Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2021-10-31/Traffic report

Traffic report

James Bond and the Giant Squid Game

By Igordebraga, SSSB, Mcrsftdog , Benmite, and TheJoebro64

This traffic report is adapted from the Top 25 Report, prepared with commentary by Igordebraga, SSSB, Mcrsftdog, Benmite, TheJoebro64.

James Bond once met Octopussy. Now here on Wikipedia is 007 vs. Squid Game.

If you take a life do you know what you'll give? (September 19 to 25)

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (September 19 to 25)

Rank	Article	Views	Notes/about
1	Squid Game	2,508,476	Korea's cultural ascent, which led to many Western fans of the local pop music and TV shows, finally leads to an article atop Wikipedia's most viewed, a Netflix show about a man down on his luck who joins a mysterious survival game.
2	Death of Gabby Petito	1,786,655^[1]	Eight days after being declared missing, the remains of Petito, a van life traveler, were found at a camp site in Wyoming. Preliminary results from an autopsy indicate a homicide, and a manhunt is on for Petito's fiancé/boyfriend (media stationed outside his home shown in picture). There is discussion about whether missing white woman syndrome might have fueled the amount of attention given to the case.
3	Willie Garson	1,387,842	The American actor best known for his appearance in Sex and the City died on September 21, aged 57, of pancreatic cancer. In a career spanning dozens of films and TV series from 1986 till his death (including a posthumous release) he somehow failed to win any awards (so far).
4	2021 Canadian federal election	1,151,886	"There's an election happening, and it's called a snap election because it was called three minutes ago and ends in a hot second, unlike an American election, which lasts about 597 days." Indeed, one month after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked for a dissolution of the Parliament, Canada already chose its House of Commons representatives again. Trudeau's Liberals still came out on top.
5	Christopher Reeve	1,151,269	Google used a doodle to give an homage to Reeve, the standard against live-action portrayals of Superman are compared to, on what would've been Reeve's 69th birthday had the actor not passed away in 2004 (9 years after becoming quadriplegic in a horse riding accident).
6	Sex Education (TV series)	1,050,270	Season three was released on September 17. I haven't seen it yet, but I intend to.
7	Deaths in 2021	890,767	If this ever-changing world in which we're living Makes you give in and cry Say live and let die!
8	Ted Lasso	855,503	It was Emmy time again, and the big winner in the comedy categories was this Apple TV+ show about an American football coach hired to manage the football he knows as soccer across the Pond in a sabotage attempt that unexpectedly works out well.
9	2019 Canadian federal election	679,216	Two years ago, the Liberals didn't get a majority in the parliament. They tried again this year (see #4), and still couldn't.
10	Michael Schumacher	662,073	Netflix released Schumacher, a documentary on the German driver who in the early 2000s left no chance for anyone else in Formula One, setting up records that only recently started being broken by Lewis Hamilton. Just don't expect the man himself to give his opinion, as ever since a skiing accident in 2013 Schumacher has been in recovery privately.

^ Includes views for the original names Disappearance of Gabrielle Petito and Disappearance of Gabby Petito.

The odds will betray you, and I will replace you (September 26 to October 2)

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (September 26 to October 2)

Rank	Article	Views	Notes/about
1	Squid Game	4,675,856	After Parasite comes another Korean product to continuously surprise (and often horrify) viewers thanks to Netflix, where people with high debts try to get money by risking their lives playing games such as Red Light Green Light, Tug of war and marbles, plus extracting shaped toffee from its mold.
2	No Time to Die	1,422,511	After much delay, the newest James Bond film is hitting theaters—though not the United States, which has to wait two weeks before watching Daniel Craig do spy stuff.
3	Midnight Mass (miniseries)	1,114,940	Back to Netflix, with a supernatural horror show where an isolated island experiences weird events after the arrival of a priest played by Hamish Linklater.
4	Venom: Let There Be Carnage	1,080,748	And for a movie the US did get, Tom Hardy is back as Spider-Man's dark counterpart, this time against Woody Harrelson as Carnage.
5	2021 German federal election	894,480	Elections were held on September 26, though no colorful coalition has been formed yet. Regardless of who gets a majority, Angela Merkel will be stepping down as chancellor. She held the office for almost 16 years, only lagging behind the guy who united Germany and the guy who reunited Germany.
6	Deaths in 2021	849,592	Fool me once, fool me twice Are you death or paradise? Now you'll never see me cry There's just no time to die
007	Daniel Craig	723,569	What an appropriate number. #2 marks the last time James Bond's tuxedo is used by Daniel Craig. Despite being not well-received upon his announcement as Bond, Craig ended up as the actor with the longest tenure! (even if part of that owes to studio financial issues and a pandemic) And there's another investigation for him to return to in Knives Out 2.
8	HoYeon Jung	711,309	This model-turned-actress is getting the brunt of the attention among #1's cast as "067". (But let's give a shout out to the second most prominent woman of the show, Kim Joo-ryoung, who provides many laughs in such a dark series as "212")
9	List of James Bond films	397,663	#2 is the 25th (27th, counting a spoof and a remake) time Ian Fleming's spy reached the silver screen. Hopefully by the 60th anniversary of the series next year Eon Productions will have already picked who will be the 007th James Bond.
10	R. Kelly	620,745	You'd think a man whose real-life romantic history consists of marrying an underage girl in the 90s, abusing underage girls on tape in the 2000s, and keeping a harem of underage girls locked away in his home in the 2010s would have been behind bars a long time ago, let alone on the registry, but we live in a society where someone can get away with all that as long as their fictional romantic history is suave enough. It's probably in poor taste to praise anything the ironically dubbed "Pied Piper" did at this point, as separating the art from the artist becomes difficult when the art is merely a reflection of the artist's own depravity. In any case, Kelly was found guilty of sexual exploitation of a child, bribery, racketeering and sex trafficking this week, and is looking at a life sentence.

