An Overview of the Most Watched TV Series Finales

An experienced leader in the information technology (IT) sector, Graeme Queen joined Standard Insurance Company in Portland, Oregon, as senior director, IT solution delivery, in 2011. When he is not overseeing a range of application development and support services for various Standard Insurance business units, Graeme Queen enjoys following prestige television series such as The Wire and Game of Thrones.

By virtually any applicable metric, HBO’s Game of Thrones stands as one of the most popular and successful television series of all time. It broke numerous viewership records for the network and has won more Emmy awards than any television show in history. The series finale drew 19.3 million viewers in 2019, a record for the show and network. However, the number of viewers that tuned in to the HBO drama is reflective of just how much the television landscape has changed in recent decades.

The viewership record for a series finale belongs to the military dramedy MASH, which was watched by 105 million individuals in 1983 and took up 77 percent of the available television sets in the country at the time. While these viewership and television share records are unlikely to be broken, series finales for Cheers, The Fugitive, and Seinfeld all drew between 76 and 80 million viewers, numbers unheard of in present day television. Home Improvement, a successful but rarely discussed sitcom today, said farewell to an audience nearly double the size of the Games of Thrones finale.

The rise of streaming services, along with the general growth of the television and entertainment businesses, have no doubt impacted television ratings. That said, video-on-demand technology cannot be overlooked. The Game of Thrones series finale was watched by nearly six million viewers on streaming services, which allow for rewatches at any point. This convenience was simply not afforded to audiences in 1967, who desperately wanted to know the identity of the One-Armed Man, the mysterious antagonist of The Fugitive.

Marathon Training Shown to Significantly Reduce Vascular Age

With an extensive background in employee benefits and technology, Oregon professional Graeme Queen holds executive responsibilities with an insurance company. An avid runner, Graeme Queen has competed in a variety of 5k and 10k runs, and also completed a half dozen marathons to date.

A recent CNN article brought attention to a study that focused on the potential health benefits of running marathons. Conducted by a University College London faculty member who consults as a cardiologist with the University College Hospitals and Barts Heart Centre, the study tracked 138 competitors as they trained for and completed their first marathon.

Nearly evenly male and female, all participants were from the ages of 21 to 69 and without a significant medical history. They underwent examinations six months prior to starting training and within three weeks following their successful marathon run.

A major finding was that blood pressure was significantly reduced, while age-related stiffening of the main artery in the body was reversed. This resulted in an average four-year decrease in participants “vascular age.” Interestingly, these health benefits were not tied to a specific training regimen or how quickly people were able to complete the marathon course. The only unifying factor was that prior to training, participants had reported running less than two hours each week.

Overview of Top Performers at the 2019 Boston Marathon

Boston Marathon
Image: boston.com

Graeme Queen joined Portland, Oregon’s Standard Insurance Company in 2011 as the senior director of IT solution delivery. Graeme Queen leads a healthy, active lifestyle and is particularly fond of running. He has competed in marathons throughout the United States and plans to run in the Boston Marathon.

More than 30,000 runners competed in the 2019 Boston Marathon. Lawrence Cherono of Kenya edged Ethiopia’s Lelisa Desisa for the top time, finishing in two hours, seven minutes, 57 seconds, just two seconds ahead of Desisa.

Kenneth Kipkemoi followed eight seconds later, with a total of five runners finishing within one minute of Cherono’s time. Worknesh Degefa posted the best time for women – two hours, 23 minutes, 31 seconds, a comfortable 43 seconds ahead of second place Edna Kiplagat.

Seven of the top 15 times were recorded by American women, compared to six of the top 15 men. Winners of the wheelchair competitions included Daniel Romanchuk of Illinois and Manuela Schar of Switzerland.

Registration for the 2020 Boston Marathon opens in September. The event will take place on April 20.

The Wire – HBO’s Groundbreaking Series

 

The Wire
Image: imdb.com

As the senior director of IT solution delivery at Standard Insurance Company of Portland, OR, Graeme Queen oversees applications and support services for the firm’s business units. In his leisure time, Graeme Queen enjoys The Wire, a television series that ran for five seasons in the 2000s on HBO.

Ten years later, many critics still consider it to be among television’s finest series. Writing for Slate magazine, Jacob Weisberg praised the show for its portrayal of broken social institutions in the city of Baltimore.

The Wire takes an unflinching look at the isolation of the African-American underclass. While the show focuses on drug dealing and anti-narcotics police work, it also examines the city’s political and educational systems. Its multiplicity and richness of characters reminded some observers of Dickens.

Although its producers had to fight for renewal every season, The Wire has had a significant impact on Hollywood. It featured several black actors in its large cast, and boosted the careers of Michael K. Williams, Idris Elba, and Michael B. Jordan.

Winner of the prestigious Peabody Award in 2004, The Wire became more popular after its run on HBO, thanks to DVD sales and the then-new phenomenon of binge watching.