đ Share this article This Drifting Poo Was Way Too Symbolic! These Are the Television Disappointments of the Year. Looking back, we consider the TV landscape of the recent year, a handful of series stand out not for their brilliance, but for their notable failures. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to bafflingly poor documentaries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote. The 'Sex and the City' Sequel Where to begin with this divisive follow-up? Burdened with woeful writing, painful character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third season began, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then came an installment centered on Seemaâs natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the last season. It ended on a bum note; the closeup of Mirandaâs loo full of poo was simply too symbolic. Yet, fans undeniably had a hoot dissecting every single âwtf?â moment. And as Carrie â a single woman once more â danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didnât release a small sob? Allâs Fair âIs Kim Kardashian an actress? The answer is a resounding no.â But that was practically the least of this show'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 dialogue? The tedious veneration of wealth and consumption? The almost deliberate parade of cliches? Performances so bad they felt almost spiteful? Letâs just say âeach and every oneâ and forget about this series again. However, a second season has been ordered, so weâre probably going to have to. AKA Charlie Sheen Given the legal troubles, abuse claims and fatherly failures, itâs reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not youâd really have known it from this multi-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheenâs various episodes of reckless excess while failing to tell us anything we didnât already know. 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 close contact with this charming but dismissive egotist. The Supercomputer Drama Of course we understood it was preposterous from the outset: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises â or destroy all of humanity. We persevered out of pure 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 painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat. MobLand 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. In truth, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a bit dated now, but at least they didnât endure the embarrassment of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just really boring; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various cockney picaresques which seemed rather simplistic. With Love, Meghan Considering the degree to which she grinds the gears of the nationâs ostentatiously enraged commentators, itâs temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussexâs televised forays into twee homemaking as deliberate provocations. But then you view them and are compelled to admit that actually, they may have a point. Itâs like watching a lifestyle magazine come to life; a poster for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting âtipsâ youâll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh. Victoria Beckham There are clearly fascinating things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this documentary series opted not to say them. Instead, the experience was akin to consuming a sales brochure. She clearly has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her âsternâ image. But sadly, she didnât do herself any favours with this guarded non-event of a series. The Game Show It should have been the next big hit â except even camper, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality managing her inheritance. What more could you want? As contestants competed, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: itâs still too confusing to explain what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up reeking of a production that was straining desperately to emulate something way beyond it. The Lena Dunham Romcom How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The pressure was enormous for this starry romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of famous friends involved felt uncomfortable. Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping Not good enough to be âpatchyâ. Given the shrewd inclusion of talented younger comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known irate mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer. The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced 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 was not it. The material needed to be handled sensitively. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from strangely breezy, somewhat mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A total mess? Absolutely. The Maths Genius Thriller We admire the lead actor ⌠but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so smart heâs on the brink of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies targeting â and eliminating â intellectuals frankly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense. The Bonnie Blue Documentary This hagiography followed the online personality renowned for sexual escapades as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was far greater examination of her actual psychology, 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 disturbing shots and absolutely no interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.