We’ve been patient. We’ve waited almost the entire season to tell the truth: There’s a lot of crap out there. Some of it just sad and dull and hanging around, waiting for the programming executioner. Some of it is just awful and needs to go. Without further ado, we name the 20 worst shows of 2012.

1. THE REAL HOUSEWIVES FROM ANYWHERE (Bravo)

This cultural stink bomb has done more to denigrate the image of women than any other show on television. What started out as a gossipy reality show about some very forgettable Orange County “Housewives” morphed into a teeth-gnashing organism of female rage, banality and greed. When future generations Google the term “TV shrews” surely names such as Teresa Guidice, Jill Zarin and Ramona Singer, among many others, will pop up. “Desperate Housewives” had its day and eventually went away. Now, it’s time for the “Real Housewives” to follow suit.

2. A.N.T. FARM (Disney Channel)

We miss the Disney Channel’s golden age of Emmy-nominated shows like “High School Musical” and “Hannah Montana.” The current slate of programming promotes fame and freedom from parental supervision as key goals in teen life. The young stars of Disney sitcoms such as Sierra McCormick (from left) and China Anne McClain of “A.N.T. Farm” fail to compensate for unfunny scripts with exaggerated facial expressions that rival those of silent film stars. A typical “A.N.T. Farm” zinger about school budget cuts: “Why can’t they just cut unnecessary things like math and English? It would be, like, a kajillion times more gooder!” Granted, a precious few adult roles offer paychecks for forgotten actors like “A.N.T. Farm” cast member Mindy Sterling, who played Frau Barbissina in Mike Meyers’ “Austin Powers” films. But it’s still time to blast this junk from the airwaves. In the words of Frau, “Fire the la-SER!”

3. 2 BROKE GIRLS (CBS)

The ratings are good, but the jokes? They make Buddy Hackett seem cutting-edge. “I dated a guy with one ball once,” says buxom Williamsburg waitress Max (Kat Dennings, far right). “He was all self-conscious. I said, ‘No big deal’. It’s just as ugly as two.” The diner’s witless cook sticks his head out of the kitchen to say, “I once had a date with a blond woman. Turns out the curtains matched the penis on that one.” Someone gets paid to write this crap? Unfortunately, yes.

4. CELEBRITY APPRENTICE (NBC)

What in heaven’s name is this show still doing on the air? Nearly 10 years after the 2004 premiere of “The Apprentice,” it has devolved into a telethon for Hollywood’s lamest has-beens to keep their faces in front of the camera. Seldom has there been a more opportune time for NBC to borrow Trump’s closing line from this show: “You’re fired.”

5. MAURY (syndicated)

Since 1991, Maury Povich has slathered us with trashy tales of abusive spouses, kinky freaks and promiscuous teens. But when he signed with an Ohio diagnostics firm to do paternity tests for on-air reveals five years ago, his daytime chat fest jumped the shark as soon as he uttered the words, “You are NOT the father!” We have no use for the shouting audiences and guests, not to mention episodes with titles like “You Had Sex With Me and My Dad … Who’s Your Baby’s Father?” and “I’m Testing a Fifth Man Today … Is He My Baby’s Father?” Sure, your highly rated show may be under syndication contract until September 2016. But, Maury, it’s time for our own big reveal — you are NOT the future!

6. DANCE MOMS (Lifetime)

Dance instructor Abby Lee Miller may be the most unpleasant wretch on reality television. The transparently producer-orchestrated show follows the portly harridan as she parades little girls around in burlesque outfits to competitions while lowering their self-esteem as much as possible. Meanwhile, the women billed as the girls’ mothers stand by and argue about really important issues, like whose kid sucks the most.

7. MY CAT FROM HELL (Animal Planet)

This ripoff of “The Dog Whisperer” couldn’t have seemed good on paper. In any case, spending your free time watching snarling, shrieking, practically feral cats get a hold of themselves, with the help of “cat behaviorist” Jackson Galaxy (near left) is a complete waste of human effort.

8. MY BIG REDNECK VACATION (CMT)

Send a bunch of bumpkins from the South — the Clampits from Shreveport, La. — to London, and here’s what you hear: “Why is the expression ‘God save the queen’? Is she in some kind of trouble?” Or, “If we have to go the restrooms, is it all right if we go out there to the tree limbs or something?” Chalk it up to the redneck exploitation rampant on TV right now. The Clampits (same name as the family on “The Beverly Hillbillies”) live in a “Downton Abbey”-style manor house, and come to dinner in Bud Light T-shirts with the sleeves cut off. It’s seven kinds of awful.

