We’re running out of time for year-end lists! That means it’s time for one more entry from Josh Kurp, Warming Glow’s Listmaker-in-Chief, about the absolute worst TV episodes to air this year.
In order to keep every entry from being an E! or TLC reality show, Josh limited the selections to scripted TV. There are some ballsy selections here that I don’t necessarily agree with, so be sure to direct your outrage at him. We welcome your selections in the comments.
10. “Pilot,” Outlaw
GUILTY! ...of sucking.
We’re all in agreement that Jimmy Smits should probably just go away for a while, right? While I liked his character on Dexter, he was apart of the show’s weakest season; ditto with The West Wing, where he played Matt Santos for two seasons. Since leaving NYPD Blue in 1998, he’s appeared in Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, The Jane Austen Book Club, Cane (13 episodes), and most recently, Outlaw, which ran for eight episodes before being yanked off the air.
In the show’s first episode, Smits quits his job as a Supreme Court Justice to fight for the little guys at his own law firm. It was all downhill from there. Actual line of dialogue: “I sleep like a baby, though for you I’d be willing to make an exception.” You’re out of order; this whole show is out of order! (I’ll bet someone actually said something like that on Outlaw, too).
9. “The Greatest Story Ever D’ohed,” The Simpsons
Yes, I still watch The Simpsons, and yes, I know the show hasn’t been good since season eight. Says you. The quality has dropped over the years, but the Simpsons is still capable of an episode as funny as anything on TV—it’s just doesn’t happen very often, and it certainly didn’t happen with “The Greatest Story Ever D’ohed.” It contains every reason people don’t like the show: the family going to an exotic location (Israel), a repeated plot (Ned getting pissed at Homer), an overreliance on a celebrity (Sacha Baron Cohen), and lame pop culture gags (Transformers?). Not even a reference to my beloved Carolina Panthers could save a Simpsons episode somehow worse than “Bart to the Future.”
![[avatar]](http://p.uproxxcdn.com/photo/679/thumb)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/06/troy-mcclure-150x150.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/06/converse-is-making-a-line-of-simpsons-sneakers-to-celebrate-150x150.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/06/the-new-simpsons-area-at-universal-studios-will-feature-a-fully-operational-moes-tavern-uproxx-150x150.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/05/Springfield-at-Universal-150x150.jpg)
His name was not just Christian. It was Christian SHEPHERD. Ugh.
I can understand why your corporate overlords feel that splitting this content up into five pages is necessary…but, damn, talk about short-sighted.
Any episode of The Office that had Kathy Bates on it could have qualified for this list.
/also nice “Pretty in Pink” reference
thankfully I didn’t see any of these…except for the Outsourced ep….and again…I liked it….muhhahahahahahaha
Lost ruled. Still rules.
If you replace the Lost finale with the season finale of The Walking Dead, then I’m cool with this list.
I have no respect for people who bitch about slideshows and multi-page posts unless they also write letters to television stations complaining about the existence commercials or run down the street yelling at buses that have ads on the side of them.
Honestly, I get the criticism of the Lost finale. And I do think it could’ve been better. But I’m still glad they went for emotional payoff instead of exposition. And a less-than-stellar finale doesn’t ruin the rest of the series for me.
Go ahead, mock me. I’m used to it.
I’m surprised you’ve actually seen these episodes considering you like to brag about not watching tv shows. In a list of particularly bad episodes, mentioning EVERY episode of Detroit 1-8-7 and that other abomination smacks of “well considering the casts these are the kinds of shows that just can’t be good.”
I just got back from throwing tomatoes at some dickhole Greyhound promoting Outsourced.
What’s with the fucking slide show?
Thanks for spoiling the ending of lost, butthead. jk – I actually was ok with the ending, but my wife hated it.
That Two and a Half Men episode sounded positively riotous. Time to give those boys a look.
@ Farthammer – You complete me.
How dare you! I don’t watch her likely really shitty show, but Angie Harmon is a fucking goddess. If she thought that fucking Jason Sehorn was a good idea, then I’ve got to have a chance!
I love existence commercials. They remind me that I’m alive.
Those of us with a 3-handle in our age learned about 187′s meaning from EZE and MC Ren.
