Mediaite, angling for maximum drama!, calls it a “collapse.” I’m surprised, not that there was a drop-off from the smash debut — curiosity-seekers were to be expected for episode one — but that the audience didn’t settle at a higher number for Sunday’s show. Surely there are more than three million devoted Sarahcuda supporters out there eager for a weekly fix. What on earth were they watching instead?

Ah, right: Sunday Night Football and the AMAs. Even cultural icons must know their place.

Sarah Palin’s Alaska fell 40% on Sunday night to 3 million viewers.

Not many were in the key adult demo either. Only 885,000 viewers were ages 18-49, dropping 44% from last week.

In fact, the median age of the show is 57 — that’s 15 years older than TLC’s average.

Her son will appear on the next episode, so maybe that’ll bring the curiosity-seekers back. Failing that, there’s a new “scandal” to quicken the pulse of embittered lefties: Some animal rights group is angry about a scene from Sunday’s show in which the Palins ended up clubbing halibut or something on the deck of a ship. Click the image below to watch a clip; it features the most famous Palin in the world, plus Sarah. Exit question one: Could the drop in ratings be due to … overexposure? Between this, DWTS, and promotions for the book tour, there’s a whole lotta Palin going on right now. Exit question two: This story can’t possibly be true, can it? Because if it is, they should let Sarah take over DWTS and run it from now on. Even more ingenious than my idea about a Gadsden flag dress.