🔗 Share this article That Floating Poo Was Way Too Symbolic! These Are the Television Letdowns of the Year. As we consider the TV offerings of the recent year, a handful of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from awkward sequels to confusingly bad docuseries, here are the programmes that left us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote. And Just Like That Where to begin with this divisive spin-off? Plagued with woeful writing, painful character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third season started, it looked like it had finally found its groove. Then arrived an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator announced this would be the final season. It ended on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s loo full of poo was just way too symbolic. Still, viewers certainly found joy dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't let out a small sob? All’s Fair ‘Can Kim Kardashian act? The answer is a resounding no.’ But that was almost the smallest of this drama's problems. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was hard to know where to begin enumerating the flaws. The laughably wooden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and materialism? The seemingly deliberate parade of tropes? Performances so bad they felt almost spiteful? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and forget about this series again. Except, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to. AKA Charlie Sheen Considering the restraining orders, domestic violence claims and parental failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d truly have gleaned it from this three-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless excess while struggling to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any pity this show might induce should be saved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charismatic but dismissive egotist. The Supercomputer Drama Naturally we understood it was ridiculous from the get-go: a drama about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or annihilate all of humanity. We stuck with it out of sheer admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost. The Gangster Drama Dodgy characters convening in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away 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 bit dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling dialects. But there were many other issues. Mainly that it was just profoundly boring; a conflict over narcotics territory between various London rogues which felt rather simplistic. With Love, Meghan Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint lifestyle as intentional statements. But then you view them and are forced to concede that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine come to life; a meme for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh. The Beckham Documentary There are obviously interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Rather, the experience was akin to reading a marketing catalogue. She obviously has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any helps with this cagey non-event of a series. The Inheritance It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too complicated to detail what exactly 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 trying way too hard to emulate something far greater than it. Too Much How do you succeed a show that defined a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of celebrity cameos involved felt uncomfortable. The Sketch Show Return Not good enough to be ‘uneven’. Given the shrewd recruitment of gifted younger comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke milked to a dry pulp but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known irate mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer. The Knox Dramatisation This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely presented the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be treated with care. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from strangely breezy, somewhat mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A complete mess? Absolutely. Prime Target We admire the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a breakthrough 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. 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story This hagiography followed the online personality renowned for sexual escapades as she prepared for her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was way more examination of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and absolutely no critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.