Short-lived award shows you may have forgotten about

It seems strange now, but the Emmys basically used to completely ignore cable television. This was the early days before channels like FX and AMC started to dominate prestige TV. There was once a “Simpsons” joke about the CableACE award for most promising new show on cable being “Starsky and Hutch” reruns. Eventually cable’s reputation grew, and the CableACE Awards ended in 1997.

The  TV Land Awards were designed to honor old shows like “Starsky and Hutch.” Though the network dedicated to classic television changed its categories literally every year, it always honored some old show or iconic TV actor. The TV Land Awards ran from 2003 through 2012, took a couple of years off and then returned for 2015 and 2016 before calling it quits.

Remember Spike TV? Now known as the Paramount Network, it used to be the TV network “for guys.” This included giving out its abysmal Guys Choice Awards. This is an show that presented awards like “Holy Grail of Hot.” In short, it was the worst, and thankfully it ended in 2016.

Unsurprisingly, the Scream Awards started as a way to honor horror movies, though sci-fi and fantasy were added into the mix as well. Also, the Scream Awards ended up on Spike TV for a while. Despite the popularity of those genres, these awards were dropped in 2011. Somehow, the Guys Choice Awards outlived them.

MTV has a couple of long-running and successful award shows, including the iconic VMAs, but they haven’t all been hits. For example, the erstwhile music network tried a thing called the Fandom Awards for a few years, which presented awards like “Fandom Army of the Year” and “Ship of the Year.” It lasted for only three ceremonies.

Yes, the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards are defunct. You’re shocked, we know. We’re kidding, of course. Blockbuster itself is gone, and so is the entertainment award show that carried its name.

Here’s a weird one. We aren’t talking about the educational award of the same name. The Golden Apples were handed out by the Hollywood Women’s Press Club from 1941 through 2001. However, the awards weren’t for acting, but for behavior. Basically, Golden Apples went to actors that the Press Club felt were easy to work with, while the Sour Apple went to “difficult actors.” Frank Sinatra won three of the latter.

The Young Hollywood Awards were basically a different take on the Teen Choice Awards. They were also voted on by fans between the ages of 13 and 19. While the Teen Choice Awards continue on, the Young Hollywood Awards fell by the wayside. That makes sense, given that MTV’s award shows are also basically aimed at teenagers.

You may have heard of the Golden Raspberries, which is the most famous of the bad movie award shows. For a lot of years, the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards tried to give the Razzies a run for their money. Like the Razzies, the Stinkers were started by movie buffs and film critics in L.A. They gave out their awards from 1978 all the way through 2006 when they took down “Evan Almighty.” Despite press over the years, they couldn’t take down the Razzies.

Food Network changed TV, especially when it comes to food. These days it’s basically all about competition shows. Once upon a time, though, it aimed to be a bit more informative. In 2007, the Food Network Awards were aired, which were to honor chefs, restaurants and other food-related matters. Emeril Lagasse hosted, and categories included “Best Ballpark Rats” and “Not Your Grandmother’s Food of the Month Club.” It appears this was the only year the show existed.

This award show with a clumsy name aired on Logo and was aimed at an LGBT audience, including categories specific to such an audience. However, as the years went on, the awards got a bit more general, though categories like “Because Your Hot” never went away. It was not the most highbrow affair, but the NewNowNext Awards stayed around for a few years before going defunct.

Why did the Cartoon Network have a sports award show? We don’t know. Why were there categories like “Alti-dude” and “Gnarliest Newb?” Again, we don’t know. Why did the Hall of Game Awards last only four years, ending in 2014? That we can probably figure out.

VH1 went from the other music network to the home of pop culture titans like the “I Love The” series and “Best Week Ever,” so naturally it would try an award show. There were two: VH1’s Big In ’05 and Big In ’06. This was long enough ago that Lindsay Lohan won BIG “It” Girl in 2005. After two of these, they went by the wayside.

“TV Guide” has been around for quite some time, and the TV Guide Awards first began in the 1950s, and then were broadcast on TV at the beginning of the 1960s. To put things in perspective, the first winner of “Favorite New Series” was “The Andy Griffith Show.” The winners largely hold up, but the TV Guide Awards lasted only until 1964. They returned in 1999 and 2000, but that was it.

Much like Blockbuster Video, soap operas have largely faded from the world. While some still exist, they are no longer as prominent, or popular, as they once were. “Soap Opera Digest” was the voice of soap opera fandom for many years and started its award show in 1984 to replace the Soapy Awards. They ran through 2005, though by the end they were just basically an online poll.

Do you have any memory of the show “Sport Science?” It was about, well, the science of sports. John Brenkus was the host, and he would use physics and slow-motion cameras to show just how incredible athletes were. For some reason, ESPN decided to have a Sport Science award show one year, called the Newtons. Brenkus hosted, and it was largely a dud. The main problem was that awards were given only to those who were willing to show up, which was primarily people like swimmers and a teenage skateboarder.

Were the Jammy Awards just decided to honor Phish? Maybe not, but obviously they were prominently involved in this award show dedicated to jam bands. We can only assume every ceremony was like six hours long, given that there were musical performers. The show ran from 2000 through 2008, though the Jammys skipped a couple of years. Maybe everybody was too busy following Phish on tour.

You will hear a lot of people complain that the Oscars don’t properly honor comedies. Well that wasn’t an issue with the American Comedy Awards. It was founded in 1987 to cover comedy movies and TV, and mostly it seemed to give trophies to Robin Williams. The ACAs actually aired on network TV from 1987-2000 before heading to Comedy Central for one year, in 2001. NBC then revived the American Comedy Awards for one year in 2014. “This Is The End” won Funniest Motion Picture and “Parks and Recreation,” an NBC show, won Comedy Series.

We mentioned that Comedy Central aired the American Comedy Awards just once. A decade later, the network tried to have its own comedy award show. The Comedy Awards first aired in 2011, simulcast on CMT, Logo, TV Land, Spike and more. It was tried one more time, in 2012, and then that was the end of The Comedy Awards.

The 2009 Game Show Awards were also, in an interesting twist, a game show. While awards weren't handed out, actual games were played for prizes. There were some fun categories like “Favorite Parting Gift” and “Favorite Game Show Sound Effect.” Also, Howie Mandel, who hosted the Game Show Awards, won Best Game Show Host. This was the only time this show was held.