@DG + @farthammer = coffee on the keyboard, via the nose
AWWW HELL NO YOU DID NOT JUST DIS DA BRAFF!
I learned what 187 was from Demolition Man. Wesley Snipes in the building!
And that building is the Federal Correctional Institution McKean.
*puts on gay cowboy hat*
The Britney ep of Glee was the only one I did like. Heather Morris is the only one on that show that can really dance.
*takes off gay cowboy hat*
Now if they could just do an ep focusing on the white slave trade featuring Lea Michelle, I’ll be totally back on board.
Learned 187 from this song. Classic.
[www.youtube.com]
Outsourced is quality programming. You are just as offensive to just as many people, you just try to disguise it in hipster glibness to make it ok.
Sasha Baron Cohen on Simpsons was the worst guest spot ever. His character rambled on like a fucking retard trying to pass it off as funny.
I learned what 187 was when I killed a man in Chico, just to watch him die.
wait till you see family guy “it’s a trap.”
granted, they preface the movie by calling it a piece of shit they mailed in.
Tip of the cap for Cigar Guy photoshop.
God bless you, Lester. I was feeling ancient.
Lost Finale — Seudo-religious bullshit ends a perfectly decent hour of television.
Yeah Lost ended pretty much the same way for me. Several of my friends and I pointing and laughing at the level of schlock they were trying to pass off as High Drama and “magic.”
I’m sorry Patty but it didn’t even add up on a pure emotional level. Why the hell was Sayid with Shannon? IT CONFOUNDS EVERY ASPECT OF THE BRAIN!
And that’s when I knew I would never watch another minute of network drama for the rest of my life.
I loved the pitch for Outlaw. A justice goes back to practice for the powerless is pretty cool. But within ten seconds of the pilot I wanted to set Conan O’Brien (whom I adore) on fire for letting his production company make that abortion of a show.
If we talk about the worst episodes in perspective to the baseline, The Two and a Half Men episode doesn’t suck so bad because all episodes suck and the finale of Boardwalk Empire has to be called out. That was Sopranos-level disappointing, and really left a bad taste in my mouth after a great season.
I cannot get on board with your Scrubs hate.
If you think that “Something, Something, Something, Dark Side” was a bad Family Guy episode, wait until you see their latest Star Wars episode “It’s a Trap.” You could tell that it was going to be bad from the start when Peter said “Alright, let’s just get through with this” and the opening prologue had Seth MacFarlane basically telling the audience that he didn’t want to do it, that FOX made him do it and that most of the jokes were written by assistants and a FedEx guy who thought Stewie was Steve. I wished that I had never bought that DVD when I was finished with it.
Yeah, the latest one was pretty lame, Randy.
Also, I’ve watched every single episode of The Event, and I will NOT be watching after the hiatus. I have paid attention, even rewatched an episode or two, and I quite frankly cannot figure out what the FUCK is going on.
“Magic Twanger” comes from a Saturday morning children’s show called “The Buster Brown Show” ( a children’s shoe company). It was uttered by a villanous puppet named “Froggy”. The show was from the ’50′s, so if that is a sexual reference, that is a pretty big stretch going a long way back.
You do know its ok to mention The Walking Dead right? No offense I know sometimes you have to be hush hush on mass fan boy honey pots, but it’s cool. Besides that awesome list.
I also agree with the fact of any episode of The office with Kathy Bates. Scratch that. I mean every episode of The Office season 4 and Up.
“…it just wasn’t worth spending even 40 minutes a week…suspending enough belief that I could imagine adorable Hal Holbrook as the show’s villain.”
Two words: “Capricorn One”. He pulls it off.
WHAT!? Something, Something Dark Side wasn’t awful. It was funny.
I think charlie is sooooo cute on two and a half men. I’ll take him on the piano anytime!
I laughed when I saw “The End” make it to number one. I have such mixed feelings about that conclusion. Sure it resonated emotionally, but for a show that builds up all these questions and hardly answers a thing, you become jaded seeing your favorite couples “remember” each other while Michael Giacchino’s score kicks in. In the end, I felt cheated and offended. I don’t think I can trust another high-concept ensemble show again.
And I don’t care if you bring in a dog and make it do something cute, I will not be toyed with emotionally, Darlton!!!
