As non-ratings season plagues TV, it’s a good time to catch up on the Wheeler Centre’s biggest videos of 2010.
5) Just before the Federal election we featured a little known Greens candidate talking about the failure of the two-party system. Adam Bandt proved to be right with the hung parliament results, but also as he became the first Australian Green in the House of Representatives in Julia’s “new paradigm”.
4) Prior to the election, Kevin Rudd went from being a popularly elected leader to a party pariah ousted by his deputy. As the electorate tried to make sense of the sudden switch, David Marr’s Quarterly Essay Power Trip: The Political Journey of Kevin Rudd became our fourth most watched video. It seemed that even Marr was shocked by how “the strongest Labor leader for about half a century” could fall from grace.
3) In June, we hosted the Alfred Deakin Lectures, a series of public discussions which in 2010 focussed on the subject that cost Kevin Rudd so much political capital: climate change. The series opened with an inspired address as Professor Tim Flannery called for innovation in a changing climate, which became our third most watched video.
2) At number 2 is the surprise address at the Deakins from Tim Jackson, author of the groundbreaking report Prosperity Without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet. In essence, Jackson questioned economic growth as the most important driver for our civilisation.
1) If you thought it was all serious this year then at number 1 we have Bret Easton Ellis in conversation with Alan Brough. Easton Ellis inspired rock star mania during his Melbourne visit, and started the night confused by his own popularity and what people wanted from him. But once he got rolling he told us why American Psycho is a great Father’s Day gift, and how he pranked Vanity Fair with Judd Nelson. It even created its own cult figure: the Educator, who made question time more fun for everyone.
We’ll be back in January next year with a brand new programme, but until then - happy viewing.