🔗 Share this article This Floating Excrement Was Far Too Meaningful! These Are the TV Letdowns of the Past Year. As we consider the TV landscape of the past year, a selection of shows stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable shortcomings. Ranging from cringe-inducing spin-offs to confusingly poor docuseries, here are the productions that left us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote. And Just Like That Where to begin with this love/hate follow-up? Plagued with woeful scripts, cringe-inducing character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the final series started, it looked like it had at last found its groove. Then arrived an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner announced this would be the last series. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was just way too on-the-nose. Yet, fans undeniably found joy dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't let out a small sob? All’s Fair ‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she can’t.’ But that was practically the least of this show's issues. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was difficult to know where to start listing the flaws. The laughably leaden writing? The tedious veneration of wealth and consumption? The almost deliberate parade of cliches? Performances so poor they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “all of the above” and forget about this series again. However, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to. AKA Charlie Sheen Given the restraining orders, domestic violence claims and fatherly failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d truly have gleaned it from this multi-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive excess while struggling to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any sympathy this series might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but dismissive egotist. The Supercomputer Drama Of course we knew it was preposterous from the get-go: a thriller about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or destroy all of humanity. We persevered out of pure love for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost. MobLand Dodgy characters meeting in deserted boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its crime drama back. Actually, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a little dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to indulge unconvincing accents. But there were plenty of other issues. Primarily that it was just profoundly dull; a dispute over narcotics territory between various cockney rogues which seemed rather simplistic. The Meghan Markle Series Given the extent to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into quaint lifestyle as deliberate statements. But then you view them and are forced to admit that actually, they may 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, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh. The Beckham Documentary There are clearly fascinating things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Instead, the experience was like reading a sales catalogue. She clearly has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any helps with this cagey non-event of a series. The Game Show It should have been the next big hit – except even camper, with a famous star playing dead and a well-known personality managing her inheritance. What more could you want? As contestants competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too confusing to detail what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up smelling of a programme that was straining desperately to emulate something way beyond it. The Lena Dunham Romcom How does one follow a show that defined a generation? The expectation was immense for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. 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, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of famous 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 one-note joke stretched to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer. The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively showcased the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an compelling drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be handled with care. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from oddly breezy, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A complete mess? Absolutely. The Maths Genius Thriller We love the star … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies spying on – and killing off – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers. 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story This uncritical portrait followed the content creator notorious for sexual escapades as she undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was far greater examination of her actual psychology, 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 interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.