Howard Overman

Misfits series 5 episode 6 review

This week's Misfits proves what a unique (and offensive) show Howard Overman's series is.

This week, Rudy's doppelganger disappears, only to reappear as a doddery octogenarian. Retracing Rudy Two's steps to find out what happened, Rudy One makes a distressing discovery: his doppelganger is a friendly, generous, kind-hearted bloke. So why does a handsome stranger want to bump him off?

Summarising the plot of this teen favourite makes it sound utterly barmy but somehow it all makes perfect sense on screen, largely thanks to writer Howard Overman's razor-sharp dialogue. Tonight he also has his juvenile delinquents/superheroes stumble across more unusual superpowers: a little old lady who knits the future and a man literally in the closet.

Matt Stokoe as handsome barman Alex in Misfits (E4) would be in with a shout if there's ever a Bafta going for Least Sexy Sex Scene.

Both of his less-than-amorous encounters in the opening episode of this rollicking drama's final series were as erotic as a plate of cold semolina. And, it should be added, intentionally so.

The sending up of Alex's studly stereotype - he's granted a superpower which you just know is going to come back and bite him in the backside - is just one of the plotting pleasures of Howard Overman's clever storytelling.

Misfits is a show powered by its own internal logic, its character shifts continually catching you on the hop.

It takes itself not too seriously but just seriously enough to combine the potty-mouthed wise-cracking of Rudy One and Rudy Two (Joseph Gilgun, hilariously doubling up) with a spooky line in the supernatural, last night introducing a troop of Satanic scouts into the action.

This plotline climaxed in one of Alex's deathly bed scenes, his encounter with cheeky Scouser Finn - watched by a mouth-taped Jess - about as warped a ménage à trois as I've encountered without involving an illegal download.

If the rest of this farewell season is as good as this, then we'll be going out on a high.

The juvenile delinquents-turned-superheroes in orange jumpsuits return for a fifth and final series, as lippy and lewd as ever. To think it's from the pen of Howard Overman, the man behind Dirk Gently, and co-creator of Atlantis - BBC One's squeaky-clean Saturday-night offering.

Devotees can stop holding their breath: hunky barman Alex has survived his lung transplant. Alas, he awakes to find it's no longer his looks attracting the ladies but a new superpower far too rude to write about in a family magazine. Finn, meanwhile, cannot resist the advances of a comely scout; only to discover her troop is not as wholesome as they appear. The star of the show - as always - is Joseph Gilgun as Rudy: ruder and lewder than all the others combined.

Filming begins on the last series of Misfits

Misfits creator Howard Overman announced that Rudy, Jess, Finn, Alex and Abby will sign on for community service one last time in the fifth and final run of the award-winning series - to air on E4 in autumn 2013.

'Misfits' movie in the works, old characters to return?

Misfits creator Howard Overman has revealed that he is penning a film version. The writer revealed on the Panel Borders podcast that old characters from the E4 drama could return in the spinoff movie.

Misfits: A new cast, a killer rabbit and Four Horsemen

A fourth series debuts on E4 this Sunday and once again creator Howard Overman and company are embracing change.

Misfits series 4: Details and pics revealed

Misfits creator Howard Overman and producer Matt Stevens gave a webchat on the show's official site about series four on Wednesday. Here are some of the highlights.

As this three-part mini-series comes to an end, Dirk's negligence, scattiness and parsimony is catching up with him. He can't pay the rent, he can't pay his staff and he can't keep a cleaner. Worse still, someone's bumping off his past clients one by one. But, as is so often the way in matters Gently, might it be that all these situations are interconnected? It's probably been the misfortune of Howard Overman - who has adapted Douglas Adams's novels - that Dirk Gently appeared at roughly the same time as the masterful and, it must be said, much more lavishly produced Sherlock. It has its amusing moments, and Stephen Mangan and Darren Boyd make a decent double act. But most of the time, DG just comes over as Sherlock's slightly goofy younger brother.

In Stephen Mangan's own words, Dirk Gently is "charming, ­irritating, bright, funny, hapless, unreadable, transparent, roguish, chaotic, philanthropic and possibly dishonest".

That's a lot of character traits to be dealing with, but we discover yet another, equally surprising side of his personality tonight as he shares fish and chips with a new female friend.

Dirk and MacDuff (Darren Boyd) are at Dirk's old college at Cambridge to take up the post of head of security.

His former teacher, Professor Jericho (Bill Paterson), is trying to develop artificial ­intelligence and he's afraid that someone is attempting to steal his research.

However, Dirk's more concerned with breaking into the college records to find out why he was expelled as a student.

It's just a shame creator Douglas Adams isn't around to see how Howard Overman has ­transferred Dirk to the screen.

He'd definitely approve.