<Dd> This 26 - part BBC miniseries was widely regarded as misconceived for variety of reasons, such as the studio - bound production which offered little in the way of realism and the lack of available funding . Each episode dealt with a particular period in British history, and the quality was consequently variable . Much of the acting was criticised, despite the involvement of Richard Johnson, Robert Hardy, Alan Howard, Colin Blakely, Anna Massey, Gemma Jones and Edward Fox . The programme was reviewed at some length in the programme TV Hell, which revealed that viewing figures had plummeted from 2 million at the series' launch to less than half a million by the fifth episode . The programme was swiftly buried in a later time - slot for the remainder of its run . Nancy Banks - Smith in The Guardian described it as having "little to offer us but blood, horsehair and history . Though a hell of a lot of each ." </Dd> <Dd> Although much hyped in 1985, garnering high ratings for its premiere episode, and also the winner of a 1986 People's Choice Award for New Dramatic TV Program, The Colbys was ultimately a ratings disappointment . The first season finished in 35th place, in part due to competition with NBC's Cheers and Night Court on Thursday nights (by comparison, Dynasty finished in 7th place the same season). The series was renewed for a second season, but fared much worse . Now, not only being scheduled opposite NBC's Cheers and Night Court, but also rival soap Knots Landing on CBS, and later in the season, having to compete with The Cosby Show, The Colbys finished a dismal 76th for the year prompting the network to cancel the show . The series did not fare well among critics either, with one of its main criticisms being that it was simply a copy of Dynasty . The L.A. Times stated "It's not a spinoff, it's a clone--as close a replica as ABC and the Dynasty producers could concoct, right down to the credits ." The Pittsburgh Press compared the scripts to Dick and Jane books for children . In their Directory To Primetime TV Shows, television historians Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh stated that the series likely failed because it was "too close a copy" of Dynasty . Even some cast members were vocal about their dissatisfaction with the series . In 1986, Barbara Stanwyck opted to end her contract and leave the series after its first season, reportedly calling it "a turkey" and telling co-creator Esther Shapiro "This is the biggest pile of garbage I ever did" and that "It's one thing to know you're making a lot of money off vulgarity, but when you don't know it's vulgar - it's plain stupid ." On the contrary, Charlton Heston always had supported the show and stated its cancellation "was premature" as "we were coming closer to being a creative production team that could make the kind of show we'd planned on from the beginning ." Dynasty star Joan Collins categorically refused to make any appearances in it herself, believing it would have caused "massive confusion between the two shows", and urged her fellow Dynasty castmates not to involve themselves with it either . </Dd> <Dd> This musical police procedural, which aired on ABC in 1990, has been cited as one of the worst television series ever, ranking #8 on TV Guide's 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time list in 2002 . The show was a critical and commercial failure from the beginning and was canceled by the network after 11 episodes . Owing to the combination of its bizarre nature and its high - powered production talent, it became infamous as one of the biggest television failures of the 1990s . </Dd> <Dd> The ITV soap opera was badly received by TV critics throughout its 1964--88 run, with writer Hilary Kingsley stating "Some of the acting would have disgraced the humblest of village halls; many of the plots were so farcical they could have been written in a bad dream, and much of the dialogue was pathetic ." The series was revived briefly in 2001 but ended two years later . </Dd>

Tv guide's 50 worst tv shows of all time list