You completely misused what Damon said, he was saying you can be honest about your opinions and still be a fan of a franchise. Care to point out where he said HP and Lost were no good?
Also your space bar seems to be sticky. Probably mixed drink related.
They were making up Lost as they went along. There was no way they were going to reconcile the first five seasons. That should have been obvious after the time travel crap, but especially after they introduced Dogan and the temple at the friggin’ start of season 6. I can’t believe I wasted 100 hours of my life on this POS.
This site just gets worse and worse Every day. Pretty pathetic. If filmdrunk didnt link you nobody would even come here
Hawthorne
RTH, I couldn’t have said it better myself. Does everybody have to be politically correct? Maybe, If I reviewed your life. I would be bored to death
I’m with the other posters, why bag on Braff and Scrubs? That show was FANTASTIC! And to the ‘Lost’ guy… ‘Deathly Hallows’ followed the book very closely. So screw him!
I disagree. Rizzoli and Isles was pretty good overall. Worth giving a second season a look see. As for Jimmy Smits, I don’t think you should have included his performance on West Wing. I think he did a good job there. I’d rather watch reruns of West Wing with him in them than most of the shows on TV now.
If you had watched more episodes of “Two and a Half Men”, maybe you would be qualified to judge it, and not say something stupid like “it’s a TERRIBLE show”. Unless all the other people are stupid (hell, it’s the most popular sitcom on TV), and you are the only one with sense.
That said, I will agree that the masturbation episode was THE WORST of the whole series, and probably does belong on your list. I think we have to blame the writers for the deterioration since the last season – there must be some little hairy-palmed prick that needs to be kicked out (of the writers pool).
Anybody watch the finale of “Persons Unknown”? It was supposed to be a one-season miniseries, and at the end of each episode we were promised “In the end all will be revealed.” Well at the end NOTHING was revealed, and it was set up for a second season – which will never happen because the ratings were so bad.
wow– you really need a better editor. I let the first 10 or 15 grammar/spelling mistakes go (typos happen, whatever), but after the 3rd ‘to’/'too’ mistake I just couldn’t take anymore. I really can’t believe that this may have been written by someone who is actually getting paid for their writing. wow
I hated the Lost finale and I’m glad to know I am not alone. The final scene should have been moving, but it was just cheesy. I expected more from the writers and I’m still angry about it.
whoever wrote this list definitely is a moron…he likes will arnett and empire strikes back…nuff said
I think who didn’t like Lost finale are the “men of science”.
We were talking about that with one of my best friend (Lost fan as well, and hated the 6th season). He is a man of science, and what he was waiting for is that the main questions will be answered any way, for example in some kind of quantum physics blahblah, or anything like that. They didn’t of course. But is this really what we should had expect?
I think the most important things in Lost were the characters; who they were, and who they become. Sometimes the road is much more important than the prize that awaits for us.
I loved Lost, and loved the last scene of the show. I beleive the reason for this, that I am a man of faith. I don’t need answers – I am happy that they didn’t told me much things; let’s just say: they let me think!
So here I tell you a really easy test: I you liked the finale, you are the man of faith. I f you didn’t like it, then you are the man of science. Which way you choose?
i HATED “Something, Something, Something Dark Side” too, i’m happy i’m not alone.
If you listen to the commentary on “Dark Side” MacFarlane says that with “Blue Harvest” everyone was so excited to do a SW parody but while working on “Dark Side” everyone just kinda lost interest in it but they pretty much promised to do the original trilogy so they are pushing on and getting it over with…
I would have also included the entire Season 9 of “Law and Order: Criminal Intent”, especially all the episodes post-”Loyalty” Pt 1 and 2, sans Goren, Eames and Ross. It surprises me that the show is being resurrected for another, abbreviated season but at least Goren and Eames will be back. Let us pray the new eight episodes will do the series and the original actors, D’Onofrio and Erbe, justice, so to speak.
The author is this article is wack and ignorant. Detroit 187 is one of the best shows on TV. I can’t imagine what shows this writer thinks are quality tv. Jersey Shore? Suite Life on Deck? Smh. Forget this person.
