đ Share this article That Floating Poo Was Far Too Meaningful! These Are the Television Disappointments of the Past Year. As we reflect on the TV landscape of the past year, a selection of series stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable shortcomings. From cringe-inducing spin-offs to confusingly poor docuseries, here are the programmes that had us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote. And Just Like That How to start with this love/hate follow-up? Plagued with woeful scripts, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final season started, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an episode centered on Seemaâs natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the final season. It ended on a low point; the lingering shot of Mirandaâs loo full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Yet, viewers undeniably found joy picking apart every single âwtf?â episode. And as Carrie â a single woman once more â twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didnât let out a small sob? The Kim Kardashian Drama âIs Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she canât.â But that was almost the least of this show's problems. The subject of a very rare no-star review, it was hard to know where to begin listing the problems. The laughably wooden writing? The tedious glorification of wealth and materialism? The seemingly wilful parade of tropes? Performances so bad they felt borderline malicious? Suffice it to say âeach and every oneâ and forget about this show again. Except, a new season has been commissioned, so weâre likely going to have to. AKA Charlie Sheen Given the legal troubles, domestic violence allegations and parental failures, itâs fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that youâd really have known it from this three-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheenâs various bouts of self-destructive hedonism while struggling to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any pity this series might induce should be saved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charming but flippant egotist. The Iris Affair Of course we understood it was preposterous from the get-go: a thriller about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world â or destroy all of humanity. We stuck with it out of pure admiration for its stars ⊠but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe ⊠in super slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost. The Gangster Drama Shady characters convening in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigyâs Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its crime drama back. In truth, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a little dated now, but at least they didnât suffer the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other problems. Mainly that it was just profoundly boring; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various cockney rogues which felt a bit basic. With Love, Meghan Given the extent to which she provokes the ire of the nationâs performatively enraged commentators, itâs almost easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussexâs various forays into quaint lifestyle as deliberate provocations. But then you watch them and are forced to concede that actually, they might have a point. Itâs like watching a lifestyle magazine come to life; a poster for wine oâclock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting âhacksâ youâll forget instantly. All supported by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh. The Beckham Documentary There are obviously interesting things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, identity, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this documentary series opted not to explore them. Instead, the viewing was like consuming a marketing catalogue. She obviously has every right to resent what she describes as her âsternâ image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any favours with this guarded non-event of a series. The Game Show 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 estate. What more could you ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: itâs even now too complicated 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 production that was trying way too hard to live up to something way beyond it. Too Much How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The pressure was immense for this starry romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. 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, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of celebrity cameos involved felt uncomfortable. The Sketch Show Return Not even good enough to be âunevenâ. Given the shrewd recruitment of gifted younger comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a one-note joke milked to a dry pulp but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have remained in there a bit 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 interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this isnât it. The subject matter needed to be treated sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lurching from strangely jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A total mess? Very much so. Prime Target We admire the lead actor ⊠but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so intelligent heâs on the brink of a discovery that could ruin society? No! This international thriller about secret services spying on â and killing off â intellectuals frankly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense. The Bonnie Blue Documentary This uncritical portrait followed the online personality renowned for sexual exploits as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was far greater interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who showed up to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and zero interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.