To some, the Golden Globes are simply the Hollywood Foreign Press' low-rent version of the Oscars. In truth, it's a bird of a totally different feather, filled with zanier speeches and wilder celebrities (both courtesy of the infamous open bar). After the consistently annoying song parody which opens up the show every year (set this time to "Don't Cha," by the Pussycat Dolls), Queen Latifah kicked off the night with a small tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., smoothly segueing into promotion for her latest film, Last Holiday.

On the television side, a sadly absent Paul Newman and an excitable Sandra Oh were dubbed Best Supporting Musical/Comedy Television Actor and Actress. The Dramatic equivalents went to Hugh Laurie and Geena Davis.

Weeds' Mary-Louise Parker was glum at first to be the only non-Desperate Housewives actress in the category of Best Comedy/Musical TV Actress (so much so that presenter Chris Rock was prompted to offer reassuring words), but she needn't have worried, as she came out on top.

Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and S. Epatha Merkerson nabbed awards for their work in the miniseries Elvis and the TV movie Lackawanna Blues, respectively, and all the Housewives took the stage to celebrate their show's win as Best Musical/Comedy TV Series. Empire Falls got the Best Mini-Series/Best TV Movie Globe.

After claiming that his wife, Nancy Walls, had written his speech for him, Best Musical/Comedy TV Actor Steve Carell proceeded to spend the next few minutes adoringly venerating her. Walls would also be jokingly thanked later on by the folks behind Lost, this year's winner for Best Dramatic Television Series.

Syriana's George Clooney and The Constant Gardener's Rachel Weisz were the first stars honored for their cinematic work, with awards for supporting dramatic roles.

The Palestinian film Paradise Now received the Best Foreign Language Film award, beating the Hong Kong export Kung Fu Hustle, which was far more popular in America.

In a move which undoubtedly shocked no one, all-American composer John Williams was awarded for his score to Memoirs of a Geisha.

With Hannibal Lecter's dulcet tones but none of his eeriness, Anthony Hopkins accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement from presenter Gwyneth Paltrow. After a retrospective of some of his more notable works, Sir Anthony graciously thanked his wife Stella, various crew members from past and present, his stand-in of many years, and many others.

The major dramatic acting Globes were both what might be considered underdog victories: Felicity Huffman for Transamerica and Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote.

But the greatest winners of the night were Walk the Line and Brokeback Mountain. Reese Witherspoon was bubbly as ever when named Best Musical/Comedy Actress, while Joaquin Phoenix, who had been humorlessly glowering in the corner all night, pointed out how strange it was for someone like him to be awarded the Best Musical/Comedy Actor Globe. The movie also won for Best Motion Picture - Comedy.

Meanwhile, Brokeback Mountain collected for Best Original Song ("A Love That Will Never Grow Old," by Gustavo Santaolalla and Bernie Taupin), Best Screenplay (Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana), Best Director (Ang Lee) and Best Motion Picture-Drama, proving once again that a little controversy is always welcome at the Golden Globes.