9. GUYS WITH KIDS (NBC)

We said this was the worst new show of the season last fall, and the charge still sticks. It’s offensive on two fronts: 1. The “comedy” is based on outdated stereotypes — uptight, controlling moms married to bumbling, slacker dads; and 2. The show wastes the talents of perfectly serviceable actors Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Anthony Anderson and Tempestt Bledsoe, even ruining a “Cosby Show” reunion with her former on-screen sib, Keisha Knight Pulliam. Creator Jimmy Fallon would have done better to rerun a couple of his “Late Night” sketches to fill a half-hour of NBC’s schedule each week.

10. THE BACHELOR (ABC)

Lonely women need dates, but this surely isn’t the way to go. Not to mention that there’s no new way to tell this story, or new rosebushes to pluck bouquets from. The guys are wannabe soap stars and the women are Barbie dolls. The dates are boring. Enough.

11. THE NEIGHBORS (ABC)

It was never, ever funny, this one-joke sitcom about suburbanites living in a private community whose next-door neighbors just happen to be aliens dressed like “normal” people.” Take it off or just stab us in the neck.

12. COMMUNITY (NBC)

The show is like one giant inside joke and the creators couldn’t care less if the viewers get it. Case in point: an entire episode in claymation. Not random enough for you? How about the one centered around “Dungeons & Dragons”? The show’s parodies are the kind of meta-junk that only a masochist could love. Imagine how much better “Community” would be if the writers wrote jokes, instead of a series of “quirks.”

13. 1600 PENN (NBC)

If a young man of Skip Gilchrist’s bungling incompetence actually lived in the White House, we’d be speaking Chinese by now. Gilchrist, the man-child president’s son played by Josh Gad, is such a misguided, unfunny presence that it’s shocking to realize that Gad is playing pretty much the same character he did in Broadway’s “The Book of Mormon.” That show’s creators understood how to balance Gad’s “bull in a China shop” whirlwind with the action around him. The creators of “1600 Penn” would do well to realize that, like partying at Coachella, a little bit of chaos here goes a long way.

14. VEGAS (CBS)

How can a show about a place as glitzy and sexy as Las Vegas, with a cowboy sheriff (Dennis Quaid), be so flat and dull? The showgirls barely have the energy to lift their legs and kick. Call it CBS proceduralitis, but when they moved this wan entry to a Friday-night time slot, its doom was certain. Michael Chiklis doesn’t seem capable of playing anything except a bad guy.

15. FIRST TAKE (ESPN2)

This is what happens when you cross two of the most obnoxious, self-serving, loudmouthed blowhards in sports media — two hours of Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless, from ESPN studios in Bristol, Conn., yelling about the topics du jour. Smith is more buddy to NBA stars than journalist. The contrarian Bayless makes mindless “predictions” for no identifiable reason other than to fuel arguments. The banter is more “Real Housewives of Bristol” than insightful sports commentary.

16. ONCE UPON A TIME (ABC)

Oh, prime-time drama based on fairy tales, we want to love you. Your talent — Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Carlyle, Lana Parrilla (above) — is so strong. Your concept is so interesting. But your writing is so bad, your storylines so preposterous and your fairy tales so mixed up — Snow White meets Captain Hook? — that we lost interest. Also, HBO’s “Game of Thrones” airs on Sunday nights, and while that show’s even more confusing with twice as many characters, at least it’s well-written.

17. WHEEL OF FORTUNE (syndicated)

The “Gunsmoke” of game shows. It’s on because it’s always been on, but aside from wardrobe and hair changes for Vanna, today’s episodes are nearly indistinguishable from those broadcast five years ago — or 20 years ago. At least Alex Trebek shaved his mustache on “Jeopardy.” “Wheel” makes piles of money, but that’s no reason for it to be such a bore.

18. MAN V. FOOD NATION (Travel Channel)

We are grossed out. We no longer want to see host Adam Richman (right) stuffing his face. Pancakes. Burritos. Pizza. Wings. Twelve-egg omelettes. They all disappear down Richman’s gullet in huge quantities. No one needs several seasons of an eating-contest show.

19. LOST GIRL (Syfy)

This supernatural fighter series disguises itself as a “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” heir with Bo (Anna Silk) using her seductress powers to fight baddies. But in addition to grasping for that wickedly wry sense of humor that made the Sarah Michelle Gellar series a classic, the series also attempts to tap into the lesbian romance that made Buffy cutting edge. The result is bad girl-on-girl porn, leaving viewers to say, “This crap is why I don’t watch science fiction.” Either way, it’s not helping the genre fight its way out of moms’ basements.

20. THE TODAY SHOW FOURTH HOUR (NBC)

Three hours of this stale bag of potato chips is more than enough. Add alcohol and Hoda and Kathie Lee talking about inane subjects for another hour and you really need a cocktail.