I am simply making a point about the (IMO) lackluster season thats all. You can't deny the numbers here, the numbers don't lie. You can spin this however you want, ratings are down, people are dropping away from this show. People are tired of waiting for some kind of answers, and stories being drug out over seasons, people get sick and frustrated of it, including me.

You can go into infinite arguments why this is happening but the real of it is, it is happening. What used to be a powerhouse of a show is being beaten by re-runs. The people are speaking, they are speaking by NOT tuning in. If you continue to keep up (IMO) this mostly garbage of a season and keep dragging shit out, people will keep tuning out.

Don't get me wrong here, I love Lost, I used to be giddy as hell waiting for Wed to roll around, but now I am very frustrated with this season. I don't need every single thing answered in the series, but give us something, quit dragging out story lines, get back to the mystery and intrigue, get back to what made this show great.

OK... 2 things,
1. I just watched this episode last night and I can't believe that after 11 pages of discussing the chess game; there was NO mention of the paper Locke picked up which was written in cyrillic and had something written on it in red marker. I can't read cyrillic (russian), but I am currently working on something that has it in it and it is fairly recognizeable. Anyone see any mention anywhere of what it said? THe camera sat on it long enough for someone to easily get a screen shot (some that knows how to do that, anyway-not me).

2. Maybe the reason the ratings have been dropping so much is the number of people that have decided over the last 2 seasons that they absolutely could not wait for the weekly reveal and are now only buying the DVD's when they come out. FOrgetting, of course, that if they aren't watching the show when it is aired, it will eventually get cancelled and there will be no DVD's to watch!

Therecanbonly1 I agree with #2 coupled with many people getting the show through other means because they don't want to stay up so late to watch it when it airs.

I know Neilsen is flawed, but blaming the huge drop in ratings on DVR or future DVD sales seems like a bit of denial. Granted, I said the same thing when Arrested Development couldn't build a large fan base, but that was denial too.

Sadly, Lost just isn't the show it used to be. There are a significant number of us still tuning in every week, fingers crossed that it will be a 'good' episode, but the general public is drifting away from the show pretty steadily. I still think the biggest mistake is the trend of writing characters around plot ideas/developments, as it makes them feel unrealistic and people care less and less about them. If the characters had been written consistently at the same levels as in season 1, I think the fan base would still be huge and people would be enjoying trying to figure out the mysteries instead of bitching about the lack of information.

Remember, because of the nature of the show, Lost will never attract new viewers. Anybody who tries to sit down and watch it fresh would just be baffled.

There's only one direction the ratings can go: steadily down.

I agree. Blaming it strictly on DVR and or DVD sales is flawed. As a user of DVR (shown by just watching the episode yesterday), I know Neisen is flawed. People who watch LOST fanatically (like me) may not watch it when it is on; but watch it painstakingly close later.

The DVD Sales on LOST I think impact the show more this show more than a show like Arrested development. On LOST, everything happens S l o w l y. People do not like waiting for the conclusion. The watching experience is far more intense (probably because of the quick gratification) by watch the DVDs. The problem is I know MANY people that after sitting through the Season 1 DVD experience and comparing it to the weekly wait (sometimes monthly); the DVD was SO MUCH more satisfying that people swore off the airing of the show. DVD sales on LOST from Season 1 to 2 did not see anywhere near the drop off of most TV shows season 1 to 2. Many people do not have the patience to sit through commercials and weeks at a time breaks when they can just wait and watch it like a 24 hour movie.

Normally, I think DVD Sales have little to nop impact on the weekly viewing of the show. Lost is a unique situation. Even 24 does not have the same 'gotta watch them all at once' appeal that LOST has. The mystery is far deeper and the clues stretched far enough in between that watching in a marathon session is alot of satisfaction.

(There, did I say the same thing enough different times? )

New viewers, no, but I think it could recapture past viewers who've quit watching. If they end this season strongly and then announce that next season is to be the last, I think the third season DVDs will sell like crazy and ratings will rebound quite a bit. Of course that won't happen and ABC will most likely milk the show as long as it can and then unceremoniously dump it without enough episodes left to put together a solid resolution.

Personally, I think moving the show to air an hour later is a lot of the issue. If they would have done this during season 2, when viewership was strong and the fanbase had been built, I don't think it would have affected ratings that much. But now, the late timeslot coupled with the fact that the story is just uninteresting and moving at a snail's pace, who wants to stay up to watch? Not me.

You can talk all you want about the show being on too late or that DVDs are cutting into the ratings, but the reality is ... the show is nowhere near what it used to be quality wise.

Next season will be its last ... and the producers have nobody to blame except themselves (for poorer quality) and the network suits who told them to stretch everything out.

That may have been true in the past, but I know more and more people who play catch-up on DVD when a show garners enough buzz, and will start tuning into future seasons. I have watched since Day 1, but I am getting a little annoyed that the show just isn't as entertaining as it once was.

I won't stop watching, but I am also not going to sit here and say "it's still better than every other show out there" because frankly, it's not.

And yet still nothing about the russian writing...

Quality has absolutely nothing to do with ratings, or nobody would watch TV at all.

Abrams is know for creating good shows (Felicity and Alias), moving on to other things and the show never being the same.
The show has gotten way off track and now they have to try and get it back....if it is not too late.

Did you try the forums over at televisionwithoutpity? Might have better luck over there.

It was something about Afghanistan and there is mention of somebody named "Andre". Written in red pen in the margin was "My name is Andre as well".

Source.

Thanks. I knew there had to be SOMETHING to it.

I disagree, people have viewing habbits and the time switch and layoff didn't help. When a show is moved it usually always drops in ratings. Shows that are jerked around viewing times and days always disrupt the viewers habbits, and many just quit watching because of it. Now with DVD though, they can make up the show whenever they want and make it fit into their schedule. Your opinion is that it has dropped in quality many will disagree with you including me. Don't give me the-"but the ratings have dropped so it must be true" bit either, lots of quality shows have their ratings drop because of one thing or another. ER imho is still the best quality show on TV but its ratings have went way down from its early days also, but it has also been on for several years. No one can pinpoint for certain why the ratings are down but the time swith and viewing layoff did not help, case in point I used to watch the episodes when they aired now I TVIO them and watch them later because of time change. I used to watch Jericho also, I have not watched it once since it came back. I just lost interest. It happens; many Lost fans have also lost interest since it came back, I may catch up with Jericho on DVD.

I have to agree with vegasbaby on this. The quality has definitely gone done (the whole first part of the season had the entire cast seperated and concentrated on Jack, Sawyer and Kate in a cage).
I think the average viewer is tired of waiting around for payoffs and have turned the channel...permanantly!

I agree, and now they have to go back and get Jack, oh brother - I honestly don't care. The plight and outcome for Jack has become soooo overrated.

But they told us about the tatoos! They are the key to everything!

Could the Five on his shoulder have anything to do with Party of Five? Maybe Neve Campbell is one of the Others???
Hmmmmm.