So after a less-than-stellar return for Lost on the 7th, last week's show that aired on Valentine's Day slumped even lower. Is the panic substantiated? You be the judge as I present two opposing articles:

1. Lost Ratings Hit Record Low

Notable excerpts:

• "The show's Feb. 7 return was heavily promoted and drew nearly 14.5 million viewers. But the bounce didn't last, with the show slumping this week [to 12.8 million]."
• "...well off the peak of more than 20 million for the drama that became an instant sensation when it debuted in September 2004."
• "The show, named best drama at the 2005 Emmy Awards, was shut out at the 2006 ceremony."

2. Lost's Future is Bright, Despite Ratings Decline

Notable excerpts:

• "The defense to LOST's dip in th ratings that makes the most sense is that there was a universal decline due to Valentines Day festivities. What reinforces this defense is that all shows from 9:00pm on suffered a pretty proportionally lateral decline in ratings on heart day."
• "ABC is heralding LOST as bringing an unheard of share of the coveted 18-49 demographic to 10pm. Again, citing numbers that can be backed up across the board against any other show in the slot, any day of the week."
• "A couple of factors that aren't so widely discussed is the fact that the two episodes since the return focused on characters who were not central to the LOST core. 'Not in Portland' focused heavily on Juliet's back story, while 'Flashes Before Your eyes' was dominated by Henry Ian Cusick's Desmond character."

Me again. I would like to add to the latter argument that the ratings are never quite as low as they seem because ratings reports don't reflect "live plus seven" data, meaning viewers who watch the shows off their DVR within seven days of the airing. The ratings go up an average of 4-5%. Also, the Nielsen ratings have dubious methods for counting away-from-home college students. Finally, internationally Lost is still doing quite good (although I believe most countries are still at some point in season 2).

Still, there's no doubt that the numbers have gone down. Obviously I'm a gigantic Lost fan and this site will always give Lost every conceivable benefit of the doubt because I still think that its the highest quality show on television. I just hope the ratings balance out so we can finally stop dedicating our time to talking about Lost's supposed downfall, and start dedicating it to the actual show.