🔗 Share this article This Drifting Excrement Was Way Too Symbolic! These Are the Television Letdowns of the Past Year. Looking back, we consider the TV landscape of the past year, a handful of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from awkward sequels to bafflingly poor documentaries, here are the productions that had us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote. The 'Sex and the City' Sequel Where to begin with this divisive spin-off? Plagued with woeful writing, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series struggled to find its footing. For a moment, as the third season began, it seemed as if it had at last found its groove. Then arrived an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator declared this would be the final series. It ended on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was simply too symbolic. Yet, fans undeniably found joy dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a little sob? The Kim Kardashian Drama ‘Can Kim Kardashian act? Of course she can’t.’ But that was almost the smallest of this show's problems. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was hard to know where to begin enumerating the problems. The hilariously leaden dialogue? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and consumption? The almost wilful procession of cliches? Performances so bad they felt borderline spiteful? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. Except, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Given the legal troubles, abuse claims and fatherly failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d truly have known it from this multi-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless excess while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any pity this series might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charismatic but flippant narcissist. The Supercomputer Drama Of course we knew it was preposterous 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 stuck with it out of sheer love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat. The Gangster Drama Shady figures meeting in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its gangland drama back. In truth, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were plenty of other issues. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various cockney picaresques which felt rather simplistic. The Meghan Markle Series Considering the degree to which she grinds the gears of certain ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s almost tempting 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 might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine animated; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark sayings and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh. The Beckham Documentary There are obviously interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, identity, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series chose not to explore them. Instead, the viewing was like consuming a marketing catalogue. She obviously has every right to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any favours with this cagey letdown of a series. The Inheritance It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a famous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As players battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too complicated to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up smelling of a programme that was trying way too hard to live up to something far greater than it. Too Much How do you follow a show that defined a generation? The pressure was immense for this starry romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a shattered romance. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of famous friends involved felt icky. Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’. Given the shrewd inclusion of gifted emerging comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer. The Knox Dramatisation This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lumbering from oddly jaunty, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A complete mess? Very much so. Prime Target We love the star … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could ruin society? No! This international thriller about government agencies spying on – and eliminating – academics honestly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense. 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 way more 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 away from the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.