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Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/November 19 to 25, 2017

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Prepared with commentary by igordebraga

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It's Just Sex and Violence, Melody and Silence

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Two deaths spearhead the week, and aside from them being from a "family", they couldn't be any more different: the head of the Manson family, a madman who caused death in the sixties; and the eldest son of The Partridge Family, an actor-singer who was a pop star in the 1970s. Charles Manson (#1) carried in views for the wackos who killed for him (#22) and their most infamous murder (#12, #18), while David Cassidy (#2) brought to the list his stepmom (#17) and his daughter (#21).

A whopping 11 entries are holdovers from last week (including the ever-present death list), and one of those, the ultra-violent Netflix comics adaptation The Punisher (#9), brought in its main villain (#25). As to be expected every November, Thanksgiving (#5) and the shopping spree that follows (#8) make their appearances. There were two moments to revolt over, as another famous man derailed his career for being lewd (#11), and the FCC announced they're potentially screwing over internet users (#15). But to finish, two strong women, Diana Ross (#13) winning an American Music Award and performing in the ceremony, and Indian doctor\feminist Rukhmabai (#23), propelled by a Google Doodle.

For the week of November 19 to 25, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:

Rank Article Class Views Image Notes
1 Charles Manson 3,258,765
If there is one guy who doesn't deserve a "rest in peace", it's the one who created a commune\cult (#22) that led to ten brutal murders, most infamously a pregnant woman (#12, #18). That being said, Charles Manson died after 46 years of a life sentence, the third imprisonment of his life.
2 David Cassidy 2,388,401
Going from the Manson family to The Partridge Family: the eldest son in that sitcom and subsequent pop singer David Cassiy died at the age of 67, having retired earlier this year as dementia was taking its toll on him.
3 Justice League (film) 1,897,568
The long-awaited encounter of the DC Comics superheroes has the same Joss Whedon that helmed Marvel's equivalent The Avengers co-writing (plus directing what Zack Snyder left unfinished), but has not been the same runaway success. Reviews are mixed, finding it entertaining but vapid, and box office is sluggish compared to what DC accomplished with Wonder Woman earlier this year.
4 Manushi Chhillar 1,322,126 While many people can't believe beauty pageants are still a thing, Ms. Chhillar won Miss World 2017. Given the last Indian to win this contest was Bollywood superstar Priyanka Chopra in 2000, she can hope the contest was the first step to a fruitful career.
5 Thanksgiving 1,059,555
Every November, the beloved American holiday enters this list in the top 5, even if this year views are down by 200,000.
6 Survivor Series (2017) 865,133
The latest WWE pantomime was held at the Toyota Center (pictured) in Houston.
7 Deaths in 2017 852,035
The Top 25 is helmed by two deaths of this week, and two from last one are #16 and #20. No surprise the yearly departures remained high.
8 Black Friday (shopping) 835,404
One day after Thanksgiving (#5), there are promotions to ignite the Christmas shopping season. In my country at least, it's not rare for retailers to instead do a "Black Fraud" where they're faking the discounts.
9 The Punisher (TV series) 835,012
The Marvel Comics vigilante Frank Castle finally got an acclaimed adaptation following three movies with middling reception, as Jon Bernthal (pictured) played him in the second season of Daredevil that led to this Punisher solo series, which debuted on Netflix on November 17th.
10 Robert Mugabe 776,252
Nearly a week after a coup placed him on house arrest, Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe signed his resignation, finishing nearly 40 years in power filled with human rights violations and a ruined economy.
11 Charlie Rose 746,639
The latest case in a male celebrity ruining his career due to sexual harassment is journalist Charlie Rose, as eight women who either worked for him or had hoped to so denounced him in a report in The Washington Post. Rose was fired by CBS, PBS, and Bloomberg.
12 Sharon Tate 732,772
Sharon Tate was a beautiful actress with a promising career expecting a son with director Roman Polanski, until the Manson family invaded their house and stabbed her to death.
13 Diana Ross 727,880
Iconic singer Diana Ross was given the American Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award during their annual ceremony on Sunday, and performed a medley of her hits such as "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".
14 Stranger Things 719,094
A month after season 2 of Netflix's love letter to the science-fiction horror of the 1980s debuted, it finally leaves the top 3.
15 Net neutrality 644,236
As the FCC unveiled plans to end net neutrality, meaning internet service providers wouldn't treat all data on the Internet the same and thus could intentionally block, slow down or charge money for specific websites, the online protests against such an idea were intense.
16 Lil Peep 630,418
The hip hop artist died aged 21, prompting an outpour of sympathy from the music industry. Cause of death is unknown, but his vivid Instagram posts indicate an overdose.
17 Shirley Jones 613,009
Along with playing David Cassidy's (#2) mother in The Partridge Family, Jones was his real life stepmom, having married his father Jack Cassidy.
18 Tate murders 603,944
On August 8, 1969, four members of the Manson family invaded the house of Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate (#12) and killed everyone inside, including Tate, who was eight and a half months pregnant. This horrific incident has two music connections: it followed Charles's twisted interpretation of the Beatles' White Album, and the house was later used by Trent Reznor to record The Downward Spiral shortly before its demolition.
19 Jason Momoa 568,392
Momoa, who built a career out of barbarian characters, has earned acclaim for his portrayal of Aquaman in Justice League (#3), who is the star of the DC Extended Universe's next movie.
20 Malcolm Young 546,138
AC/DC co-founder Malcolm Young got 546,343 views upon his death in November 18, and nearly as much in the week that followed. The Rock 'N Roll Train still rolls strong.
21 Katie Cassidy 545,464
The recently deceased David Cassidy (#2) was the son of a singer, and his actress daughter Katie makes it a family with three generations in entertainment. Katie is the current portrayer of superheroine Black Canary in the DC Comics television universe, and in a coincidence last year played Sharon (#12) in Wolves at the Door, a movie inspired by the Tate murders (#18).
22 Manson Family 539,715
The commune\cult\execution squad of #1. Seen to the left is John Moran's opera about them. Haven't heard it, but regarding musical Mansons, I prefer Shirley.
23 Rukhmabai 518,857
A Google Doodle brought attention upon the first practicing women doctor of India, who also campaigned for women's emancipation and the end of child marriages.
24 Thor: Ragnarok 514,092
The third Thor movie might be on the way out of this list, but is still earning the big bucks, and will soon become the seventh Marvel Cinematic Universe installment to surpass $800 million worldwide.
25 Jigsaw (Marvel Comics) 509,590
The Punisher's archenemy from the comics (and given his enemies usually are just brutally killed, that's saying a lot), previously known as Billy Russo before his face was covered in scars resembling a jigsaw puzzle, is played by Ben Barnes (pictured) in the Netflix series (#9).