đ Share this article This Drifting Excrement Was Far Too Symbolic! It's the Television Letdowns of the Past Year. Looking back, we reflect on the TV offerings of the recent year, a selection of series stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels 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? Burdened with dreadful scripts, painful character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. For a moment, as the third series began, it seemed as if it had at last hit its stride. Then came an installment centered on Seemaâs natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner declared this would be the final season. It concluded on a low point; the closeup of Mirandaâs loo flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Still, viewers certainly had a hoot picking apart every single âwtf?â moment. And as Carrie â once again single â danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't let out a little sob? The Kim Kardashian Drama âIs Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she canât.â But that was almost the smallest of this drama's problems. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to start listing the problems. The hilariously leaden dialogue? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and materialism? The almost deliberate parade of cliches? Acting so bad they felt borderline spiteful? Letâs just say âall of the aboveâ and forget about this show again. However, a new season has been commissioned, so weâre likely going to have to. AKA Charlie Sheen Given the legal troubles, domestic violence allegations and fatherly failures, itâs reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not youâd really have gleaned it from this multi-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheenâs various episodes of reckless hedonism while struggling to tell us anything we didnât already know. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this show might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charismatic but dismissive narcissist. The Iris Affair Naturally we knew it was preposterous from the get-go: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world â or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer love for its leads ⌠but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe ⌠in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost. The Gangster Drama Shady characters meeting in deserted boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its gangland drama back. Actually, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didnât suffer the embarrassment of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were many other problems. Mainly that it was just really dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various cockney picaresques which felt a bit basic. With Love, Meghan Given the extent to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively angry commentators, itâs temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussexâs televised ventures into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. But then you view them and are compelled to admit that actually, they may have a point. Itâs like watching a homeware catalogue come to life; a poster for wine oâclock with delusions of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark sayings and pointless crafting âhacksâ youâll forget instantly. All supported by vast, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh. Victoria Beckham There are obviously fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, self-image, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this three-part series opted not to say them. Instead, the viewing was like consuming a sales brochure. She obviously has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her âsternâ 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 cultural phenomenon â except even more extravagant, 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 backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: itâs still too confusing to detail what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up smelling of a programme that was trying way too hard to live up to something far greater than it. The Lena Dunham Romcom How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. 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 âunevenâ. Given the smart inclusion of talented emerging comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a single joke stretched 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, 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 executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively showcased the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be handled with care. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from strangely jaunty, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A complete mess? Very much so. The Maths Genius Thriller We love the lead actor ⌠but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so intelligent heâs on the verge of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? Nope! This international thriller about secret services spying on â and killing off â intellectuals honestly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense. 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story This uncritical portrait followed the online personality renowned for explicit escapades as she undertook her biggest feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater examination of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and zero critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.