DIGITAL FOCUS
US threatens cultural coup
It comes to something when Chelsea and Essex represent the UK’s cultural bulwarks, but heroically they were in the vanguard this week against a US monopoly of the top digital programmes.
Viewers tune in for history
These days, it is alarmingly easy to feel like some kind of ante-diluvian figure merely by having a laptop that’s three years old. BBC4 could have been referring to 2010 with its 2,000-year-old computer.
5 USA feels Justified
5USA will be chuffed with its Justified, while Russell is back, The Bridge rumbles on and Celebrity Juice squirts its last - for now.
Cashing in on 2 Broke Girls
I’d like to think that one of the characters in The Big Bang Theory would be able to work out the correct number of times to show a promo for a new series.
Self and the self-publicists
Without a synapse or two snapping, it’s hard to imagine Will Self wandering in to Essex’s jaunty TV world, but it would be a sight to behold. Instead we have to content ourselves with them both being represented on TV in the same week.
Ad men miss their target
Over the years, Oxford saw more than its fair share of murders, but spare a thought for Sicily; it’s just as bad there, as BBC4 points out, with subtitles. Elsewhere, the dragons and dungeons in made-up worlds returned, apparently infinitely more palatable than advertising execs.
Low-key start for Mad Men
Acclaimed US drama launches on Sky Atlantic with a fraction of its BBC4 figures
A nice Touch for Sky 1
“Don’t touch that” was something I was told a lot as a child, but I didn’t listen (as the time I put my finger in a socket at college proved). Sky 1 launched a Touch of its own this week, Yesterday celebrated the jet set, while BBC3 turned sportsmen into stand-up comedians.
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Alcatraz locks in thriller fans
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Gently does it for BBC4’s Dirk
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Bowled over by a BBC4 doc
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ITV2 can’t do without Kyle
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The force is with Stella
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ITV2’s Juices really flowing
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Sunday night gets spooky
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Docs doc and Essex appeal
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5* rating for Celebrity BB
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Audience hail BBC4’s Kings
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BBC4 viewers enjoy a Danish
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EastEnders success fails to translate to BBC3
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Scousewives cleans up
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Café serves up a treat for Sky
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Double Killing boosts BBC2
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Celebrity Juice tops US rivals
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Strong week for stalwarts
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When Misfits met TOWIE
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Genius choice for Sky’s Idiot
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Potty figures for BBC4
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No escaping spray tan fans
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A bright start for The Fades
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ITV2 smothers competition
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Torres stinker puts Sky top
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BBC4’s Day to celebrate
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Windows of opportunity
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BBC4 living la dolce vita
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Nation tunes in to news channels
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Trollied debut is wobble-free
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Dynamo’s the one to Watch
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Conjuring up fans of magic
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ITV4 on the right track
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Rise of FX’s Falling Skies
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Channels roll out the bling
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BBC hits right note at Glasto
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Isle of Wight's alright for Sky
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EastEnders we presume
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MTV discovers new shores
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BBC4 finds the right route
Explore Ratings
OVERNIGHTS
House beaten by Glee on Sky1
THURSDAY: The last ever episode of House attracted fewer viewers than the last episode of the current series of Glee on Sky1, which managed to draw in the channel’s biggest audience of the day.
RATINGS ANALYSIS
History lessons all round
A 48-year-old series beats a stately home doc and 6.5 million watch Germany lose on penalties.
CHANNEL OVERVIEW
C4 hoarding beats crash
A BBC2 documentary about Facebook and Channel 4’s hoarder series feature in this week’s overview of ratings.
