Viewers can relate to Globes TV categories

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And then there are those winners that are impossible to wrap your head around. Four years ago, the HFPA deemed Charlie Sheen best actor in a comedy for “Spin City.” Charlie Sheen? When thinking back on television’s great comedic forces — Jackie Gleason, Carroll O’Connor and Kelsey Grammer among the many — Sheen’s name doesn’t come tripping off the tongue.

But maybe the Globes knew something we didn’t. After starting his career with films like the Oscar-winning “Platoon,” Sheen is now a bonafide star on TV’s most-watched comedy, “Two and a Half Men.”

Traditional family sitcoms, such as “Everybody Loves Raymond,” never have been a Globes fave among comedies. Not including the category-bending “Housewives,” regular broadcast sitcoms are passed over for smarter, more creative shows that appear on cable networks. Apparently when it comes to laughter, that’s something you have to pay for. “The Office” (BBC America; 2004), “Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO; 2003) and “Sex and the City (HBO, 2000-2002) are all winners that a great majority of Americans have never seen. This year, three of the six nominations, “Entourage,” “Weeds” and “Curb,” are cable-based in a completely wide-open field.

Unlike the Oscars and Emmys, which are a bit easier to forecast, trying to figure out how an Australian who writes for a Scottish paper will vote can be a bit of a crapshoot. But here are some educated guesses:

Lead actor, comedy: Though Sheen obviously has a devoted Globes posse (see above), Jason Lee in “My Name Is Earl” is the breakout star of a less-than-stellar new season.

Lead actress, comedy: Is this category so desperate that all four “Housewives” made the final cut? Is no one else besides Mary-Louise Parker of “Weeds” good enough? No love for Tichina Arnold of “Everybody Hates Chris,” Jaime Pressly of “Earl” or Ashley Jensen of “Extras”? Let's go with "Housewives" Eva Longoria, who’s sure to get the sympathy vote after being left out of the race last year.

Lead actor, drama: With apologies to Hugh Laurie and Kiefer Sutherland, in this duel of the heartthrobs, “Prison Break’s” Wentworth Miller edges out Patrick Dempsey’s Dr. McDreamy from "Grey's Anatomy."

Lead actress, drama: In one of the weakest actress fields in years, Geena Davis gets the nod as our first distaff president on "Commander in Chief."

Best comedy: A very tight race between HBO’s “Entourage” and NBC’s “Earl,” but knowing the Globes’ love for all things Hollywood, “Entourage” squeaks it out.

Best drama: Understanding how much they detest following in the Emmys' footsteps, Globe voters choose “Grey’s Anatomy” over “Lost.”

Stuart Levine is a senior editor at Daily Variety in Los Angeles.