Detroit 1-8-7 is one of my fave new shows this season. It’s not glitzy or glamorous, but that’s the point. Michael Imperioli makes is worth watching.
The last episode of LOST was epic and if you didn’t get it then your a moron. I will never come to this website again…..also the family guy parody of Empire Strikes Back was awesome
Will Arnett is funny?
Old Christine new Christine or what ever the hell it is is just pplain awful. How I met your mother is just as bad. Why didn’t any episodes from those shows make it two and a half men is worse than those two
Outsourced is one the shows I followed in 2010. It was funny and insightful to what’s actually happening with the US economy and to the stark differences of both the American & Asian-Indian culture. I look forward to it’s new season.
Jude, I say this with the up-most sincerity. Watch Arrested Development on Hulu.com. That is comedy. In no way should you laugh at lazy humor like Outsourced. Also, you consider it insightful? Outsourced is insightful into the economy like licking yourself is a useful form of hygiene.
I certainly understand why a Harry Potter fan wouldn’t like the finale of Lost. But it still amazes me that people expected all the mysteries of Lost to be wrapped up in a bow and handed to them. That is not what the show was about. God forbid that viewers actually challenge themselves and use their imagination.
The creators stuck to their overarching theme that we need to forgive ourselves and others to truly let go and move on in life (and the afterlife). The finale was spirtually and emotionally satisfying to me. I think a lot of the critics are reluctant to explore and thinking deeply about spirituality.
Anyone that thinks the LOST finale was one of the worst episodes of the year must be paritally lobotomized..
First off most questions were answered in the last 2 years.
Second the show was about the characters from the very beginning and the island was a setting not a character.
Lastly, How deluded and narcissistic is it to think that a series writers need to answer the questions you (or anyone like you) think are important to the series? Very!
I am not sure the finale could hav ebeen any better or done any more than it did. One of the 10 best series finales of all time simpy put.
Gotta disagree on Detroit 187. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible. It aimed to be Detroit’s answer to Homicide, but it missed. It did manage to improve and is still better than most cop shows on tv right now.
Also LOST. The finale was awesome. Sorry that you didn’t enjoy it.
Two and a Half Men has definitely slipped this season, but to include a show/episode that you admit you don’t/didn’t watch is pretty damn lazy and screams of some sort of personal bias.
A lot of us picked up 187 from the classic Dr. Dre/Snoop Dogg collaboration “Deep Cover.” Also, the season finale of Lost was pretty genius if you watch it the right way. Think “The King of Comedy” and maybe you’ll understand why it’s actually pretty tragic.
Who ever wrote this is a complete idiot.
I agree. Outsourced is one of the funniest shows on TV. Who made the guy who wrote this list an expert. Sounds like he has no sense of humor. What does he consider funny if not 2 1/2 men and outsourced.
Not that my opinion is any better than yours but I happen to like and look forward to both Detroit 187 and Rizzoli & Isles.
Yeah, I agree about Lost’s finale. I hadn’t watched a single episode of Lost until a month before the last season started, and I watched it all. I couldn’t believe I had never watched it before, definitely the best show I’ve ever watched, at least until Season 4 or 5. So yeah, I was actually eager to see the final episode… and it pretty much blew. I’m not sure if it was the worst episode of the year, but definitely the most disappointing. Wasn’t unexpected though, the whole last season seemed rushed. But those first few seasons… wow. Some awesome stories.
Damn proud to say I’m one of the morons that didn’t understand the LOST final show. It was a piece of crap that only people who want other people to think they are smart and cool say they get. It was a joke from the very beginning, and you people fell for it. Suckers.
I can’t believe that he thought the Britney/Brittany was the worst of the GLEE episodes. I am a huge fan of GLEE, I won’t lie. However, the worst episode was the Rocky Horror rip off. I’m sorry, but you can not make a girl play Frankenfurters part and have her sing about being a Sweet Transvestite. I figured this would be a chance for the writers to be brave, and go all out. However, this show is being touted as a “family show” so I understand why they didn’t. It was a disaster, and it is the only episode of GLEE that I hated through and through.
I have watched the Simpsons.With that exception, i have not seen any of the above mentioned shows.I am glad.
