🔗 Share this article That Floating Excrement Was Far Too Meaningful! It's the Television Letdowns of the Year. Looking back, we consider the TV offerings of the recent year, a selection of series emerge not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. Ranging from awkward sequels to confusingly poor documentaries, here are the programmes that left us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote. And Just Like That How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Plagued with dreadful scripts, cringe-inducing arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the third series began, it seemed as if it had finally found its groove. Then came an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator announced this would be the last series. It ended on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, viewers certainly had a hoot dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't let out a little sob? The Kim Kardashian Drama ‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? The answer is a resounding no.’ But that was practically the least of this drama's issues. The subject of a very rare no-star assessment, it was hard to know where to start listing the problems. The hilariously wooden writing? The tedious glorification of wealth and materialism? The seemingly deliberate parade of cliches? Performances so poor they felt almost malicious? Let’s just say “each and every one” and never speak of this show again. Except, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to. AKA Charlie Sheen Considering the restraining orders, domestic violence claims and parental shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d truly have known it from this multi-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless excess while struggling to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this show might induce should be reserved 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 ridiculous from the outset: a drama 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 love for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost. MobLand Dodgy characters convening 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 harsh on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to accommodate unconvincing accents. But there were many other issues. Mainly that it was just profoundly dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various cockney picaresques which felt a bit basic. The Meghan Markle Series Given the degree to which she grinds the gears of certain ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. But then you view them and are forced to concede that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue come to life; a poster for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh. The Beckham Documentary There are clearly interesting things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, identity, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Rather, the experience was like reading a marketing catalogue. She obviously has every right to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any favours with this guarded letdown of a series. The Inheritance It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality managing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As players battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too confusing to detail what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up reeking of a production that was straining desperately to live up to something way beyond it. Too Much How does one follow a show that captured a generation? The expectation was enormous for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a shattered romance. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous 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 shrewd inclusion of talented younger comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a single joke milked to a husk but repeated 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 idea that they should probably have remained in there a while longer. The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced 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 material 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. Complex? Arguably. A complete mess? Very much so. The Maths Genius Thriller We admire the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This international thriller about secret services spying on – and killing off – intellectuals honestly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense. The Bonnie Blue Documentary This hagiography followed the online personality notorious for explicit exploits as she prepared for her biggest feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was way more examination of her true psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who appeared to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific shots and absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.