I like to watch them because I just know something is going to be horribly wrong with it.
I don't even know who Alan Smithee is. What are some of his movies?
This is what it's all about:
QuoteAlan Smithee (also Allen Smithee) is an official pseudonym used by film directors who wish to disown a project, coined in 1968. Until its use was formally discontinued in 2000,[1] it was the sole pseudonym used by members of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) when a director dissatisfied with the final product proved to the satisfaction of a guild panel that he or she had not been able to exercise creative control over a film. The director was also required by guild rules not to discuss the circumstances leading to the move or even to acknowledge being the actual director.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Smithee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Smithee)
Usually the director does not want it known he did the film either because it became extremely embarrassing, or there was a nasty power struggle with a producer or star.
Here's a good example of an Alan Smithee Movie.
Morgan Stewart's Coming Home (1987) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nx6jS9nX74#normal)
I watched it for the first time last night. I thought it was pretty good. Most reviewers made it out to be a dud.