10 Most Hated TV Finales Of All Time

10. The X-Files - ‘The Truth’

The initial premise of ‘The Truth’ - Mulder placed on trial for supposedly murdering someone that he knows can’t be killed - had promise for about five minutes. However, that trial took the form of a military tribunal; something not remotely legal or even practical in real life, and yet another example of how the writing of the show had slipped over the final few years.

With guest star witnesses that just recapped the show’s mythology at length and plenty of shouting about The Truth but no actual answers, the trial was a farce in more ways than one, culminating in a sentence of death. The rest of the feature-length episode saw Mulder break out and go on the run with Scully… and that was it. After nine years, that was the payoff to this groundbreaking show.

The fans who’d kept the faith for nine years were horrified; those whose expectations had already been lowered by years of falling quality were just disappointed.

While Gillian Anderson gave the lazy script her best shot, David Duchovny looked as though he would have preferred to be anywhere or anyone else. Sadly, last year’s X-Files reunion season didn’t redress the balance, leading many to openly wonder what on earth the point had been.