Misfits (TV series)
| Misfits | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Howard Overman |
| Starring | |
| Opening theme | "Echoes" by The Rapture |
| Composer | Vince Pope |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | Transclusion error: {{En}} is only for use in File namespace. Use {{lang-en}} or {{in lang|en}} instead. |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 11 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Kate Crowe |
| Production location | London |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Production company | Clerkenwell Films |
| Original release | |
| Network | E4 |
| Release | 12 November 2009 – present |
Misfits is a British comedy-drama series about a group of young offenders forced to work in a community service programme, where they attain supernatural powers after a strange electrical storm. The first series started broadcasting on 12 November 2009 on E4, and was produced by Clerkenwell Films.
Filming for the second series began on 24 May 2010, next to Southmere Lake, Thamesmead.[1] Channel 4 has also ordered a 60-minute Christmas special, to be written by Howard Overman, featuring the whole main cast of the first series.[2] The second series began airing at 10pm on 11 November 2010 on E4.
Show creator Howard Overman as much as confirmed that the show had been given a third series at the BFI launch for the second series on 4 November 2010.[3]
The series won the 2010 BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series.[4]
Synopsis
Misfits follows five delinquents in their 20s on community service who get struck by lightning and are given special powers. Kelly (Lauren Socha) gains the ability to read the thoughts of others, Curtis (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) can rewind time when experiencing an immense sense of regret, Alisha (Antonia Thomas) sends people into a sexual frenzy when they touch her skin, and Simon (Iwan Rheon) can become invisible. Seemingly left unaffected is smart alec Nathan (Robert Sheehan), who is immortal.
In the first episode, the Misfits kill their psychotic probation worker, Tony, after the storm turns him crazy and he tries to kill them. The main plot of the first series is the five trying to stop anyone else finding out about what they did. Tony's replacement, Sally, is revealed to be Tony's fiancee, and she suspects that the gang know more than they are saying.
Other sub-plots of the series involve Nathan being made homeless after his mum kicks him out, Alisha and Curtis becoming involved in a relationship, Curtis accidentally changing time so he never split up from his girlfriend and Simon's sense of loneliness and isolation. There are also often additional plots that only last for one episode.
Cast and characters
- Robert Sheehan as Nathan Young – he has the power of immortality which also grants him the power of mediumship. He was arrested for theft and assault.
- Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as Curtis Donovan – he's able to travel backwards in time, he was arrested for possession of cocaine.
- Lauren Socha as Kelly Bailey[4] – she can read peoples thoughts, she was arrested for affray.
- Iwan Rheon as Simon Bellamy – Simon has the power of invisibility. He was arrested for attempted arson.
- Antonia Thomas as Alisha Bailey – When touched the person experience intense and uncontrollable sexual arousal, she was arrested for drunk driving.
Episodes
Series One
The first series comprised six episodes, airing from 12 November to 17 December 2009 on E4.
While performing community service, five junior offenders get struck by lightning during a freak storm. The sixth offender is unaffected since he was in the bathroom. Time passes and the group begin to discover their powers: Alisha makes anybody try to have sex with her when they touch her skin, Kelly gains telepathy, Simon turns invisible and Curtis can reverse time. Nathan is apparently unaffected, but is convinced that he must also have a power and spends most of the series trying to discover it.
Unfortunately, their probation officer (Tony) is also hit by the lightning, giving him a homicidal hatred of young offenders and causing him to violently murder the boy in the bathroom. The others use their powers to survive, and kill Tony in self-defence. The "misfits" accept how implausible their story sounds and decide to hide the bodies, burying them under a bridge. Soon afterwards, the city decides to build an Environmental Monitoring Centre on the spot, leading the misfits to exhume the bodies to avoid discovery. They eventually hide the bodies in the foundations of the building.
The five misfits find out that others in the city have also developed powers in the storm. Alisha and Curtis embark on a relationship despite being unable to touch each other. Simon develops a crush on their new probation officer, who seduces him for information about her fiancée Tony and is killed by Simon when she discovers the truth. In the last episode of season 1, Nathan falls off the roof and dies, but is shown waking up trapped in his coffin after the funeral.
Series Two
The second series commenced filming in May 2010 [5] and launched on E4 on Thursday, 11 November. The first episode of Series 2 appeared on iTunes Marketplace one week before airing on television.
The events of series two commence immediately after the end of series one. There will also be 6 episodes in this drama series and a Christmas special on the 19th December.
Production
Filming locations
The show is filmed in South East London, mostly on location around the Southmere Lake in Thamesmead. This area can also been seen in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange.[6] Many interiors were filmed in sets built in the old Runnymede campus of Brunel University. The scenes under the flyover are in Boston Manor Park in Ealing, London.
