Lost: How Do The Finale Ratings Stack Up?

Sure, the Lost finale got its own night with like 10 hours of programming dedicated to celebrating the show and yes, it did get better ratings than the series finales of 24 and Law & Order, who ended their runs Monday night, but with 13.5 million viewers, it wasn't quite the juggernaut that ABC was hoping for.  And, as this post on GQ Magazine's website points out, it was beaten by some surprising (and embarrassing) shows, as we can see on this list from the very reliable Wikipedia site.  Lost came in at #55 on the list, placing it below shows like M.A.S.H. (of course -- it's the most watched finale of all time with 105.9 million viewers), The Golden Girls (18), Full House (20), Quantum Leap (28), Matlock (35), Beverly Hills, 90210 (51), and, yes, ALF (25).  It was also beaten by whatever show came in 19th, but for some reason, the list skips from 18 to 20. 

Now, before you blame Lost's loss to freaking Mr. Belvedere (54) on declining network viewership in general, competition from cable channels and, of course, the internet, it was beaten by some more recent finales too -- 2004's Friends (4) and Frasier (11), 2005's Everybody Loves Raymond (13), NYPD Blue (44), and JAG (53), 2006's Will & Grace (36), and, just last year, ER (43).  Still, the 55th most-watched series finale of all time is impressive.  But ... ALF?  Seriously?