Binge-watching: Netflix shows and TV sports dominate. A US politician breaks into the top 10.
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In the rain, in the streets, you're amazed by all the things that you see. And then you pick up the phone to look for what shows up in whatever you're binge-watching, as noticed by this week with a lot of entries regarding Netflix content, with real events regarding murder (#1) and fraud (#2, #4), and fictional events regarding sex, obsession and even more murder, along with a prestige movie that scored high in the Academy Award nominations. The Oscars somehow only brought in the subject of a nominated short, not counting Freddie Mercury (#8), whose biopic somehow is up for Best Picture. Sports are also very present, with three tennis players, three entries in anticipation for the Super Bowl (#5, #9), a disappeared footballer (#6) and another who changed clubs. Otherwise, two politics entries (#3), holidays on both the US (#10) and India, a hit movie (#7), a band on TV, and of course, the recently deceased.
So, why don't you hang up, won't you back up, pack up and head for higher ground. For the week of January 20 to 26, 2019, the 10 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:
| Rank | Article | Class | Views | Image | About | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ted Bundy | 
|
2,514,987 |  |
This infamous serial killer (just reading the lead on his article is a chilling experience) is the subject of Netflix docuseries Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, and also had a movie about him, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile – where Bundy is portrayed by Zac Efron – premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. | |||
| 2 | Fyre Festival | 
|
2,040,682 |  |
Both Netflix and Hulu released documentaries on how a would–be music event instead became one hell of a fascinating trainwreck – long story short, the idiots in charge (#4) put more effort at marketing the thing than ensuring there was something for the attendees. | |||
| 3 | Kamala Harris | 
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1,565,817 | .jpg) |
The Democractic Party has one more woman intending to run for president in 2020, namely this Californian senator. | |||
| 4 | Billy McFarland (entrepreneur) |
|
1,479,433 | .jpg) |
Enter the page, and right away there is the message "It has been requested that the title of this article be changed to Billy McFarland (fraudster)." This shows how much of a scam the Fyre Festival (#2) planned by McFarland became. | |||
| 5 | Tom Brady |
|
1,205,325 |  |
By guaranteeing his ninth appearance in the NFL championship game, Mr. Gisele Bündchen can by himself replace his team in the table here. One more reason why he's called the gridiron GOAT. | |||
| 6 | Emiliano Sala | 
|
1,163,536 |  |
The plane of this Argentinian footballer vanished atop the English Channel, and following inconclusive searches, the French and British governments gave up on finding the aircraft or survivors, though a privately-funded expedition started afterwards. | |||
| 7 | Glass (2019 film) |
|
1,017,196 | .jpg) |
19 years after the superhero movie where Bruce Willis was unbreakable and two after James McAvoy was the supervillain with split personalities, writer\director M. Night Shyamalan (pictured) closes a trilogy, with both being used by Samuel L. Jackson's schemer with glass bones. Critics haven't responded well (in my opinion, it's passable but a bit underwhelming), but audiences didn't care: Glass topped the US box office for two weeks, and it has already made its $20 million budget eight times over worldwide. | |||
| 8 | Freddie Mercury |
|
1,015,005 |  |
Sixteen reports straight with the late, great Queen frontman whose biopic has become an awards contender (including a Best Picture nomination, to the surprise of many). About this impressive run, let's sing:
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| 9 | Patrick Mahomes |
|
945,191 |  |
For all his heroics during the regular season and the previous game of the playoffs, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback fell short on the AFC Finals, losing in overtime to the New England Patriots of Tom Brady (#5). | |||
| 10 | Martin Luther King, Jr. |
|
936,572 |  |
January 15th could've been the 90th birthday of this minister and civil rights spokesperson. Instead, it's the holiday homaging him, as, in the words of some guy named Paul:
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Nearly half the entries from last report return here. This includes the serial killer who again tops the list, this time joining the select few who had 5 million weekly views (that's the power of a Netflix show!), and somehow isn't even the only murderer on the report, as another who was the subject of a TV episode enters at #24. Other returns are the subjects of Fyre (#3, #6), Bohemian Rhapsody (#5), The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (#7), Get Me Roger Stone and Super Bowl LIII, box office hit Glass, a Senator running for President (#4) – not the only one with White House plans here, mind you – and that never-leaving death list (#9), along with someone who might soon enter it, the victim of a plane accident. Adequate to the bleak #1, there are some somber subjects, such as hate crimes (#8), racist incidents, a movie about assassins, and a recent death. But on happier notes, there's wrestling (#2), tennis (#10), TV musicals, Bollywood, Hollywood, video games and a Google Doodle.
