Late last night I watched "Good Night, and Good Luck." Today I sat through "Brokeback Mountain." I am trying to get my Oscar-telecast game face on. Of course, the anticipation of all that earnestness and solemnity has forced me to cleanse the movie palate, so right now I am watching "Caddyshack" on HDNet Movies.

Cleansing is done, and I have turned to "Oscar Countdown." This is the bride's favorite part, because she likes to look at the gowns. So far, though, she is thumbs-down on Keira Knightley and Amy Adams, and has shouted "NOOOOO!" at Naomi Watts. I am feeling more kindly toward Knightley, because she has a sense of self-mockery and humor that is largely lacking in the Oscar pre-show hosts. Billy Bush did not know what to do with Knightley's banter.

"YUCH!" screams the bride. Helena Bonham Carter is in her sights. "If I had the money to buy any gown I wanted … " the bride says.

Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger. Williams looks grossly over-made up. Bush sounds as if he is reading his comments off of cards.

Jada looks good. (Bride concurs.) Will is coolly whimsical. But the show still has 45 minutes to fill before the Oscars really start. Now they're running a series of clips from movies with monkeys and apes, tied to "King Kong." Nor is this the first time "Kong" has been brought up. They must be trying to showcase a movie that most of the audience actually saw.

Commercials, More blah blah. Recap of the best-actor nominees. And now the "top critics" — Leonard Maltin, Joel Siegel and someone I don't recognize. The bride is miffed. "Show me the gowns," she declares, "and you'll keep me around."

Over to TV Guide Channel. Joan Rivers is talking about hip-hop with Ludacris. Much funnier than anything on ABC.

I dutifully return to ABC. Commercial. Back to TV Guide Channel. Joan Rivers is asking Ang Lee if his approach to directing is like Hitchcock's. Melissa is with Cleveland's own Tom O'Neil and with Greg Proops. Melissa plugs the fashion wrap tomorrow night. New categories for the show: "Best rack" and best backside. Back to Joan. Jane Seymour and James Keach (Seymour's husband and a producer of "Walk the Line") stand by as … Joan wraps up her show!

Back, to stay, to ABC. George Clooney affably deals with silly questions. Clip of Terrence Howard, now live with an ABC interviewer. "Is this all a dream come true?" "It's the beginning of a dream come true," he replies. I suspect the interviewer does not know that Howard has been knocking it out of the park in movies and TV for years.

Nice gown on Jennifer Aniston. She's being called a ''style icon." She's asked what she thinks of the movies this year. Manages to answer without mentioning a single movie by name.

The questions for the stars are getting so lame that they can do only one thing: Give lame answers. Which of course means, another clip reel. 23 lonnnnng minutes to go.

Once again, the Academy Award nominations are out, and once again we should expect a big thank-you from the Oscar folks to those of us who watch television.

After all, we're supporting a medium where Oscar nominees get their start, hone their skills or amuse themselves while waiting for another movie to come along.

This year, television even gave the movies a subject, with "Good Night, And Good Luck," about the great Edward R. Murrow.

George Clooney is also nominated for directing "Good Night." No recitation of his long TV credits is necessary here. All right, maybe it is. As an actor: "ER," which made him a star, "Roseanne," the live version of "Fail-Safe" and other shows. As a producer: "K Street," "Unscripted," "Fail-Safe." As director: "Unscripted." Note that some of those TV credits came after Clooney entered the top ranks of movie stars; he obviously still likes many aspects of TV.

Speaking of actors, here are some best-actor nominees and their TV credits: Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Empire Falls"), Terrence Howard ("Lackawanna Blues," "Their Eyes Were Watching God"), Heath Ledger ("Roar"), Joaquin Phoenix ("Morningstar/Eveningstar," when he was still Leaf Phoenix), David Strathairn ("Big Apple," "Master Spy," "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd.")

Best actress: Judi Dench will always have a following for the British series "As Time Goes By," Felicity Huffman has "Desperate Housewives" right now, Keira Knightley did "Doctor Zhivago" for TV Charlize Theron played a recurring role on "Arrested Development," Reese Witherspoon was in "Return to Lonesome Dove" and had a recurring role on "Friends."

Supporting actor: There's Clooney again. William Hurt was also in "Master Spy."

Supporting actress: Amy Adams was in "Dr. Vegas" and has a recurring role in "The Office." Michelle Williams spent far too many years on "Dawson's Creek." Frances McDormand was the narrator of the sweet, overlooked "State of Grace."

So, as I said, television plays a major role in sustaining the movie business. And it's not just a place where actors start their careers, then abandon once the movies beckon. As the notes above show, many of the most highly regarded actors come back to TV, sometimes in roles and productions that are as interesting as the ones they do for the big screen.

So don't buy it if you hear some movie-centric character praise his pet medium by knocking the small screen. Instead, let's hope that Oscar is big enough to give thanks to TV. Maybe even send it one of those gift bags.