🔗 Share this article This Floating Excrement Was Far Too Symbolic! These Are the TV Disappointments of the Past Year. Looking back, we consider the television landscape of the past year, a handful of series stand out not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. From cringe-inducing spin-offs to confusingly bad docuseries, 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 divisive follow-up? Plagued with dreadful scripts, painful arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the third season started, it seemed as if it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the last series. It ended on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Yet, viewers undeniably found joy picking apart every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a small sob? All’s Fair ‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she can’t.’ 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 problems. The laughably leaden writing? The tedious glorification of affluence and consumption? The seemingly wilful procession of cliches? Performances so poor they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. However, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to. AKA Charlie Sheen Given the legal troubles, domestic violence allegations and fatherly shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have known it from this multi-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless hedonism while failing to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any pity this show might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charismatic but dismissive narcissist. The Iris Affair Of course we knew it was preposterous from the get-go: a thriller about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or destroy all of humanity. We stuck with it out of pure love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely cared when his character died, and the other ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat. MobLand Shady characters convening in empty boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its gangland drama back. In truth, that is harsh on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a little dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various cockney rogues which seemed rather simplistic. With Love, Meghan Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s almost easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint lifestyle as intentional provocations. But then you view them and are compelled to concede that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue animated; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by immense, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh. Victoria Beckham There are obviously fascinating things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, self-image, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this documentary series opted not to say them. Instead, the viewing was akin to reading a sales brochure. She obviously has every right to resent 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 had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too confusing to explain what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up reeking of a production that was trying way too hard to emulate something far greater than it. The Lena Dunham Romcom How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The expectation was enormous for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of famous cameos involved felt uncomfortable. Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping Not good enough to be ‘patchy’. Given the smart inclusion of gifted emerging comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a one-note joke milked to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the thought 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 probably is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be treated with care. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lurching from strangely breezy, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A total mess? Absolutely. Prime Target We love 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 discovery that could destabilise society? No! This international thriller about government agencies spying on – and eliminating – intellectuals honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense. The Bonnie Blue Documentary This uncritical portrait followed the online personality notorious for sexual escapades as she prepared for her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was way more interrogation of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who showed up to haul her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and zero critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.