Oscar's 80^th was supposed to be a big party.  But like a party for anyone that age, it seems most of Oscar's friends are dying off.  This was the least-watched Oscars ever.

It's easy to blame this drop on the lack of big-name nominees or the hasty resolution to the writers' strike.  Let's not kid ourselves: This is a generational shift.  There are still people coming to Oscar's party, but their kids and grandkids are texting in the car.

To many, we have become a nation that is used to being asked for our opinion, watching something on a screen and voting, then seeing results the next day - or sooner. The notion that other people will tell us what is better than something else - who wins- now seems passé.  And besides - who are these people to tell us what is good?

This kind of critical thought and questioning of leadership and what we take for granted as fact or excellence is welcome in our society (Some would say long overdue and horribly misplaced, but it's a start).

But even when the Academy succeeded in getting people to see the show, there still seemed to be a disconnect.

In the days after the Oscar telecast, what most people who saw it asked me about that evening is what I thought about Jon Stewart (he did great, though he still seems an inappropriate choice), did I see Gary Busey with Ryan Seacrest (not initially, but a zillion magical times since), and why did the Coen brothers seem so weird (because they are).

What they didn't ask me about was the movies.

And that's too bad.  Because the movies in contention were very, very good.  And what the Oscars can do is bring attention to art that would otherwise go unseen.  And when the Oscars go unseen, the art goes unseen.  And so do the messages of hope, anger, change, redemption, passion - all the illuminating of the human condition that art can provide.

Yes, it's a sign of the times, but it's not all bad news in Hollywoodland.  2007 was a record-breaking year for Hollywood box office.  People are going to the movies.  People are also buying HDTVs to watch movies, reading about movies, and (thankfully) visiting websites about movies.

So as Oscar gets older, I see a chance for the show to get "a little work done."  I'm not talking anything extreme, but I will suggest a few nips and tucks to the Academy...

• People who go to movies nowadays won't tolerate waiting over a month for the results of voting.  Let's close that window between announcing the nominees and the results.

• Get the people involved.  Maybe doing the actual nominating or voting on the winner is too much.  So how about some sort of "Best of the Forgotten" category.  For true movie fans, the best part of the run-up to the Awards is debating who got snubbed.  Find a way to engage people in that.

• Lose the montages.  We all have newspapers, TVs, and the Internet.  We know who died last year.  We miss them already.  We don't need to miss them with the obscene soundtrack of tepid industry applause.

• Let the presenters write their own introductions, or team them with a real comedy writer. Better yet - let users submit introductions in an online contest.

• Audition the actors for the introductions. If an actor can't handle saying, "Cinematography," she doesn't get to be in movies for a year.

• Start the show - the entire show - by giving out Best Supporting Actress.

• Wipe the stage off.  Presenters shouldn't slip.

• Consider - just consider - restricting the nominees to American-made films.  Yes, we live in a global marketplace and I love being a citizen of the world, but every other movie-producing country has their own awards and it's always referred to as "_____'s equivalent of the Academy Awards."  When do we get our equivalent?

• There are too many categories.  Yes, it's important to honor the work of unseen craftspeople.  Let's do it on cable where we can actually see them do their work.  Bravo would be the perfect place to really get to know the costume, makeup, and art direction nominees.  They could even make a reality competition show out of it.  Sundance could host the documentary, short subject, editing, sound, and effects categories.

• Remember your audience.  This is a family show.  What Hollywood allegedly does best is entertain families.  Let's keep the sex and drugs jokes out, or at least until the second half of the evening.  You can't rack up meaningful numbers by winning only New York and California.  Just ask Hillary Clinton.

• Thin the herd.  There are too many Academy members who are not active movie-makers.  This allows the choices of nominees and winners to be sentimental and not merit-based.  If you haven't had five legitimate credits in major motion pictures in the past 10 years, or have never been nominated for an Oscar: you are welcome to come to the Academy luncheons. But you may not nominate or vote for the awards.

• Add to the mix.  There are plenty of working professionals in the industry who are not allowed to join the Academy.  The system of bringing in new members is archaic and tedious.  The membership should be a living organism, reflecting the best minds of the movie business (and no, that is not an oxymoron).

• Don't bring back Billy Crystal.  Yes, it's tempting.  Yes, he's rather pleasant in some ways.  But what's wrong with the show cannot be fixed by hiring him; it can only be made worse by going backwards.

I could go on, but that's enough to get them started.

Let's see what happens next year.  I'll bet I'll be back here able to make a remarkably similar post.  And you know what?  If that's the case, I'll be glad to keep making suggestions and keep championing great movies.

Until then, thanks very much for reading these blog entries and for posting your comments.  For more on your blogger, check out my website.  And if you're in New York this Spring, I hope you'll come see my show.  It's based on something old too, but hopefully with a little bit of improvement.

Now go see some movies.  That's what we're here for, right?