Welcome back to another edition of “Hidden Gem,” the only place to find the best streaming, on-demand, television choices for those of us who have taken the plunge and severed our cable cords. This week, we’ll be taking a look at “Misfits,” a series that began in the UK in 2009 and lasted five seasons – a very uncharacteristic aspect of any British-based television series.

Filling the Void

Ever since NBC’s “Heroes” ended (well at least season 2), no other “everyday-person-turned-superhero” series has been able to capture and hold my attention. Nothing was able to re-create the confidence in characters, or willing to set up something new in a genre that usually unfolds through a chiseled out formula. Luckily (thanks to Hulu shoving the ads down my throat for the umpteenth time), I graciously stumbled upon “Misfits.” From the blistering opening credits, to disturbingly realistic troubled characters, I became hooked like an addict with a seemingly endless supply of vice (the entire series is available with Hulu Plus).

The Plot

The show is set in almost a noir-like Southeast London; grey skies, hardly any sun, while underneath a littered, semi-urban sprawl, dots the background of many scenes. It begins with a group of 20-somethings turning up for their first day of community service. Each character has their own backstory as to how they received their offense, which slowly unravels episode by episode. However, on their first day, everything is going how you would expect with these particular characters; the funny smart-ass being a funny smart ass, the quiet creepy guy sulking over in the corner, the typical “chav” girl spouting off expletives, and the remaining two characters already locked in mutual, youthful, attraction.

Things are going fine, and then, it happens. A massive lightning storm reigns down from above, striking each character and subsequently, the rest of their Southeast London sprawl. Once it settles, each character is granted some sort of power, and as we come to find out, everyone who was outside during the storm has one too — essentially turning this little forgotten piece of London into a metropolis of supernatural happenings.

The cast is the real gem of this series, and you’ll most likely recognize a few of the characters from other shows (i.e. “Game of Thrones’” Iwan Rheon, who plays the polar opposite of the psychotic Ramsay Bolton). After a few a seasons, some cast members drop out of the show, and are interchanged with new characters who try their best to fill the void. Unfortunately, this is where the series began to fall off a bit for me. However, the first half is still one of the finest television shows I’ve seen.

A savory taste for the eyes and the ears

Aside from the hilarious and exciting plot, “Misfits” excels in two other areas that are mostly overlooked by many television shows of this genre. In short, the entire series looks beautiful. The cinematography team does a tremendous job making a seemingly blemished part of South London look strangely beautiful. When characters use their powers, it doesn’t come off overdone or lacking, instead, the aesthetic displayed is more reminiscent to the art direction of a graphic novel.

Perhaps my favorite production aspect of the show is its soundtrack. You won’t find you standard superhero “heroic scores,” but rather, you are bathed in hard-hitting bass and drum beats of the likes of Justice, and The Prodigy. However, it’s not all electronica tunes, so many great artists (too many to list) decorate and truly complement the soundscape of the show. Also, it was the first show I’ve ever seen to feature a song by 70’s German electro outfit, Kraftwerk.

Recommended if you like:

The most accurate way to describe “Misfits” is if the shows “Heroes” and “Skins” had one-off night together, resulting in a troubled, rough around the edges, lovechild. I also recommend this if you enjoy other shows such as, “Dr. Who,” “Sherlock,” and “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

What did you think of this week’s “Hidden Gem?” Let me know in the comments below, and don’t forget to check out last week’s pick.