The 1945 Retros that weren't
We didn't publish the full stats for the 1945 Retro Hugo categories that weren't put to the final ballot this year, mainly because voting ended only seven days before the Retro ceremony and we had to prioritise fairly ruthlessly.
But after internal discussion, we are publishing them here. There is only one category that is remotely controversial (and there of course the voters delivered karma to us anyway by delivering a tie in the other category closely related to that one).
There were two categories where we allowed the final ballot to proceed with one finalist who had received only three nominating votes (and in one case, that finalist actually won); in cases where the final ballot would have had to include more than one eligible finalist with three or fewer nominating votes, we determined that the category was not sufficiently supported by voters to proceed.
Going in order of increasing complexity:
1945 Retro Hugo nominations for Best Semiprozine:
There were none.
1945 Retro Hugo nominations for Best Fancast:
Nominee
Votes
Radio Society of Great Britain
1
1945 Retro Hugo nominations for Best Editor, Long Form:
Nominee
Votes
John W Campbell
2
Donald Wollheim
1
Roger Senhouse
1
1945 Retro Hugo nominations for Best Fan Artist:
Nominee
Votes
Alva Rogers
6
Bill Watson
6
4 nominees with 3 votes
2 nominees with 2 votes
12 nominees with 1 vote
Impossible to have a full final ballot without including several nominees who received only 3 nominating votes.
1945 Retro Hugo nominations for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Nominee
Votes
Length (min)
The Uninvited
17
99
The Canterville Ghost
16
95
Captain America
13
240
Between Two Worlds
13
112
It Happened Tomorrow
6
85
The Curse of the Cat People
6
70
The Lady and The Monster
5
86
The Invisible Man's Revenge
4
78
4 nominees with 3 votes, of which at least 2 were less than 90 minutes in length
3 nominees with 2 votes, of which 1 was less than 90 minutes in length.
13 nominees with 1 vote, of which 4 were not released in 1944 and so were not eligible; 6 of the other 9 were less than 90 minutes in length.
It was impossible to have a full final ballot without including several nominees who either received only 3 nominating votes or were of the wrong length for the category, ie below 90 minutes.
Where possible we transferred nominating votes from this category to Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form; but if voters already had a full ballot in Short Form, their votes could not be transferred.
This hit some nominees particularly hard, and speaking personally I must say I regret that we weren't able to get The Uninvited as a finalist; I enjoyed it more than any of the others. But there you go - I just count the votes, I don't get to choose who wins.
(As a matter of fact just one of my first preferences for the 2020 Hugos won. If you are wondering if it was you, well, yes of course it was.)
But after internal discussion, we are publishing them here. There is only one category that is remotely controversial (and there of course the voters delivered karma to us anyway by delivering a tie in the other category closely related to that one).
There were two categories where we allowed the final ballot to proceed with one finalist who had received only three nominating votes (and in one case, that finalist actually won); in cases where the final ballot would have had to include more than one eligible finalist with three or fewer nominating votes, we determined that the category was not sufficiently supported by voters to proceed.
Going in order of increasing complexity:
1945 Retro Hugo nominations for Best Semiprozine:
There were none.
1945 Retro Hugo nominations for Best Fancast:
Nominee
Votes
Radio Society of Great Britain
1
1945 Retro Hugo nominations for Best Editor, Long Form:
Nominee
Votes
John W Campbell
2
Donald Wollheim
1
Roger Senhouse
1
1945 Retro Hugo nominations for Best Fan Artist:
Nominee
Votes
Alva Rogers
6
Bill Watson
6
4 nominees with 3 votes
2 nominees with 2 votes
12 nominees with 1 vote
Impossible to have a full final ballot without including several nominees who received only 3 nominating votes.
1945 Retro Hugo nominations for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Nominee
Votes
Length (min)
The Uninvited
17
99
The Canterville Ghost
16
95
Captain America
13
240
Between Two Worlds
13
112
It Happened Tomorrow
6
85
The Curse of the Cat People
6
70
The Lady and The Monster
5
86
The Invisible Man's Revenge
4
78
4 nominees with 3 votes, of which at least 2 were less than 90 minutes in length
3 nominees with 2 votes, of which 1 was less than 90 minutes in length.
13 nominees with 1 vote, of which 4 were not released in 1944 and so were not eligible; 6 of the other 9 were less than 90 minutes in length.
It was impossible to have a full final ballot without including several nominees who either received only 3 nominating votes or were of the wrong length for the category, ie below 90 minutes.
Where possible we transferred nominating votes from this category to Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form; but if voters already had a full ballot in Short Form, their votes could not be transferred.
This hit some nominees particularly hard, and speaking personally I must say I regret that we weren't able to get The Uninvited as a finalist; I enjoyed it more than any of the others. But there you go - I just count the votes, I don't get to choose who wins.
(As a matter of fact just one of my first preferences for the 2020 Hugos won. If you are wondering if it was you, well, yes of course it was.)