🔗 Share this article This Floating Poo Was Far Too Meaningful! These Are the Television Letdowns of the Past Year. Looking back, we reflect on the television offerings of the past year, a selection of shows stand out not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to confusingly poor docuseries, here are the programmes that left us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote. And Just Like That Where to begin with this divisive spin-off? Burdened with dreadful writing, painful character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final season started, it looked like it had finally found its groove. Then arrived an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator declared this would be the last series. It ended on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s loo full of poo was simply too on-the-nose. Yet, viewers certainly found joy dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a little sob? All’s Fair ‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? The answer is a resounding no.’ But that was almost the smallest of this drama's problems. The recipient of a very rare zero star assessment, it was difficult to know where to begin enumerating the problems. The hilariously wooden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of affluence and materialism? The almost wilful procession of cliches? Performances so bad they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this series again. Except, a second season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Considering the legal troubles, domestic violence claims and fatherly 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 documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless hedonism while failing to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any pity this series might induce should be saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charismatic but dismissive egotist. The Iris Affair Naturally we understood it was preposterous from the outset: a drama about a AI 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 stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat. MobLand Shady characters meeting in deserted boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its crime drama back. In truth, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge unconvincing accents. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just really boring; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various London rogues which felt a bit basic. With Love, Meghan Given the extent to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. But then you view them and are compelled to admit that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue come to life; a poster for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh. The Beckham Documentary There are obviously interesting things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, identity, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this three-part series opted not to say them. Instead, the viewing was akin to reading a marketing brochure. She obviously has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any helps with this guarded letdown of a series. The Inheritance It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too confusing 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 trying way too hard to live up to something way beyond it. The Lena Dunham Romcom How does one succeed a show that captured a generation? The pressure was enormous for this starry romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt icky. Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’. Given the smart inclusion of talented emerging comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke stretched to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer. The Knox Dramatisation This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely showcased the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be treated sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lumbering from strangely jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A complete mess? Absolutely. Prime Target We admire the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies spying on – and eliminating – intellectuals frankly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense. 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story This hagiography followed the online personality notorious for sexual exploits as she prepared for her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was far greater examination of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who appeared to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific shots and absolutely no critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.