🔗 Share this article That Drifting Poo Was Way Too Meaningful! These Are the Television Letdowns of the Year. Looking back, we consider the TV landscape of the recent year, a handful of shows emerge not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. Ranging from awkward sequels to confusingly poor documentaries, here are the programmes that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote. The 'Sex and the City' Sequel How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Burdened with woeful writing, painful arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third series started, it seemed as if it had finally hit its stride. Then came an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator announced this would be the last season. It concluded on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s loo full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Yet, viewers certainly found joy dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a small sob? All’s Fair ‘Can Kim Kardashian act? The answer is a resounding no.’ But that was almost the least of this show's problems. The recipient of a very rare no-star assessment, it was difficult to know where to begin listing the problems. The laughably wooden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of affluence and consumption? The almost deliberate procession of cliches? Performances so bad they felt almost spiteful? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and never speak of this series again. However, a second season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Considering the restraining orders, abuse allegations and parental failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d truly have gleaned it from this three-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless excess while struggling to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any sympathy this series might induce should be saved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charming but dismissive egotist. The Supercomputer Drama Naturally we understood it was preposterous from the get-go: a thriller 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 pure love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat. The Gangster Drama Dodgy characters convening in empty boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its crime drama back. Actually, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge unconvincing accents. But there were many other problems. Primarily that it was just really dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various London rogues which seemed a bit basic. With Love, Meghan Considering the extent to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s performatively angry 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 in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue animated; a poster for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh. Victoria Beckham There are obviously fascinating things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, self-image, self-worth. But for some reason, this documentary series opted not to explore them. Rather, the experience was like reading a sales brochure. She clearly has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any favours with this guarded non-event of a series. The Inheritance It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a famous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her inheritance. What more could you want? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too confusing to detail what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up smelling of a production that was trying way too hard to live up to something far greater than it. The Lena Dunham Romcom How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The pressure was enormous for this starry romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of famous cameos involved felt uncomfortable. Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping Not good enough to be ‘patchy’. Given the smart inclusion of gifted younger comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have remained 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 solely presented 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, lumbering from strangely jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A total mess? Very much so. The Maths Genius Thriller We admire the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services targeting – and killing off – academics frankly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers. The Bonnie Blue Documentary This hagiography followed the online personality renowned for explicit exploits as she undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was way more interrogation 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 horrific imagery and zero interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.