🔗 Share this article That Drifting Poo Was Way Too Symbolic! These Are the Television Letdowns of the Past Year. Looking back, we reflect on the television offerings of the recent year, a handful of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. From cringe-inducing spin-offs to confusingly poor documentaries, here are the productions that had us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote. And Just Like That How to start with this divisive spin-off? Burdened with woeful scripts, cringe-inducing arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show fought to find its footing. For a moment, as the final season started, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator announced this would be the final season. It ended on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was simply too symbolic. Yet, viewers certainly found joy picking apart every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her palatial 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 practically the least of this drama's problems. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon zero star assessment, it was difficult to know where to start listing the flaws. The laughably leaden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and materialism? The seemingly wilful procession of cliches? Acting so bad they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “all of the above” and forget about this show again. However, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Given the legal troubles, abuse allegations 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 chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive excess while struggling to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this series might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charismatic but flippant narcissist. The Supercomputer Drama Of course we knew it was ridiculous from the outset: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of pure love 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 super slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost. MobLand Dodgy figures meeting 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 seem a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were many other issues. Primarily that it was just profoundly dull; a dispute over narcotics territory between various London rogues which felt rather simplistic. With Love, Meghan Considering the degree to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into twee lifestyle as intentional statements. But then you view them and are forced to concede that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, sentimental sayings and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh. Victoria Beckham There are obviously interesting things to be said 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. Instead, the viewing was like consuming a marketing brochure. She obviously has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any favours with this guarded non-event of a series. The Game Show It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a glamorous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her estate. What more could you ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too complicated to detail what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up reeking of a programme that was straining desperately to live up to something far greater than it. Too Much How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The pressure was immense for this starry romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt uncomfortable. Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping Not good enough to be ‘uneven’. Given the shrewd inclusion of gifted younger comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A particular 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 irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have stayed 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 showcased the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be handled with care. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lurching from strangely breezy, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A total mess? Very much so. The Maths Genius Thriller We love the star … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a discovery that could ruin society? Nope! This international thriller about government agencies targeting – and eliminating – intellectuals honestly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers. The Bonnie Blue Documentary This uncritical portrait followed the online personality notorious for explicit exploits as she prepared for her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was way more examination of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who appeared to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.