WHERE is the Editor here and why are they allowing non-English to be published in an online article? For example, read the following sentence and explain to me what the heck this is supposed to mean; :”I’ll profess that I don’t actually watch Two and a Half Men, outside of the few episodes I’ve been to lazy change after mindlessly watching Friends”. LOOK at this TRASH Grammar! WTH?? That doesn’t include the other dozens of errors. WHERE is the Editor here? It’s hard on the eyes (and mind) to figure out trash like this sentence! ON the uhumm topic – ANY episode of ‘The Office’ stinks enough, even worse if it includes Rainn Wilson. He has the same face ONLY for radio that the new “judge” on Idol has. 99% of trash on TV these days is just that – TRASH, and when talking about it in a slide showor any other format, it’d be nice to be able to read it in our own home language – ENGLISH, not dribble~!
Whoever wrote this is a complete moron, Something something dark side was genius (and a huge improvement over Blue Harvest) and Peter Griffin is the funniest character. He belongs in the center of the show. the reason its called Family Guy is because of Peter not Stewie or Brian.
MY first AND last visit to the site, whoever wrote this obviously has no taste. The End of Lost is one of the biggest television events of the decade, let alone one of the best of the year. It’s just that LOST is smart and complex, and takes viewing every episode to understand any episode. Obviously you didn’t.
I disagree with Lost being on this list. It was a truly epic ending of and epic show It was so beautiful. I would not change it. There will never be another show like Lost. Best show ever. I guess I see such beauty in the end. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time i watched it.
Way off on Outsourced. Far funnier than the stale Office and the ridiculously boring Community. Ratings have been agreeing.
Racism is funny!
Simpson is ok if you see old episodes, I do not bother watching new episodes.
“Charlie has been dating a woman who is four years older than him…” Where did you go to school, moron? “Him”? HE. Grammar is the accomplishment of a five year old.
reply to Michael’s post
Old Christine new Christine or what ever the hell it is is just pplain awful. How I met your mother is just as bad. Why didn’t any episodes from those shows make it two and a half men is worse than those two
You sir should be smacked with a week old dead flounder…. how i met your mother is one of the funniest shows ever written, that is why it has lasted six years.
reply to Michael’s post
“Old Christine new Christine or what ever the hell it is is just pplain awful. How I met your mother is just as bad. Why didn’t any episodes from those shows make it two and a half men is worse than those two”
You sir should be smacked with a week old dead flounder…. how i met your mother is one of the funniest shows ever written, that is why it has lasted six years.
How bout adding you sense of humor to the 10 worst list? To each his own pal.
I agree with “M.” Proper grammar should prevail whether in print or online. Just goes to show how dumb Americans have become since the last generation. Makes one wonder what is being taught to journalism students. There is no reason for poor grammar and punctuation. That’s what spell check is for; use it!
Also, re: “Two and a Half Men”, there’s a reason this show has received several award nominations. However, I don’t like the episodes with Chelsea, and Jake has become a poorly groomed pain in the ass, too fresh and not at all funny. The show is about two bachelors, so masturbation is not a stretch. I’ve seen far worse on other shows, and “Family Guy” should ONLY be shown in primetime for its frank content, but the show is hilarious.
Besides the fact that you obviously attack some good shows just to make sure we know you aren’t a fan of mainstream shows, your grammar sucks. I’ll put this in my list of “10 worst edited Internet blogs that few will read”.
If one writes a blog critiquing someone else’s creative effort, one should spend more time proofreading. Glaringly obvious mistakes, such as incorrect punctuation and confusing homophones, distract from the point being made. Also, the credibility of the writer becomes diluted.
Wow, another list by someone who has no good taste.
You could’ve just started this whole article with “I actually listened to Sublime” and saved me the multiple clicks. Garbage.
ITaaaalkind abt Will Smits, I fell in love with him when he started in “LA Law” wow.Has any oone of you remember? However he was abt 30 lbs lighter.
Empire Strikes Back “inarguably the greatest movie of all time” . . . the use of a non-existent word not withstanding (it’s UNarguably, nomrod), suggesting that Empire was the greatest movie of ANY genre, then proclaiming it to be without debate, is reason enough to skip this list. Add to it comments like “I don’t watch this show” for a series that’s supposed to contain the worst episode of the year makes whoever this author is the least competent person on earth to compile such a list. You got paid for this? Yours is a job that REALLY should be outsourced.
love
Detroit 187
I know no one cares about my opinion, but having said that, you could put any episode of Lost on there. I’ve tried dozens of times to watch that show, to find that little hook that dug itself into everyone I know, and….it’s crap. Same for Glee. I just don’t get it.
