News

When it comes to television news, Canadians turn to ... Jon Stewart.

It seems that nothing gets us more worked up than a mention on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, with the possible exception of a similar mention on The Colbert Report. Therefore it should come as no surprise when Stewart looked north and opened Monday's episode with about 10 minutes dedicated to the Canadian parliamentary crisis, it generated a lot of buzz across the country.

At globeandmail.com, the clip from The Daily Show drew a tremendous amount of page views, as people seemingly couldn't get enough of the comedian's skewering of our political crisis. To be honest, the jokes were tired and rehashed (enough with the Canadian bacon, we get it. It's different.) The video garnered 59,000 views, making it the most watched video posted on globeandmail.com in 2008.

It seems that after the stress and drama of two weeks of political uncertainty on Parliament Hill, there was a definite desire for a little levity.

Following are the top 10 most viewed videos from globeandmail.com for the week ending Dec. 12 at noon ET

1. Jon Stewart's take on Canadian politics (The Canadian Press) 59,388 page views.

Stewart pokes fun at the recent parliamentary crisis that threatened to topple the Harper government. The comedian expressed mock shock that the sitting Prime Minister could have been dumped in non-confidence vote. No need to explain the workings of a minority government within the parliamentary system to Stewart, it would have ruined the joke.

2. Ignatieff's challenge to Harper (The Canadian Press) 8,950 page views

A late entry to the list. Newly acclaimed Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff held his first press conference Thursday after he assumed the mantle of Great Grit hope. Stephane Dion's abrupt departure and the subsequent soap opera surrounding Bob Rae's attempts to wage the leadership fight he coveted seemed to pass from memory surprisingly fast as soon as the former Harvard professor took to the microphone. He told Stephen Harper that he expected to have his budgetary demands met or the government would fall. I may not be sure, but it sounded a little like, leadership.

3. 2008's worst meltdowns (The Associated Press) 8,178 page views Compared to years past, 2008 could have been considered a mild one on the celebrity meltdown meter. Britney had moved over to the "comeback" category. Mel Gibson had been quiet. Lindsay Lohan was for all intents and purposes, stable. The usual suspects were nowhere to be found. The best the Associated Press could come up with was Heather Locklear and to be honest, I didn't even know she posed for a police mugshot this year. Though many people missed it, actor Gary Busey's performance at the Oscar red carpet was worthy of making the list. But no one really cares what Busey is up to. It was that kind of year.

4. The Trudeau-Nixon tapes (The Canadian Press) 6,632 page views

Hot on the heels of the release of the feature film Frost/Nixon comes the release of more secret audio recordings from the Nixon White House. The recordings had some Canadian content, with a passage containing conversations between Richard Nixon and then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau. The two discussed economics and the tapes provided some good insights into the Canada-U.S. relations at the time. Oh yes, Nixon didn't like Trudeau.

5. Friendly fire deaths? (The Associated Press) 6,186 page views

The Associated Press released gripping video originally posted online showing a group of American soldiers coming under fire in Iraq. The chatter during the attack, indicated that American tanks were firing on the troops in a case of friendly fire. The family of a soldier killed during that attack wants some answers. The soldier's reactions are chilling when it becomes clear to them they are being fired on by their own, and they are unable to stop it. Scary stuff.

6. Canada's favourite dancer (CTV) 6,087 page views

This clip from Canada AM featured an interview with Nico Archambault, who won So You Think You Can Dance Canada last Sunday. The Montreal-trained contemporary dancer defeated 19-year old ballerina Allie Bertram of Calgary in the final vote. He won $100,000 and a new Mercedez-Benz for his efforts, not to mention legions of fans.

7. Canada AM: Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (CTV) 5,715 page views

I know what you are thinking. What did she step in this time to make the globeandmail.com Top-10? Actually, nothing. No turkeys were killed in the filming of this segment. Ms. Palin gave an extended (seven minute) interview in which she expounded on the reasons why she loves Canada (hockey, hunting) and talked some policy (pipelines, oil, resources and job creation). It was tame stuff and a mystery why it was so popular. Then again, it was Sarah Palin.

8. O.J. Simpson sent to prison (The Associated Press) 5,200 page views

O.J. Simpson was sent to jail, convicted on a host of charges stemming from an incident last year in Las Vegas in which he held up a sports memorabilia agent and took items he felt belonged him at gun point. For those who spent many hours watching his acquittal in the sensation murder trial of his ex-wife Nicole back in the mid 1990s, seeing him go to jail felt like justice being served. He's appealing the conviction.

9. The other side of Beaujolais (The Globe and Mail) 5,106 page views

This is the second installment of Globe wine writer Beppi Crosariol's video program Decanting. He tells you why you should skip the Nouveau and go straight to bona fide Beaujolais. In case you are wondering, no one talks about wine like Crosariol.

10. Joe goes rogue (The Associated Press) 4,722 page views

Ah yes, Joe the Plumber. What happened to the U.S.'s favourite plumber? Turns out he is writing a book, naturally. Beyond that, he divulges that despite becoming the mascot of John McCain's failed campaign, he had become disillusioned in the Republican presidential candidate but held his tongue because he really didn't want Barack Obama to win. This is news?