Try thinking about what it would be like if the one thing that disqualified you from major office was the fact that you’re an atheist. You can be Hindu, Muslim, any flavor of Christian — as long as you believe in God. If you don’t, well, too bad. You’re not to be trusted.

Take a joke, for Heaven’s sake.

Making fun of hollywood celebrities (some of whom are probably friends with Gervais) who are used to being mocked is one thing, but it sounds like he may have offended some people with his final joke. Personally, I’m okay with it, and as far as jokes go it’s really not that funny, but it sounds like it may have ruffled a few feathers.

As for the winners, well I don’t know if it’s a problem with the winners as much as a problem with the nominations themselves. Take Chris Colfer for example. Is he a good actor? Yes. Is he the best supporting actor on television? No. Is he the best of the nominees? Maybe, he’s the only one I’ve watched regularly so I can’t judge the others.

Some bloggers and forums are up in arms over the fact that Chris Colfer won. My problem isn’t so much that he won as much as Aaron Paul, Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson weren’t even nominated.

There was a time when the “host” of a program didn’t take shots at the people that were on his “show”. You guys must think Billy Crystal was a lame ass. If Gervais did one joke that was not at the expense of someone, to the point of causing embarrassment, (not good natured actually witty fun, just a total punch. “Helped him off the toilet and put his teeth in his mouth”) i might feel different. Oddly, I am a fan of Gervais. I have ALL of his podcasts. I think the Office (UK) is literally the best comedy that has ever been on TV, I saw him live twice, and, sorry, this was not indicative of his work. This is him feeling like he needed to cause waves, red faces, “OOOOs”, to set himself apart. Watch him come out and say “I told them not to have me host”. So disappointing. Sorry, i don’t need to laugh at rich people, and watch them squirm, to have fun.

…Gervais, who came off atypically tame at last year’s awards…

Watching an awards show is like watching the NFL and NBA draft day coverage; mostly we only pay attention to the big selections and our attention wanders off for the rest…in other words, boring.

Last night was a welcome change, as it was actually entertaining.

Gervais conspicuously vanished for much of the last half of the show.

Maybe there was a complaint or two, maybe it’s because he wasn’t as needed, as the latter half is what most people are waiting for anyway.

What happened to laughing when someone trips over a step? Remember comedy began with slapstick which included laughing at other’s misfortunes. But his wit was not directed at misfortunes at all, rather at the ridiculousness of Hollywood’s grand perception of itself.

Take a chill pill and have a laugh like the rest of the world does.

This felt to me like a very personal, fun night. The Oscars can have their pomp and circumstance, this was a night for the stars to have fun, laugh, and some of them go home with awards.

Trying to deny that a lot of this is overinflated is like trying to get Helena Bonham Carter to wear a conservative pantsuit with matching shoes; it’s simply unnatural.