Summer Suggestions: Misfits, Series 1& 2

Simon -Maybe we're supposed to be super heroes.
Nathan -In what kind of fucked up universe would that be allowed to happen?

We associate summer with freedom, and not just because of American Independence Day. As the weather gets warmer we show more skin, play hooky with less guilt, and can't help but think that a gin and tonic is the perfect ending to a day.  And so, similarly, is it with TV.  We pack away think-y dramas and sophisticated meta-comedies for fast dialogue, bright locations, and implausible but entertaining stories that leave us feeling like a day in the sun; satisfied and relaxed.  (The USA Network has managed to become quite successful catering to this seasonal need, and boy do I love them for that.)

In a way no one is freer than the delightful little juvenile offenders of Misfits.  In another way no one is less free than them.  But, either way you see it, I am immensely happily spending part of my summer with these crazy kids.

Nathan (Robert Sheehan), Simon (Iwan Rheon), Kelly (Lauren Socha), Alisha (Antonia Thomas) and Curtis (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) have been assigned community service at a local community center as punishment for various misdeeds against society.  On their first day they, and their probation officer, are struck by lightening in a freak storm, and they being to develop unnatural abilities.  Total insanity ensues.

Part of what makes Misfits special, why is stands apart from other teen dramas or super-hero fantasies, is that being endowed with super powers doesn't make them noble or generous.  Their newly bestowed gifts, amplifications of their traits and fears, cause nothing but havoc in their lives and damage to those around them: initially lacking the knowledge of how to control things leading to mortal mayhem, when they do figure out some control, they more easily do things they shouldn't be doing in the first place.  You know, like, stalking.  The easy route (for a show) is the traditional understanding that if one gets superpowers they'll immediately recognize the pull of universal machinations.  The difficult route (for a show) is the unconventional but more realistic concept that one would take the easy route, use their powers in a self-indulgent or trivial way, but to still make the viewer cheer for the characters.

Here is where I think I should throw in a bit of a warning.  Please don't watch this show if you are easily offended.  I mean it.  These 5 offenders are offensive: they are drugging, drinking, promiscuous, foul-mouthed and immensely disaffected.  (Not to trivialize recent and extremely unpleasant events, but I have no doubt that some commentators in Britain made comparisons between these fictional youths and the all too real rioters of the last weeks.)  Objectively, they're kind of shit people, and it is very easy for their antics to grate on moral sensibilities.  I just want you to know.

Despite what could be considered the off-putting qualities, Misfits succeeds in drawing in the audience, in bonding the viewer with people we'd maybe rather not know in real life. Some shows just work perfectly, and it's almost impossible to describe why.  There is a magical combination of character development, plotting, pace, humor, and plain out and out ridiculousness that works so perfectly, even when it shouldn't.  All of that principle actors give fully committed and natural performances.  In particular Robert Sheehan plays Nathan with a fearlessness that makes Nathan's audacious behavior equally palatable and painful.  Much like the other characters, the viewer knows everything Nathan is saying is completely ridiculous, but damn it, he just makes you want to listen to him.  (I promise, you will hide your head in your hands because you can't stop laughing but you're so uncomfortable.)  In pitch perfect contrast is Iwan Rheon, who plays Simon with an almost deranged constraint in a style that strongly reminds me of Michael C. Hall.  (Honestly, I wish he had played young Dexter in the flashback scenes on Dexter.)  While maintaining a very few overarching storylines, the series remains for the most part episodic, and is much stronger for the fact.  By introducing and resolving complications for our heroes within each episode, Misfits keeps the quick pace necessary to retain both viewer attention and the suspension of disbelief.  I'm all for the calculated unfolding of a grand plot (Firefly), but in this particular genera the slow-build is more susceptible  to leaving the viewer bogged down in disconnected threads and unmet expectation (Heroes).  Alternately, in taking the long-view regarding character progression, the surprising shifts in personality are organic and rewarding, especially in the case of Alisha.  She doesn't end at all where it seems like she will when she begins, but she earns who she becomes in a plausible (within the structure of the created universe) and endearing way.