For the week of January 27 to February 2, 2019, the 10 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:
| Rank | Article | Class | Views | Image | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ted Bundy |
|
5,179,244 | |
Along with being on Netflix with docuseries Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, this infamous serial killer had a movie about him, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile, premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. Bundy used his good looks – the movie even has him played by Zac Efron – to lure women into deadly and downright disturbing situations (just read the lead on his article, that as a good indicator of Bundy's screwed up behavior, describes him as "necrophile"). So seeing female viewers describe a rapist murderer as "hot" understandably led the streaming service to call out on such comments. |
| 2 | Royal Rumble (2019) |
|
1,881,283 |  |
WWE's latest pantomime, held in a baseball park and featuring male and female versions of the namesake match featuring 30 fighters – both these matches were won by men, 'The Rumble Slayer' Seth Rollins and 'The Man' Becky Lynch (pictured). |
| 3 | Fyre Festival |
|
1,447,298 |  |
Both Netflix and Hulu released documentaries on how this would-be music event in the Bahamas became a fascinating trainwreck: the ads sold a paradise full of models with top-notch service, while the incompetents in charge (#6) instead only provided a rocky beach where attendees felt like hurricane survivors, complete with disaster relief tents. |
| 4 | Kamala Harris |
|
1,352,141 | |
With this Californian senator announcing a campaign to run for president, the Democrats now have four possible women hoping they can get nominated like Hillary. |
| 5 | Freddie Mercury |
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1,015,005 | .jpg) |
"Oh, but I still get my pleasure, still got my greatest treasure!" After all, Bohemian Rhapsody is the 70th highest grossing movie ever, and Rami Malek keeps on winning awards for his portrayal of the king of Queen. |
| 6 | Billy McFarland (entrepreneur) |
|
922,479 | |
Actually, the article name is now "Billy McFarland (fraudster)",[1] given McFarland's business endeavours are irrelevant compared to how he's in prison for the scam that was the Fyre Festival (#3). |
| 7 | Andrew Cunanan |
|
838,286 |  |
One of the new titles on Netflix's library is The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, one year after its original airing. Binge watchers decided to discover more on both victim and perpetrator, with more views for the latter, who killed four other people and later shot himself, and is portrayed in said show by Darren Criss (pictured). |
| 8 | Jussie Smollett |
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712,587 | .jpg) |
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| 9 | Deaths in 2019 | 
|
699,407 |  |
The lives we make Never seem to ever get us anywhere but dead |
| 10 | Novak Djokovic |
|
693,477 | _(38823778745)_(cropped).jpg) |
Another record was set by the current tennis #1, who by beating rival Rafael Nadal (who missed the list at #26) became the biggest winner ever of the Australian Open with seven titles. |
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American football's popularity leads to another Super Bowl week report where the big game dominates, with 12 entries. And yet like last year #1 is unrelated: while rapper 21 Savage is from the same Atlanta where the NFL final happened, he instead topped the report because ICE arrested him for possible deportation. Other than plenty of entries returning from our last list, there's a young politician on the spotlight, two Google Doodles, and two actor deaths.
