Whenever people complain about all the bad programming on TV, I like to remind them that television is one of the few true democracies. We vote with our eyes, and the amount of time we spend parked on the couch. The things we watch get renewed and the things we don't watch get canceled. I know that's little consolation to the fans of 'Arrested Development' -- or more recently, 'Community' -- but them's the breaks. Majority rules, and the majority is watching 'Dancing with the Stars.'

For once, the rule of ratings has worked out in our favor as NBC managed to convince the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to invite Ricky Gervais back to host the Golden Globes in 2012, for what will be his third and -- he says final -- time. Last year, Gervais ridiculed Robert Downey Jr., Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp and the then-president of the HFPA. But he also managed to improve the ratings over the previous year by 2 million viewers, for a total of 16.9 million viewers. The controversial show also made a huge impact on Twitter, where for 34 hours Golden-Globes-related hash tags were in the top 10.

Despite the ribald Comedy Central roasts and numerous Seth MacFarlane cameos, many of Hollywood's elite actually find it a little difficult to laugh at themselves, and they seem to be especially sensitive at awards shows. (Maybe it's the open bar.)

Earlier this year, Ricky Gervais hit headlines on both sides of the pond for the risqué one-liners he unleashed while hosting the Golden Globes, offending numerous celebrities and leading many to opine that he would never be invited back. Yesterday, the comedian proved them wrong when it was announced that he would be returning to host next January.

Gervais then took to his blog to explain why he accepted the job "for a third and definitely final time" -- unsurprisingly, he revealed that it was mostly to prove a point.