🔗 Share this article This Floating Excrement Was Far Too Meaningful! These Are the Television Disappointments of the Year. As we consider the television landscape of the past year, a handful of shows stand out not for their excellence, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to bafflingly bad documentaries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote. And Just Like That Where to begin with this love/hate follow-up? Burdened with woeful writing, painful arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to find its footing. For a moment, as the third series began, it seemed as if it had finally found its groove. Then arrived an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner declared this would be the last season. It ended on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Yet, viewers certainly had a hoot picking apart every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a little sob? The Kim Kardashian Drama ‘Can Kim Kardashian act? Of course she can’t.’ But that was practically the least of this drama's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was difficult to know where to start enumerating the flaws. The hilariously leaden writing? The tedious glorification of wealth and materialism? The almost deliberate parade of tropes? Performances so poor they felt almost spiteful? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. Except, a second season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to. AKA Charlie Sheen Considering the legal troubles, abuse allegations and parental shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d truly have gleaned it from this multi-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless hedonism while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any pity this show might induce should be saved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charming but dismissive egotist. The Supercomputer Drama Naturally we knew it was preposterous 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 sheer love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat. The Gangster Drama Dodgy characters meeting in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland drama back. Actually, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were many other issues. Mainly that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over narcotics territory between various London rogues which seemed a bit basic. With Love, Meghan Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into twee lifestyle as intentional statements. But then you view them and are compelled to admit that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue animated; a poster for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark platitudes and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh. Victoria Beckham There are clearly fascinating things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Rather, the experience was like consuming a sales brochure. She obviously has good reason to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any helps with this guarded non-event of a series. The Game Show It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality managing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As players battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too complicated to explain what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up reeking of a programme that was straining desperately to live up to something way beyond it. The Lena Dunham Romcom How does one follow a show that defined a generation? The pressure was immense for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of famous friends involved felt uncomfortable. The Sketch Show Return Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’. Given the shrewd inclusion of gifted emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke milked to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer. The Knox Dramatisation This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively showcased the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly 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 tone, lumbering from oddly breezy, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A complete mess? Very much so. The Maths Genius Thriller We love the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a discovery that could destabilise society? No! This international thriller about secret services targeting – and killing off – intellectuals honestly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers. 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story This hagiography followed the online personality renowned for explicit escapades as she undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was far greater examination of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.