The Bennie Awards: Celebrating the Worst in TV

There's so much great television right now ("Downton Abbey," "Homeland," "Modern Family") that you forget how much bad TV remains. Snooki. Any Kardashian. Scripted shows with off-putting titles like, "I Hate My Teenage Daughter."

There's a hilarious blog called The Hollywood Temp Diaries. It's written by “Temp X,” one of the thousands of seemingly dispensable fill-in workers who populate studios and agencies around town. "I am one of those barnacles on the hull of the good ship 'Hollywood.'"

Temp X’s blog covers all aspects of life in “the business”, including giving advice to assistants on how to keep their bosses happy at Sundance ("Get your boss free lift tickets to Alta. And only Alta. Why? No snowboarders there.") The blog provides a Hollywood Dictionary, ("A 'backdoor pilot' is a Made-for-TV movie designed to test the market on a concept"). There's also an annual Brown List, in which readers vote on the most-liked and least-liked executive in La-La land.

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Source: The Hollywood Temp Diaries

Currently the blog is allowing people to vote for the 2012 Bennie Awardshonoring the worst television of the year.

The Bennies are Razzies for the small screen.

Winners will receive a coveted Golden Garbage Can, awarded in categories like Worst Actress, Worst Actor, Worst Reality Female and Male Personalities, Worst Reality and Worst Scripted Programs, and, my favorite, Worst Show Featuring a Kardashian. Of course, no matter who wins, the Kardashians will continue to laugh all the way to the bank in their Golden Garbage Can.

There's also a category called the “Pushing Daisies” award that honors a great TV show which didn’t deserve to be canceled. Nominees include "Bored to Death" and "The United States of Tara."

Voting ends Feb. 10, with results announced Feb. 21. Last year Temp X tells me thousands of people voted online, deciding the worst programs on television were "Sarah Palin's Alaska" and "Hellcats." Both shows have long since started pushing daisies.

In what some may consider a shock, not a single one of Bravo's "Real Housewives" is on the ballot this year. I have a confession to make. I watch those shows. They have value. They are my secret addiction as I work the treadmill, because those women truly are an inspiration.

How?

These "real" housewives inspire me to actually stay "real", to keep in shape and look as best as I can without repeated medical intervention. They've also taught me the importance of not making my husband look like an idiot in public, and never, ever, ever exploit my children for fame. These lessons make this programming more than compelling television. It’s a public service. Bravo!

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