Although much was made of American Idol‘s ratings dip last season, it’s hard to criticize a show that produces numbers any program would kill for. On it’s worst day, Idol could still easily beat anything currently offered. But does that mean the series is still water cooler television?

Well, based on the recent turnout in Puerto Rico - maybe it isn’t. On August 2nd, the producers took the auditions over to the U.S. territory for the first time in eight seasons. Where best to find the next Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez or Ricky Martin? And while it’s still possible the next winner was discovered on that island, the judges only had a total of 300 to choose from. Yes, only 300 showed up to the San Juan auditions. (I doubt the crowd even filled one section of Coliseo de Puerto Rico.) If Ryan Seacrest can somehow skirt around the pathetic sight during Season 8, he’ll have totally earned his paycheck for the year.

Meanwhile, one of the men responsible for helping American Idol become a ratings juggernaut has just announced that he is leaving. Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe - best known now for his work on So You Think You Can Dance - has decided to leave the reality hit after seven long seasons. While he may stay with the program in some capacity, he is choosing to focus on other joint ventures with Simon Fuller (Idol‘s creator).

Could it be that Lythgoe was just simply getting tired of the show? Had he already seen more than his share of William Hungs? (Yeah, right…as if that was possible.)