It has fed, and fed off, some of the most depressing ways that Britain thinks about itself.
One of the most depressing ways of ending the day is to know that on the morrow you're going to see a film based on one of them.
As Observer journalist Emma John states in her likable memoir about her lifetime obsession with cricket: "England's cricketers were losers … they got beaten by almost every team they played against, and often in the most depressing and humiliating way imaginable".
Tales of bullying, vindictiveness and inhumanity abound.In some ways, though, the most depressing vignettes are the less eye-catching ones.
In some ways, however, the most depressing spectacle of the week was watching Democratic leaders decide that, in 2013, it was finally safe to proclaim gay people actual human beings.
I've done a number of these primetime specials on education for PBS, but I must confess that this one, in many ways, was the most depressing yet inspiring one that I've produced.
One of the most depressing aspects of the case is the way that it highlights the lack of legal reform in Russia.
She is infuriated by the depressing way people from the most affected countries, which also includes Sierra Leone and Guinea, are being portrayed in the media.
Mweelrea is the most depressing mountain you've ever seen, by the way, and its gaunt, looming shape filled almost every view from the Water's Edge Hotel, the lounge bar's included.
The movie's most depressing conclusion is its suggestion that the only way to begin to repair unanticipated emotional damage from a cataclysmic error in judgment is to lie.
