TVSquad

I blame the poor scheduling by ABC.

ABC Executive "I got this great ideal, lets have one episode and then follow it with 3 weeks of repeats! And then let's do that the entire season!"

ABC Boss "Dog gone that's a great ideal!"

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Look, no one may want to admit it - but this show has gotten really boring. really tedious. and then way too self consciously cute (every Hurley line is like a meta-shout out.) There were as many repeats last year but it didn't matter as much because people were interested. The show is forcing people to watch smaller and smaller stories about more tertiary characters - there's just no where to go. Like Alias, the OC, Ally McBeal etc. this is one of those shows that starts off with lots of great ideas and is totally fresh and then slowly runs out of steam.

Doesn't mean it wasn't a great show (unlike Housewives which somehow convinced people it was good until this year) and doesn't mean it isn't still capable of greatness at times. But overall, the wheels have become to come off the wagon.

this time next year could be ugly for LOST fans.

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As slow as Lost has become, even with it's worst episode, it still beats out what American Idol does a thousand times over. American people just want QUICK results. They want all the answers to Lost all at once. They watch American Idol, becuase they feel fulfilled when someone gets kicked off and they don't have to think about it until the next week.
It's not Lost's fault. Look at something like Arrested Development, probably one of the most clever shows ever, througout it's three years, but no one watched it, why? Well, because why think about a show? When you can sit down in your chair and watch something like American Idol. I'm content at the speed Lost is going, with the new episodes, because once you are able to watch them on DVD's it wont seem slow at all. I'm content with sticking with Lost until the end. But, see American Idol will always have it's huge base, because it's just so easy to watch.
The people that compalin about Lost being slow are the biggest problem of all. "I'm a fan, but man does it suck" What kind of crap is that? Well, keep up that kind of attitude, and all you'll be able to watch is Idol. But, you'll all be happy about that won't you.

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There's too much filler. I would rather have 12 or 13 episodes a season for one-hour shows. Lost would greatly benefit from that.

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LOST will be off the air by TV season 07-08 nothwithstanding the producers signing on for 3 more years and unlike 24 which has to have ending LOST may nt be able to wrap up all the stories....might end like a Dallas dream..if you are old enought to remember

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I wonder if the people who ditched Lost this week will return next time. I can't imagine people dipping in and out of it like that. Could this dip in ratings be permanent?

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My prediction since the middle of last season was that this would end up like Twin Peaks. I just don't believe that the author's know where this thing is going. I'd much rather see a Babylon 5 type show where the author's plan an entire plot spanning mutiple seasons, than an open-ended show where the writers keep adding plots and subplots in order to get another season. Nobody is planning for an end to their shows, since they want the show to go on and on and on.

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Dittto on the scheduling. There a way too many repeats for a show as serialized as Lost.

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That's why God invented the Tivo. You can watch the AI results show and then start watching Lost and zip through the commercials and still probably finish at the same time. I prefer Lost without commercial interruption when I can so I never watch it at 9 pm, usually more like 10 pm when I have finished work around the house. I want to really be able to enjoy the show and not be disturbed and that doesn't usually happen in our household before 10 pm.

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Reruns have been killing this show this season. It's like one new episode followed by three repeats. The production takes too long to produce for a weekly run. ABC needs to forget about the weekly run and make "Lost" mini series events. New episodes of "Lost" in October, November, February, March and May. Give the production time to produce. What do you think?

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I'm not american, and I don't even like reality or talent shows... But I can take my guesses, and I think it is because while "Idol" is perishable, transitory, "Lost" is a fiction, and I can wait...
Let's thing five minutes as the so called 'mass'... "I can´t postpone 'Idol'... ¡I wouldn't have nice water cooler chats for the rest of the week!... In exchange, 'Lost'... Well... I can catch that later on my ipod, or wait for the full season DVD..."

After all, the month-long gaps are killing me anyway... XD

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Last year, I didn't mind a re-run every once in a while because these shows require re-watching to catch cluesa nd such. This season the writing hasn't been as good, but I wtill woudl have watched re-runs if they had been from THIS season? Any Season One fan has seen the original eps multiple times now (might even own the DVD set) and anyone trying to get into the show this season has to be totally frustrated because it keeps jumping back in time for no reason.

The last couple of episodes have been pretty good for me, but it feels like ABC _wants_ to kill the show with the STUPID scheduling and re-runs.

I was a BIG season one fan and I'm pretty close to giving up on this season because of all the re-runs.

Mattjh: if people did skip this week and think they can pick up a new ep next week, they will arrive on Wednesday night looking at not Lost, but Alias. And, then, it wouldn't surprise me if many of them don't ever bother coming back to see Lost again.

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LOST's ratings when going up against Idol are not the story. The real story is that the ratings have been dropping for the entire season, even before the Idol competition. Here are the ratings for each of the new episodes:

1) 13.9
2) 13.7
3) 13.1
4) 12.8
5) 12.7
6) 12.0
7) 12.7
8) 10.8
9) 12.3
10) 11.9
11) 11.3
12) 11.2
13) 11.2
14) 10.8
15) 9.9
16) 9.6
17) 9.7
18) 9.5
19) 9.3

There are many and varied theories as to why this is. I subscribe to the idea that there is a growing section of viewers that are fed up. And it is not that they are impatient MTV generation viewers that need all the answers right now. They are people that can tell the difference between telling a story and doing everything you can to avoid telling a story.