And I know that the entirity of the known universe prefers Empire to Jedi, and mocking your favorite as opposed to the lesser probably has something to do with its placement on the list. In retrospect though, the addition of Jar Jar Binks to the new trilogy made the Ewoks look like effing Shaft….but I digress. As far as Family Guy Specials, Something, Something, Something Darkside was infinitely funnier than It’s a Trap. I swear, Seth Macfarlane took a bunch of Valium and phoned that one in.
What the hell? Lost the Finale was amazing. You’re just an idiot and obviously not a real LOST fan so you didn’t get it. Lost was epic and we all know it. Your ignorance means nothing. LOST IS THE BEST SHOW EVER.
You could have added most of the shows on tv and made it your top 50! Im still upset over the cancelation of Still Standing but thankgod For Ghost Adventures!!!
Heh… or y’know, if you listen to rap music, you’ve known what 187 meant ever since N.W.A. came out. Either or.
I can’t believe you didn’t like Detroit 1-8-7 It’s one of the best shows of the past season and if you don’t like it why on earth would you watch every episode?
Agree with the numerous other posters commenting on the terrible writing here…just finished reading some articles on the worth of a college education in our country today, and it makes me a little sick. Where do I get a job like yours?
While I agree that the Lost finale may not have been all that we, the hardcore LOSTIES, expected, I still thought it delivered an emotionally satisfying end to the most brilliant TV series ever. And if you were a real Lost watcher and fan, ‘The End’ actually DID leave quite a bit of room for interpretation, in a good way, inviting us to draw our own conclusions about the big themes of the show. If you were left wanting everything to be explained, I think you may have missed some of the more satisfying literary and spiritual references of the show all along. If anyone saw the Christmas episode of the NBC comedy ‘Community’, well, there’s a LOST reference and joke in there that actually really DOES help to explain what LOST was all about. If you care to, watch it, and then think about your experience of LOST.
@ Helas-you are right on with “The Community” ‘s reference to “Lost” at Christmas. I appreciated it.
Of the article, my only huge complaint is of disssing “Detroit 187.” I like the show.
Lost IS the best television series of all time. It makes you think and keeps you on your toys. How many other shows kept you wondering for 3 months “what is in the hatch?” the characters and acting alone made the show worthwhile. I loved the finale. I am a big fan of happy endings. Even though they killed off most of the main characters at some point, they all ended up right where they were supposed to be. I am thrilled that Sawyer ended up with Juliet. She was always my favorite. The ending was about love and letting go. It was beautiful. I bawled during almost every episode in the final season.
I just got the box set collectors edition and it has a disc with 15 minutes of extra footage. It’s of Ben and Hurley. I cannot wait to rematch the entire series again.
I watched a few seasons of two and a half men. It is awful. I can see why other people would like it, but it isn’t my test.
Dont rip on community. It is consistently funnier than critical darling Modern Family ( I like the show, but it isn’t perfect) and waaaaaaaay funnier than Glee. I was shocked to find out that was considered a comedy. They are crying 85% off the time. I find it impossible to believe that people find two and a half men so hilarious, but How I Met Your Mother isn’t funny enough. How I Met Your Mother is hilarious. I can watch and rematch every episode and still find it funny.
Oh, and Scrubs is amazing. I agree that puddle is an awful narrator and the show could have been so much better.
How could that crap burger called “Glee Murders Rocky Horror” not be on that list? The whole spirit of Rocky is “Don’t Dream it, Be it” but Fox played it safe and watered down everything the movie is. I’m ashamed of what Fox and Glee did to it
Oops. Toes** not toys. Sorry. I am typing from my phone.
The tv show Lost, ruined tv for me, I will never invest years of my life in any show except a sitcom and thats because the episode usually wraps up at the end of that 30 minutes. That last Lost episode was CRAP, I would rather waste 30 minutes thans years on a tv show.