We take these things for granted (until there’s a writer’s strike), but it seems natural that every January, there will be a Golden Globes presentation where actors get drunk and start yelling at each other while brandishing blunt metal objects. In fact, they should make a reality show out of it.

Sadly, the awards show where the awards mean about as much as the points on Whose Line Is It Anyway?, might not air in 2012 because of a legal dispute that threatens to keep them in court either right up to December 2011 or well into March of 2012.

One date would leave too little time to secure advertisers and network contracts while the other date leaves a 2012 show out the question completely.

The case is between the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and show producer Dick Clark Productions. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the HFPA believes that Dick Clark Productions is attempting to take over complete control of the show by working a deal with NBC to produce the show through 2018 without the HFPA’s knowledge.

Both are trying to get the trail date moved up, but if the show skips a year, it might give everyone time to forget they hate Ricky Gervais. Then they can hire him to tell hilarious jokes and people can feign shock despite being in on them from the beginning.