Misfits Series Three DVD REVIEW

Orange crush

Release Date: 26 December 2011
2011 | 15 | 373 minutes | £19.99 (DVD)/£24.99 (Blu-ray)
Distributor: Channel 4 DVD
Creator: Howard Overman
Cast: Joseph Gilgun, Iwan Rheon, Lauren Socha, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Antonia Thomas

If it seems odd to award a show four stars and then say it’s a disappointment, that’s only because the first two series of Misfits set the bar so very high. It’s still hilarious, of course, and generally boasts more invention in a single hour than most shows can muster in an entire season, yet you can’t help feeling that E4’s community service drama isn’t quite as super as it used to be.

It would be easy to point the finger at the departure of Robert Sheehan’s motormouth Nathan, but new guy Rudy (This Is England’s Joseph Gilgun) turns out to be a near-perfect replacement. Sure, he fulfils a very similar role, saying the stuff that others might think but wouldn’t dare say, but his modus operandi is entirely different. Whereas Nathan had a mean streak, Rudy’s more of a potty-mouthed savant; his offensiveness is purely accidental as he bungles his way through sexual encounters, a Nazi occupation and the attack of the zombie cheerleaders.

Although the storylines are often inspired, however, this the first series of Misfits with episodes that feel like filler. And while giving the ASBO quintet new powers shakes things up a bit, some of them are so rarely used that they may as well not exist – even if Kelly’s new “rocket scientist” gift provides a steady stream of gags.

With Simon and Alisha rather shortchanged on the things-to-do front, it’s left to gender-swapping Curtis, and Kelly (in her surprisingly sweet romance with power dealer Seth) to carry ongoing storylines that – while fun – lack the urgency of series two’s “Superhoodie” arc. But come the heartbreaking series finale, even the fact that the show’s plausibility is starting to buckle under the weight of all those unsolved probation worker killings seems strangely inconsequential. Creator Howard Overman’s written the perfect ending to a superhero trilogy, and we’d have been quite happy had E4 decided to finish Misfits here, allowing one of this century’s best genre shows to go out on the high it deserves.

Extras:

The usual behind-the-scenes featurettes (including looks at the stunts and special effects) are bolstered by a couple of short films that first appeared online. “Vegas Baby” writes Nathan out of the show in appropriately idiotic style, while “Erazer” pits the gang against a graffiti artist whose tags come to life – it’s rather like ’80s cartoon Penny Crayon, but with a bit more swearing.

Richard Edwards

Read all of our Misfits series three reviews.

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