Once a year (at least!) I know I will stay up late on Sunday night, starting off the work week in a sleep deficit. Once a year I will listen to giddy stars telling us who designed their Size 0 gowns. But it will be worth it every year, too, because no matter how gaudy or self-involved or long they are, the Oscars are for me the original “must-see TV.”

They remind me of the days when there were three networks and the annual airing of “The Wizard of Oz” or Mary Martin’s “Peter Pan” dominated the television calendar. Yes, we were limited, so limited that we read books and made forts in the woods because there was little to keep us inside. But perhaps for that reason the movies seemed even more magical, and tuning in to the annual celebration in their honor became a habit.

In the weeks leading up to the awards ceremony I try to see as many “Best Picture” nominees as I can, a task made more difficult by last year’s decision to increase the number tapped from five to ten. Even though I came nowhere close to seeing them all, I still feel cinema-besotted from my efforts.

Last night’s Oscars ceremony was slightly shorter than usual and not as well hosted. But our favorites won, the “In Memoriam” reminded us who we have lost, and the dresses, well, the dresses are always divine.