From the adventures of a serial killer with a heart of gold to a 3-D sci-fi epic, the 67th annual Golden Globe Awards honored plenty of first-time winners and expected favorites and provided no small amount of surprises and heartfelt thanks.

67th Annual Golden Globe Awards

[article id="1629896"]Host Ricky Gervais[/article] kicked things off by challenging his counterpart in the American version of "The Office," Steve Carell, then proceeded to pepper the night with memorable jabs at Colin Farrell, Paul McCartney and Mel Gibson. The British actor also managed to work in a plug for just about every project with his name on it and closed out the night with a nod to his upcoming "Ricky Gervais Show" on HBO.

On a more somber note, the recent [news id="1629607"]earthquake in Haiti[/news] offered a grave counterpoint to the evening's otherwise-cheerful events and found its way into the speeches of presenters and winners alike. Golden Globe recipients Meryl Streep, Drew Barrymore and Jason Reitman were among many of the gathered actors and filmmakers to offer an onstage plea for charitable support.

Both the television and motion-picture industries saw several multiple-award winners, with James Cameron's 3-D spectacle "Avatar" receiving the award for Best Picture - Drama and earning Cameron the night's coveted Best Director award. The celebrated director even took a moment to thank supporters in the alien language of the Na'vi created for the film.

First-time winner "Dexter" nabbed television awards for two of its stars: Michael C. Hall (Best Actor, Drama) and John Lithgow (Best Supporting Actor, Drama). "Grey Gardens" also received a pair of awards for Best Miniseries and Best Actress winner Drew Barrymore.

Joining Hall and Barrymore in the pool of first-time Golden Globe winners was Mo'Nique ("Precious"), who opened the awards with an emotional acceptance speech upon winning Best Supporting Actress. Both Mo'Nique and her "Precious" co-star Gabourey Sidibe received praise from various winners as the show progressed.

Also among the first-time winners from the movie world were "Inglourious Basterds" actor Christoph Waltz (Best Supporting Actor) and "Sherlock Holmes" star Robert Downey Jr. (Best Actor, Comedy or Musical). "The Hangover" took home the Best Picture award for a comedy. Meryl Streep's work in "Julie & Julia" earned her the Best Actress in a Comedy, while Sandra Bullock nabbed Best Actress in a Drama for "The Blind Side." Jeff Bridges' turn as a washed-up country crooner in "Crazy Heart" won Best Actor in a Drama.

From the television world, "Taking Chance" actor Kevin Bacon (Best Actor in a Miniseries) and "Big Love" actress Chloë Sevigny (Best Supporting Actress) both earned their first Golden Globes, while fan-favorite series "Mad Men" and "Glee" took home the Best TV Series awards in the drama and comedy/musical categories, respectively.

Calling the movie industry a "living, ongoing history," filmmaker Martin Scorsese was honored with this year's Cecil B. DeMille Award, presented by Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.

"Movies are the memories of our lifetime. We need to keep them alive," Scorsese said.

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