The Biggest Turkeys of 2011

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Turkeys, those ubiquitous birds that are always associated with the holiday, get a bad rap.  Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be America's national bird, but the symbol of our young nation instead became the much more majestic bald eagle.  Now, poor turkeys are the centerpiece of the traditional Thanksgiving Day meal, and the word "turkey" itself has become synonymous with a dud, a flop, something hyped for greatness that instead ends up being a disaster.

Here are my picks on the "turkeys" of 2011.

Sports Turkey -- The Boston Red Sox
Hyped to be the greatest team in baseball, predicted to not only win their division and the American League Pennant, but the World Series itself, the Red Sox suffered one of the worst collapses in the history of the game. 

Movie Turkey -- Cowboys and Aliens
There were plenty of box-office disappointments this year (Green Lantern, Mars Needs Moms, Sucker Punch, etc.), but the comic adaptation directed by Jon Favreau, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starring Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig, had to be the worst.  Expectations were high with a much-buzzed about Super Bowl commercial, but the results were mediocre.  Its domestic ticket sales didn't come close to matching its enormous budget.

Television Turkey -- The Brent Ratner and Eddie Murphy Academy Awards Show
Oh, what a mess.  I was so excited to hear that Eddie Murphy would be hosting the Oscars, and I actually anticipated an exciting ceremony produced by Brett Ratner, which would make us forget last year's boring production, but the house of cards came tumbling down.  Now I can't wait to see how new producer Brian Grazer and returning host Billy Crystal make light of the fiasco.

Theater Turkey -- Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark
Never was a Broadway show so full of seeming bad luck.  Delayed openings, trouble-plagued previews, tabloid-headlines about budget overruns and out-of-control injuries -- the musical version of Spider-man became a pop culture joke before a single official scathing review was printed.  How could a multi-million-dollar show directed by Julie Taymor with music by Bono and The Edge turn out so apparently bad?  It ended up being revamped and hope springs eternal that it will outlive its initial nightmarish early steps, but the backstage drama continues as Taymor (who was fired) sues for infringement of her creative input.  The fun continues.

What other duds can you think of during the past year?