The examples of where LOST has dropped the ball this season are so numerous I wouldn't even venture to attempt a complete list. Some of the lowlights for me:

* The big "How long would it take to train an army" cliffhanger that was followed up in the next episode by not being mentioned.

* Finding the medical hatch which was followed up in the next episode by not being mentioned. Not only that, but now we are led to believe Kate and Claire both just decided not to tell anyone.

* The pointless Charlie flashback that regurgitated everything we already knew about Charlie, but was supposed to be good because of an out of focus sign on a building that nobody could read anyway.

* The new sheriff in town debacle. Really, if you take that episode out and look at Sawyer's behaviour, and how he relates to the other castaways, before and after, what changed?

* The long, implausible, boring con. The machinations required to make the gun heisting con acutally work were so ridiculous that the mechanism required to suspend my disbelief could be featured on Discovery's Extremem Engineering.

* The magical toad that croaked so loud that even hundreds of yards in the jungle it disturbed someone sleeping right next to an ocean. Which is almost as ridiculous as the idea that killing the one toad will shut them all up. Which is almost as ridiculous as the idea that someone actually wrote the toad hunting crap.

* Jack is going to pow-wow with the others and only takes Kate and one gun. Oh, and Sayid doesn't want to go?? Also, suddenly expert tracker Kate doesn't know where she is, and Jack is a superhero marksman?

* Week after week of Henry sitting in a cell, getting minor screen time, and giving up no information.

*Dave...

It's not a one time occurance. It is a trend. With each wheel-spinning week more viewers find something else to watch. The writers and producers mortgaged the middle of the season to pay off the last quarter. That is where they will stuff any island story of substance. Unfortunately, it may be too late to get those viewers back.

My hope is that someone with some stroke is watching the numbers and is going to change directions on the show for season three. Less soap opera crap, more continuity between episodes, no more pointless flashback episodes, and getting on with telling the damn story already.

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ditto doc

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i blame the scheduling. we simply gave up watching because of all the breaks. ill just wait and get them on dvd or download the season via itunes.

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Okay, we could argue all day about the creative direction of the show. I think it's headed in the right direction and absolutely look forward to each and every episode. More so than last year.

As for the ratings.

1.) If I'm not mistaken, "American Idol" did not go into direct competition with "Lost" last year. Maybe a couple of times, however I think it aired one hour earlier.

2.) "American Idol" last year on Wednesdays, at this time, averaged... 25.4 million viewers as opposed to this year's 30.1 million. (source: abcmedianet.com)


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If you ask me, "American Idol" plays a big role in the decreasing numbers, along with ABC's decision to air repeat after repeat.

ABC has saved up the last several episodes of the season... to play back to back through May, so that will help the numbers rise somewhat... but "Idol" will be progressing towards the winner of the show... so there numbers will steadily tick upwards as well.

It's a waiting game.

Also, if I'm not mistaken, "Lost" has a great rebound rate of viewers who tune in right after the half-hour of "Idol" to see the end of the show.

Those numbers are not accurately portrayed with "Nielsen". They are averaged... in a very weird way.

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Honestly, I'm bored with Lost. I haven't found it intersting in weeks, and have always forgotten to record it since I just don't care anymore. The story line has become such total crap that it's not worth my time.

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I couldnt agree more with doc. This is what happened to Alias and now it is happening to Lost. JJ Abrams creates these great shows and then leaves. Reportedly he wants to come back and they need him BADLY. Also, ever since Javier Grillo-Marxuach left the show its gone downhill. Another thing, the lost creators have posed so many questions that they could spend the time answering them and it would take three or four seasons. But instead, they just keep posing more questions to the point that even they dont know what the hell they are doing. Ever since the two groups collided its been awful. I hope Abrams coming back will fix this show. ABC has too much riding on it to let it go the way of Alias so here's hoping.

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Well, doc it's wonderful that you have American Idol to tide you over then. If you dislike Lost so much STOP WATCHING! You seem to be paying a lot of attention to a show you seem to not be able to stand.

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LOST, in many ways, is like the X-Files... apparently it's still "before it's time" - sure people get all excited with it, but if the "answers" they want are not thrown in their face, they get pissed. These episodes are written extremely well; layer upon layer.. subtle clues in EVERY episode and sometimes we're given a giant in your face clue too. You know, I think every show has this problem... "Oh why doesn't X and Y get together already! They're so in love!" Then X and Y hookup and SPLAT, ratings take a dive. At least with LOST, we're given such an intricate storyline (a growing one, even) so interwoven... sigh. Each episode is written for a reason and gives us several clues to add to our theories - there are no "filler" episodes.

I love LOST. It's one of the most well written, creative television programs out there right now and really makes watching television exciting. It really makes you appreciate this storytelling medium.

ok, off my soapbox now. ;)

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