This guide and all of my reviews contain occasional bits of rude language,
and opinions some people might find offensive but for which I won’t apologise.
Don’t read any further unless you are open-minded.
As hard as I try not to give away too much, I can't guarantee there are no spoilers.
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Misfits - TV Series UK Clerkenwell Films - 5 Series 2009-2013 - DVD, Netflix
Probably the Best Brit-Anarcho-Dramedy Ever Made
A group of young offenders sentenced to community service work are caught outside during an electrical storm. After the storm they discover they each have different and quite odd new “powers”.
- This show is absolutely brilliant and very entertaining
- This show contains really truly offensive language and opinions, and other stuff
The imaginative leaps of the writing are part of what make this show special – I can’t remember any show ever delivering so many delightful surprises, twists and turns as I enjoyed while I binged on the whole of the first two series of Misfits. Let go of your disbelief and enjoy the rewards.
While I’ve opted for an “Anarcho-Dramedy” label – this is not because I am really that fussed about getting the label right, but because if you are looking for something that follows a tried and tested predictable formula this show is probably not for you. So, how different is it?
Absolutely Fabulous was very clever because it built up and distorted a shallow stereotype and then took the piss out of that type mercilessly; AbFab delivered surprises but was not overly warm.
The Young Ones was radically anarchistic but bordered on existentially negative.
Crazy Head was clever but not good enough to sustain my interest for more than a few episodes.
In Nathan, Misfits gives us one of the most relentlessly loathsome characters to ever appear on a screen but perhaps Nathan is what makes it possible for Misfits to give us what are, at times, some of the most moving moments TV has the power to deliver.
The writing is so brilliant I don’t want to do spoilers. Nathan is not just puerile he is so disgusting on so many levels he has become something of a cult hero – imagine something wildly offensive or inappropriate he might say in any given situation and he will say something far worse, but the show is so well structured and written it draws me back in spite of him. At the very end of season 1 it’s his predicament, not his gob, that gets the biggest laugh.
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| There is NOTHING likeable about this tool. So why do I like the show? The answer is probably "honesty". Maybe. Not Sure. |
In season 3 Nathan disappears and the role of loathsome twat is taken on by the character of Rudy who is crudely and basely sexist. Unlike Nathan he has no intelligence or other almost-redeeming features at all. The first episode is a bit tedious because we don’t know him yet, but by episode 0302 the writing returns to full strength as Rudy’s crass nature gives us a chance to start exploring sexism. Although the writing is a little uneven at first, most of the season is as hilarious as ever.
MA 15+ Strong Everything
If you were sensitive you probably would not be reading my reviews at all but be warned the language used on Misfits is relentlessly and unapologetically crude. By season 3 it is as if the character Rudy exists for the sole purpose of saying or doing the crudest nonsense imaginable. As for violent images, most are hilarious because they are just ludicrous in context, but if you are at all vulnerable and likely to be triggered you should be aware the humour takes on a dark tone near the end of season 3 and occasional images may be triggering from episode 0307 onwards.
Bingeability The first 2 seasons (a total of 13 episodes) blew my mind. Then I needed a break. There is some churn of cast members after that. Even though the element of surprise was a big part of the fun first time round – especially in the first 2 seasons - I will definitely be happy to re-watch this at some point.
