Ratings

Hey guys, it's JB here with a new weekly installment dealing with the ratings for the episodes. For a quick recap of what we've seen so far, let's take a look back at the first 5 episodes.

Episodes 1 and 2, named "LA X," started the season off solidly. Many people noticed the poor CGI section to start off what had been touted as the greatest season premiere of the year. The idea of the alternate timeline (or flash-sideways, as some call it) threw many of us for a loop. Lots of people felt like TPTB (The Powers That Be, for the uninitiated) could have done better for a premiere. The average rating was just under 8, marking it lower than both the Season 5 premiere (8.35) and Season 4 premiere (8.46), although significantly higher than the Season 3 premiere (5.69).

I'm back!! After a very busy time and a fantastic vacation it is time to get back to my episode rating reviews. I want to thank Laklost for filling in for me last week and doing two episode reviews. It was fantastic and a hard act to follow. Thank you Laklost, you are the best!!

I was stunned after watching "Some Like it Hoth". Not stunned because it was such a great episode, but stunned that our users liked it so much. They gave it a 8.52 average, which was dragged down some by a two and my 6. I am usually not that far off in opinion from our users. 76% gave this episode a 9 or 10 rating! Follow the break to see some of their comments.

Since Jugdish is on a well-deserved Spring Break, I had the pleasure to pore over the voting and comments about "Whatever Happened, Happened" and "Dead is Dead." Lost Season Five episodes 11 and 12 were quite well received by our voters. The first installment of these two episodes revolving around Ben Linus received an 8.05 while the second got a very high 9.28. I am in complete agreement with such high ratings. From Kate's compassion, to Richard and the Others' dealings with Ben and Charles, to Locke and Smokey confronting Ben the story seems to be building to a huge climactic point. Follow the jump to get more opinions.

ESB got the comments going with praise for "Whatever Happened": "I loved how we saw Kate's growth and why Kate came to the Island." Many posters agreed with this. Ladybug absolutely "loved that Kate re-visited Cassidy. They finally talked!" Jugdish said, "Where Aaron is makes sense and is logical. I also liked that it was a human response with a real emotional reason. Kate is finally doing the right thing for someone else." Geronimo Jackson was "glad that Claire's visit to Kate not to bring Aaron back to the island from previous season came full circle to have Kate return Aaron to his Grandma."

"Namaste" and "He's Our You" both delved into the world of the Dharma Initiative circa 1977. We got to see Sawyer, Juliet, Jin, Miles and now Kate, Jack and Hurley become part of the happy island colony. This is what we have been waiting for this entire season. The return to the island and the story of the reunited Losties has been told to us, to very mixed results. The SWLS members rated "Namaste" with a 7.71 rating and a "He's Our You" as a 7.08. These are very low ratings for a Lost episodes. Continue after the break to see what our members had to say about these episodes.

Episode 5.8 "LaFleur" marked the half way point of season 5. It was followed by a week off of new shows and it appears that most of the SWLS mods (including me) took some extra time off. But we are starting to wind it back up for the second half of the season. "LaFleur" was considered an average episode by Lost standards. An average rating of 7.89 is low for this season. The episode was enjoyed but not loved by the SWLS members. Follow the link to see what our members thought of this episode.

"The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" aired to very mixed reviews this week. It is the first "controversial' episode this season. The grades ranged from perfect 10's to a low of 3. The three came from admitted John Locke fan Lil. This alone is raising eyebrows. The rating average came out to a season low 7.86. The expectations for this episode were high and many believed that the episode did not deliver. This may have lead to some to grade this episode more harshly. Click the link to see what the SLWS members had to say of "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham."

5x04 "The Little Prince" is the first episode of season 5 that has really divided SWLS. A 7.43 rating is the lowest of the season but it does not tell the whole story. This episode has earned a season low rating of 5 by four voters, with a couple of 10. The main point of contention appears to be the lack of "surprises" in this episode and what constitutes a WOW moment.

The readers at SWLS loved Jughead. It earned the highest rating of any episode over the last two seasons with an 8.96 rating. The reveal of Charles Widmore being an Other on the island in 1954 was a big hit with our members. Most of us were surprised by this revelation or at least finding out this answer during Jughead. Having a hydrogen bomb on the island split some of the fans opinions. Some were disappointed that something manmade may play a big part in the story of Lost. But overall the fantastic season 5 continues to thrill the viewers.

The new seasons has started off with a big bang according to SWLS members. Both "Because You Left" and "The Lie" earned huge ratings that rank right up with the best episodes from the past. "Because You Left" earned a slightly higher 8.69 to "The Lie" rating of 8.64. Many posters stated that they wait on giving out 10's to that one episode that just blows them away. During season 4 that was 4x11 "Cabin Fever" which had a rating of 8.94. So the first two episodes earned huge ratings from very tough scorers. Neither episode earned a score lower than a 7, so no one was disappointed with season 5. We had some interesting themes come from the users comments.

Season 4 part 2, started off with a bang, both literally and figuratively. 4x09 "The Shape Of Things To Come" got the viewers right back into the action, gave us some answers and many more questions. Lost came out of the gates with both guns blasting and a freiight train named Smokie. The SWLS users really liked this episode. An 8.4 overall rating shows a strong positive reaction to this episode. 84% of the voters gave it an 8 or higher. A user did give it a 1, but did not post a reason for that low score. Otherwise it was 6 or higher. SWLS members are very hard graders and compare Lost against it self not other shows. Many have stated that they are holding onto a 10 for the best episode ever. So an 8.4 average is a strong rating.

The new season is already four episodes old and it is time to exam what our memebers think of the season. After analyzing the poll results it is clear that our members are really enjoying this season. SWLS members have given this season an average rating of 8.2. The smooth addition of four new characters has gone over much better than the Nikki and Paulo mistake of last season. Let's take a closer look at each episode this season.