Death, War, Pestilence... Movies and TV: Ebola, movies and television articles appear in this week's top ten.
The first transmissions of the Ebola virus in the United States sent the numbers spiralling to near-record levels, but not even War (which just missed the list at #12) or Death (who re-entered the top 10) let alone Pestilence, could distract the human race from what really mattered: the fall TV and movie seasons. 4 of the top 10 (and 10 of the top 25) articles this week concerned currently running films or television shows, numbers that are sure to increase as the year draws to a close.
For the full top 25 list, see WP:TOP25. See this section for an explanation of any exclusions.
As prepared by Serendipodous, for the week of October 12 to 17, 2014, the 10 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the report of the most viewed pages, were:
| Rank | Article | Class | Views | Image | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ebola virus disease | 
|
8,267,784 |  |
Thanks to the ongoing and unprecedented outbreak in West Africa, this notoriously fatal disease has topped the list for three weeks running. This week, however, the first two confirmed transmissions on US soil occurred within days of each other, causing numbers to nearly double.
Note: includes views from the Ebola redirect page. |
| 2 | The Walking Dead (TV series) | 
|
922,674 |  |
The show's fifth season premièred on 12 October. |
| 3 | Ebola virus | 
|
908,196 | |
See #1. |
| 4 |
|
864,835 | .JPG) |
A perennially popular article. | |
| 5 | American Horror Story: Freak Show |
|
789,206 |  |
The fourth season of the American Horror Story series debuted on 8 October. |
| 6 | Gotham (TV series) | 
|
778,351 |  |
This televisual reboot of the Batman franchise debuted on 22 September 2014, and has remained in the top 10 for three out of the last four weeks. |
| 7 | Gone Girl (film) |
|
683,924 | .jpg) |
This 2014 American mystery film starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike (both pictured at left) and directed by David Fincher has been the lucky recipient of a dose of controversy, with many feminists decrying it for perpetuating myths about rape accusation. The filmmakers are pleading innocent all the way to the bank, with the movie earning $170 million worldwide in its first 15 days. |
| 8 | Elizabeth Peña |
|
664,389 |  |
This accomplished Cuban-American actress, best known for her films in the late 80s/early 90s such as *batteries not included, La Bamba and Jacob's Ladder, died this week at the age of 55. |
| 9 | Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa |
|
592,426 | |
The worst epidemic of this hideous virus in history has so far killed nearly 5000 people and infected nearly 10,000, and shows no signs of slowing. The world is belatedly waking to the implications, particularly since the disease has now spread to the US. |
| 10 | Deaths in 2014 | 
|
549,853 |  |
The list of deaths in the current year is always a popular article. |
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