The Golden Globe Awards returned to television on Sunday after they were cancelled last year due to the Writers Guild strike. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association gave out its 66th round of awards to a handful of underdogs and ignored bigger films like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Frost/Nixon.Slumdog Millionaire won awards for Best Director, Score, and Screenplay, as well as taking home the Best Motion Picture-Drama. The movie turned out to be the night's top winner in the film category. Still in limited US release, Slumdog has already earned twice its $15 million budget, making it the underdog hit of awards season.

Kate Winslet received both Best Supporting Actress and Best Dramatic Actress trophies for her performances in The Reader and Revolutionary Road. Visibly flustered by the rare honor, she apologized to her fellow nominees, including Meryl Streep and Angelina Jolie, for hogging the spotlight.

Heath Ledger received a posthumous award for his role as The Joker in last summer's The Dark Knight. The movie's director, Christopher Nolan, accepted the statue on Ledger's behalf to a standing ovation from the assembled guests.

HBO miniseries John Adams acquired four awards, and NBC sitcom 30 Rock won three, which constituted a full sweep for each show. AMC's Mad Men was chosen as Best Television Drama.

Mickey Rourke won Best Dramatic Actor for his role in The Wrestler. Woody Allen's movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona was chosen as Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy. WALL-E was chosen as the year's Best Animated Film.

Steven Spielberg received the Cecil B. Demille Award for lifetime achievement. His acceptance speech included a plea for Hollywood to continue supporting smaller films like Slumdog Millionaire. Backstage, Spielberg also said that he and George Lucas have discussed the possibility of another Indiana Jones movie down the road.

The awards show saw a 26 percent decrease in viewership, attracting an average of 14.6 million viewers over the three-hour broadcast. The show lost out in the 9 p.m. slot to an episode of Desperate Housewives, which wasn't even up for an award.