Writer research & ideas: Misfiits // Howard Overman

Howard Overman

• Overman is a British television writer who created a variety of television series from the likes of Merlin, Atlantis, Vexed and most successfully Misfits.

• Overman has received 12 nominations and 3 wins, all of which were from the hit show Misfits 

• There Isn't a lot of information on Overman as of yet however I have noticed that the shows he has created, share similar themes of fantasy drama with hints of comedy in there also. 

You've got Merlin, a TV show set in the Victorian Era about King Arthur's Wizard (Merlin) a young man on a quest whom encounters many adventures along the way. This show survived 4 years on BBC one before its final episode in 2012. Then you've also got Atlantis, another show that carries the fantasy drama theme but this time it is based on Greek mythology, similarly with a male protagonist on his own quest to find something, encountering all sorts of trials and tribulations along the way.  Then you've also got Vexed which is a detective comedy, not so much fantasy as the others but the comedy element still remains.

Most of Howard's most popular shows have received IMDB ratings of 7 out of 10 which in my opinion is a very strong number. (Misfits being he highest rated) 

Why I chose to look at this writer is the fact that you can infact become a successful writer when thinking outside the box, not everything has to be "realistic". He seems to have a great mixture because his ideas are out there but not "out there" so much where you feel like you cant relate to the themes. I think this is what makes him successful; He puts realistic characters that you can relate to in some way and throws them into a different setting, one that you may not be familiar with so you're therefore engaging in a new world. This can be exciting for some as people like to escape "reality" and the realism of every day life. 

Which bring me to Misfits, Misfits has and always will be one of my favourite British television series. Simply because you've got young adults serving community service on a gritty estate, then you throw in some super powers, compelling, relatable characters and you've got a show that wins 3 awards, one of which being a BAFTA award for "Best TV Comedy drama series". and a well deserved one at that. Maybe I'm being a little biased because I loved the show so much but from an objective point of view, it definitely did come out on top for originality. I find myself really enjoying shows that allows me to indulge in a lifestyle that simply isn't attainable in real life and Misfits really did that for me. I found myself wishing I could have super powers and wondering what it would be like. In my opinion, if a show can make you discuss it with your friends nearly every day until the next episode comes out or even just a short discussion afterwards, that is a successful show because it becomes more than just a show, more than just your Thursday night boredom cure, you then bring it into your day even if for a little while and that is great. As I watched this whilst I was in school, it was a popular show that everyone would socialise about and follow along with. Not to mention it was filmed on a Thamesmead estate which was very close to our school, this made it feel even more real for us.

Now, in terms of Overman inspiring my work, I must say that he inspired my thought process the most as he's taught me that you can think outside of the box, you can be a bit out there with your ideas because you never know where it may take you. Im sure there would've been a multitude of people who squealed at the thought of convicts with superpowers but that one show earned him 3 BAFTA nominations amongst 12 other nominations, more than any of his other popular shows received. It's just nice to know that you can be successful and do something different. 

Now, there are many things that I loved from Misfits, one of which being the colour palette that was used through out the series and also the editing style.

In contrast to the light and breezy palette from the previously mentioned short film 'Wednesday', this show had a much colder temperature, the bright colours seemed a little bit washed out, there were dark scenes and the entire show had a cold gritty feel to it (which of course, went with the theme of the show) but it was recognisable, so much so that without knowing the title, just seeing a little clip from an advert or something would let you know that it was for Misfits. They created such a consistent, stylistic editing style and that is something to always have in mind ;

These are screenshots from a variety of seasons, notice how they all look similar and could possibly pass for the same episode? looking at Misfits has definitely taught me that consistency is key and just like my other analysis, the colour grading that you choose can have such a big impact on the final product as a whole.So now it's become a little goal of mine to be able to colour correct my projects properly, although it is something that would take months to master, its definitely worth getting a good practice with it as it makes all the difference.

I found a quite recent interview that he did for Channel 4 and it was rather interesting as he spoke about his favourite things about Misfits. he claimed that he found ideas for the super powers from "lots of places, things that pop up into my head, the internet, random thoughts, a search for things that we can execute well, things that people have said to me. A million different places." for me this reiterated the fact that we are surrounded by ideas to make something great and it's really up to us what we make of them. Anything can be something  if you really wanted it to be and this is why I think Howard is definitely one to  watch, I'm interested in seeing what  he comes up with next since he seems to be surrounded by ideas.