🔗 Share this article This Floating Poo Was Way Too Symbolic! These Are the Television Letdowns of the Year. Looking back, we reflect on the TV offerings of the recent year, a selection of series stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable shortcomings. From awkward sequels to confusingly poor documentaries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote. The 'Sex and the City' Sequel Where to begin with this love/hate spin-off? Plagued with woeful writing, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the third season started, it looked like it had finally found its groove. Then came an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator announced this would be the final season. It concluded on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Yet, fans certainly had a hoot picking apart every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a small sob? The Kim Kardashian Drama ‘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 start listing the flaws. The hilariously leaden dialogue? The mind-numbing veneration of wealth and consumption? The almost deliberate procession of cliches? Acting so bad they felt almost malicious? Let’s just say “all of the above” and forget about this show again. Except, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Given the legal troubles, domestic violence allegations and parental failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d really have gleaned it from this multi-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive excess while failing to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any sympathy this show might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charismatic but dismissive egotist. The Iris Affair Of course we understood it was ridiculous from the get-go: a thriller about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat. The Gangster Drama Dodgy figures meeting in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its crime drama back. Actually, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other issues. Primarily that it was just really dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various London rogues which seemed a bit basic. The Meghan Markle Series Given the extent to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint homemaking as intentional provocations. But then you watch them and are compelled to concede that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue animated; a poster for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh. The Beckham Documentary There are clearly fascinating things to be said about regarding 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 experience was like reading a marketing catalogue. She obviously has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any helps with this cagey non-event of a series. The Game Show It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even camper, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her estate. What more could you ask for? As players battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too confusing to explain what precisely 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 far greater than it. Too Much How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of famous cameos involved felt uncomfortable. Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’. Given the shrewd recruitment of talented emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a one-note joke milked to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired 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 executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lumbering from strangely breezy, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A total mess? Very much so. Prime Target We admire the star … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies targeting – and eliminating – academics frankly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense. The Bonnie Blue Documentary This uncritical portrait followed the content creator renowned for sexual exploits as she prepared for her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess 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 showed up to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and zero interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.