🔗 Share this article That Floating Poo Was Way Too Symbolic! It's the TV Letdowns of the Past Year. As we consider the TV landscape of the past year, a handful of shows stand out not for their excellence, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from awkward sequels to bafflingly bad docuseries, here are the programmes that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote. The 'Sex and the City' Sequel Where to begin with this divisive spin-off? Plagued with woeful scripts, cringe-inducing arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the final series began, it seemed as if it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the last series. It ended on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was just way too symbolic. Still, viewers certainly found joy dissecting every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a little 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 subject of a exceedingly uncommon no-star assessment, it was difficult to know where to begin enumerating the flaws. The hilariously wooden writing? The tedious veneration of affluence and materialism? The almost deliberate parade of tropes? Performances so bad they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “each and every one” and forget about this series again. However, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Considering the restraining orders, domestic violence allegations and fatherly failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d truly have known it from this multi-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive excess while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this series might induce should be saved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charismatic but dismissive narcissist. The Iris Affair Naturally 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 annihilate all of humanity. We stuck with it out of pure 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 super slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat. MobLand Shady characters convening in empty boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its crime drama back. Actually, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to accommodate unconvincing dialects. But there were many other problems. Mainly that it was just really boring; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various London picaresques which felt a bit basic. With Love, Meghan Considering the extent to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively angry commentators, it’s almost tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into twee homemaking as intentional statements. But then you watch them and are compelled to admit that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle magazine animated; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh. Victoria Beckham There are obviously fascinating things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, identity, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series chose not to explore them. Rather, the experience was like consuming a sales brochure. She clearly has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any favours 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 famous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you ask for? As contestants competed, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too complicated to detail what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up smelling 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 pressure was immense for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of celebrity cameos involved felt icky. Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’. Given the shrewd inclusion of gifted emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke stretched to a husk but recurring 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 remained in there a while longer. The Knox Dramatisation This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively showcased 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. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lumbering from oddly breezy, slightly mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A total mess? Absolutely. The Maths Genius Thriller We love the star … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could destabilise society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – academics frankly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers. 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story This hagiography followed the online personality notorious for sexual exploits as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was far greater interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who showed up to haul her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.