Misfits (E4) - News/Discussion/Speculation

[Madwelshboy]

E4 commissions new teen superhero comedy

E4 (UK) has commissioned a new series about teenagers with superpowers.

Comedy drama Misfits follows a group of teens who get caught in a flashstorm while on community service and find themselves saddled with strange new powers.

Party-girl Alisha (Antonia Thomas) can send people into a sexual frenzy with just one touch, hard-as-nails Kelly (Lauren Socha) can suddenly hear people's thoughts, one-time sporting hero Curtis (Nathan Stewart Jarrett) discovers he has the ability to turn back time, and painfully shy nerd Simon (Iwan Rheon) can make himself invisible.

The only member of the ASBO gang who appears unaffected by the storm is smart aleck Nathan (Robert Sheehan).

Misfits is scheduled to air later this year on E4.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a1714...ro-comedy.html

[Madwelshboy]

'Heroes' + 'Skins' = 'Misfits'

Time to introduce a great new homegrown drama to you. In case you hand't heard, Misfits - starting on E4 this Thursday - follows five ASBO teens who are caught in a freak lightning storm while doing community service.

After being simultaneously struck by a particularly powerful bolt of lightning, the naughty youths discover they've gained some strange abilities.

Bridging the (impressively-sized) gap between Heroes and Skins, Misfits combines drug-taking and casual sex with the likes of time travel and mind-reading.

Recently, we caught up with the rather excitable cast to go behind the scenes and find out more about the bunch of Misfits

continues:
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/tubet...--misfits.html


Misfits starts Thursday at 10pm on E4.

[Kick-Kinsey]

Channel 4 'Misfits' Uses Social Media During Show to Connect to Audience

http://www.jawbone.tv/news/1-news/32...-audience.html

Interesting use of live tie-in to fictional sci-fi show 'Misfits' through social media. Someone please let us know how this turns out (we can't watch Misfits in Canada because we all live in igloos with blocked IPs.)(Source: itvt.com) "Misfits," a new drama series from Channel 4's digital channel, E4, that centers on a group of teenage superheroes, will offer a multiplatform experience by having two of its characters send out tweets during the course of each of its hour-long episodes, according to an article in The Guardian.The tweets for the show's first episode have been written in advance of its November 12th broadcast by a team led by the show's head writer, Howard Overman, and tweets will also be incorporated into the show's other five episodes, the show's producers say. "This is the first time a UK channel has done this and I cannot think of examples where it has been done in other countries," Louise Brown, Channel 4's head of cross-platform commissioning, told The Guardian. "We know from past experiences that the audiences of the best dramas cannot get enough of them and this is a way of enhancing the experience by giving a new angle to the story. We hope to embrace the fact that more and more of us all sit in front of the TV with our laptops." --Other "In-Character" Multiplatform Extensions Include a Facebook Page and YouTube Channel.

[DigiFluid]

I watched the first episode and was really, really unimpressed. Contrived, ridiculous story which didn't make a lot of sense + some of the worst acting I've ever seen. I haven't got around to watching episode 2 yet (I want to give it a fair chance), but if it's anything like the first that'll be it for me.

[Kick-Kinsey]

Review


*SPOILERS*


http://therattle.co.uk/?p=4165


*SPOILERS*


http://therattle.co.uk/?p=4165


*SPOILERS*

A bunch of young wrong’uns with attitude being plastered all over the ad breaks of the channel that brought us such young wrong’uns with attitude adventures as Skins does not sound like something that holds great appeal. But throw in hints of a supernatural twist and interests are suddenly peaked. The first episode of Misfits aired on E4 last week, but did it confirm my initial scepticisms or did it manage to triumph?

When you think of British Sci-fi you’ll most likely think of the likes of Doctor Who or Primeval. You may then cringe as it’s the kind of watered down rubbish that is more concerned with attracting the family audience than creating gripping shows. There is no doubting that Doctor Who has it’s fans and I’m sure it has it’s moments (granted the latest episode Waters of Mars had a couple of these moments) but it mostly appears to very much cater to the younger audience, playing it very safe and therefore creating little tension or excitement in the process. Meanwhile there’s no defending the likes of Primeval and Demons, trying and failing miserably to imitate American shows.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that salvation does not lay within these financially backed primetime slots but rather with the rare hidden gems that make up for their lack of budget with nothing but heart… and great writing. I am mostly talking about Being Human, a brilliant BBC3 series about three flatmates; a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost. It is mainly drama, with snippets of comedy, and I can’t remember the last time a British show had me anticipating the next episode so much. With it not being shown on one of the big channels at a primetime slot it struggled to gain an audience. But thanks to word of mouth and BBC iplayer it has since gained a cult following and has been commissioned for a second series. So happy ending. It proved that more adult themed British sci-fi can find an audience and may have paved the way for similar projects. Enter Misfits.

Misfits, billed very much as Skins meets Heroes, can’t really complain about having no marketing. It seems to have taken up every E4 ad break for the last couple of weeks to the point where people were either sick of the sight of them already or they decided they needed to see what all this was about then. Well, it’s about a group of strangers who get struck by lightning during a strange flash storm and obtain superpowers… the twist being they are young offenders doing community service. Going into it I have to admit I wasn’t expecting much, whilst I admit I do often find Skins compelling I also often find it tedious, so I expected something similar here but less original. As it turned out, I friggin loved it! It worked perfectly as a first episode, introducing us to the characters, then the event that shapes the whole show and then taking the “monster of the week” form I expect each episode to take.

