Welcome back to Misfits and you join us at the season finale. After a pretty dull episode last week where the main plot points included Rudy meeting a nun and Alex finding his penis, I was hoping to see something a little bit more entertaining, or at least something that would stop me falling to sleep in front of the telly. Well I got what I asked for, but not as much as I would have liked.
Continue reading Review of E4’s Misfits – 4.08, Season Finale
Here is a treat for all you Doctor Who fans who have struggled through the mid-season break. Uproxx have put up the trailer for the Christmas special called The Snowmen. So without further a due here it is!
Now I have to be brutally honest here. Most of the Doctor Who Christmas specials I felt suffered because they were a bit rubbish. Some people may hate me for saying it, but I just felt they all lack a decent story and feel like padding for the new series. But this trailer has some interesting elements in it which I hope proves me wrong. For a start it is great to see Richard E. Grant playing a sinister character. The killer snowmen look great, even though they do remind me of the horror movie Jack Frost . Obviously the big talking point of this is the fact that Jenna-Louise Coleman is back.
So the big question is how is she back in this? First off, *SPOILERS AHEAD* for those who haven’t fully caught up on Doctor Who because there are still quite a few of you not yet on the bandwagon. I can think of three ways she could return. She could have come back in time (obviously thanks to the Doctors help) like River Song in the previous series, she could have survived her death (highly doubtful as she seems human here and the planet she was on exploded, a tough thing to come back from) or she is a new character and we are meant to forget she was in an episode. This seems silly I know but it has happened before, most famously with Colin Baker who was a villain in one episode and then later on became the Doctor him. Actress Freema Agyeman played companion Martha Jones but also played a character called Adeola in Army of Ghosts. The writers made out that Adeola was Martha’s cousin. So there are quite a few options the writers could have used to bring her back. The fun part will be seeing which one they use. She has such a great chemistry with Matt Smith and this is all from the one episode they were in, I think she will make a great companion. One final note, at the very start of the episode did anyone else notice the snowman voice over? It is Gandalf himself, Sir Ian Mckellen, who is voicing the evil snowman.
Finally, as a special Christmas gift for all you Who fans out there, here is the short Doctor Who special that was filmed for Children in Need reintroducing us to a now very bah humbug Doctor.
So here we are again with the lovable rogues that now comprise the Misfits crew. This week Alex and Jess had some hiccups regarding their new relationship, mainly because he has lady parts downstairs. Rudy is so obsessed with the woman he met at the party he can think of nothing else and for the first time has experienced love. After new girl Abbey is found drunk (again) in the probation locker rooms, Finn covers for her. To save him from getting a beating from angry Greg, she pretends to be a new community service worker. While seeing a single mum in the toilets who is having second thoughts about the child inside of her, Abbey finds the mum had a power and has transferred her unborn baby into Abbey, who decides to keep it. However, after a heartfelt plea from the mother, she agrees to give the baby back. Jess tells Rudy about Alex’s condition and as can be expected from Rudy he tells everyone, really ticking off Alex. Rudy sees his mystery woman again and finds out she is a nun. Alex finally finds out the woman who stole his penis and goes after her with a gun. The crew track Alex to a night club where they are ready to help, but get so distracted by Greg who is on stage singing an amazing rendition of The Power of Love, that it is left up to Jess to find Alex. Alex breaks down in front of his penis snatcher and she is so gutted by what she has done she gives him it back. Alex and Jess finally get it on, but it was not really the romantic night she was expecting.
With this new series of Misfits, it seems that the writers are having trouble giving the new members of the group decent introductions. Finn and Jess had an average intro to the group, while Alex was introduced in the bar and has done little since. With Abbey, her main episode introduction here (yes I am aware she was in last week’s episode, but as she was unconscious through most of it I am not counting it) is to carry a blooming baby about and even gave her the very cliched “oh I have amnesia” character trait which reeks of laziness. This really annoyed me because out of all the new cast members, she is the most interesting by far. Her attitude is fantastic and I love the fact she just breezes through each episode, never really shocked about anything and pretty much always has that slightly droopy drunk look on her face! The fact she is now on probation because she pretended to be on probation is a pretty lousy way of getting her to stay in the group but it is not any worse than what has happened to her so far. She tries her best with this stinker of a plot point and I am hoping she has a better role in the future, as I really think she will make a great edition to the team.
