🔗 Share this article That Floating Poo Was Far Too Meaningful! It's the Television Letdowns of the Year. Looking back, we reflect on the TV landscape of the recent year, a selection of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable shortcomings. From cringe-inducing spin-offs to bafflingly poor documentaries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote. And Just Like That How to start with this love/hate follow-up? Burdened with dreadful writing, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled to find its footing. Briefly, as the final series started, it looked like it had finally found its groove. Then came an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the final series. It concluded on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Yet, fans undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a small sob? All’s Fair ‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? The answer is a resounding no.’ But that was almost the least of this drama's problems. The recipient of a very rare no-star review, it was hard to know where to begin enumerating the problems. The laughably leaden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of affluence and materialism? The almost wilful procession of cliches? Performances so poor they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “each and every one” and never speak of this series again. Except, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Considering the restraining orders, domestic violence claims and parental shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d really have gleaned it from this multi-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless excess while failing to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this show might induce should be saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charming but flippant 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 stuck with it out of sheer admiration for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost. MobLand Shady characters convening 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 harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a little dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were plenty of other issues. Mainly that it was just profoundly boring; a conflict over narcotics territory between various cockney picaresques which felt rather simplistic. The Meghan Markle Series Considering the degree to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s almost tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into quaint homemaking as deliberate statements. But then you watch them and are compelled to admit that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue animated; a meme for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh. The Beckham Documentary There are clearly fascinating things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, identity, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this documentary series chose not to say them. Instead, the experience was akin to reading a sales brochure. She obviously has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any helps with this cagey non-event of a series. The Game Show It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you want? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too complicated to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up reeking of a production that was trying way too hard to live up to something far greater than it. Too Much How does one follow a show that defined a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of celebrity cameos involved felt icky. Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’. Given the smart inclusion of gifted younger comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have remained in there a while longer. The Knox Dramatisation This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be treated with care. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lumbering from oddly jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A total mess? Very much so. Prime Target We love the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a discovery that could destabilise society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services targeting – and killing off – academics honestly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense. The Bonnie Blue Documentary This hagiography followed the content creator renowned for sexual escapades as she prepared for her biggest feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was far greater interrogation of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who showed up to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and zero critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.