For the week of February 3 to 9, 2019, the 10 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:
| Rank | Article | Class | Views | Image | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 Savage |
|
3,268,645 |  |
Rappers getting in trouble with the law is nothing new. But it usually isn't for illegal immigration claims like the one faced by Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, who turned out to be British with a possibly expired visa. Threats of deportation ensued. |
| 2 | Tom Brady |
|
2,383,494 |  |
Nine Super Bowls, and on the one held on February 3rd, Brady got his sixth title at the age of 41. He easily surpassed idol Joe Montana as the greatest gridiron player ever, and is married to a supermodel (who missed the list at #26) to boot. There's nothing left for him to do, so why doesn't Brady retire?! |
| 3 | Ted Bundy |
|
1,812,605 |  |
Only four letters are different between "Tom Brady" and "Ted Bundy", but the latter is a much more despicable person: Bundy slaughtered at least 30 women, and either violated the corpses or kept parts of them as souvenirs. Interviews with him are available on Netflix, and a biopic saw its trailer drop after a festival premiere. |
| 4 | Julian Edelman |
|
1,611,110 | .jpg) |
In spite of a threat to miss the 2018 season due to a doping claim, the Patriots wide receiver got his third Super Bowl ring, and was named the game's MVP, no less. |
| 5 | Adam Levine |
|
1,197,017 |  |
The Super Bowl's half-time show was done by Maroon 5, whose frontman is easily becoming more famous with things such as being a judge on The Voice. |
| 6 | Super Bowl LIII |
|
1,135,664 |  |
I'm no fan of American football. And yet the 53rd Super Bowl managed to be even worse than I expected, with the teams rarely scoring, and the boring outcome where the already victorious enough New England Patriots tied the Pittsburgh Steelers as the biggest champions with six titles. |
| 7 | List of Super Bowl champions | 
|
1,125,020 | .jpg) | |
| 8 | Emiliano Sala |
|
1,107,974 | |
Actual football, for a change! Only for a tragedy, as two weeks after the plane in which this Argentinian travelled disappeared, his body was found at the bottom of the English Channel. All the big clubs paid their respects. |
| 9 | Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge |
|
879,080 |  |
Google homaged the 225th birthday of the German chemist who identified caffeine, that stimulant who many people can't start their days without. |
| 10 | Freddie Mercury |
|
858,616 |  |
"We Are the Champions" , written by the ever-popular Queen frontman, is unescapable after sporting events. And sure, seemingly every Spotify account in New England started playing it after the Super Bowl, and even the Boston police got along. |
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This was not the most fun report of all time to compile for me on a personal note, given how heavily laden it is with topics that I am not remotely intrigued by – specifically, its focus on the superficial and cynical "love" propagated by the purveyors of gift cards and boxed chocolates, and its fascination with the Grammys, which I feel is the least interesting of the EGOT quartet. I am reluctant to say that music is dead, but a quick glance at the most popular artists with the regal readers of Wikipedia does little to dispel this sentiment. Nonetheless, courtesy of Google and Gunnm, there are some welcome distractions. All I can really say, truthfully, is that this is Report. Don't catch your attention slippin' now.
Thus, for the week of February 10 to 16, 2019, the 10 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:
| Rank | Article | Class | Views | Image | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valentine's Day |
|
1,415,624 |  |
I can dim the lights and sing you songs full of sad things. We can do the tango just for two. I can serenade and gently play on your heart-strings. Be a Valentino just for you. Ooh love, ooh loverboy, What're doing tonight, hey boy. Set my alarm, turn on my charm. That's because I'm a good old-fashioned lover boy. |
| 2 | Freddie Mercury |
|
1,414,310 |  | |
| 3 | Alliance of American Football |
|
1,396,098 |  |
Are you sad that the gridiron season has come to an end? Do you miss the presence of the Gronks and Gurleys of the world every Sunday? Do you wish that there was a truncated version of the sport? Do you think that having inferior players will improve the quality of the game (if it can get worse)? Do wonder where all of those Browns' draft picks wound up? If so, then I have the answer you – a brand new league, here to stay... After a stay of execution, that is. |
| 4 | Ted Bundy |
|
1,155,963 |  |
A two-pronged offensive from Joe Berlinger has seen the most infamous non-astrological serial killer in US history returned firmly to the public zeitgeist – first, there was the seemingly obligatory Netflix series, sending a Bundy Bunch of binge-watchers to the no longer BLP to investigate the malevolent man in greater detail. Then, there is the continuing furore surrounding Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile, where cinemagoers will see Troy Bolton play the heinous criminal, where he will presumably get their heads off the court. |
| 5 | Dolly Parton |
|
964,290 |  |
