A predictable evening

Sunday's Golden Globes awards ceremony went mostly as expected: few surprises in the award categories, and little excitement on screen. Below, we recap the evening's winners and losers, and examine the critics' reactions to the broadcast.

Film winners: A big night for Avatar

A dramatic victory

Never underestimate James Cameron. If Avatar wasn't the frontrunner for a best picture Oscar before Sunday night, it probably is now, taking home top honors in the dramatic film category over the favored Up in the Air and, to a lesser extent, The Hurt Locker. Cameron was also named top director over Hurt Locker's Kathryn Bigelow, the predicted winner and Cameron's ex-wife.

There were few upsets that didn't involve the Na'vi (and, let's face it, Avatar's wins weren't all that shocking), as film critics and other experts correctly predicted most of the victors in advance. One minor surprise was Jeff Bridges' acting win for a drama, an award that was expected to go to George Clooney for his work in Up in the Air. The latter movie was probably the biggest loser of the evening, winning only for best screenplay when it appeared that it was destined for more awards.

How good are the Globes as predictors of the Academy Awards? Last year, both the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (which hands out the Globes) and the Academy selected Slumdog Millionaire for top honors. But that was the first time both organizations agreed on the year's best film since 2003 (when they each named the third Lord of the Rings movie). However, Cameron's Titanic did receive both a Globe and an Oscar as the best picture of 1997.

However, the Globes do serve as a useful predictor in other categories. The two organizations have agreed on their choices for lead actor in three of the past four years (but not last year), lead actress in six of the past seven years, and best director in five of the past six years.

This year's actual film winners are listed below, along with the predicted winners.

* Predicted Winners represent the consensus of a sampling of expert predictions.

TV winners: Cable wins big (again)

Killing the competition

As it has done at the Emmys in recent years, cable outshone the competition on Sunday night. There were just three wins for the broadcast networks; cable nets collected the other eight trophies, including four wins for HBO and three for Showtime.

Among the winners, there were few surprises. Mad Men and Glee took top honors, but AMC's widely-praised drama and Fox's freshman musical were both heavily favored to win. Perhaps the biggest upset of the evening was that the latter program's Jane Lynch did not take home the trophy for best supporting actress; instead, that honor went to Big Love's Chloë Sevigny. Michael C Hall's victory as lead actor in a drama was also a minor upset, with most experts predicting Mad Men's Jon Hamm or House's Hugh Laurie to win. (Emmy winner Bryan Cranston was not nominated.) Hall, who recently revealed he is undergoing treatment for cancer, did not reference his illness during his short acceptance speech.

This year's actual TV winners are listed below, along with the predicted winners.

* Predicted Winners represent the consensus of a sampling of expert predictions.

The telecast: Not enough Gervais

How did British comedian Ricky Gervais perform in his first major awards-show hosting gig, and how was the broadcast in general?

Some critics were appreciative. Hal Boedeker of the Orlando Sentinel called the host "thrillingly impudent," while the Baltimore Sun's David Zurawik opined that "Gervais did not disappoint as host" even as he "made the room uncomfortable with jokes about his genitals and 'buying' a Golden Globe Award." Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe called Gervais "a comfortable, irreverent presence" who brought an "infectious" informality to the proceedings, despite the fact that his material was "consistently lazy."

In the mixed camp, Time's James Poniewozik stated that "it was only an OK night for Gervais, considering what he's capable of." Similarly, the Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan felt that Gervais "had his moments," but that, while his earlier awards-show appearances were strong,

As the Globes host, Gervais found it more difficult to strike the right tone. His jokes about Colin Farrell's reputation as a hellraiser and about the plastic surgery on display in the room felt as though they'd be written by a somewhat uninspired committee.

Overall, added Ryan, "the event was more restrained and sedate than past Golden Globes ceremonies."

TV Squad's Jane Boursaw felt that "Gervais' hosting skills fell a little flat," while IMDb's resident TV critic Melanie McFarland offered the most dramatic rejection, calling the broadcast "the longest three hours in the history of broadcasting" and adding:

There’s something very wrong when an Emmys telecast, even one hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, outshines a Globes telecast hosted by Ricky Gervais.

The host's most memorable line of the night? The consensus indicates that it was Gervais' introduction of a certain star:

I like a drink as much as the next man, unless the next man is Mel Gibson.

In general, the critics also enjoyed the acceptance speeches from film actors Mo'Nique, Jeff Bridges and Robert Downey, Jr., and were disappointed about the lack of Jay Leno-Conan O'Brien jokes (save for a few very brief references).

At least Harrison Ford only presented an award and didn't host the entire broadcast. More than one critic noted his coma-inducing speech.

What do you think?

What did the HFPA voters get right and wrong? What do these results say about potential Oscar winners? How did Ricky Gervais do as the host? Let us know in the comments section below.