And if you think you've won you never saw me change, the game that we've all been playing (October 3 to 9)

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (October 3 to 9)

Rank	Article	Views	Notes/about
1	Squid Game	5,400,927	Most shows wouldn't attract quite this much attention in the second week after their release—let alone in the third week—even those released on Netflix and especially those not made by and for Western audiences. But just when we thought the K-wave couldn't grow any larger, it turned into a tsunami and engulfed us all with this critically acclaimed Korean game show where people down and out and down on their luck play children's games for an enormous cash prize. That's as dark as it gets for the whole show, trust us. If you don't believe us, just watch and see for yourself! Though, based on this week's explosive view count and the fact that Squid Game is set to become Netflix's biggest show of all time, you probably already have.
2	No Time to Die	1,564,145	Craig. Daniel Craig. His final mission as Bond was finally released in the United States this week after being released in just about every major film market in weeks prior. There may be no time for Craig's Bond to die, but there's certainly 163 minutes worth of screen time to watch him live again.
3	Zodiac Killer	1,088,838	The Case Breakers, an independent team of 40 cold case investigators, claimed they identified this still-mysterious murderer who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1960s. The police disagree with their discovery, deeming it too reliant on circumstantial evidence.
4	List of James Bond films	928,512	A series survived so many things that could've made it irrelevant - the Counterculture of the 1960s, the end of the Cold War, the War on Terror, the PATRIOT Act, the current political atmosphere and correctness - is still ranking high in pop culture and on Wikipedia.
5	The Guilty (2021 film)	956,860	After a limited release last month, this American remake of a gritty 2018 Danish crime thriller, about a 911 dispatcher who gets a call from a kidnapped woman, was released on Netflix last week. It stars famed anti-showering advocate Jake Gyllenhaal and doesn't seem to be wowing audiences or critics, many of whom feel as though the original was good enough on its own.
6	HoYeon Jung	950,107	When any series reaches the critical mass that Squid Game has, there are two people who are guaranteed to become breakout stars: the show's protagonist (Lee Jung-Jae) and a beloved side character. Enter HoYeon Jung, who, after establishing a name for herself in the modeling world as a runner-up on the 4th season of Korea's Next Top Model, made her acting debut in #1. In it, she plays Kang Sae-byeok, who flees North Korea and needs money to pay a broker to find the rest of her family members who didn't make it across the border. As expected, she's essentially become the face of Squid Game, and became the most-followed Korean actor on Instagram this week by a huge margin.
7	Venom: Let There Be Carnage	863,091	Marvel's most toxic hero received a slimy sequel that premiered in American theatres last week, and earned $100 million in just 5 days, tying it with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as the fastest film to reach that milestone during the pandemic. Given that again there is Tom Hardy going insane as Eddie Brock and his symbiote partner, only this time joined by the equally unhinged villains Woody Harrelson as Carnage and Naomie Harris (the Moneypenny of #2, only in a Tia Dalma getup) as Shriek, critics and audiences favored this one over the original, although overall reception is still mixed.
8	Deaths in 2021	856,211	People like us Know how to survive There's no point in living If you can't feel alive
9	Daniel Craig	778,724	Craig's run as James Blond finally comes to a close with the release of No Time to Die (#2), which, because the pandemic caused the film's release to be delayed for over a year, officially makes him the longest-running Bond actor. He managed to imbue new life into a character that's been around for over a half-century, which is no easy feat, and he'll surely be missed as 007.
10	Midnight Mass (miniseries)	697,813	Yet another Netflix series that's bringing in droves of viewers, even if its page on here is looking a bit bare. Just in time for spooky season, it's a creepy, existential tale about a man who suffers from a drunk driving accident who returns to his small island community. There's also a charismatic priest who arrives in said community and begins making miracles happen. Bless up! It's gotten rave reviews from critics and continues to be a hit after being released two weeks ago, but, as illustrated by some of the other entries on here, it's not touching some of Netflix's more popular exports this week.

