🔗 Share this article This Floating Excrement Was Way Too Symbolic! These Are the Television Letdowns of the Year. Looking back, we consider the television landscape of the recent year, a selection of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable shortcomings. Ranging from awkward spin-offs to bafflingly poor documentaries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote. The 'Sex and the City' Sequel Where to begin with this divisive spin-off? Burdened with woeful scripts, cringe-inducing arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series struggled to find its footing. Briefly, as the final season started, it seemed as if it had at last found its groove. Then came an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner announced this would be the last season. It ended on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Yet, viewers certainly found joy dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a small sob? All’s Fair ‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she can’t.’ But that was practically the smallest of this show's problems. The subject of a very rare zero star assessment, it was difficult to know where to begin listing the flaws. The laughably wooden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of wealth and materialism? The seemingly wilful procession of tropes? Acting so poor they felt borderline spiteful? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and forget about this show again. Except, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to. AKA Charlie Sheen Given the restraining orders, abuse claims and fatherly shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d truly have known it from this multi-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless hedonism while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any sympathy this show might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but dismissive narcissist. The Iris Affair Of course we understood it was preposterous from the get-go: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We stuck with it out of pure love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost. MobLand Dodgy figures meeting in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland drama back. In truth, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the embarrassment of having to accommodate baffling accents. But there were many other issues. Mainly that it was just really boring; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various London rogues which felt rather simplistic. With Love, Meghan Considering the degree to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. But then you watch them and are compelled to admit that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue animated; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by immense, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh. The Beckham Documentary There are obviously interesting things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, self-image, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this documentary series chose not to say them. Instead, the viewing was like consuming a marketing brochure. She clearly has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any favours with this cagey non-event of a series. The Game Show It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality managing her estate. What more could you want? As players battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too complicated to explain what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up reeking of a programme that was straining desperately to live up to something far greater than it. Too Much How does one succeed a show that captured a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of famous friends involved felt icky. The Sketch Show Return Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’. Given the smart recruitment of gifted younger comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a single joke stretched to a dry pulp but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer. The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an compelling drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be treated sensitively. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lurching from oddly breezy, slightly mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A complete mess? Absolutely. Prime Target We love the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a discovery that could destabilise society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies spying on – and eliminating – intellectuals honestly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers. The Bonnie Blue Documentary This uncritical portrait followed the online personality renowned for explicit exploits as she undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was far greater interrogation of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who showed up to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and absolutely no interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.