Misfits - Season 3 - DVD

Content: Some time ago, a mysterious thunderstorm raged across London, endowing a group of juvenile delinquents with supernatural powers. After the gang had quite a few tumultuous and not always bloodless adventures, there were some drastic changes at the end of season two. For example, Nathan said goodbye to his friends who had previously sold their powers to the mysterious Seth. Realizing that this was a big mistake, Simon, Kelly, Alisha and Curtis tried to get their powers back. However, they didn't get their old powers back. They now have to get used to brand new powers - and Rudy (Joseph Gilgun), who takes Nathan's place in the Misfits. And soon the five are faced with many new adversaries and dangers, which in the end mean that nothing will ever be the same again...

Misfits kicks off its third season with renewed vigour. New superpowers, a new main character and new antagonists. All this embedded in the usual successful mix of fantasy, youth drama and humor with a pinch of romance, sex and horror makes the new episodes again TV entertainment of a very special kind. You can be deliciously amused that Kelly is suddenly a mastermind, but has kept her gutter language (Shit man, I drew that, dude. I'm a fucking rocket designer!), about Rudy's cheerleader phobia, or how Curtis has to listen to his latest love interest tell him what a loser he is in bed while in a woman's body. Suspense ensues when time travel changes history and suddenly the Nazis are ruling England, or when a medium brings back the spirits of the deceased and the friends reunite with Tony, their first probation officer, and his girlfriend Sally - a reunion that will have far-reaching consequences for Alisha and Simon in particular. In any case, their relationship is put to the test several times this season, for example by comic freak Peter, whose admiration for Simon takes on downright fanatical features when he learns of Simon's secret identity.

Time travel, zombies, ghosts, split personalities, an undead killer cat (!), problematic one-night stands - the third season of Misfits once again proves to be extremely varied. Even if at the beginning it seems as if Rudy is simply a clone of Nathan, who left the series, and as if the new superpowers are less interesting than the ones the juvenile delinquents parted with at the end of the second season, in the end these changes turn out to be the most positive aspect of the new episodes. After all, they do freshen up the concept of the series a bit. This still doesn't reach the class of the very good first season, but it still lifts Misfits out of the mass of youth series. A similarly successful mixture there is currently just no second time.

It remains to be seen whether the whole thing will be similarly effective in the fourth season, since here virtually the entire main cast is replaced. Because the series works just not only because of its original premise, but primarily through the successful character constellation, which makes it very easy for viewers between 16 and 21 years to identify with one (or more) of the characters. After three seasons in which the main characters have really grown on you, it remains to be seen whether the new characters will also succeed in this way. For now, German fans can bid a fond farewell to Simon, Alisha and Kelly (Curtis will remain on board for at least a few episodes of season 4) - a farewell that couldn't have turned out more entertaining, exciting and amusing. If you liked the first two seasons of this unusual youth fantasy series, you'll get your money's worth again. Absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: As with the first two seasons, the technical implementation of the new episodes can also thoroughly convince. The image is very clean and free of noticeable glitches. Only slight image noise is in dark sequences sporadically detectable. Otherwise, the visual realization can convince despite slightly exaggerated contrasts with its slightly artificial, but very coherent color scheme and a good overall sharpness. The sound is available in the German soundtrack in a good Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. This brings especially the isolated sound effects well to the fore, while the dialogue in the English soundtrack sound a little more harmonious inserted into the action and are mixed in the German a little more central. Good!

Extras: While the second season was presented entirely without bonus material, the fans are again offered a lot of additional material in season 3, which is located on the third DVD. It starts here with short Making of clips to each episode (altogether approx. 26 min.), which can be regarded individually or at the piece. On Set with Misfits (approx. 8 min.) is an entertaining mix of interviews, outtakes and snapshots from the filming. Two other featurettes go into the stunts and special effects (approx. 10 min.), as well as the visual effects (approx. 11 min.). There are also two short films. In Vegas Baby (approx. 10 min.) fans get to see what Nathan has become, and in Erazer (approx. 13 min.) the gang gets to deal with a spraying enemy. For fans, all of these extras, which can be viewed with optional German subtitles, are entertaining and absolutely worth watching!

Conclusion: The makers of Misfits have made an obvious effort in Season 3 to keep the concept of the series fresh and offer fans a little variety and a few surprises. It doesn't quite work that way, as the quality of the first season is again not matched. Nevertheless, this unusual mix of fantasy, youth drama, comedy and action is still a lot of fun in its third year. The good technical implementation and the worth seeing additional material make the acquisition of the 3rd season then despite minor weaknesses for old and new fans absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp