Why should clean cut, all-American familes get all the fun of super-powers (see No Ordinary Family), or cheerleaders, Japanese salarymen, chunky cops and male nurses for that matter (see Heroes). Why not a group of undeserving young scrotes, doing community service on a London housing estate, who get struck by lightning during a freak storm?.
Yup, friends, welcome to the world of Misfits - a seriously underrated programme from E4. Last year, the GLW and I couldn't believe that no-one else seemed to be watching it. However, this show won a BAFTA for best TV drama series, which I think came as a surprise to its creators. Well, welcome back: the second series starts this Thursday at 10 on E4.
It's unashamedly a teen drama, being mostly concerned with sex, social status and taking the piss. It's very funny, very rude, and has an increasing body count. It's also very unsentimental - the cast are just like real teenagers - thoroughly unlikeable, but a lot of fun.
There's inarticulate chavvy Kelly (Lauren Socha), slutty party girl Alisha (Antonia Thomas) and creepy weirdo Simon (Iwan Rheon) - star athlete Curtis (Nathan Stewart Jarrett) who's a decent fella, but busted for cocaine possession, and Nathan (Robert Sheehan) a cocky, irritating little turd (believe me, I'm being kind).
And their powers? Let Nathan explain the current state of play at the end of series one....
I really like the fact their powers aren't random at all, but seem to be appropriate to each character.
Curtis regrets what happened to him, and he gets the ability to turn back time.
Kelly is your typical paranoid teenager, and whatdayaknow, she can hear what people are thinking.
Alisha wants to be the fittest and most shaggable girl around - she literally drives people crazy with desire when they touch her (which she uses to get her wicked way with Curtis, who is not best pleased).
Nobody notices or listens to Simon, and he liteally becomes invisible.
And Nathan? He's just an annoying git, with a really crap life, so it's wholly appropriate that he finds out he's going to live forever (can you imagine having someone like that around you , for eternity?)
In the first series, they had virtually no control over their powers, and were fundamentally the same teenage fu*k-ups they were before. None of them suddenly wanted to be a superhero, nor did their powers make them better people. Curtis tries to change events for the better in one episode, but makes things worse, and in Simon's case, his powers make him a stranger, more damaged individual.
In fact, for me, Iwan Rheon as Simon is the standout performer in the first series- you can almost feel Simon's loneliness, isolation and desperation to belong.
What's worse for the Misfits is that other people in the area (which I think is London's distinctive Thamesmead estate) are also affected by the storm. Their community worker becomes a crazed zombie psycho, there's a great episode where a sexy blonde girl takes a shine to Nathan, but she's not quite what she seems, and in another episode, a do-gooding teenager gets super-charisma, and begins to control everyones minds.
It has the flavour of an anarchist X-Men drawn by a pissed Banksy. (You get me? It's sick, as young-uns say...or am I using outdated cultural slang again? I'll get my coat.)
If you missed it, either because it looked a bit too teenage, or because it was on E4, I can't recommend it highly enough - all the first season episodes are on 4OD, so you have no excuse.
Along with Sherlock it's proof that we can produce good, adventure drama here in the UK (instead of endless cliched costume dramas, aaargh!).
* By the way, I'd like to take credit for the phrase "ASBO X-men, but I think the Guardian coined it first.
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