Oscars 2010

Despite an uneven show event, viewers for Sunday's Academy Awards turned out in droves, helping the floundering Oscars achieve its highest ratings in five years, asmore than 40 million viewers tuned in to see The Hurt Locker and Avatar duke it out on the most prestigious of stages.

And as tableau senior writer Dave Replogle so aptly predicted in his Oscars Preview, The Hurt Locker completely swept the night, which was full of historic firsts. Geoffrey Fletcher became the first black screenwriter to take home the Oscar, adding to thePrecious pile. And Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to ever win the prestigious Best Director title, edging out Avatar.

A few highlights: Ben Stiller dressed Na'vi to present the award for Best Makeup. Sandra Bullock's gorgeous Marchesa gown and compassionate Best Actress acceptance speech. (She also picked up a Razzie this weekend for the box office bomb, All About Steve.) The Hurt Locker, which took home six Oscars.

A few low points: Neil Patrick Harris and his awkward Vegas number, which didn't measure up to Hugh Jackman's previous performance. A random horror genre tribute presented by teeny-bopper stars Kristin Stewart and Taylor Lautner, and the subsequent montage that included films like Twilight and E.T. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin's lackluster tag teaming.