You can't deny the prize it may never fulfill you (October 10 to 16)

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (October 10 to 16)

Rank	Article	Views	Notes/about
1	Squid Game	3,648,028	Despite this being the fourth week after it first dropped on Netflix, it's been all green light, no red light for this South Korean pop culture behemoth. At this rate, we'll being seeing it at the top of the report for as many weeks as there were players in the Squid Game. I'm sure I don't have to tell you what it's about, or what people have been saying about it, or why it's become so popular. All I have to offer is this Jersey club remix of that notorious song.
2	Tyson Fury	1,843,976	Tyson's Fury surely came in handy during his third and final boxing match against heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder, whom he beat with a violent knockout punch in the 11th round of the bout. Even in all of their fighting fury, Fury still tried to prove he was a gentle giant by going to give Wilder, who was bleeding profusely out of his ear, a handshake. Wilder declined, which Fury attributed to him not reciprocating his "love and respect" for him, but if I had to guess, I'd say the blood gushing out of him might have played a part as well.
3	No Time to Die	1,227,745	In spite of plenty of things against the 25th James Bond, such as a tumultuous pre-production with changes in directors and release dates, a pandemic delaying it some more, and the involvement of the person who inflicted Fleabag upon the world, No Time to Die manages to close Daniel Craig's tenure as 007 packing quite the emotional punch. Critics and audiences have responded well, although Bond still has to at least double its current $341 million worldwide gross to make a profit.
4	Burari deaths	1,027,990	In 2018, a whole family was found dead in their Delhi house, with everyone but the strangled grandmother appearing to have hanged themselves. Netflix released a docuseries based on this morbid incident, House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths.
5	David Amess	1.005.344	While holding a constituency meeting, this member of the British Parliament was stabbed to death in what is considered a terrorist incident motivated by Islamist extremism. Amess was made a Knight Bachelor in 2015 for public service, having been a MP since 1983. His death comes just over 5 years since Jo Cox was murdered by a white supremacist, and has reignited the debate about MPs' security.
6	Deaths in 2021	836,205	For this is the end I've drowned and dreamt this moment So overdue, I owe them Swept away, I'm stolen...
7	Halloween Kills	815,624	Even Michael Myers, one of the most indestructible serial killers in film history, was helpless against the goddamned pandemic, which delayed the eleventh time he hit the big screen^[2] to this year. A sequel to the 2018 film that ignored all previous follow-ups, Halloween Kills lives up to the name by featuring some of the most brutal deaths in the series, starting with the firemen who ensured Michael didn't burn to death in Laurie Strode's basement. It didn't win critics over, as reviews felt disappointment at how, unlike its predecessor, the movie did not try to stray far from slasher film convention. At least there is a chance to finish things well in next year's Halloween Ends.
8	Adele	780,670	Looks like we finally got a hello from the other side. As soon as the performer of the Bond theme quoted at #6 got divorced, jokes flew that all was set for another heartbreak album that would sweep charts and awards. And now it's officially coming, as Adele announced that her fourth record, 30, will be released in November, while also issuing lead single "Easy on Me". The song broke plenty of single-day streaming records before the day was even over and will undoubtedly be sitting pretty atop charts across the globe.
9	Deontay Wilder	743,564	#2 had been planning to fight compatriot Anthony Joshua, but this former heavyweight champion exercised a contractual clause asking for a rematch, hoping to finally avenge what he had claimed to be a cheated fight. But instead Fury won again.
10	List of James Bond films	722,279	A guy who is supposed to be discreet, yet introduces himself with his full name and goes after every woman he sees. He also sometimes drinks on the job. Six actors have played him - as put by Alan Moore, "Jock", "Fry", "Eyebrows", "Lovey", "Posh" and "Scary" - across 25 movies, and even if the latest (#3) has a tragic ending, don't expect a retirement any time soon.

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (October 17 to 23)

Life is gone with just a spin of the wheel (October 17 to 23)

Rank

Article

Class

Views

Image

Notes/about

1

Colin Powell

2,232,933

Powell, the first African-American secretary of state, died on October 18 due to complications from COVID-19 and concurrent bone cancer. Powell had quite the career: he was a four-star general and served as the United States National Security Advisor under Ronald Reagan and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Bush the Elder before becoming Secretary of State under Bush the Younger, in addition to formulating the Powell Doctrine. However, his legacy is clouded by his involvement in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the resulting Iraq War.