The most successful theme park enthusiast to not have an alleged affinity for the Nazis, Dolly Parton has worked incredibly hard on a regular schedule to forge a monumentally successful career in country music, a career which was touchingly commemorated at the Grammys by a cascading cornucopia of stars. This evidently reminded the denizens of the Internet about the Jolene singer, who remained in the news throughout the week with murmurs of an upcoming Netflix series, all of which combined to propel Parton to a lofty perch in the report. |
| 6 | Cardi B | (Okurrrr?) |
859,087 |  |
A stalwart of the report for sometime now, the continued mainstream prominence of the apian artist serves as testament to her victory in the great female rap war of the 2010's over her serpentine belligerent. Cardi B had another characteristically busy week, appearing in trademark style at the Grammys and releasing another finessed hit with music resident Jackson regen. Having placed at #11 in last year's report, early signs indicate that the swarm of interest surrounding the (other) Queen B will not dissipate any time soon. |
| 7 | Grammy Award records |
|
719,515 |  |
Following the most recent iteration of the awards, a whole swarm of aural aficionados ventured to Wikipedia to see how Childish Gambino fared amongst the all-time greats. My major takeaway from the list however, was just to reaffirm my dislike of the Grammys – U2 have won 22 Grammys, and only two of them were for their best album, while they got eight for dismantling their distinctive, interesting sound. There may be a solid and accurate award show for musicians, but I still haven't found it. |
| 8 | Deaths in 2019 |
|
718,993 |  |
Once again, try as we might to distort the will of Darwinism, people continue to die, and we can do nothing to save them. Although, given the most prominent loss of the last week, it seems likely no one can. |
| 9 | Alita: Battle Angel |
|
714,885 |  |
Having actually gone to the cinema to see the latest Hollywood attempt at an anime adaptation, I can gladly attest to the splendour of the special effects, where the influence of producer James Cameron is very clearly felt – not since the journey to Pandora have I been so impressed at the multiplex. Sure, the film is somewhat devoid of a satisfying conclusion, and is laden with the usual grab bag of plot contrivances, but for a movie that appeared to be an impending, immense implosion of unintelligible nonsense, it is surprisingly adept. |
| 10 | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez |
|
689,545 |  |
Political reform is great and all, but unless your AOC can hit one, then I am not really interested. |
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It's a bit of a slow week, to the point the last entries couldn't even break 400,000 views. And the subjects that got the most views are the usual offenders: the recently deceased, the latest Hollywood and Bollywood hits, the latest things people are binging on Netflix, wrestling events, politics, Google, Reddit... plus, expectations for the Academy Awards that will dominate next week's Report, some people getting arrested, and a terrorist attack.
For the week of February 17 to 23, 2019, the 10 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:
| Rank | Article | Class | Views | Image | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karl Lagerfeld |
|
2,498,583 |  |
The German creative director who made a name for himself in big fashion houses of both France and Italy died at the age of 85 of a pancreatic cancer. |
| 2 | The Umbrella Academy (TV series) |
|
1,978,854 | .jpg) |
Netflix has a new superhero sensation, but drawing from Dark Horse Comics (#5) instead of the big two. Ellen Page is one of seven gifted people who once studied together under the wing of an eccentric billionaire, and eventually start to uncover (and possibly prevent?) an apocalyptic plot. |
| 3 | Freddie Mercury |
|
1,842,284 | .jpg) |
One of the few men whose biopic could have box office comparable to a superhero movie ($860 million worldwide!) and even get Oscar nominations. No time for losers, as Farrokh Bulsara is undeniably the champion. |
| 4 | Jussie Smollett |
|
1,682,857 |  |
A few weeks ago, this actor was seemingly a victim of a hate crime, which would be shameful for the country. Instead, he allegedly forged a hate crime as a publicity stunt to further his career, leading Smollett to get arrested, which is probably even more shameful, but only for himself. |
| 5 | The Umbrella Academy |
|
1,622,346 |  |
My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way collaborated with Brazilian penciller Gabriel Bá (both pictured) to create this comic, now adapted as a Netflix series (#2). |
| 6 | Steve Irwin |
|
1,579,247 |  |
Google homaged the birthday of The Crocodile Hunter, who for all his courage in dealing with dangerous reptiles, sadly died 13 years ago attacked by a fish which usually isn't lethal, the stingray. |
| 7 | Robert Kraft |
|
918,875 | |
After many Super Bowl rings, the owner of the New England Patriots tried to get involved with a prostitution ring in Florida and is now facing an arrest threat. |
| 8 | List of The Umbrella Academy characters |
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837,600 | .jpg) |
See #2, #5. And since it's hard to avoid it:
When the sun shine, we shine together, told you I'll be here forever |
| 9 | Deaths in 2019 |
|
763,259 | |
Better honor the deceased with the artist I already quoted:
But now it's time to go, curtain's finally closing |
| 10 | Elimination Chamber (2019) |
|
710,100 |  |
The latest edition of a WWE pantomime, where the main event has the ring surrounded by a tent-like cage. |
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