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BEVERLY HILLS After last year's anti-climactic press conference – the result of a three-month writer's strike – the Golden Globes returned just in time to kick off 2009 by honoring the best and brightest stars, movies and shows of 2008.

The red carpet was the place to be Sunday night, as stars such as Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr. and Kate Winslet (just to name a few) filtered into the 66th Annual Golden Globes at the world-famous Beverly Hilton.

Trust me, as great as all that may sound, waiting on the red carpet for hours just for the arrivals to begin can be quite brutal. But there is a perspective you gain from being in the center of it all that you just don't get on your couch (not to downplay how amazing a Sunday evening in your slippers with some snacks and an awards show can be).

Here some amazing red carpet moments you definitely missed at home:

- Tina Fey nearly took a tumble on the red carpet, but caught herself before any cameras did. "Haha, you didn't get me!" she quipped at the press. The gorgeous comedian may have won the award for "best actress" for her role on "30 Rock," (which snagged the award for best "television series, comedy or musical"), but this perfect Palin impersonator really is funny… and apparently human. 

- Those who have read my previous awards show coverage are familiar with my "How I Met Your Mother" obsession, or specifically, the comedic genius that is Neil Patrick Harris. While I am stunned that he has yet to win an award for his role as Barney Stinson on the hit CBS show – he was nominated for a Golden Globe this year, and previously for an Emmy – it is always a delight to see him "suit up" and walk the red carpet. By the way, I must also give him props for making it to the show, as he hosted "Saturday Night Live" just hours before. I admittedly spent part of my time on the carpet trying to determine which skit was my favorite: NPH as a crazy aerobics instructor, Fran the air traffic controller or as a group therapist dealing with an insane Kristen Wiig. And let's not forget his musical tribute to "Doogie Howser." He is, in a word, "awesome."

- As you may have guessed, there are stars that are just too cool to even be interviewed. They arrive five minutes before the show and blame the time constraint on their curtness. I won't mention who those people are, but I will say who they aren't: the cast of "Slumdog Millionaire." The sleeper film swept the show with four wins and Dev Patel and Freida Pinto could not have been more humble, poised and professional on the red carpet. I was thrilled to see the film win so many awards. And has anyone noticed that Pinto should be a supermodel? She is absolutely gorgeous!

- As a fan of "The Tudors," I watched intently as Christina McLarty interviewed Jonathan Rhys Meyers about his role as the malevolently powerful King Henry VIII, which earned him a nomination for "best actor in a drama series." I've been drawn to – and frightened of him – since I saw "Match Point," the Woody Allen film in which he kills his pregnant lover, Nola, played by Scarlett Johansson. If you've seen any of his work, he pours himself into each role with a furious intensity that makes you wonder what he's like in real life. While he laughed, chatted and was the perfect interviewee, I couldn't help but notice a glimpse of the fervor that makes him such a great actor in his eyes. I would have been disappointed if it hadn't been there, just as I was that he ultimately didn't win in his category. But unlike King Henry VIII, who would have officially done away with the Golden Globes, I'm sure Meyers was content just to be nominated.

- Words can't describe how perfect the weather was. It was sunny and warm, but not hot enough to melt everyone's airbrushed make-up or ruin their scrupulously sculpted up-dos. It was one of those days that reminds Angelenos why we put up with the insane cost of living, traffic and overpopulation. It was a perfect - and golden - day to welcome back the show, and the stars, we all missed so much last year. 

 Jenn McBride

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