2

Squid Game

2,218,010

The fact that a page having around two million pageviews for the week is an indication that it's "losing steam" is pretty astounding, but then again, so is the show that earned those views. We've seen this South Korean smash hit, about a bunch of people who risk their lives playing children's games, at the top of the Report for the past four weeks, so forgive us if we don't care to go into any more detail than necessary about it. There may be a spike in views by the time Halloween rolls around, as we're sure to see an endless number of Squid Game costumes of varying quality and taste levels.

3

Dune (2021 film)

2,049,552

The second film adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic 1965 novel (#10) was released internationally a month ago, but opened in the United States on October 21. And unlike David Lynch's oft-maligned 1984 version, Denis Villeneuve's new interpretation (intended to be the first of a two-part adaptation) is getting great reviews and is poised to make some money.

4

Alec Baldwin

1,333,697

Tempting as it may be to crack jokes about Jack Donaghy going through the five stages of grief, this whole situation might be a bit too tragic to be glib about. This week, while on set in New Mexico for the upcoming Western film Rust, Baldwin discharged a prop gun (which, according to court documents, he was told was safe before using) that turned out to be a bit less prop-y and a bit more shoot-y than expected. Two people were hit: Joel Souza, the film's director, and Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer whose injuries were fatal.

5

Brandon Lee

1,034,719

The Rust shooting that takes up a good chunk of this Report has sparked numerous comparisons to the untimely death of Bruce Lee's son, who famously lost his life in 1993 to an almost identical prop-gun-firing incident on the set of The Crow. The similarities were evident enough to prompt a response from Lee's relatives on his Twitter page, but the circumstances are obviously at least a little different: Lee's role in The Crow was set to make him an international star, while Hutchins's work was always behind the camera.

6

You (season 3)

941,823

Me?

This Lifetime-turned-Netflix series about a stalker and serial killer named Joe Goldberg, played by Gossip Girl's gossip guy Penn Badgley, entered its third season last week. It focuses on the relationship between him and Love (Victoria Pedretti), the object of his affection from season two to whom he gets married after learning that she's just as psycho as him. It's received mostly positive reviews and enough attention to finally knock that goddamned game which I won't mention again out of Netflix's coveted number one spot.

7

Deaths in 2021

873,574

Since sadly there's reminiscences of #5's death, let's quote from The Crow soundtrack:

“

The end is all that's ever true
There's nothing you can ever say
Nothing you can ever do

”

7

You (TV series)

869,661

On a personal note, I never bothered making it past season one after having to deal with a cast of unbelievably unrootable-for characters, including the main love interest/victim, Beck, (pictured on the left when she was a Disney Princess) whose entire role can be summed up in this video.

9

Halloween Kills

851,994

Serial killer Michael Myers (or "The Shape", in case you thought we were talking about the guy who voiced Shrek) returns to menace Laurie Strode in the 12th film of the Halloween series^[2] and the sequel to the 2018 soft reboot. Like its predecessor, the David Gordon Green-helmed slasher features Nick Castle and Jamie Lee Curtis reprising their roles from John Carpenter's legendary first Halloween from 1978.

While the film is doing decent business at the box office—especially for an R-rated movie in the middle of a damn pandemic—reviews aren't as strong as they were in 2018, with critics finding it messy and not as fresh as its predecessor.

10

Dune (novel)

808,546

The source material for #3, a philosophically challenging journey written by Frank Herbert about Paul Atreides and his home planet of Arrakis, where a life-extending drug and interplanetary travel fuel source known as melange (or "Spice") is harvested, also happens to be the best-selling sci-fi novel of all time. A number of sequels were written and, as mentioned above, it's also received some other critically-panned adaptations over the years.

^² There are twelve Halloween movies, but Halloween III: Season of the Witch doesn't feature Michael Myers. It's a long story.

Exclusions

These lists exclude the Wikipedia main page, non-article pages (such as redlinks), and anomalous entries (such as DDoS attacks or likely automated views). Since mobile view data became available to the Report in October 2014, we exclude articles that have almost no mobile views (5–6% or less) or almost all mobile views (94–95% or more) because they are very likely to be automated views based on our experience and research of the issue. Please feel free to discuss any removal on the Top 25 Report talk page if you wish.

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31 October 2021 (all comments)

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Alt text to images would be interesting. Now when the mouse hover over an image, any text doesn't appear. Alt text would give a descrition of image related to the article. Hope editors would consider the idea. Ex:

Cheers!--Chanaka L (talk) 10:33, 25 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

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