🔗 Share this article That Drifting Excrement Was Far Too Symbolic! These Are the TV Disappointments of the Past Year. Looking back, we consider the TV offerings of the past year, a handful of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable shortcomings. Ranging from awkward spin-offs to bafflingly poor docuseries, here are the productions that had us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote. The 'Sex and the City' Sequel How to start with this divisive spin-off? Plagued with woeful scripts, cringe-inducing arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final season began, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator announced this would be the last series. It concluded on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s loo full of poo was just way too symbolic. Still, viewers undeniably found joy dissecting every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a little sob? All’s Fair ‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she can’t.’ But that was almost the smallest of this show's problems. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to begin listing the flaws. The laughably leaden dialogue? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and consumption? The seemingly wilful procession of tropes? Performances so bad they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “each and every one” and forget about this series again. However, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Considering the restraining orders, domestic violence claims and fatherly failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d truly have gleaned it from this multi-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive excess while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this show might induce should be saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but dismissive egotist. The Iris Affair Naturally we understood it was preposterous from the outset: a drama about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat. The Gangster Drama Dodgy characters convening in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its crime drama back. Actually, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other problems. Mainly that it was just profoundly dull; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various London picaresques which felt a bit basic. The Meghan Markle Series Considering the extent to which she provokes the ire of certain ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint homemaking as deliberate statements. But then you watch them and are forced to admit that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue animated; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh. The Beckham Documentary There are obviously fascinating things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, self-image, self-worth. But for some reason, this documentary series opted not to explore them. Instead, the viewing was like reading a marketing catalogue. She obviously has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any helps with this cagey letdown of a series. The Game Show It should have been the next big hit – except even camper, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her estate. What more could you want? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too confusing to explain what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up reeking of a programme that was straining desperately to emulate something far greater than it. The Lena Dunham Romcom How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of famous cameos involved felt uncomfortable. The Sketch Show Return Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’. Given the smart inclusion of talented emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke milked to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer. The Knox Dramatisation This retelling 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 compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be treated sensitively. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from strangely breezy, somewhat stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A complete mess? Very much so. Prime Target We admire the star … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies targeting – and eliminating – intellectuals frankly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers. The Bonnie Blue Documentary This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for explicit exploits as she undertook her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was way more examination of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and zero critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.