Jess and Alex float around this episode like a bad smell. This was meant to be their episode, a powerful hitting episode about love without male parts and the effect that has on a man. It tried to be but it just came off as a filler episode. I still think Alex is dull as dish water as a character and poor Jess just mopes along after him like a love sick puppy. Alex’s speech at the end was his only shining moment in this episode and it is one of the best pieces he has had to perform all series. More scenes like this would be well received. Their love making scene makes Alex seem like a jerk. Who wants to check out their own booty while they are in bed! Jess looked less than impressed too. I am wondering if now he has his dick back he is going to act like a…well…a dick I guess! At least this would make him interesting.
Finn does nothing this episode aside from mope about over how he has no chance with Jess. He is just there as nothing ground breaking happens to him, but he does not come off as annoying either. Rudy’s love angle however is a different story. I am guessing the writers are wanting to expand his character a little more and he does look cute when he is trying to court someone rather than sleeping with them. Next episode focuses more on the history of his love interest and as she has very few scenes here, I will look at the character next week. The problem with the new love angle is it makes Rudy a bit dull. The reason I love him as a character is he is a sex mad simpleton. Rudy 2 is the heart and more thoughtful one and I like how they both interact together. Rudy, however, now acts like a mix of both of them and it does not gel at all. Rudy 2 does finally make an appearance in this episode, but it was so short they might as well not bothered.
With everybody moaning in this episode (and ironically me moaning about them moaning) was there any fun to be had? Not really. The thing is the episode as I mentioned before felt like a filler piece for a bigger episode. But it was also very dull. People aimlessly wandering about moaning or in Abbeys case trying to make a very clichéd story work is not my idea of fun. But at least someone uses their powers in this episode. For some reason this series seems to have had very little power use by the Misfit group. I do not know if this is because their powers are rubbish or just because building the story lines up is more important. It would have added a bit of excitement though. There was one saving grace in this episode however. When they hit the nightclub Greg starts to sing at the karaoke bar and man, he is a great singer. Much like the Misfit crew who stood there transfixed by this amazing mans vocals, I looked on in delight as well. It was mainly used as a joke on his gruff character, who is obviously not as gruff as we think. The joke fell completely flat, but his singing will ring in my ears for years to come. For some reason the last ten minutes of the episode really picks up (Greg’s singing is a big part of this), with great acting and very funny scenes. It is a shame they made us wait so long for it. Really below average story telling which without Greg’s singing would have sent me off to snooze land.
“Oh my sweet Brick” is just one of the many things we could be hearing in Anchorman 2, now that resident idiot Brick Tamland has his own love interest in the form of delightful Kristen Wiig.
Here is a quote from The Wrap article regarding her entry into the KVWN team.
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Kristen Wiig is being eyed for a role in “Anchorman: The Legend Continues” for Paramount Pictures, a person familiar with the negotiations has told TheWrap.
Wiig would play opposite Steve Carell, as a love interest in the sequel. The script is still being written, and no cast beyond the principals has been set.
The film is a sequel to the 2004 hit, “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” and is due to be released in October 2013.
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Kristen has hit it big recently with the excellent Bridesmaids (though she has always had great presence and shown amazing comedic talent in near every role she’s acted in) and this just feels like a great fit for her. Steve Carell should have a fun time bouncing off Kristen and for the story itself it is a bonus. How will Kristen’s courtship of Brick go? Will she be the lady he eventually marries and has numerous children with? Will Ron be able to cope with loosing his Brick a second time? We have plenty of time to find out, but here is hoping that brick leaves his grenade outside the bedroom and remembers that candles are for romantic dinners and not for the dinner itself.
The Fantastic Four franchise never really got up and running, mainly because it was just not well received among fans [Ed. Note – That’s an understatement]. So the decision to reboot the product came as no surprise to anyone. Now this reboot has an official release date, but do not get excited quite yet as it is a while.
ERC Box Office have it down as March 6th 2015, a year that will put it in competition with the likes of Avengers 2, Justice League, and the final installment of The Hobbit (probably). I do not know if I would take this news as real either, because it is far enough away that it could get set back if problems arise. This release date also means that there is going to be a lot of time before we find any juicy news about the movie. The positive of this is that because of the luke warm response of the first two movies and the eight year gap there will be before we see another one, it seems the right time for the fab four to fly back into action. As good as I felt Amazing Spider-Man was, Sam Raimi’s version was still fresh in people’s heads when it came out this year.
