🔗 Share this article That Drifting Excrement Was Far Too Symbolic! It's the TV Letdowns of the Past Year. Looking back, we consider the TV offerings of the recent year, a selection of shows stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. Ranging from awkward spin-offs to confusingly poor documentaries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote. And Just Like That Where to begin with this love/hate spin-off? Plagued with woeful scripts, painful arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final season started, it seemed as if it had finally found its groove. Then came an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the final series. It ended on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Yet, fans undeniably found joy dissecting every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a small sob? All’s Fair ‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she can’t.’ But that was practically the smallest of this show's problems. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon zero star review, it was hard to know where to begin enumerating the problems. The hilariously leaden writing? The tedious veneration of affluence and materialism? The seemingly deliberate procession of tropes? Performances so bad they felt almost spiteful? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and never speak of this series again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Considering the legal troubles, abuse claims and parental failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d truly have known it from this multi-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive hedonism while struggling to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any sympathy this series might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charming but dismissive egotist. The Supercomputer Drama Of course we understood it was preposterous from the outset: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or annihilate all of humanity. We stuck with it out of sheer love for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat. MobLand Shady figures meeting in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland drama back. In truth, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling accents. But there were many other problems. Mainly that it was just profoundly dull; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various London picaresques which felt rather simplistic. With Love, Meghan Considering the extent to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into quaint lifestyle as deliberate statements. But then you view them and are compelled to admit that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark sayings and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh. Victoria Beckham There are clearly fascinating 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. Instead, the viewing was like reading a sales catalogue. She clearly has every right to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any helps with this cagey non-event of a series. The Inheritance It should have been the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality overseeing her estate. What more could you ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. 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 smelling of a programme that was straining desperately to emulate something way beyond it. Too Much How does one succeed a show that defined a generation? The expectation was immense for this starry romcom about Jessica, a hopeful 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, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of celebrity friends involved felt icky. Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping Not 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 particular sketch was a single joke stretched to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer. The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely showcased the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an compelling drama to be made about the tragic 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 breezy, slightly mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A total mess? Very much so. The Maths Genius Thriller We love the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? Nope! This international thriller about government agencies spying on – and eliminating – academics frankly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense. 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story This uncritical portrait followed the content creator notorious for sexual exploits as she prepared for her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who showed up to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and zero critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.