Misfits

Au début, je me disais qu’il devait logiquement s’agir d’un genre de combinaison bizarre entre Heroes et Skins. Mais dès le deuxième épisode, le franc est tombé : Misfits n’est en fait comparable à rien d’autre ; c’est une série à part, totalement originale et dont le scénario a été soigneusement élaboré. J’applaudis des deux mains pour l’idée de créer une histoire avec cinq jeunes délinquants, de la situer dans un quartier glauque et de réussir à nous tenir en haleine et de nous faire sympathiser avec la bande des cinq. Jusque maintenant, je n’ai vu que la première saison, donc je laisse un peu de réserve pour une possible meilleure évaluation future. Les deuxième et troisième séries m'ont effectivement fait augmenter la note et mes éloges vont en s’amplifiant, car c’est tout simplement la série la plus originale qui ait été faite ! La troisième saison, en particulier, était pleine de surprises et a attisé ma curiosité, car je me demandais ce que les créateurs allaient encore pouvoir nous inventer. Nazis, zombies, changements de pouvoirs, bandes dessinées vivantes… Pour chaque idée géniale, il en vient une autre, puis encore une autre… Et même le fait d’avoir entendu dire qu’il y aurait des changements dans la distribution pour les saisons quatre et cinq ne calme pas mes ardeurs. Les fans de Skins sont habitués aux changements de casting dans les séries britanniques et voient ça comme un nouveau souffle. Après avoir regardé les saisons quatre et cinq, je maintiens la note maximum. Je ne vais pas faire une comparaison individuelle des personnages principaux, mais en gros, disons que les choses étaient différentes avec ceux-ci, sans perdre en qualité ni en quantité de surprises, peut-être même au contraire. Les deux derniers épisodes de la saison cinq étaient vraiment top et le tout s’est terminé en beauté, laissant par ailleurs entrevoir une légère possibilité de suite. (05/07/2013)

The plot is basically a fully serious science fiction series about people with superpowers (like Heroes) that uses humour to avoid being logically bulletproof; humour that is very incorrect, harsh and vulgar, which is good. I’m liking the characters and their one-liners so far, and also each of the stories. Thanks to the humour, the show won’t have the same problems as Heroes (a tangled story with omnipotent characters, where all the logic has collapsed), but the excessive repetitiveness could be a problem. Most of the episodes follow the structure “villain of the week” + “one-liners” + “sex” + “time jump if someone dies”… “happy end”. But in the thirteen episodes so far, it’s still good. PS: I would give it five stars, but the incredible blunder in the script of the last episode (spoiler for the 2nd season finale: the characters know what the time travel erased in the previous episode) makes me go down, at least until the creators try to explain it in the next season. PS 2: Misfits without Nathan will be like... The Big Bang Theory without Sheldon… HIMYM without Barney…  Esmeralda… without Esmeralda. That bad :-/ (08/08/2011)

Season one: Great, it has just the right level of entertainment that makes you forgive the occasional plotholes in the screenplay. The characters are pleasant little buggers and their powers are so limited that sometimes they are more of a bane than any use, while the baddy (how old is that kid anyway?) is almost unexpectedly polite. No shortage of blood, effing and blinding all the time and a great soundtrack. Bring on more episodes. And just special thanks to one special person who recommended I watch this... You’re simply the best ;) Season two: Excellent continuation of the nicely rolling season one. The stories become more complicated and the twists take your breath away. Keep up the good work. (30/10/2011)

To compare Misfits to Heroes is like comparing Happy Tree Friends with the Smurfs. Here the characters are the most important, while uncompromisingness, rebellious controversiality and wisecracks play almost no role here, and so it’s a little creaky in terms of logic, in fact it often makes no sense at all. It would have worked even without their superpowers. But then we wouldn’t have seen such decadently enjoyable “pure mindless vandalism". In season two, although the Misfits is already partly (really only partly) what they were fighting against and making fun of in season one, it is no great shame because they are still just as extraordinarily and inimitably insanely original (like the punchline of episode 2x05, the birth of the “alien", who in his right mind would have thought something like this up?). S1: 5/5 S2: 4/5 (03/03/2011)

Misfits is often compared to Heroes, although at least according to the first series, the series tried to be the exact opposite of what the creators of Heroes aimed for. This means questioning the status of comic book heroes and the black-and-white perspective of dividing into good guys and villains. In the comic book world, of course, there have already been cases where superpowers were given to completely ordinary, useless guys, and even cases where traditional values were turned upside down and the hero was a real scoundrel. However, these were quite straightforward parodies, whereas Misfits is more complex, much more original, and provocative, and will probably confuse the average consumer of typical superhero comics. The major advantage of the series is its interesting characters and the ability to constantly surprise and break established patterns. Unlike Heroes, however, the series lacks a strong story and the ability to build a functional alternative world. I am actually concerned that Misfits may degenerate after several seasons when I think of the helplessness that initially accompanied the promising series Dollhouse. After watching a few episodes, however, I am definitely satisfied. Overall impression: 90%. (19/03/2012)