Fits of Giggles?

Hello Everyone :-)

‘Misfits’ is Back! Yaaaay! No, not the American Horror Rock band, the E4 anti-superhero teen drama! Much has been made in the press of the departure of Robert Sheehan so let’s have a look at the post-Nathan world of Community Service in episodes 1 and 2 of ‘Misfits’ series 3.

In episode 1 we rejoin the gang in their new lives and with their new powers. Simon (Iwan Rheon) can see into the future but doesn’t have the ability to choose what he sees, Alisha (Antonia Thomas) has the ability to see through the eyes of others, Curtis (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) can turn himself into a girl (he says it himself “all the good ones had gone”) and Kelly (Lauren Socha) has genius-level knowledge of rocket science (but rather amusingly no one will believe her).
We then head back to the community centre where new boy Rudy (Joe Gilgun) is sporting the iconic orange jumpsuit and making friends with two girls who are also part of the ‘Community Payback’ team and trying to keep his power under wraps.

There were two things this episode needed to do: 1, introduce us to Rudy and 2, get the team back in the orange overalls. The first is pretty self explanatory but it was essential to get the characters back into the confines of the community centre because it grounds the series.

So firstly, it’s a very Rudy centric episode but there’s nothing wrong with that; we know all the other characters so it makes sense to concentrate on the one we’ve not met. A quick look over Facebook and Twitter will tell you that people aren’t happy about Nathan’s departure and I’ll be honest, I did harbour some concerns, but you’ll be happy to hear all is well in the land of Orange jumpsuits. Rudy is as funny, crass and loud as Nathan ever was but also has a softer side. Rudy’s power is emotionally induced cloning, i.e. when he gets upset he grows a clone that tells everyone what he’s feeling. This automatically sets him apart from Nathan who never seemed to show any emotions at all (except lust) and endears him to me a lot more. They tie the character into the ‘Misfits’ world with a bit of back-story with Alisha which works nicely.

The Christmas special left us on a massive cliff hanger; the gang had all that money to spend on powers, what would they choose? I’ll admit Curtis’s is a bit of a let down but the others seem quite good, Simon and Alisha’s powers seem to fit in with the ongoing storyline and Kelly’s looks as though it’s going to provide a lot of humour and be potentially useful in an ‘A Team’ making a helicopter out of things you find in barn, kind of way. As for “getting the band back together”, they do it very simply and it works out quite well (not for the gang of course!).

So for the first episode back, I enjoyed it; A clever introduction to a new character, a brief look at the team’s new powers and a great set up for the rest of the series.

Episode 2 is a Curtis based episode. Curtis is missing running competitively and decides to use his ability to change gender in order to compete as his female alter ego (Melissa) in competitions. Curtis is unprepared for the male attention he gets as Melissa and things take a turn for the sinister when his coach’s hands start wandering.

I’ll come out and say it. Curtis is my least favourite character in the show. I always found him a bit up himself, a bit of a killjoy and his power to rewind time was a massive cop out when it came to the plot. I don’t think I’m alone in this opinion so this episode takes Curtis back to basics and sort of re-launches him. The results are actually quite good despite Nathan Stewart-Jarrett not being on screen for a great deal of time.  Praise must go to newcomer Kehinde Fadipe who gets Curtis’s character down pat. It’s not just a girl version of Curtis, it’s a girl version of Curtis with all his mannerisms and intonations, Fadipe has clearly put the hours in researching the character.

It’s not a typical ‘Misfits’ episode, it’s quite light on the humour and instead opts for a more sinister tone. I don’t mind this, there have always been more ominous episodes in the show and they act as a counterweight to the more comedy driven ones, which isn’t a bad thing, I like a bit of light and shade. I also like that the antagonist in this episode doesn’t have any powers, it’s nice to remind the audience that not everyone is as special as our ‘ASBO five’.

