The WORST episodes of Dateline NBC
Every episode of Dateline NBC ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Dateline NBC!
Dateline presents in-depth coverage of news stories. Rather than just reading news reports, as most news shows do, the reporters for this show research their subjects and interview the people closely involved to create an informative work of investigative journalism.
#1 - Fatal Visions
Season 17 - Episode 42 - Aired 5/29/2009
Correspondent Josh Mankiewicz investigates the case of the 2001 drowning of a woman inside her own bathtub which has seen many twists and turns throughout the years.
#2 - Christina Aguilera, Lauren Scruggs, and Kelly Rutherford
Season 21 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/16/2012
Hoda Kotb talks to Christina Aguilera about her childhood and career. Also, interviews with model Lauren Scruggs and actress Kelly Rutherford.
#3 - Tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary
Season 21 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/14/2012
Lester Holt and Brian Williams anchor a special hour of Dateline devoted to the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, where Brian Williams reports live on the scene.
#4 - Inconceivable (Update); New Year, New You
Season 21 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/6/2013
Carolyn and Sean Savage hoped to have another child using embryos left over from the in vitro fertilization procedure that brought them their daughter. Ten days after the embryos were transferred into Carolyn, their doctor called with stunning news - she was implanted with someone else's embryos. "Dateline" visits the Savages once again, after their lives took yet another unexpected turn. In New Year, New You: Al Roker and his family open up about their plans to stay healthy in 2013; Natalie Morales follows two women who embark on a ten day digital detox; Interviews with Dr. Oz and Usher.
#5 - Trouble in Paradise
Season 21 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/18/2013
After his neighbor was murdered, American software mogul John McAfee fleed tropical paradise Belize, and Keith Morrison travels there to try to uncover what really happened, and finally tracks down the fugitive millionaire for an extensive interview.
#6 - Missing Mickey
Season 21 - Episode 19 - Aired 1/29/2013
After college student Mickey Shunick went missing last summer, her sister was the tip of the spear in the multinational search, and now opens up about the case.
#7 - 10 Scariest Escapes from Death
Season 16 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/2/2008
#8 - Along Came Jodi
Season 21 - Episode 36 - Aired 3/1/2013
The trial and murder conviction of Jodi Arias and the salacious relationship that ended in tragedy.
#9 - It Could Happen to You
Season 21 - Episode 28 - Aired 3/3/2013
After having their dreams of winning the lottery come to fruition, five people discuss the unique ways in which they've decided to use the newly found fortune, while Donald Trump discusses different ways this sudden wealth should be handled.
#10 - Intersection; Taken (2013)
Season 21 - Episode 29 - Aired 3/17/2013
An in depth and uncensored look in to a controversial new intervention program lasts over the course of a year as eight drug dealers are given a rare opportunity to reform their criminal ways after being arrested in a typical middle class area. Also, Brittany Tavar disappears from her home, along with her dogs, leavings friends and family baffled and worried.
#11 - To Catch a Predator - Washington, DC
Season 14 - Episode 14 - Aired 11/4/2005
#12 - Murder in the Moonlight
Season 14 - Episode 25 - Aired 8/9/2006
A man is accused of killing his beautiful wife on a moonlit beach walk and then shooting himself to cover up the crime, Dennis Murphy reports.
#13 - Rossen Reports; The Fugitive
Season 21 - Episode 30 - Aired 3/24/2013
Correspondents investigate fire alarms not working properly, ingredients in household products like shampoos and toothpaste, and personal information available online; Chris Hanson reports on the FBI manhunt for Jason Derek Brown.
#14 - Sandy: Rescue & Recovery
Season 21 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/2/2012
Dateline offers a special report on the devastation in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. It visits areas of New York and New Jersey that are struggling to restore power and repair damage. It also interviews people who have been hit hard by the disaster and looks at an effort to stop the New York Marathon
#15 - The Girl with the Blue Mustang
Season 18 - Episode 39 - Aired 4/30/2010
A popular college freshman is gunned down in her car for no apparent reason. Police had no clues: no fingerprints, no information about trouble in Michelle O'Keefe's life. Then an unexpected source comes into the picture. Keith Morrison reports.
#16 - Phony Rockefeller
Season 21 - Episode 33 - Aired 4/17/2013
Mike Taibbi takes a detailed look in to the life and history of con man Clark Rockefeller with interviews of lead detectives during his murder trial and those who personally knew him best.
#17 - Appointment for Murder
Season 16 - Episode 8 - Aired 3/16/2008
A doctor was found dead in his Chicago office -- and he'd been the focus of an obsession that had lasted for years
#18 - Bitter Pill
Season 18 - Episode 33 - Aired 4/26/2010
When a mother of two died after a fender-bender, her loved ones were left shaking their heads and looking for answers. The more they learned, though, the more it seemed that it wasn't her accident that needed investigating, but her marriage.. Dennis Murphy Reports.
#19 - Deadly Sanctuary
Season 17 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/20/2009
An investigative report on the death of a female parishioner inside the office of the county church, which shocked the congregation and left them suspicious to why this happened. Was this death a murder or maybe a suicide? Correspondent Keith Morrison reports.
#20 - My Kid Would Never Do That: Cheating
Season 20 - Episode 42 - Aired 4/29/2012
Natalie Morales and Rosalind Wiseman, an expert on teen ethics and behavior, investigate what happens when teens are confronted with the temptation to cheat: tests include using cell phones during tests and changing scores in athletic drills.
#21 - The Hansen Files - Daycare
Season 20 - Episode 25 - Aired 3/2/2012
Inner-workings of Reliable Day Care, a modern day "social norm" of American child rearing. Not all Day Care operators are who they seem to be and may actually be dangerous.
#22 - The Hansen Files - Pharmaceutical Drugs
Season 20 - Episode 26 - Aired 3/4/2012
The process pharmaceutical companies go through to get a new drug tested, approved, and available to consumers. It may not be as careful as people are led to believe.
#23 - The Hansen Files - Lottery
Season 20 - Episode 28 - Aired 3/11/2012
A group of undercover investigators try to uncover the reason that some lottery retailers actually end up with winning tickets, while the customers who bought the tickets walk away with nothing.
#24 - Trayon Martin; Insurance
Season 20 - Episode 32 - Aired 3/25/2012
Lester Holt travels to Florida to report the latest information on the story of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed teenager who was killed by a neighborhood watch member; Chris Hansen confronts companies making false promises about their insurance coverage.
#25 - Haunted Memories
Season 20 - Episode 36 - Aired 4/8/2012
A divorced mother of four children, who was accused of a heinous crime and then served 15 years in prison for the same wrongdoing even though there are many that claim the horrible crime never actually happened.