đ Share this article That Drifting Excrement Was Far Too Meaningful! It's the TV Letdowns of the Past Year. Looking back, we consider the television landscape of the past year, a selection of shows stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable shortcomings. From cringe-inducing sequels to bafflingly poor docuseries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote. The 'Sex and the City' Sequel Where to begin with this love/hate follow-up? Plagued with dreadful writing, cringe-inducing arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to find its footing. Briefly, as the final series started, it looked like it had finally found its groove. Then came an episode centered on Seemaâs natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator declared this would be the last season. It concluded on a low point; the closeup of Mirandaâs toilet flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Yet, viewers certainly had a hoot dissecting every single âwhat on earth?â moment. And as Carrie â a single woman once more â danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didnât release a small sob? The Kim Kardashian Drama âCan Kim Kardashian act? Of course she canât.â But that was almost the smallest of this drama's problems. The subject of a very rare zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to begin enumerating the flaws. The laughably leaden dialogue? The mind-numbing veneration of affluence and consumption? The seemingly wilful parade of cliches? Acting so bad they felt almost malicious? Letâs just say âeach and every oneâ and never speak of this series again. However, a new season has been commissioned, so weâre likely going to have to. AKA Charlie Sheen Considering the restraining orders, domestic violence claims and parental shortcomings, itâs fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not youâd really have gleaned it from this three-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheenâs various episodes of reckless hedonism while failing to tell us a single thing we didnât already know. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any sympathy this show might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charismatic but dismissive narcissist. The Supercomputer Drama Of course we understood it was preposterous from the get-go: a drama about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world â or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of pure love for its stars ⌠but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely cared when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe ⌠in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat. MobLand Dodgy characters meeting in empty boxing gyms? The Prodigyâs Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants 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 didnât endure the ignominy of having to accommodate unconvincing dialects. But there were many other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various cockney rogues which felt a bit basic. The Meghan Markle Series Given the extent to which she provokes the ire of the nationâs performatively enraged commentators, itâs temptingly tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussexâs televised forays into twee homemaking as deliberate statements. But then you watch them and are forced to concede that actually, they might have a point. Itâs like watching a homeware catalogue come to life; a meme for wine oâclock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, sentimental sayings and forgettable crafting âtipsâ youâll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh. The Beckham Documentary There are obviously interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, self-image, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series chose not to explore them. Rather, the experience was like reading a marketing catalogue. She obviously has every right to bridle at what she describes as her âmiserable cowâ image. But sadly, she didnât do herself any favours with this guarded letdown of a series. The Inheritance It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon â except even camper, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: itâs even now too confusing to explain what precisely 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 trying way too hard to emulate something way beyond it. Too Much How do you follow 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 shattered romance. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt icky. Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping Not even good enough to be âpatchyâ. Given the shrewd recruitment of talented emerging comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. 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 provoked the idea 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 presented the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be treated sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lumbering from oddly jaunty, somewhat mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A total mess? Absolutely. Prime Target We admire the star ⌠but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so intelligent heâs on the verge of a discovery that could destabilise society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies spying on â and eliminating â academics honestly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers. 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story This uncritical portrait followed the online personality renowned for explicit escapades as she prepared for her most extreme challenge 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 queue. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who appeared to haul her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.