What I don’t like is the women’s lib attitudes of this episode which are a bit OTT. Melissa does this monologue about how men keep talking to her tits and the stresses that are put on women. Really? ‘Misfits’ is tackling gender equality? It doesn’t feel right. I admire the sentiment but I never actually felt that this show had a problem with sex politics, Kelly and Alisha have always been very strong minded and, whilst they’re definitely not role models, they certainly don’t take any truck. It just seems a bit unnecessary.

Over all, whilst it lacked the humour of the first, the second episode of this series revelled in the awkward body-swap nature of Curtis’s power. I liked it, a solid second outing.

‘Misfits’, it’s safe to say, has taken everyone by surprise. I think at the time it was first broadcast people thought it was going to be ‘Skins’ but with superpowers.  In reality I think it’s far superior to ‘Skins’. The show is more entertaining, characters are more likeable and (super powers and murders aside) a hell of a lot more realistic. They don’t dress like jumped up scene kids, they don’t have £500 a day coke habits; they have a drink, have a dance, have a laugh and long may they continue.

Episode 4 of ‘Misfits’ series 3 airs Sunday 13^th November on E4 at 10 o’clock (or if, like me, you’re at a pub quiz till half 10, 11 o’clock on E4+1).

Now it’s time for…

Reasons to be Cheerful :-)
1. Just in case you’ve been away for the week, the new Bond film has had its first press conference. It’s going to be called ‘Skyfall’ and will still have Daniel Craig as Bond (the campaign to make Michael Fassbender Craig’s successor starts HERE!) and Judy Dench as M but the film will also star Javier Bardem, Albert Finney Bérénice Marlohe, Naomie Harris and, Nerdy Rachel May favourite and star of ‘The Hour’, Ben Whishaw.
Sam Mendes is the Director and he says the film will shoot at Pinewood, Whitehall in London, China, Istanbul and Scotland, which all sounds very nice. I’m optimistic but cautiously so after being burned by ‘Quantum of Solace’. So let’s watch this space.

2. We’re in double figures people; it’s 92 days to go! Let’s celebrate this drop into double figures with DOUBLE MUPPETS MAGIC! How about some New clips of the Muppet Movie and A Bollywood themed Muppets trailer?!?! BOOM! How’s that for some green felt based happiness?!?!?!

3. ‘The Human Centipede 2’ has TANKED at the box office, grossing £942 after its UK opening last weekend. Ahahahaha! Oh its things like this that brighten my day :-) After reading the reviews and all the ridiculous promotion (the banning by the BBFC and then cutting about 2 and a half minutes being splashed all over the papers and various movie news sites) I was fully prepared for it to do well . As a fervent film fan (alliteration WIN) I’m oddly proud of this because it’s a total triumph for film criticism, they said it was shit, people listened and didn’t go. Film critics one, Tom Six Nil.  

4. The first promo pictures of Nicholas Hoult in Warm Bodies has been released. It looks decidedly ‘Twilight-ey’ but I don’t think the premise lends itself to that kind of melodrama. It's just a picture, it’s probably too early to tell anything about the end result so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’ll be excellent because the story sounds mental (in a good way).

5. Wilfred Mott gets an OBE! Yay!

6. Stephen Merchant and Warwick Davis have been talking about their upcoming show ‘Life’s too Short’. I’m SUPER excited about this; I adore Stephen Merchant, Ricky Gervais and Warwick Davis (whose autobiography is well worth a read even if you’re not a fan of his films) so having them all in one show together is a total boon. ‘Life’s too Short’ starts on Thursday at half 9 on BBC2.
Oooh! Whilst I’m on the subject, I went to see Stephen Merchant on his live tour on Tuesday this week. It’s one of the best stand up shows I’ve seen in ages. His willingness to make fun of himself is so endearing and the audience I was in totally related to his mishaps with the opposite sex. I’d recommend it to anyone, don’t dismiss him as Gervais’s second in command, he’s a great comic in his own right.  You can find dates for Stephen Merchant’s tour ‘Hello Ladies’ at livenation.co.uk.

That’s it for today!

Goodbye till next time :-)
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