Kelly:

What if there’s loads more people like us all over town?

Nathan:

No, that kind of thing only happens in America

The characters have potential. There’s Kelly who looks to be very much your typical chav but somehow still manages to be quite likable. She develops the ability to hear people’s thoughts. Oh, and also dog’s thoughts which led to probably the episodes weakest point and could definitely have done without. Too cheap and obvious.

Then there’s Simon, a quiet, good hearted loner who can turn invisible. He’s definitely one for the fans to root for, already depicted as the loser of the group but with a genuine desire to make friends, as shown in the quite sad and yet strangely hilarious shot at the end where he is seemingly hanging out with friends at a bar, only for us to find out they can’t see him.

Curtis’ dreams of being an athlete were dashed when he was caught with cocaine and banned. He spends his time rewatching past glories on video, thinking about his biggest regret and what might have been. Curtis has now obtained the power to change time when he regrets something, leaving us to anticipate the time where he learns how to control his power and attempts to change events, which surely will have serious repercussions.

Alisha is the typical party girl who spent the episode adjusting her boobs and sucking off a bottle. She definitely appeared to be the most one-dimensional of the group but I think that was kind of the point as now that when people touch her they become so overcome with lust that they try and force themselves on her. She’s going to have to do the old changing her ways and be less reliant on the physical act of lurve. Her character is basically a different take on Rogue from X-Men.

And finally there’s Nathan. The smart arse, sarcastic Irish bloke who will no doubt be a nightmare to meet but makes some damn entertaining viewing. He is constantly winding people up and shows no concern to others feelings, so when he is thrown out by his fed up mother and no one will take him you feel sorry for him, but completely understand why. He is basically a knob, but a likeable one who will no doubt go through some transitions with his new colleagues. Now, we don’t know what this guys power is yet, and is one of the things I’m looking forward to finding out, whilst also thinking it will be good if we didn’t find out for a while as his character will most definitely be pissed off at being the only one without a power. The opening credits hints at what it could be (with each character being accompanied by a shadow representing their power) with him being followed by a shadow of a wolf. Werewolf? Could be interesting. In the preview for the next episode there is mention of a werewolf as he suspects his mams boyfriend of being one. Or maybe he’s a shapeshifter?

As it stands, none of the main characters have abilities that will be all that useful in a fighting scenario, which makes me think this is going to be less action based as I would like it to be, but either way I am very impressed and am looking forward to seeing how it goes on. This definitely looks to rank up there with the likes of Being Human rather than the likes of Primeval. It has the compelling dialogue and interaction that makes Skins so popular, but given a more fun subject matter. It’s very British in that rather than choosing to ignore the pop culture in which it is based, it makes frequent references to it and often light heartedly makes fun of the conventions in which it is also following. But I think it’s success could come down to whether it develops an ongoing story that will lead up to the finale, like in the first series of Heroes, and not being stand alone episodes that don’t seem to be leading anywhere or help the series move along, like Skins.

the website

http://www.channel4.com/pressandpubl...a/misfits.html

[rockerlad]

this show is so funny, i dont think it is meant to be serious. I really enjoy it. If your not British i dont think you will understand the humor.

[Kick-Kinsey]

the trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYHsC6dCS54

[MB.Eddie]

Watched the first 5 episodes and am really enjoying it. Refreshing that it doesn't have that Hollywood style and the language isn't held back.

[Kick-Kinsey]

Misfits: season one, episode four

http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-rad...4-episode-four

[Madwelshboy]

E4 hands second series to 'Misfits'

Misfits has been recommissioned for a second series, E4 has announced.

The teen comedy drama, which follows a group of youths with superpowers, will return with six new episodes in 2010.

"Misfits always felt like a perfect E4 show and the response has been phenomenal," said head of drama Camilla Campbell.

"I'm delighted to commission a second series, and like its fans, I can't wait to see where Howard’s inventive scripts take us and the gang."

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/...o-misfits.html

[MB.Eddie]

Shame it's only 6 episodes, but good news none the less.

[DigiFluid]

Congrats, to you Misfits fans. I never got around to watching episode 2, after how unbelievably bad the first one was.

[12OzMouse]

I watched it all the way through and man, I can't believe that they recommissioned this one! I found it entertaining, but mostly felt that they blew a good opportunity to have a real good show. The last scene completely shocked me! So, if not for any other reason, I'd like to see how that works itself out in the next series.

The idea behind the show was pretty cool, but for having these powers, they never really capitalized on that aspect of the show. The track and field guy, I guess his ability to turn back time was the subject of one episode, but it really didn't make sense when all was said and done.

It was watchable, but I won't be counting the days for new episodes, that's for sure....

[Madwelshboy]

'Misfits' Christmas special to be made

TVChannel 4 has ordered a Misfits Christmas special. According to The Guardian, the 60-minute episode will be written by creator Howard Overman.

The show follows a group of teenagers who receive superpowers after getting caught in freak weather while they are doing community service.

Stars Robert Sheehan, Iwan Rheon, Lauren Socha, Nathan Stewart Jarrett and Antonia Thomas are all expected to appear in the special and the second series, which started filming in May.

E4's acting head Paul Mortimer said: "We're delighted that as well as a second series, we'll have this special standalone commission as a treat for fans during what will be E4's biggest Christmas schedule so far."

Misfits won the 'Best Drama Series' award at the BAFTAs earlier this month.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/...o-be-made.html

[DigiFluid]

Misfits won the 'Best Drama Series' award at the BAFTAs earlier this month.

Must've been slim pickings this year lol