By most appraisals, Ricky Gervais' third (and, according to him, final) turn as Golden Globe Awards host Sunday night wasn't nearly so rife with cutting humor as his controversial stint at the podium last year.
Luckily, those who were jonesing for the kind of snark-infested waters that made last year's Golden Globes such a buzz-generator had Twitter to turn to.
Also read: Ricky Gervais Gives Globes Nothing to Complain About -- Except a Sedate Show
As Gervais floated through a tepid awards ceremony with his sense of humor tied behind his back for most of the show, the Twitter-verse compensated for the laugh deficit with its own biting one-liners.
The target of most of the barbs? Gervais himself, who clearly fell short of expectations as far as the Twitter community was concerned.
"I know 2 Globes that didn't show up: Ricky Gervais' BALLS!" one tweeter fumed. "Not rude enough!" (In the sober light of day, however, the same user tempered her appraisal, writing, "I feel like I have to say that I love @rickygervais. Because I do. There. That was for me.")
Another Twit-izen cracked wise about Gervais Madonna's saucy back-and-forth during the show -- and the Michigan-born "Material Girl" singer's bogus English accent.
"How about Madonna and Ricky Gervais getting into it at the #GoldenGlobes?," he wrote. "I love when middle-age British people get cheeky."
Another Tweeter -- this one from Gervais' homeland of Britain -- wished Gervais well, though for entirely mean-spirited reasons.
"Glad Ricky Gervais is a success in USA," he wrote. "He might stay there."
Before the ceremony even began, Danny Zuker -- executive producer of "Modern Family," the sole network offering to take home an award Sunday night -- hinted at impending disappointment.
"Based on the hype I'll be disappointed if Ricky Gervais does anything less than urinate on a table of movie stars," Zuker offered.
Though Gervais' hosting stint seemed to go over about as well as Lana del Rey's "Saturday Night Live" appearance, not all of the slings and arrows were directed his way. Comedian and "I Love the... " mainstay Michael Ian Black took a swipe at "In the Land of Blood and Honey" director Angelina Jolie with the question, "How long does it take for Angelina Jolie's makeup team to paint on human skin?"
Zuker also took time out to take a dig at the host of NBC's "The Voice," opining, "Standing next to Carson Daly is a great way to seem interesting."
Mike Byhoff, producer for Yahoo's Trending Now, took note of the show's overall sluggishness -- and the scene-stealing turn by Uggie, the pooch from "The Artist" -- writing,
"This Golden Globes was so riveting it will go down as "the one with the dog on stage."
As for Gervais himself, he fired up his Twitter account to bid adieu to Los Angeles, after angering Justin Bieber fans during Sunday night's telecast. (Cracking wise about the "Baby" singer's paternity almost-scandal, Gervais said, "The only way he could have impregnated a girl was if he borrowed one of Martha Stewart's old turkey basters."
"Getting out of town now. Bieber fans aren't happy with me. That's some scary shit. Ha ha. Bye LA. hello NY!" Gervais said.
Judging from the Twitter reaction to his Globes performance, tween-age Bieber enthusiasts weren't the only ones disappointed with him.
