Backlash against '24' building?

Last Monday's Los Angeles Times Calendar section had an article by Scott Collins entitled "Is '24' running out of time?" which detailed the declining ratings and building critical and viewer displeasure for the reigning Emmy-award winning drama.

After peaking in the ratings last year, Fox's thriller "24" has been getting dumped on by seemingly everyone in this, its sixth season. Critics and fans alike are aiming tomatoes at the stage, carping about the soapy and repetitive plotlines that unspool Jack's unlikely familial past, tiresome romantic triangles in the security bureaucracy and endless bickering among Oval Office advisors.

Last week, with a fresh episode designed to lay the groundwork for what the creators promise will be a typically suspenseful finale next month, "24's" ratings in the key young-adult category swooned to their lowest level in more than three years, with a total audience of just 10.4 million, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research.

More than one-third of viewers have bailed since the special four-hour season premiere that aired over two consecutive nights back in January. And if that wasn't enough bad news for the series, last week "24" was one of the prime-time shows that the Federal Communications Commission singled out in urging Congress to curb TV violence.

Bizarrely, the article doesn't seem to state the obvious that the reason for the decline in 24 is the competition: NBC's Heroes airs in the same time slot, Mondays at 9pm.

It's unsurprising really. What show can sustain intense critical and ratings success in its 6th season? ER and The Simpsons come to mind but those are all-time classic shows.