When the 2011 Golden Globe nominations were announced this morning, there were plenty of names conspicuously absent from the list. No love for the final season of 'Lost'? Yet another year of ignoring the fantastic 'Friday Night Lights'? Of course, there were plenty of surprises too. 'The Walking Dead'? Heck yes. Jennifer Love Hewitt ... um, what?

After the jump, our full list of the most egregious snubs and the most interesting surprises. For a list of movie snubs and surprises, head over to Moviefone.

Let's face it: For a television fan, the Golden Globes are a fun diversion, something to help you through your winter doldrums. But in the parlance of television awards, the Globes are a distant second to the Emmys in importance, for a couple of reasons. One is timing; while it's the high season for motion pictures and their awards, the Globes come a couple of months after TV's Emmy and premiere-laden peak period.

But the second reason is that the nomination list is often very silly.

As much as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has tried to buckle down over the last few years and give nominations to people that actually deserved them, there is one or two head-scratchers on the nomination list every year, and this year is no different. A couple of reasons why the Globe nominations always seem to look silly:

There are many enduring mysteries that surround the Golden Globes, starting with "What is the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and why won't this mysterious organization make its membership list public?"

Alas, the organization's doings and membership are shrouded in secrecy, and not everyone takes the group seriously, to put it mildly. Thanks to WikiLeaks, we now know more about how high-level diplomacy really works than we do about how and why Globes voters make the choices they make.

All we really know about the Globes is that the group's annual telecast is typically one of the more lively stops on the awards circuit. There aren't that many awards during the program, so it's a relatively zippy affair (unlike the ponderous Emmys). At the Globes, the stars all sit at big tables and, judging by some of the acceptance speeches, the famous people don't mind having a drink or three.

And that's fine with me, but the Globes nomination roster sometimes leaves me in need of alcoholic sustenance. Then again, the doings of most awards-giving groups usually leave me stumped for one reason or another. In fairness, the Globes have usually been more quick to recognize excellent new shows than the sclerotic Academy that gives out the Emmys, but this year's list of Globes nominees induced more head-scratching than usual.

Here's my baker's dozen of Globes Questions, in no particular order:

The usual suspects dominated the 2011 Golden Globe nominations Tuesday morning. Last year's comedy winner, 'Glee,' as well as award favorites 'Modern Family' and 'The Good Wife' earned multiple nods across the television categories.

Many previous nominees and winners -- including 'Mad Men,' Michael C. Hall and Julianna Margulies -- again received accolades from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

But there were surprises and newcomers, as well, such as 'The Big Bang Theory' breaking into the best comedy category and nominations for Piper Perabo for 'Covert Affairs' and Scott Caan for 'Hawaii Five-0.' Two new shows, HBO's 'Boardwalk Empire' and AMC's 'The Walking Dead' broke into the best drama ranks, and actress Katey Sagal received her first nomination (for 'Sons of Anarchy') since 1994.

Golden Globe voters like to be first.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, whose handful of members will announce the Golden Globe nominations Tue., Dec. 14 and award prizes to the winners in a televised ceremony on Jan. 16, are the first major accolades of the awards season.

So Globe voters have a chance to recognize new shows and new talent months before the Emmys do the same.

Unfortunately, this year offers slim pickings for new standout series and performers, so HFPA members may find themselves nominating many familiar faces and titles next Tuesday. Here's how we predict the Golden Globe nominations are likely to play out.

According to the the Live Feed, Ricky Gervais will host the 2011 Golden Globe Awards.

The ceremony, airing Jan. 16, 2011, on NBC, will mark Gervais' second-consecutive time as host, following a successful run in January.

"I can't believe they invited me back after awful things I said," Gervais said in a statement. "Let's see how far I can go this time."

For more check out Inside Movies.

According to the the Live Feed, Ricky Gervais will host the 2011 Golden Globe Awards.

The ceremony, airing Jan. 16, 2011, on NBC, will mark Gervais' second-consecutive gig as host, following a successful run in January.

"I can't believe they invited me back after awful things I said," Gervais said in a statement. "Let's see how far I can go this time."

Read more on Inside Movies.

When I was working the TCA beat on the west coast last month, I had a bit of cognitive dissonance when NBC aired the Golden Globes live at 5 PM. I watched it with a bunch of critics in a conference room we reserved for the purpose, then watched the rest in my room. After Ricky Gervais bid everyone goodnight, I started stretching and thinking it was time for bed, like I do at the end of every grueling award-show watching experience I ever had.

Then I turned and saw the clock: It was 8 PM. I could have gone for dinner and come back and still had time to work before calling it a night. It was disconcerting and refreshing all at once.

