Even though we're all having a good time geeking out over last night's Oscars telecast, the actual show turned out to be a ratings nightmare. According to preliminary ratings from Nielson, the 80th Academy Awards came in 14 percent lower than the least-watched ceremony ever! And 21 percent lower than last year! Damn, looks like at least one record was set last night. So what's the problem? Is it that a majority of the public haven't seen the nominated movies? Is it because the show is too long? Is it because the categories aren't flashy enough?

After they announced the second sound-related award last night, I turned to my friend and noted that they could've easily replaced one of these sound categories with something a little more fan-friendly. Or even if they want to stick with what they have, perhaps more people will watch if they have more say in how the awards show plays out. So in the spirit of brainstorming, what would be a good category to add to future Oscar telecasts? Best fanboy film? Best comedy? Or how about a viewer's choice award? Would something like asking, ya know, actual paying moviegoers which film they liked the best take away from the epic-like ceremony?

What can Oscar do to turn this sucker around? (And no, having Miley Ray Cyrus announce every award is not a good solution.) Sound off below ...

According to overnight ratings from Nielsen, this year's Oscar telecast could go down as the second lowest-rated of all time, behind only 2003's show which produced Chicago as its Best Picture. With roughly a 10% drop from last year's ceremony, it appears as if the stampede of Oscar advertising did nothing to save this ship from sinking faster than Ryan Seacrest's interviewing ability.

Throughout the night., ABC averaged a 27.1 household rating, down from last year's 30.1, yet miles above 2003's disgusting 25.5. Even though the telecast progressively became more boring as time went on, ratings still managed to slowly climb each half hour, ultimately leveling off in the last hour. I'd be curious to know what exactly could have been added to attract more viewers?

For example: If Batman Begins was up for more awards, would you have tuned in? Sure, all of the films nominated weren't as commercial as say, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, but you'd think, with all the controversy swirling around Brokeback Mountain, it would at least bring in more eyes. I guess we're lucky there was no singing and dancing in Brokeback Mountain because then, well, Ryan Seacrest would be our only highlight. Geez, talk about the end of the world, huh?