For all the pro/con arguments to be made about it's favors and faults whether or not you want to watch this show is really a matter of taste.  If it's the kind of show that appeals to you then you'll really enjoy it, it's excellent.  If this isn't where your inclinations lie you probably won't be seduced by it's merits.  For my part, Misfits is crack, and I am it's itching, shaking, fiending bitch.

The TV Girl

(This show was a project with Emily the Roommate.  She had seen it all and thought I would like it.  I love having friends with good taste!  In case you don't have an Emily (or a KP, or a Jennie, or a Calah), the series has been added to Hulu over the last couple months, a new episode every Monday.  It should be close to being complete, but I don't know how long the episodes will stay up.  Get on this shit.)

Summer Suggestion: 10 Things I Hate About You

I am trying really hard to like this show, but I am struggling.

Do you ever have that movie that seems like it was made perfectly for you? It came out at the exact right moment in your life, it appealed to your personality and tastes, it was well-made and not matter how many times you see it you still love it. For me, one of those movies is 10 Things I Hate About You. When it came out my high school classmates, who only spoke to me to insult me, kept coming up to me and telling me how much I reminded them of Kat. I took that to mean that there was a hot Australian guy in my future that would sing to me in a horribly embarrassing public display. Still waiting for that. Be that as it may, this wonderful Shakespeare-adaptation of a movie is immensely close to my heart, so I was none too thrilled to find out there was going to be a TV show.

My curiosity, and the recommendation of a good friend, got the better of me. If you are interested in watching this show through a combination of the ABC Family web page and YouTube you can find all the episodes; there have been 9 so far, and the season finale airs next Tuesday.

My main gripe with this show is that the casting is, well, kind of terrible. Kat (Lindsey Shaw) and Bianca (Meaghan Jett Martin) are pretty good, and don’t seem like they are doing caricatures of their movie-counterparts. On the other hand, Cameron (Nicholas Braun) and Michael (Kyle Kaplan) have to be two of the most miscast actors ever. There is nothing charming or sweet about either of them separately and together they just seem like boyfriends who don’t know it. I think it is supposed to be a joke that Bianca thinks Cameron is gay, but it doesn’t play as a “cute misunderstanding” because it really does seem like he and his little buddy are in a very creepy version of a romantic relationship. Chastity (Dana Davis) has a voice that could cut glass and mannerism that remind one of an evil robot; it’s too much, too over the top. I am torn as to whether Chris Zylka, who plays Joey, is giving an astounding performance or is actually an illiterate incapable of more than one facial expression. As for Patrick (Ethan Peck), this show really hasn’t done anything with him so far, so maybe he seems a little, well, blank because of the plot/writing.

But, there is always room for improvement, I guess. Limiting the show to a half-hour format was a wise choice because the brisk pace prevents endless scenes of emo-teens. The show would be well served to give a little bit of family context to all of the characters, because despite the fact that Kat and Bianca are the main characters, without rounding out the supporting/auxiliary cast, the show will always remain stunted. This first season has made all the standard-teen-pit-stops (sneaking out, fake IDs, parties, dances) so maybe the future can focus on sharper writing and character development.

Maybe I am just being a bitch.

The TV Girl

Summer Suggestion: Legend of the Seeker

Hulu might have done me a great disservice, making so much TV so readily available. I have to believe that the only reason that I watched an entire season of a Saturday afternoon syndicated series is that it was all there right in front of me with just the click of the mouse. Otherwise I might have to do some soul searching.

I might have to do that anyway, because I immensely enjoyed Legend of the Seeker.

There is nothing terribly ground breaking about this show. The adventures of Richard, (the first true Seeker in a thousand years) Kalin (the Confessor pledged to protect him) and Zed (the Wizard guiding him) employ most of the tenants of fantasy/hero-quest stories: the emergence of a hero who didn’t know he was one; love that cannot be express because it will be a detriment to the greater good; a villain attempting world-domination; wise-cracking side-kicks/friends; detours due to mistaken identities, lost weapons, temporary capture, double-crosses, prophecies, spells and enchantments; and random people with all kinds of special powers.

