🔗 Share this article This Floating Excrement Was Far Too Symbolic! It's the Television Disappointments of the Past Year. Looking back, we reflect on the TV offerings of the past year, a handful of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable failures. Ranging from awkward spin-offs to confusingly bad documentaries, 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 divisive spin-off? Burdened with dreadful writing, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the third season began, it seemed as if it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator announced this would be the last season. It concluded on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, viewers undeniably found joy dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a little sob? The Kim Kardashian Drama ‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she can’t.’ But that was practically the least of this drama's problems. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was difficult to know where to begin listing the flaws. The laughably leaden dialogue? The tedious glorification of wealth and materialism? The seemingly wilful parade of cliches? Performances so poor they felt borderline malicious? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and never speak of this series again. Except, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Given the legal troubles, domestic violence claims and fatherly shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d really have gleaned it from this three-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive hedonism while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any pity this show might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but flippant narcissist. The Supercomputer Drama Of course we understood it was ridiculous from the outset: a thriller about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer admiration 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. That's what you call giving up the ghost. The Gangster Drama Dodgy characters convening in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its crime drama back. In truth, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to accommodate baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other issues. Mainly that it was just profoundly dull; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various London rogues which felt a bit basic. The Meghan Markle Series Considering the extent to which she grinds the gears of certain ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into twee lifestyle as intentional statements. But then you view them and are compelled to admit that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine come to life; a poster for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental sayings and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by immense, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh. The Beckham Documentary There are clearly interesting things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series chose not to explore them. Instead, the experience was akin to consuming a sales catalogue. She clearly has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any favours with this cagey non-event of a series. The Inheritance It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a famous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too confusing to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up smelling of a production that was straining desperately to live up to something far greater than it. The Lena Dunham Romcom How do you succeed a show that defined a generation? The expectation was enormous for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of famous cameos involved felt uncomfortable. The Sketch Show Return 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 recurring sketch was a single joke milked to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the idea 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 overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be handled with care. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lumbering from strangely jaunty, slightly mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A complete mess? Very much so. Prime Target We admire 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 secret services targeting – and eliminating – intellectuals 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 renowned for sexual escapades as she prepared for her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was way more examination 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 notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.