Misfits - Review

'Misfits' is E4's newest Skins-esque, young people's television program and it has all the drama of a wedding in the Queen Vic. It's one of those shows that I am eagerly anticipating every week and I really don't know why... because it's really bad.

And it really shouldn't be... Let's review. A group of young offenders are given super powers. Yeah, fair enough, pretty strong premise and quite original. I find that the script is really strong and the actors all seem pretty handy. In fact, I think Robert Sheehan is one of the best young actors I've seen in one of these shows and I feel Lauren Socha also plays a strong role. I thought Season 1 was fairly steady, following a Lost/Skins-esque structure, whereby each week the story centered on one character's story from before and during the events we see, including why they are in community service to begin with. The inclusion of 'Super-Hoodie' (later to become 'future-Simon') and the the revelation of Nathan's immortality segwayed nicely to set up a second series.

So after all this why is it still shit? Well, for one, there's no direct goal. Season one's was vague, to say the least, but set up character development, so you know, let's see what happens next. Now we know our characters, let's get a proper story started. Series two starts with the group trying to find out the identity 'Super-hoodie'. However, this mystery is concluded by the third episode and instead of another story arc developing the characters just seem to amble onwards, each week meeting a new enemy, who also happens to have a super-power, who just happens to have wandered onto their estate and does something that they need to stop. There is no direct enemy. For example, it could have been a super villain who was behind all of these attacks, who would send out these agents. Then in the final episode of the season, is defeated. You could say that's a really predictable way of doing things but at least it makes sense. But instead, these enemies just seem to randomly appear on their small estate and interact with them while on their community service. These people are rarely randoms either but people who the main cast already know. They include Kelly's tattoo artist and also her arch enemy, Nathan's step dad and one of Simon's friends. Come on, this 'storm' apparently only affected a small amount of people, yet it conveniently gives these acquaintances powers as well?



I think they should have dropped the community service angle for the second series. Apart from the role of probation worker, Craig Parkinson, I feel it added nothing to the story overall and with the powers these people had they could do something beneficial, good or bad. Stealing money from a bank would have been the first thing on my agenda if I could become invisible and yet they don't think of it until halfway through season two... and even after that they don't think about doing it again. And it's not for any self righteous feeling either, these aren't nice kids. They are at community service for trying to burn people's houses down or carrying cocaine, nor do they ever show any remorse for their crimes. Also, the over abundance of sex scenes in this season was ridiculous, with three happening in one episode between the same characters. Were they just stuck with nothing to plug the gaps of their so called plot?

I don't really get what the 5th episode (psycho dad killing everyone? remember? no me either) had to do with the story. I suppose you could argue it really obviously develops Simon's present character but this could have been done in any other episode. And why does Kelly fuck a gorilla and, instead of being horrified by it, kiss it's dead face? This angle is also completely recycled from series one when Nathan shags an old grandma. And I found it stupidly coincidentally (and completely unfair) that a guy who just happened to be wearing the same outfit as Simon got murdered for nothing (How many people need to die in this community centre before you close it?!?!). You can argue, "Yeah, well actually future-Simon said he lost his virginity with another girl, not Alisha.' Fair enough, but like I said, that could have been fitted into another episode or dropped completely as it ultimately doesn't matter at all.



The last episode did have potential (why it took a guy with a power over milk to alert the media to these powers rather than something a bit more substantial, I don't know). But it was let down by a weak villain and complete character overkill which led to it become extremely predictable. Obviously they weren't going to kill off EVERY SINGLE member of the primary cast, except Curtis, the one who conveniently has the power the rewind time and also just happens to be lactose intolerant nullifying the threat of a dairy related death. What would have happened if you just hadn't eaten cheese that day? And at the end they went to the milk kids house and punched him... then what? Did they kill him or what? I guess they would have had to, to stop him murdering people with Greek yoghurt and yeah, while he was a jumped up prick, if people had been a bit nicer to him, including the main cast, maybe he wouldn't have acted out in such a way. And how can Alisha comment on it being a shit power, yours isn't anything world changing, love. It's also interesting to note that Simon was incredibly against 'cashing in' on his powers, when in the Christmas special, after a quick lie from Kelly, he's quite happy to accept 20 grand for it.

The less said about the Christmas special the better. Between the horribly predictable, "I'm gonna kill Jesus" lines and the baby being born at the moment 'Jesus' died... (seriously? Who didn't see that coming) came the crigingly awful sing-along and thank god they had the decency to laugh it off after.



The characters (bar Simon, whom there is a complete over emphasis on) really don't develop at all in the second series. Curtis is the most boring character I've ever seen. I'm not doubting his acting ability at all, merely his characterization. What does he actually do? Also, when his power was reversed and he went forward to see himself and, at that point, an unknown girl on the top of the community centre, I thought it would lead up to a really good story and that they would actually develop his character. But they didn't, they had him meet her on a separate occasion and just used the roof for another overdone sex scene. Also, that Nikki character is awful. All she does is moan about the free heart she received and is just a general bitch through the whole show, I didn't care when she got shot.

Alisha's character is terrible. Not only does she abuse her power to seduce Curtis in season one but she consistently lies and also tells Simon about his future self, the exact thing Future-Simon told her NOT to do. In the Christmas special Nathan begins to think of someone else apart from himself but I found it just a little too late, while Kelly continues to be a foul-mouthed yob. Why did they build up the Nathan-Kelly romance only to drop it again when it felt like being fingered by her brother... actually I'm glad they left it there. Grim.



Finally, I'm going to skim over the whole 'future-Simon' angle. Now, I'm no expert of quantum theory or time travel, but they seriously dropped the ball here and there were some huge time paradoxes.

Ok... so Simon comes back to save Alisha from dying... got it

Because in the future, they are together... still with it...

Come the hour, Simon saves Alisha from being shot... what a guy...

EXCEPT THEY NEVER WERE TOGETHER AT THAT POINT!

When you get people from the future interacting with people from the present you get a 'chicken and egg' situation, or 'Grandfather paradox,' arising as everything you plan to change will have always happened, that Alisha never would have got with Simon, had future-Simon not come back to the past. But then, he would never need to come back from to past as they never would have got together and therefore never emotionally clicked, forcing Simon to even consider coming back to change the past. Which meant Alisha would have been shot. I think...

My head hurts now :(



To surmise, will I be watching series 3 of Misfits?

Probably, what else is there to do on a Thursday night?