bemoaned, "Pleasant and innocuous but hardly exciting, DeGeneres forgot the primary Academy Award host directive: It's not about the host. Hollywood's biggest night (and television's second-biggest annual gathering, after the Super Bowl) is a celebration of film." The Washington Post columnist Tom Shales gave an average review for DeGeneres but criticized the overall slow and choppy pacing of the program noting that it was "punishingly too long." Other media outlets received the broadcast more positively. Columnist Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times lauded DeGeneres's performance writing that she was "cheeky but good-natured, far less barbed and sardonic than Jon Stewart last year or Chris Rock in 2005." She added that her style brought a "casual Friday mood to Fancy Sunday." St. Louis Post-Dispatch television critic Gail Pennington praised host DeGeneres and producer Ziskin for turning "the evening into an upbeat celebration––and the most entertaining Oscars in years." Television editor Dave Kronke of the Los Angeles Daily News gave high marks for DeGeneres commenting, "Her material was amusing but scarcely a laugh riot, yet it was amiable and delineated that the evening was a celebration of all the nominees, not just the winners." Ratings and reception The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 39.92 million people over its length, which was a 2.5% increase from the previous year's ceremony. An estimated 76.72 million total viewers watched all or part of the awards. The show also drew higher Nielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony with 23.59% of households watching over a 38.86 share. In addition, the program scored a higher 18-49 demo rating with a 14.18 rating over a 33.71 share among viewers in that demographic. In July 2007, the ceremony presentation received nine nominations at the 59th Primetime Emmys. Two months later, the ceremony won two of those nominations for Outstanding Art Direction (J. Michael Riva, Geoffrey Richman, and Tamlyn Wright) and Outstanding Music Direction (William Ross). In Memoriam The annual In Memoriam tribute, presented by actress Jodie Foster, honored the following people: Glenn Ford - Actor Bruno Kirby - Character actor, comedian Alida Valli - Actress Betty Comden – Songwriter Jane Wyatt - Actress Don Knotts - Actor, comedian Red Buttons - Actor, comedian Gillo Pontecorvo – Director Darren McGavin - Actor Richard Fleischer – Director Sven Nykvist – Cinematographer Joseph Barbera – Producer, cartoonist Tamara Dobson - Actor, model Gretchen Rau – Set designer