Golden Globes 2010: The Winners

I didn't watch the ceremony myself, although the fact Ricky Gervais was hosting means I'll definitely try to catchup. I've read conflicting reports about how funny he was, though. Anyway, here are some of the more notable wins for me, with a few comments:

TELEVISION

Best Actor - Michael C. Hall (Dexter)
Best Supporting Actor - John Lithgow (Dexter)

Dexter's fourth season was definitely held together by the performance of these two men, I can't deny that. I'm not really sure MCH did anything to truly justify a Golden Globe this year, but Lithgow was certainly fantastic in his supporting role.

Best Comedy/Musical - Glee
Best Drama - Mad Men

It would have been very strange if Glee didn't win, if only because it's a hybrid of its own comedy/musical category and has been a breakout success in the US. I haven't seen season 3 of Mad Men yet, but it's no surprise to me that it won Best Drama again. But I do have to wonder if other shows are being shunned as critics swoon over Matthew Weiner's work. It's great, but is it going to dominate these awards until it goes off-air?

FILM

Best Film - Avatar
Best Director - James Cameron (Avatar)

A very populist win, which I'm not convinced is wholly deserved. I'd have liked Inglourious Basterds to win, although I hear Up In The Air is very good, too. Cameron as Best Director? Well, it's certainly a huge achievement putting films of Avatar's scale and complexity together, so I guess it depends if you think a Best Director award should take all that into account. If you do, you can't argue with what Cameron achieved on a technical level -- and Avatar certainly wasn't badly directed. But if you think it's more about storytelling craft, Avatar's win is debatable.

Best Actor (Comedy) - Robert Downey, Jr (Sherlock Holmes)
Best Supporting Actor (Drama) - Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

I get the impression people are just in love with RDJ post-Iron Man, but I'm sure he was very good as Sherlock Holmes. I can't argue with Christoph Waltz's win; the unknown former-soap star from Germany who gripped the screen throughout Inglourious Basterds.

The full lists of winners can be reader over at Digital Spy here and here.