đ Share this article That Floating Excrement Was Way Too Meaningful! These Are the TV Disappointments of the Past Year. As we consider the TV landscape of the past year, a selection of series stand out not for their excellence, but for their spectacular shortcomings. From awkward sequels to bafflingly bad documentaries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote. The 'Sex and the City' Sequel How to start with this love/hate follow-up? Plagued with dreadful writing, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the final season started, it looked like it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an installment centered on Seemaâs natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner declared this would be the last season. It concluded on a bum note; the closeup of Mirandaâs toilet full of poo was simply too on-the-nose. Still, viewers certainly had a hoot dissecting every single âwhat on earth?â moment. And as Carrie â once again single â danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didnât let out a little sob? The Kim Kardashian Drama âIs Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she canât.â But that was practically the least of this show's problems. The subject of a very rare zero star review, it was difficult to know where to begin listing the flaws. The laughably leaden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of affluence and consumption? The almost wilful parade of tropes? Acting so poor they felt almost malicious? Letâs just say âall of the aboveâ and never speak of this series again. However, a second season has been ordered, so weâre likely going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Given the legal troubles, abuse allegations and parental failures, itâs fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that youâd truly have known it from this multi-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheenâs various bouts of self-destructive excess while failing to tell us anything we didnât already know. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon 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 charismatic but flippant egotist. The Iris Affair Of course we understood it was preposterous from the outset: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world â or destroy all of humanity. We persevered 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 ended up hacking Charlie with an axe ⊠in super slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat. The Gangster Drama Dodgy figures meeting in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigyâs Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its gangland drama back. Actually, that is harsh 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 unconvincing dialects. But there were plenty of other issues. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over narcotics territory between various cockney picaresques which felt a bit basic. With Love, Meghan Given the extent to which she provokes the ire of the nationâs performatively angry commentators, itâs temptingly easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussexâs various ventures into quaint homemaking as deliberate provocations. But then you view them and are forced to admit that in this case, they might have a point. Itâs like watching a lifestyle catalogue animated; a meme for wine oâclock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental platitudes and forgettable crafting âtipsâ youâll forget instantly. All underpinned by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh. The Beckham Documentary There are obviously fascinating things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, identity, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this documentary series opted not to say them. Instead, the viewing was akin to consuming a marketing brochure. She clearly has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her âmiserable cowâ image. But sadly, she didnât do herself any favours with this cagey letdown of a series. The Inheritance It had the potential to be the next big hit â except even camper, with a famous star playing dead and a well-known personality managing her estate. What more could you want? As contestants competed, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: itâs still too confusing to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up smelling of a programme that was trying way too hard to live up to something way beyond it. The Lena Dunham Romcom How does one succeed a show that defined a generation? The expectation was enormous for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in 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. Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping Not good enough to be âpatchyâ. Given the shrewd recruitment of talented emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke stretched to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply provoked 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 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 material needed to be treated with care. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lurching from strangely jaunty, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? 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 since, a man so intelligent heâs on the brink of a discovery that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services targeting â and killing off â intellectuals frankly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense. The Bonnie Blue Documentary This hagiography followed the content creator renowned for explicit escapades as she prepared for her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was far greater examination of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who showed up to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.