What is it about award ceremonies such as the Golden Globes and the Oscars, held annually to pay homage to the talents of the world's finest actors, that keeps millions of viewers glued to their television sets for the occasion, year after year?
Is it the glitz and the glamour of it all - you know - the bright lights (which are, ironically, usually vying with natural sunlight as most award shows build-up in the early afternoon); the almost hypnotic flashing cameras of the paparazzi? Or could it be the frenzied buzz of the celebrity-spotting crowd, fervently trying to catch a glimpse of their screen idol - ever hoping for a word from the mouth of the desired ones?
And when the stars do come out to play, dressed in all their usually alluring, sometimes odd, designer gear, which movie-loving viewer can resist the sight of Tinseltown and television's adored players, new and exciting or old and established, wandering their way down that famous red carpet. Few, I bet.
For all those reasons and more, these much-respected award ceremonies are events so in demand with film and television fans that it is par for the course that they are beamed, live, via the magic of modern technology, to millions of viewers worldwide. And this year's 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards will be no exception.
The Globes, seen in more than 150 countries and one of the few awards shows which spans both television and film achievements, features 13 categories for film and 11 for television. Unlike other major movie awards, these have separate divisions for dramas and comedies or musicals in the Best Picture and Lead Actor categories.
This year, a mix of old and respected to new-and-still-earning- that-respect actors will present awards to their peers (and as usual, no doubt, some will try and outshine in costume or deed the actual winners). The choice group will be led by Golden Globe recipients Harrison Ford and Leonardo DiCaprio, while Jamie Foxx, Natalie Portman, and Emma Thompson will also do a star turn.
Sharing the presenting duties by handing out the statuettes will be Jessica Alba, Emmy Possum and two family favourites, John Travolta and Denzel Washington.
Illustrious actor Sir Anthony Hopkins will receive this year's Cecil B DeMille Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Awarded for "outstanding contributions to the entertainment field" it will be a well-deserved honour for such a master at his craft.
South African viewers with access to M-Net and DStv will once again be able to see this acknowledgement to the stars of the big and small screen, live, and in an edited pre-recorded version.
The live broadcast will go out on DStv's MM1 channel (channel 4) at 3am on Tuesday morning, with the edited broadcast of the awards screened on M-Net at 8.30pm on Tuesday night.
A bonus, especially for viewers who are fond of eyeballing the fashions and glamour, seeing who arrives with whom, or which actor gets the most attention from the besotted fans, will be the coverage of the 2006 Golden Globe Awards on DStv's E! Entertainment channel (41).
On Monday night, from 7pm to 1am, viewers can join the Countdown to the Red Carpet, which shows the entertainers arriving for the awards.
Then, between 1am and 3am, in Live From The Red Carpet, E! Entertainment goes onto the red carpet to meet and greet the celebrities and ask them those essential (yawn) questions viewers always want to know, like "Which designer made your outfit for tonight?"
I have to say, my funniest memory of such a red carpet, quick flash past actor interview, showed a TV presenter asking Tom Cruise what he was wearing - perhaps expecting the actor to rattle off some famous names. Instead the reply was something like "Oh, a shirt, pants and a sweater". Ya got to luv that guy.
But wait there's more, from 6am to 8am viewers who have serious stamina (to say nothing of serious commitment to award ceremony viewing) can then check out the Live Post Show: The 2006 Golden Globes, which takes the camera backstage after the event to seek out winners and losers, with the E! Entertainment crew determined to get into every post-award "hot and happening" party in order to keep their viewers happy and informed.