALKIN’ ‘BOUT YOUR GENERATION – TUESDAY | Ten | 1,252,224 |
| 39 | THE MENTALIST | Nine | 1,250,595 |
| 40 | TOP GEAR | Nine | 1,246,980 |
| 41 | UNDERCOVER BOSS | Ten | 1,241,962 |
| 42 | TALKIN’ ‘BOUT YOUR GENERATION | Ten | 1,240,188 |
| 43 | UNDERCOVER BOSS AUSTRALIA | Ten | 1,237,525 |
| 44 | CRIMINAL MINDS | Seven | 1,234,318 |
| 45 | SUNDAY NIGHT | Seven | 1,231,175 |
| 46 | SHERLOCK | Nine | 1,231,150 |
| 47 | THE BIG BANG THEORY | Nine | 1,230,387 |
| 48 | THE BLOCK | Nine | 1,229,050 |
| 49 | NINE NEWS – MONDAY-FRIDAY | Nine | 1,222,973 |
| 50 | MINUTE TO WIN IT | Seven | 1,220,230 |
| 51 | THE FORCE | Seven | 1,217,005 |
| 52 | CUSTOMS | Nine | 1,206,698 |
| 53 | SPICKS AND SPECKS | ABC1 | 1,197,341 |
| 54 | CRIMINAL MINDS – MONDAY | Seven | 1,192,096 |
| 55 | RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE | Seven | 1,189,674 |
| 56 | SEA PATROL | Nine | 1,180,466 |
| 57 | THE PACIFIC – EPISODE 2 | Seven | 1,179,926 |
| 58 | 60 MINUTES | Nine | 1,177,141 |
| 59 | BORDER SECURITY – REPEAT EPISODES | Seven | 1,175,884 |
| 60 | BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS | Seven | 1,173,952 |
| 61 | THE X FACTOR – SUNDAY | Seven | 1,172,699 |
| 62 | TWO AND A HALF MEN – MONDAY | Nine | 1,170,867 |
| 63 | THE X FACTOR – MONDAY | Seven | 1,160,074 |
| 64 | SEND IN THE DOGS | Nine | 1,152,605 |
| 65 | HOT PROPERTY | Nine | 1,152,537 |
| 66 | ISLANDS OF BRITAIN | Seven | 1,144,885 |
| 67 | A CURRENT AFFAIR | Nine | 1,143,755 |
| 68 | MODERN FAMILY – SUNDAY | Ten | 1,129,615 |
| 69 | TWO AND A HALF MEN –WEDNESDAY | Nine | 1,124,211 |
| 70 | TWO AND A HALF MEN – MONDAY EPISODE 2 | Nine | 1,123,831 |
| 71 | BEAUTY AND THE GEEK AUSTRALIA | Seven | 1,121,998 |
| 72 | FOUR WEDDINGS – TUESDAY | Seven | 1,114,267 |
| 73 | GREY’S ANATOMY | Seven | 1,112,642 |
| 74 | TWO AND A HALF MEN – EPISODE 1 | Nine | 1,107,164 |
| 75 | BONDI RESCUE | Ten | 1,106,331 |
| 76 | THE GOOD WIFE | Ten | 1,105,995 |
| 77 | OFFSPRING | Ten | 1,071,104 |
| 78 | BONDI VET | Ten | 1,066,670 |
| 79 | RBT | Nine | 1,065,132 |
| 80 | AGATHA CHRISTIE’S POIROT | ABC1 | 1,064,101 |
| 81 | DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES | Seven | 1,064,053 |
| 82 | JAMIE OLIVER’S FOOD REVOLUTION | Ten | 1,056,729 |
| 83 | NCIS – REPEAT EPISODES | Ten | 1,048,717 |
| 84 | TOP GEAR – SPECIAL | Nine | 1,046,569 |
| 85 | NINE NEWS – SATURDAY | Nine | 1,044,919 |
| 86 | MERLIN | Ten | 1,037,691 |
| 87 | CASTLE | Seven | 1,034,564 |
| 88 | RESCUE SPECIAL OPS | Nine | 1,032,187 |
| 89 | CITY HOMICIDE | Seven | 1,031,343 |
| 90 | FOYLE’S WAR-EV | ABC1 | 1,030,391 |
| 91 | RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE – MONDAY | Seven | 1,028,999 |
| 92 | LIE TO ME | Ten | 1,026,702 |
| 93 | DOCTOR WHO | ABC1 | 1,024,763 |
| 94 | THE BIG BANG THEORY –REPEAT EPISODES | Nine | 1,022,269 |
| 95 | HOME AND AWAY | Seven | 1,020,177 |
| 96 | ABC NEWS – MONDAY-FRIDAY | ABC1 | 1,016,448 |
| 97 | CRASH INVESTIGATION UNIT | Seven | 1,015,061 |
| 98 | TWO AND A HALF MEN – DAILY | Nine | 1,014,661 |
| 99 | DOC MARTIN – REPEAT EPISODES | ABC1 | 1,006,423 |
| 100 | NCIS: LOS ANGELES | Ten | 1,005,504 |
MasterChef, Junior MasterChef & Modern Family lead the charge for Channel 10 – and rightly so. The first two proving that reality television can be done right and not be a car accident; the latter a comedic gem allowing us to laugh at the ludicrous in our own relationships (and I just want to be Cam & Mitch’s bffs).
The ABC scored with Gruen Nation, a supremely brilliant punctuation to this year’s federal election (and it showed that John Hewson has a wonderful sense of humour). The Gruen Transfer showed our taste for understanding that which we are shoveled every 12 minutes in the hour has not abated. Also Doc Martin… well, I guess so.
It’s amazing what a death in the family will do… Packed To The Rafters ends the year on top for Channel 7. A strong second season ensuring that drama is not dead across all the networks (just more alive for some than others). 2010 winners of Australia’s Got Talent Justice Crew have… become recording stars, which is an interesting move for a dance troupe, but they are certainly working hard. Having the leading News program has to be a great notch in their belt.
Underbelly:The Golden Mile as the only Top10 entry for Channel 9 is a shame. They have had more than their fair share of shyte this year, but they’ve also had some great other successes with Top Gear Australia, Farmer Wants A Wife & Two and a Half Men (shudder). That said – where’s Hey Hey It’s Saturday in the list? Hmm…
My highlights for the year: a tie for Masterchef (both versions), Glee & Sherlock. I look forward to each of these returning in 2011.
What were your highlights and lowlights for 2010?