A heinous crime took place on Jan. 15 in Beverly Hills. Masi Oka, who plays the adorable and earnest Hiro Nakamura on NBC’s new hit “Heroes,” did not take home a Golden Globe. Instead, the award for “Actor in a Supporting Role — Series, Mini-Series or Television Movie” went to Jeremy Irons for his portrayal of an aging Robert Dudley in the HBO mini-series, “Elizabeth I.”

Can you find the jillion things wrong with this picture? Yeah, yeah Jeremy Irons can act — usually. (Let’s not forget his role in “Dungeons & Dragons,” the movie.) But taking a part in this year’s “Lord of the Rings”-wannabe stinker “Eragon” should have disqualified Irons from any award nomination for the next 10 years.

Still, it’s Golden Globe organizers, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, that bears the most guilt — placing Irons and his frou-frou historical cable drama of limited appeal in the same race as a graphic novel-styled series about a bunch of regular Joes who suddenly discover they have superpowers. In a just world, “Heroes’” Hiro would be competing with “My Name is Earl,” not the Earl of Leicester.

Up against such a weighty adversary, Oka and his brilliantly crafted Hiro never stood a chance. Awards generally default to the hoity-toity intellectual choice. Heaven forfend the audience doesn’t think the judges are all smart and stuff.

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