Regardless of the lack of respect the Golden Globes get as a whole in some circles—as New Jersey Star-Ledger television critic Alan Sepinwall condescendingly tweeted after the announcements: "Trying to parse any kind of meaning out of Golden Globe noms or awards is pointless. It amazes me we take them as seriously as we do"—the nominations still mean something to... someone. Like, the rest of us! Putting the film selections aside for the moment (Julia Roberts for Duplicity, really?), here's a peak at three of the biggest stories from the world of television.

Come on! Entourage again!?

It's official: Doug Ellin must have pictures of the Hollywood Foreign Press in compromising positions. For the sixth year in a row, the maligned HBO comedy series was nominated in the Best Comedy Series category (along with 30 Rock, Modern Family, The Office and Glee). For those keeping score at home, that means Entourage beat out such favorites as (deep breath!): Parks & Recreation, Party Down, Community, How I Met Your Mother, Cougar Town, Better Off Ted, Nurse Jackie, The United States of Tara, Bored to Death and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Phew! While we're pretty sure a nomination for any one of those series would have been greeted with more acceptance than Entourage, the inclusion of the HBO series does make you realize how many great comedies currently air on television. Hey, what do you want from us? We're looking for a bright side here!

New Show Showdown: Glee vs. Modern Family!

Historically, the Globes love picking the new kid on the block—America Ferrera, Jon Hamm, Mad Men—but this year that decision will be harder than usual since both new kids are in the same category. Glee and Modern Family have been the two most-revered new series of the fall and both scored nominations for Best Comedy Series. Which will wind up winning? Give us Glee, if only because of its multiple acting nominations (Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele and probable Best Supporting Actress-winner Jane Lynch). Of course, whether or not NBC will let Glee accept an award on their network is a different story altogether.

No More Drama... for the networks!

Who knew Mary J. Blige was so prescient! With the exception of House, no network series found its way into the Best Drama category (the other nominees are Mad Men, True Blood, Dexter and Big Love). Worse, however, is that it's hard for us to find any network shows more deserving—our inner fanboy would have loved to see Lost in this category, but even we would acknowledge that its fifth season was slightly disappointing. Not that the nominees here matter, of course: we figure they'll all run a distant second to Mad Men.

About that star turn: As Rachel, the overachieving (and hated) glee club queen bee, Lea Michele is fabulous. It goes without saying that she has the musical chops—the 22-year-old Bronx native was the lead in the original cast of Broadway’s Spring Awakening, and her voice has an unmistakable, forged-on-stage power. But what makes this performance so notable are the subtle ways Ms. Michele makes Rachel at turns both empathetic and derisible, sometimes within the same take. Sure, she’s a lot like Election’s Tracy Flick, but in the hands of Ms. Michele, Rachel is more likable, self-reflective and, most important, vulnerable. Plus, she sings! Those looking for the next big teen star can end their search.

Ms. Michele aside, everyone else in the cast is spot-on, too: Broadway star Matthew Morrison, here playing the teacher in charge of the glee club, is the latest in a long line of Ryan Atwood look-alikes on television this spring (joining Ryan Atwood himself, Ben McKenzie on Southland and Jeremy Renner on the now-canceled The Unusuals), but he acquits himself nicely as a man struggling with the internal conflict between his teenage dreams and adult responsibilities; Cory Monteith (Kyle XY), as the jock-cum-love interest, is basically just doing Chris Klein in American Pie (or Election, if you’d prefer), but he has an easy chemistry with Ms. Michele that works; and newcomer Amber Riley, who proudly states that she doesn’t want to be a backup singer because “I’m Beyoncé, I ain’t no Kelly Rowand,” might be the funniest person not named Jane Lynch on the entire show.

Yet with all that good will, the problems with Glee rest squarely at the feet of Mr. Murphy. Truth be told, we’ve never seen his appeal—Nip/Tuck was only moderately entertaining during its first season and has now become unwatchable; his adaptation of Running with Scissors was one of the worst movies from 2006—but here he just seems in over his head as a writer-director. The idea for Glee is great—an underdog story that combines high school, pop music and that feel-good quality that millenials so desire—but Mr. Murphy doesn’t seem entirely sure what to do with all the riches he’s been given. Glee’s pilot feels like a total chop job with disorienting leaps from scene-to-scene and distracting voice-overs to patch over the holes. Cogency is apparently not as important to this equation as choreography (which, it should be noted, is pretty impeccable).

Whether Mr. Murphy can take all the pieces and make Glee into something truly worthy of all the pre-premiere chatter is a question that won’t have an answer until the series gets started in earnest on Wednesdays this fall. However, any show that has the temerity to end with a cast sing-along of “Don’t Stop Believing” is a show we’re at least going to add to our DVR list. What can we say? We’re still suckers for Journey.