Marketing
The first series was accompanied by an online viral marketing campaign produced by Six to Start, on social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter. For example, in a British first, the characters Simon and Kelly tweeted during the initial transmission of each episode, with the content of the tweets provided by writers Sam Liefer and Ben Edwards, under the direction of lead writer Howard Overman and executive producer Petra Fried. These tweets and other website postings provided additional narrative material, and amongst other things did not ultimately reveal the identity of a key character who appeared only in episode six.[7][8] Additional strategic components included direct-to-YouTube video clips and an online game based on the show.[7]
Reception
Critical reception
British reviews have been very positive. The Times gave it four out of five stars, calling it "a new union — salty British street humour with whizz-bang special effects" which should "keep E4's core audience happy".[9] An online review by The Guardian said that it was "confident enough to operate in its own universe and set up something new" and that it was aimed at showing us "real people" rather than the stereotype of the "ASBO teenager".[10] The Guardian's print reviewer was also enthusiastic, saying: "Misfits is indeed silly — sillier, even than it sounds — but it's also brilliant: sharp, funny, dark and, in places, quite chilling. Both the writing and the performances ensure that everything but the preposterous central premise remains entirely believable."[11] The Daily Telegraph drew special attention to Howard Overman's script which, it said, "sparkled from the off, introducing his posse of social outcasts as a bunch of total losers, but each one distinctively and memorably so."[12]
The Irish media have also been impressed with the show. The Evening Herald called the debut episode "dark, hilarious, exciting and beautifully produced". It went on to say that "the spark comes from Overman's razor-sharp script, yet a lot of the credit also has to go to the well-chosen young cast, who are uniformly superb."[13]
In Australia, the Boxcutters podcast was more laconic: "Misfits ... is filled with unattractive and very annoying characters and is essentially Skins meets Heroes. So why do we find it so strangely compelling?"[14]
Awards
Both the series and its writer Howard Overman were nominated for RTS Awards in March 2010.[15]
The series won the 2010 BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series.[4]
Television ratings
Series 1
| Episode | Air Date | Viewers | Rank | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E4 | E4+1 | Total | E4 | E4+1 | |||
| Episode One | 12 November 2009 | 574,000 | 213,000 | 787,000 | 4 | 9 | |
| Episode Two | 19 November 2009 | 569,000 | 169,000 | 738,000 | 2 | 11 | |
| Episode Three | 26 November 2009 | 592,000 | 88,000 | 680,000 | 1 | 11 | |
| Episode Four | 3 December 2009 | 632,000 | 78,000 | 710,000 | 5 | 11 | |
| Episode Five | 10 December 2009 | 598,000 | 72,000 | 670,000 | 8 | 21 | |
| Episode Six | 17 December 2009 | 592,000 | 68,000 | 660,000 | 6 | 21 | |
Series 2
| Episode | Air Date | Viewers | Rank | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E4 | E4+1 | Total | E4 | E4+1 | |||
| Episode One | 11 November 2010 | 1,185,000 | 238,000 | 1,423,000 | 1 | 5 | |
| Episode Two | 18 November 2010 | 1,055,000 | 250,000 | 1,305,000 | 1 | 2 | |
| Episode Three | 25 November 2010 | 1,119,000 | 251,000 | 1,370,000 | 1 | 4 | |
| Episode Four | 2 December 2010 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | |
| Episode Five | 9 December 2010 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | |
| Episode Six | 16 December 2010 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | |
| Episode Seven | 19 December 2010 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | |
References
- ^ E4 announce the return of ‘Misfits’ Blogomatic3000, 28th May 2010
- ^ Wightman, Catriona (17 June 2010). "'Misfits' Christmas special to be made". Digital Spy. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Misfits – Series 3 - It's (not quite) official". SFX website. 5 November 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c "Television Awards Winners in 2010". BAFTA. Retrieved 6 June 2010. Cite error: The named reference "bafta.2010" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Misfits – Power Changes For Season Two". SFX website. 8 March 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "A Clockwork Orange film locations". movielocations.com. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
- ^ a b Dowell, Ben (28 October 2009). "E4's Misfits characters to post on Twitter". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
- ^ Emmerson, Keith (5 November 2009). "TV Preview: Misfits, E4". hecklerspray.com. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
- ^ Teeman, Tim (13 November 2009). "The Restaurant; Wonderland; Misfits; Octomum: Me and My 14 Kids". TimesOnline. entertainment.timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
- ^ Vine, Richard (13 November 2009). "Misfits: Series one, episode one". TV & Radio Blog. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
- ^ Dowling, Tim (13 November 2009). "Misfits and Wonderland: Seven Pups for Seven People". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
- ^ O'Donovan, Gerard (12 November 2009). "Misfits, E4, review". The Daily Telegraphy. telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
- ^ Stacey, Pat (13 November 2009). "Ideal superheroes for the 21st century". The Evening Herald. Dublin, Ireland: herald.ie. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
- ^ Kinal, Josh (7 December 2009). "Ep 206: Misfits, The Prisoner, Lunch Disclosure". Boxcutters.
- ^ French, Dan (March 1, 2010). "'Inbetweeners', 'Misfits' land RTS nods". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