We already know that Chronicle director Josh Trank is on board and newbie Jeremy Slater is on hand with the writing. This information came out during Comic-Con, so the project is slowly coming together, which is probably a good thing. Trank has a superb eye and his visuals are stunning, as well as him having a good grasp on character interaction. So here is hoping that this translates over to the reboot as the original suffered greatly from miscasting and no real chemistry between the cast (aside from Michael Chiklis as The Thing, he was fantastic). So now us fans have to play the waiting game. Will this keep fans excited about the franchise or will the long wait make them forget about it and move on to the next big super hero flick? Only time will tell, but I do not mind waiting for a bit to see how it all pans out.
Here we are back again with the brand new Misfits crew. In this episode Rudy is taking the group to a massive mash up at his friends flat. They eventually get there (after accidentally crashing a wake) and find out they all have numbers written on their heads. These numbers represent how many sexual partners they have had. Jess has 2 written on her head and really wants to know why Alex has 46 on his. Finn only has 1 but he really does not mind (or so he keeps saying). Rudy is well chuffed with his 99 and tries to find that lady to be his magical 100. While Jess and Alex flirt away, Rudy’s drugged up friend and host of the party turns up warning everyone of the white rabbit.
Turns out he was hit by the storm and when he drops acid, his hallucinations become very real. In this case it is a murderer with a rabbit’s head who swings a mean golf club. Finn and Rudy try to pull at the wake to make Finn feel better when Jess goes off with Alex. Finn manages to hit the big number 2, while Rudy meets the love of his life, who then runs off. Jess legs it from Alex after once again being shot down. She is kidnapped by the rabbit and taken into the basement. Abbey, a woman Finn and Rudy found passed out in the corridor and helped out, finds the rabbit and the crew go to the basement and take care of business. Alex finally tells Jess what is wrong. He has had his willy stolen by a transgender and replaced with a vajajay. Obviously the thief had a power and wanted it for her/his operation. This actually brings him closer to Jess.
So he did have his penis stolen after all! What a guess. Finally Misfits is back on form. After numerous so-so episodes including some quite bad ones, and one really good episode this one blows everything out of the water. Everything in this episode works. The numbers on the heads is a great plot device as it shows Finn’s and Jess’s insecurities to do with sex which they have to confront in this episode. I am still not sure what caused the numbers just to appear on their heads though, unless I missed something it seemed to be caused by a power of some kind [Ed. Note – It was the guy they passed in the hall on the way to the party]. It’s not really important though, and does not stop the flow of the episode. 
Also the rave setting makes the whole thing slightly uncomfortable, taking them out of their comfort zone in the community center. It works to create some great tension, when you go from the noisy and emotionally charged atmosphere of the rave, to the very mundane and restrained wake, to The Shining-esque hallways where the rabbit strikes. It all balances perfectly well and makes this quite a tense, but funny episode.
For once I actually felt the emotion of the characters, with Finn’s sadness about being ditched coming across really well. makes you actually start to feel for his character. You do feel sorry for the poor lad, like you just want to give him a big hug and tell him it is all good! Alex and Jess finally start bouncing off each other, and their nervous sexual energy ramps up the episodes tension. Rudy is Rudy (awesome) but even he gets a chance to play a more varied character with his possible new love interest.
New girl Abbey comes off surprisingly well in this episode. She can down her booze and seems to have a very laid back attitude towards life. Even killing a killer rabbit does not shock her, a woman that has obviously seen everything. I kind of liked her and I am looking forward to seeing more of her in the future. She has a great presence and I think she would bounce off Rudy quite well. Now we move to the killer rabbit.
When you talk about it, it does not sound scary at all, in fact it sounds stupid. But the episode does a superb job of showing this creature as a force to be reckoned with. It is slightly unnerving to see the weird mix of golf club, hitman/psycho, and rabbit. He is not used too much so he still has that power when he hits the screen. It was a good idea to just reign him back, because as fun as he is this is an episode all about uncomfortable meetings between the characters and it all comes together nicely. It could just be me but I have never felt comfortable at raves and night clubs so I shared Finn’s uncomfortable feelings and his loneliness.
Very well written and acted by all involved and such a great mix of everything. Next week is another Rudy only episode so I think it is onwards and upwards with the series now. Fingers crossed that Rudy 2 makes a come back in next weeks episode, because it seems like a long time since he has been in an episode and for me personally he is one of my favorite characters. Come back Rudy 2, there is a Curly Wurly in it for you if you do! All in all, this was a great episode and gets 4.5 Grizzlies.
Grizzly Bomb 