NBC is hoping people have that same experience with the Emmys on August 29, as they're toying with the idea of dumping the west coast tape delay and broadcasting the ceremony live across the country, according to Broadcasting & Cable.

There were two things at this year's Golden Globes that were up from last year's ceremony: cleavage and ratings.

The Carpetbagger reports that, while Sunday's rain caused problems for the attendees, it certainly didn't stop viewers from tuning in from their dry living rooms. The telecast, which aired live on both coasts, brought in 17 million viewers, marking an impressive 14 percent increase from last year's ceremony, which drew about 15 million viewers total.

The telecast has been trying to recover from the effects of 2008's Writers Guild strike, which reduced the ceremony to a news conference seen by just six million viewers. For now, it appears that the show is picking up the pieces pretty easily, although it's still down slightly from 2007's 20-million tune in.

For crimes against Conan O'Brien, NBC is on trial. As with so many trials lately, this one is being played out in the media.

I'm sure NBC executives were somewhat prepared to endure a few jabs from Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais last Sunday. After all, the 'Late Night Wars' are the only recent news that could possibly be turned into a joke. But when Julia Roberts tells you off on the red carpet, you know you are losing the PR war. Instead of telling the inflatable pre-show hosts "who" she was wearing, Julia turned to the camera and told NBC they were "in the toilet right now." Even Juliana Margulies - who rose to fame on 'ER', an NBC drama that aired at 10 o'clock - took an indirect potshot at NBC. As she accepted her award for best actress in a television drama for 'The Good Wife' she thanked her network, CBS, for "believing in the 10 o'clock drama."

When I talked with Ricky Gervais a few weeks ago, he said his game plan as host of the Golden Globes was to keep things rolling and have fun with it. He also said comedians are "meant to push the barriers a little bit and see what happens."

He definitely pushed a few barriers on the Golden Globes last night, taking potshots at Paul McCartney's marital troubles, Kiefer Sutherland's anger management issues, and Angelina Jolie's penchant for adopting children from Third World countries (too much, given the dire crisis in Haiti?)

Even Mel Gibson's alcohol troubles came up. Gervais appeared on stage drinking a beer as he introduced his next presenter. "Don't get me wrong," he said. "I like a drink as much as the next man, unless the next man is ... Mel Gibson."

Overall, Gervais' hosting skills fell a little flat for me. Next year, I suggest that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association consider Robert Downey Jr. as host of the Golden Globes. His Best Actor speech for Sherlock Holmes was inspired, funny and charming.

How do you think Ricky Gervais did as host?

Did your favorite actors and TV shows score Golden Globe awards tonight? Let's take a look at how things shook out in the TV categories at the 67th Annual Golden Globes.

Mad Men, Best Television Series - Drama. With competition from Big Love, Dexter, House, and True Blood, I'm really glad I wasn't picking the winner here. They're all fantastic. I wouldn't say that True Blood delivered its best episodes last season, so I don't have a problem with that one not winning (though I'm a big fan of the show). Mad Men is definitely deserving (especially the "lawn mower" episode), although Dexter and Big Love both had great seasons.

'Mad Men' continued its awards show hot streak this evening, winning the Golden Globe for Best Drama Series for the third straight year.

Among the nominees were 'House' and 'Dexter,' which won the most awards of any other series, with two.

Meanwhile, the Hollywood Foreign Press gave 'Glee' something to sing about: The newbie FOX series, which led the night with four nominations, won Best Comedy Series.

• At 7, ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos.
• NBC has the Golden Globes Red Carpet Special at 7, followed by The Golden Globe Awards.
• ESPN has coverage of The Australian Open at 7.
• At 8, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, then a new Cold Case.
• FOX has the series premiere of Human Target at 8, followed by the two-hour season premiere of 24.
• PBS has a new Nature at 8, then a new Masterpiece Classic.
• Food Network has a new Challenge at 8, then new episodes of Iron Chef America and Worst Cooks in America.
• Also at 8: BBC America has the movie Vertigo.
• At 9, ABC has a new Desperate Housewives, followed by a new Brothers & Sisters.
• HBO has a new Big Love at 9.
• History Channel has a new Ax Men at 9, then a new Madhouse.
• At 10, A&E has a new The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty at 10.
• Comedy Central has Aziz Ansari: Intimate Moments For A Sensual Evening at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

It's almost time to fill out your Golden Globe ballot. Which TV shows and stars will take home gold on Sunday?

The 67th Annual Golden Globes airs this Sunday at 8PM ET on NBC. The usual suspects ('Mad Men,' '30 Rock') will be there ... but will there be any big surprises this year? ('Glee' maybe?!)

AOL TV took a look at the big TV races, and Andrew Scott (AS), Maggie Furlong (MF), Patricia Chui (PJC) and I (KW) weigh in with our winner picks ...