If I stated that all ratings are directly correlated to quality, then I misspoke, but to say that ratings ARE NOT correlated to a show's quality is simply hogwash. Now, to thoroughly examine that theory we'd have to get into a deep, serious conversation on the psychology of viewers and the fact that if a show is pulling consistently high numbers, even if it isn't produced in the likes of a Lord of the Rings, Silence of the Lambs, etc type quality...they MUST be finding SOME kind of quality in that. it may not be the "quality" many of us would be thinking of on the surface, but there is definitely a high "quality" to all of those viewers since it can pull solid numbers regularly. Will some terrible shows slip through with good ratings? Sure. But to think that every single one, or even a majority will, is simply naive. I have an extensive background in psychology, and not the Freud and Jung bullshit, trust me, it's too deep a fucking debate to have in this thread. Furthermore, I don't really give a shit about posturing on why or how a large group of people find quality in X show. I will stand by this though, if a show pulls large numbers, there has to be something in a show of "quality" to viewers. You may not see it, but obviously an overwhelming majority does or else they wouldn't be tuning in. People tuning in for "mindless drivel" is not that important to people. This can be seen in the disappearance of Sat and soon to be Friday programming. People are now doing other things than watching TV.