🔗 Share this article That Floating Poo Was Way Too Meaningful! These Are the TV Letdowns of the Past Year. Looking back, we consider the television offerings of the past year, a handful of shows stand out not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to confusingly poor documentaries, here are the programmes that left us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote. And Just Like That Where to begin with this love/hate follow-up? Burdened with woeful scripts, painful arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to find its footing. For a moment, as the final season started, it looked like it had at last found its groove. Then came an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the final season. It ended on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was just way too symbolic. Still, fans undeniably found joy dissecting every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a small sob? The Kim Kardashian Drama ‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she can’t.’ But that was almost the smallest of this show's problems. The subject of a very rare zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to begin listing the flaws. The hilariously wooden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and materialism? The seemingly deliberate procession of cliches? Performances so poor they felt almost malicious? Let’s just say “each and every one” and never speak of this series again. However, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to. AKA Charlie Sheen Given the legal troubles, domestic violence allegations and parental failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d really have known it from this multi-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive excess while struggling to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any sympathy this show might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charming but dismissive egotist. The Supercomputer Drama Naturally we knew it was preposterous from the outset: a drama about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or annihilate all of humanity. We stuck with it out of pure admiration for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat. The Gangster Drama Shady characters meeting in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland drama back. Actually, that is harsh on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were plenty of other problems. Mainly that it was just really dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various London rogues which felt rather simplistic. With Love, Meghan Considering the extent to which she grinds the gears of certain ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into twee lifestyle as deliberate provocations. But then you watch them and are forced to admit that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue animated; a meme for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh. The Beckham Documentary There are clearly interesting things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, identity, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to say them. Rather, the experience was like consuming a sales brochure. She obviously has every right to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any helps with this guarded non-event of a series. The Game Show It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star playing dead and a well-known personality overseeing her estate. What more could you ask for? As contestants competed, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too complicated to detail what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up smelling of a programme that was straining desperately to live up to something way beyond it. The Lena Dunham Romcom How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity friends involved felt uncomfortable. The Sketch Show Return Not good enough to be ‘patchy’. Given the shrewd inclusion of gifted younger comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke milked to a dry pulp but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer. The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively showcased the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be handled with care. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from oddly breezy, slightly stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A total mess? Very much so. The Maths Genius Thriller We admire the star … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies spying on – and killing off – intellectuals honestly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers. The Bonnie Blue Documentary This uncritical portrait followed the content creator notorious for sexual exploits as she undertook her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was way more interrogation of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who appeared to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific shots and zero interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.