Even though you can guess what will happen next (and might occasionally be thinking that you have seen the same thing a million times already), and most of the dialogue is slightly ridiculous, there is an infectious zeal in the show. You want sweet and noble (but not smug or goody-two-shoes-boring) Richard to vanquish the almost cartoonishly villainous Darkn Rahl with the Sword of Truth. You kind of can’t help laughing along with Zed’s bad jokes. Kalin’s semi-angsty intensity can get a bit irritating, but she makes up for it by being all knife-wieldy and having the ability of mass murdering with her mind (but yes, she is one of the good guys). Without the perceived and highly debatable metaphysical depth of something like Lord of the Rings or The Wheel of Time, this show is freed from any self-importance or weighty “mythology.” Therefore the viewer is given a chance to enjoy fast-paced and funny little stories interspersed with decently choreographed fight scenes, without being bored by pedantic metaphor.

I have to admit that I found the final episode of the season a bit anti-climactic. Sometimes that is the way of things; is the epic battle ever really all that epic? Granting that, I was still a bit disappointed, and am hoping that they do something really cool in the coming season to make up for it.

Okay, planning to watch the upcoming season means it is definitely time for some soul-searching.

The TV Girl

Summer Suggestions: Fringe

Sometimes it is nice to be wrong.

It is no secret that I have a somewhat strained relationship with J.J. Abrams. I cannot truly dislike someone who gave me Felicity and (the first two seasons of) Alias but I would rather be stuck in a room with a rampaging chimp than watch an entire episode of Lost.

So a couple of months ago I was struck by some serious nostalgia and borrowed Dawson’s Creek from a friend and all my love for Pacey came flooding back. As I rode the tide I decided to give Fringe a chance and watched all the episodes available online at the time. I was interested, but not quite hooked. There were many elements I enjoyed, but once bitten twice shy, so I was resistant to growing too attached. A while ago, trolling Hulu for something to watch, I decided to catch up on the end of the season. (Star Trek softened me up a lot on my Abrams issues.)

And I am so glad I did.

There is two big reveals in the season finale: one very personal, one very universal. The personal one an observant viewer will have guessed based on hints throughout the season, but even if you know what it is, the moment is still so poignant it will make you cry. The universal one is genuinely surprising and I can only hope is handled with delicacy and thought in the coming season.

The joy of joys on Fringe is Walter Bishop (John Noble), the mentally unstable, genius-man-child, scientist. While keeping dark secrets from his past, because he cannot remember, (but we know he remembers more than he is admitting to) Walter explains unimaginable scientific phenomenon, usually through some association to his favorite foods. It is hysterical and tragic all at the same time.

The slow progression of healing between Walter and his son Peter (Joshua Jackson) is heartwarming without being overtly manipulative or soppy. Peter has lived a life of duplicity and avoiding responsibility, due in large part to his anger at what he perceives as his father’s abandonment, but week by week he grows to see his father more as a person and less as a monster. The lovely symmetry is (of course) as he must act more like the parent Peter becomes a better child.

Olivia Dunahm (Anna Trov) took a while to grow on me. Initially she behaves very much like the beautiful-but-brilliant-and-tough-as-nail-with-emotional-complications type of female law enforcement agent that litters the TV landscape at the moment. Once the storyline involving her former partner wraps up and her unintentional involvement in “The Pattern” begins to be revealed she emerges as more of a character and less of a type. Her cool and slightly sarcastic persona plays really well with her boss (Lance Reddick) as well as with fellow FBI agent Charlie.

The death of this show will be ANY attempt to unite Peter and Olivia in a romantic relationship. Not only do the actors not have that kind of chemistry whatsoever, but also considering the “history” between Walter and Olivia, it would be really ridiculous for any sort of functional romance between her and his son. I vote for Peter and Astrid, the FBI agent who assists Walter in his lab.

Unlike with other shows, the best I can hope for is that Fringe will maintain internal logical consistency, because I doubt it will ever actually make sense. I don’t grope around for “big answers” in the way I did during the last season of Battlestar Galactica, leaving me free to just enjoy the scary stories and light banter.

This show will be near the top of my viewing schedule in the fall.

The TV Girl