Come in Heroes, your time is up?
[SPOILERS] Five unruly teenagers in garish, red overalls are touched by God in E4's new superhero drama Misfits, a kind of "SuperSkins" from writer Howard Overman (Hotel Babylon, Merlin). It aims to revitalize the superhero genre by injecting Brit grit into its veins; crafting something that speaks to teens/kidults on a level the increasingly homogenized Heroes never could.
The setup is standard stuff; a Breakfast Club-esque gang of delinquents are caught in a flash storm while doing community service -- dodging football-sized hailstones before getting struck by a lightning bolt that endows them with super-powers exaggerating their personalities and fears: so, disgraced track runner Curtis (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) finds he can reverse time; egocentric, unintelligible chav Kelly (Lauren Socha) can now hear thoughts; party girl Alisha (Antonia Thomas) can send male libido's into overdrive by touch; shy pariah Simon (Iwan Rheon) can literally become invisible; and cocksure Nathan's (Robert Sheehan) disappointed to realize he's totally unaffected.
It's a Generation Y adolescent drama with a stratum of comic-book fantasy, all set in a perpetually overcast London suburb where everyone speaks with uncouth realism -- acerbic banter and a blitz of "f" and "c" bombs. These teens exist in our world, where superheroes are a part of the pop-culture, so it sidesteps the naivety that underscores Spider-Man and its ilk. Adding extra pep is the fact these so-called "misfits" aren't the kind of people who deserve super-powers and possibly can't be trusted to use them conscientiously. If an elder offered them the advice that "with great power comes great responsibility," they'd most likely get "yeah, wha'eva" spat in their face.
The scene is set for something quite special, but this first episode had a few issues that prevented it from achieving full potential. The characters were introduced very well, but only Curtis and Nathan felt like interesting and textured creations (the former a promising athlete banned when caught in possession of coke, the latter an Irish smart alec made homeless by his own mother.) The others were rather clichéd -- particularly introverted Simon and commoner Kelly (good luck comprehending her, foreign markets) -- but admittedly there's time to develop them into more rounded people.
One cause for concern was the choice and distribution of powers: mind-reading's fine (but do we need the ridiculous twist that Kelly can hear animals thinking with human voices, a la Doctor Dolittle?); time-travel throws up a plethora of dramatic problems I'd have preferred Misfits avoid; and I fail to understand the thinking behind giving Alisha the ability to make men want to rape her. That felt very distasteful to me, and surely it would have been more fun for the least attractive person to deal with that gift, anyway? The only ability that worked unequivocally for me was Simon's invisibility, mainly because it came with the flourish he becomes inaudible, too. Nathan's powerless right now, which feels like a wasted opportunity, but it's strongly inferred that he'll discover his ability later in the series.
Overall, Misfits certainly had verisimilitude in the dialogue, a group of actors who look and feel very authentic, and definite potential in the British spin it puts on this timeworn genre*. It'll be interesting to see what kind of adventures the Misfits get up to over the next six weeks, as the group assumedly visit various locations as part of their atonement to society. This first episode involved them battling their burly probation officer (Danny Sapani), who was likewise caught up in the storm and hence developed a split-personality that turned him into an axe-wielding maniac. I'm guessing there won't be supervillains to defeat every week (so quite why they've written out an ideal Doctor Doom-esque recurring baddie is beyond me), but there was enough here to ensure you come back for more.
12 November 2009
E4, 10pm
written by: Howard Overman directed by: Tom Green starring: Antonia Thomas (Alisha), Lauren Socha (Kelly), Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Curtis), Iwan Rheon (Simon), Robert Sheehan (Nathan), Alex Reid (Sally), Josef Altin (Gary), Danny Sapani (Tony), Louis Decosta Johnson (Psychotic Tony), Michelle Fairley (Louise), Benjamin Smith (Lee) & Phil Daniels (Keith The Dog)
* I particularly liked how the bestowal of super-abilities came not from genetically-altered spiders or space rays, but the notoriously changeable British weather!
