And there's no one there to hear it... You know the rest of that saying. This year's Oscars, hosted for the second year running by Jon Stewart, now holds the dubious title of being the least watched Academy Awards broadcast since they began keeping records. 32 million viewers, the lowest number since 1974 and less than watched the premiere of American Idol, tuned in to see No Country for Old Men take home four Oscars and a batch of foreign actors nab top acting honors.

Last year, 40 million watched Martin Scorsese receive the very first Oscar of his long, critically acclaimed career for The Departed. This year's movies didn't seem to generate the same passionate support as did Scorsese's quest for his first Academy Award. The batch of films nominated, with the exception of Juno, may have been too dark and grim for occasional moviegoers. Also, the writers strike may have dampened audiences' enthusiasm for award shows in general. Whatever the cause, the 80th Annual Academy Awards' failure to capture the attention of television viewers may hurt the final box office numbers of the nominated films and may spell an end to Stewart's hosting gig.