A British View.Let me start with a “Well Done” to E4. Usually teenage drama’s just revolve around the cliché (and slightly boring) sex and drugs, high school sucks but we have fun theme. The intro to this show drew me in quite well, a group of community service kids, characters covering the various personalities associated with youth and the Hot Chip music to match.
[[Curtis (Nathan Stewart), Alisha (Antonia Thomas), Nathan (Robert Sheehan), Kelly (Lauren Socha) and Simon (Iwan Rheon).]]
In a moment of noise and cooky animation they gain super powers. How weird is that? Fairly obviously the self concious chav can read peoples minds, the shy guy slips in and out of invisibility and the others get equally self matching powers. The process of finding each out is always fun, usually the best part of a Super Hero story and is done well on this show. Mixing in a little drama here and there they try to keep it light, creating a couple interesting storylines. Although the cast count isn’t quite as big as some shows, I’m thinking about Heroes or Skins, they might have a couple issues giving each their centre point in future episodes. As it’s their first I’ll see how they play it, some of these character are more interesting than others so I’m looking forward to the progression.
After the strong start they then slow down a tad, the show is really quite strong at setting a mood. Something they use extremely well when demonstrating the different powers. But alas! Not all is well and good as we soon find the group may not be as safe as they assume. A fairly obvious message presents itself, with the show pretty much following a set course it gets good, the obvious problems starting to emerge. Add in a bit of dramatic irony (even if it only lasts for a while.) and you’ve got yourself something I’ll watch.
“Unlike their more conventional counterparts, our misfits don’t swap their ankle tags and mobile phones for capes and tights. Instead, they discover what a pain in the arse life can be when you’re stuck with a super power you didn’t want.” - http://www.e4.com/misfits/about.html
The comedy is OK, some of the one liners were awesome and some bits are a tad annoying; you want to bloody slap Nathan half the time. Still, all in all I’m definitely watching this. Some of the lines are just too well written. (Also, like everyone else I’m fairly sure we just wanna know if Alisha’s power affects women.) Next show looks to have a bit more skin involved, some sort of villain human/creature thing and the consequences of the first episode start to play out. If any of you guys want to watch it, the show is still on 4OnDemand and Episode Two should air Thursday at 10pm on E4. The characters are interesting and I’m curious about the last power, so lets hope this show isn’t cancelled too soon.
