Ricky Gervais was named on Monday as the host for the 2010 Golden Globes, and not a moment too soon. The man who gave us The Office and Extras had become so well known in recent years for his walk-on parts at awards shows that it was obvious one of them would snap him up and make him host eventually.

This is the best awards show fit for Gervais. He's probably not quite famous enough to host either the Academy Awards or the Emmys. The Globes are handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, so it makes sense for their annual fete to have an international (British in this case) voice. And while the Globes are second only to the Oscars when it comes to winter award show buzz, they are a distant second. Naming Gervais, who has been talked up by guys like me ever since his humorous cameo helped save the otherwise disastrous 2008 Emmys, guarantees a good deal of positive pre-show publicity.

How can a Gervais-led Golden Globes ceremony be more watchable than what we have seen in the past?

Poke plenty of fun at Hollywood: This is not the Academy Awards, where the more snide hosts (Jon Stewart, David Letterman) tend to get the worst reviews. The Globes should sell irreverence, and Gervais, who is in show business but not of Hollywood, is just the man who can dish that out. It's hard to see him fawning over anybody. And let's face it: for whatever reason, many people simply find it easier to accept nasty comments when they are delivered in a British accent. If Gervais is feeling really puckish, he could even make fun of the Globes' long history of petty corruption.

Permit rambling: Yes, local affiliates hate it when their late news is delayed even a few minutes, which is why the last hour of most awards shows tends to have the pacing of the Olympic 100 meters. But the relative informality of the Globes is key to its appeal. It's hard to be loose and carefree when a winner is rushing through his index card, terrified that the band will soon begin playing him off. Sure, there has to be some reasonable way to make sure the likes of Mickey Rourke don't babble on forever, but anticipating just who might blurt out something tipsy and unforgettable is what the night is all about. Winners should have a little leeway to be their charming selves, without undue time pressure. Besides, the Globes are on a Sunday, and most people watching the late news on Sunday night have died in their sleep.

We know you love your agent: But an amendment to the above: winners should be urged to not use their speeches to thank a laundry list of insiders that no one cares about. That's fine at the Oscars, which are industry awards, but the Globes should be party time. You can thank all these people at lunch on Monday. Gervais could simply issue a blanket thanks to everyone's agent and all the producers and hangers-on who made everything possible. That takes away much of the bloat right there. He can rattle off the accounting stuff while he's at it.

Get a few presenters who can ad lib: What is the one thing in pop culture that everyone hates, but no one ever does anything about? I mean, besides the Saw movies. I'm talking about scripted banter from awards presenters -- and the fact that the latest trend in banter is admitting up front how bad it is really isn't helping. There are plenty of spontaneously funny people in show business -- ask them if they wouldn't mind getting up and riffing for 90 seconds before presenting their award, instead of reading bad jokes off cue cards. True, this means that dullards like Katie Holmes won't be eligible to hand out any trophies. I think we'll live.

Tone down the fashion show: True, I'm betraying something of my own prejudice here. For many viewers, the real show is on the red carpet and the awards themselves are all postscript. But since many of the same people who are nominated at the Golden Globes have an even bigger date coming up at the Oscars only a few weeks afterwards, the Globes are always going to take second place in the fabulousness sweepstakes, with the name designers saving their best stuff for the more watched event. Why not just remove the pressure to satisfy the fashion critics, and announce ahead of time that merely looking OK and not runway ready is all that is required? If you're Matthew McConaughey, you won't even have to shower.

Give more prominence to television: The Globes derive nearly all their industry prominence from the perception that they are Oscar predictors, but the best in television is also honored at the ceremony. It's easy to underrate TV because box office numbers get wider play in the media than do Nielsen ratings, but even a modest series like Brothers & Sisters is seen by more people in a year than award show bait like No Country For Old Men. Treating the television awards as part of the night's main course might help to build ratings.

Keep the open bar: I think I speak for all of us on this one. No booze, no Globes. That goes for this viewer too.

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