🔗 Share this article That Drifting Excrement Was Far Too Meaningful! These Are the TV Letdowns of the Past Year. Looking back, we reflect on the TV offerings of the recent year, a selection of shows stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable shortcomings. From awkward sequels to confusingly bad docuseries, here are the programmes that left us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote. The 'Sex and the City' Sequel How to start with this divisive follow-up? Plagued with dreadful writing, painful arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show fought to find its footing. For a moment, as the final series started, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator announced this would be the last series. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Yet, fans certainly found joy picking apart every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a small sob? The Kim Kardashian Drama ‘Can Kim Kardashian act? Of course she can’t.’ But that was practically the smallest of this show's issues. The recipient of a very rare zero star assessment, it was difficult to know where to start enumerating the problems. The laughably wooden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of affluence and materialism? The almost wilful parade of cliches? Acting so bad they felt almost malicious? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. However, a second season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Considering the restraining orders, domestic violence claims and fatherly shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d really have known it from this three-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive hedonism while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any sympathy this series might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charismatic but dismissive narcissist. The Supercomputer Drama Of course we understood it was ridiculous from the outset: a thriller about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of pure admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One barely cared when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost. The Gangster Drama Dodgy figures convening in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its gangland drama back. Actually, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a little dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling accents. But there were many other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a conflict over narcotics territory between various London rogues which seemed rather simplistic. With Love, Meghan Considering the extent to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s almost easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into quaint homemaking as intentional provocations. But then you view them and are compelled to admit that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue come to life; a poster for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, largely unearned wealth. Ugh. The Beckham Documentary There are clearly interesting things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this three-part series chose not to explore them. Rather, the viewing was akin to consuming a sales catalogue. She obviously has good reason to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any favours with this cagey letdown of a series. The Inheritance It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even camper, with a glamorous star playing dead and a well-known personality overseeing her estate. What more could you want? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too confusing to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up reeking of a production that was trying way too hard to emulate something far greater than it. The Lena Dunham Romcom How do you succeed a show that defined a generation? The expectation was enormous for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of famous cameos involved felt uncomfortable. Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping Not good enough to be ‘uneven’. Given the smart recruitment of gifted younger comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a one-note 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 writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer. The Knox Dramatisation This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced 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 handled sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lurching from oddly breezy, somewhat stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A complete mess? Very much so. The Maths Genius Thriller We admire the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a discovery that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense. The Bonnie Blue Documentary This uncritical portrait followed the online personality renowned for explicit escapades as she undertook her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was way more examination of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who appeared to haul her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific shots and zero critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.