Over the weekend, the biggest stars in Hollywood came together to attend the 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards, or The Globes, as the announcer lovingly called them.

Why even watch The Globes, you may ask, when the Academy Awards are just around the corner?

Just think of the ceremony as an Oscar pre-game show. You get to find out who has the best odds of winning, and the tone of the proceedings is much more laid-back. Instead of emotional displays of joy and gratitude, victors tend to receive their statuettes with polite speeches and humorous remarks.

Ricky Gervais, star of the British comedy series “The Office,” accepted the award for Best Comedy Series with casual bemusement. “I’m not from around here,” he said. “I’m from a little place called England. We used to rule the world before you.”

When he stepped up to receive the Best Actor in a Comedy Series award, Gervais proclaimed that he would say whatever came to his mind until the little flashing light ushered him off the stage, at which point he gleefully made his exit. It was almost as if he just wanted to hurry up and get home to watch cartoons.

I really can’t blame him for not being overly ecstatic. After all, getting an award for Best Television Show is like getting an A in Remedial Math.

A few actors took the informal atmosphere as an opportunity to vent frustrations. While accepting his Best Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy award, Bill Murray accused others of trying to take credit for his success.

He continued by sarcastically reminding everyone not to forget the much-neglected dramatic actors nominated for awards. “Because otherwise,” he pointed out, “where would we get our historical epics and psychological dramas?”

Murray wasn’t the only comedian with a chip on his shoulder. After introducing nominees, a very miffed (and very bald) Jim Carrey announced, “And the award goes to … ‘Elf’! Oh wait, ‘Elf’ wasn’t nominated this year.”

Don’t fret if you missed all the strange happenings during the live broadcast Sunday night, because you can experience all the fun in rerun form on the Bravo Network.

Or you could just wait for the Academy Awards — same difference.