My Reason

My Reason

I grew up on a steady diet of every color of 80's cartoon in the rainbow (from 'TMNT' & 'Transformers' to 'Care Bears' & 'Rainbow Brite'), TV shows with good values ('MacGyver', 'ST:TNG', 'The Monkees'), fun movies ('Help', 'Star Trek IV', 'Princess Bride'), plus endless Beatles music, rock 'n' roll, and 80's music. My tastes were perfectly set up to like 'Misfits of Science', and boy did I.

When I saw the series in 1992 (somehow I'd missed it during its original run), I thought it was the coolest show around. Any flaws to its quality were invisible to my 11-year-old self (though I do remember thinking that Billy got a disproportionate amount of the screen time and that the later episodes without Jane seemed to be not as chock-full of Misfit-ness).

However, what stood out for me the most was Johnny B and his electrical superpowers. I thought he was the absolute coolest thing ever. Not only was he awesome in his superpowers, but he was awesome as a person too. Cool, calm, and collected. (And it didn't hurt that he was a left-handed musician just like my first idol, Paul McCartney.) He became my favorite superhero, and I wanted so badly to be like him. I tried all I could to emulate his style, his slang, his confidence, his awesomeness...

But then there were no more new episodes (and for some reason I hadn't put them on VHS so rewatching them wasn't an option). The only way to get any further adventures of the Misfits was to make them up myself – which I did, though I can barely remember them now. But to soak up any more about the show itself, I'd have to turn to behind-the-scenes stuff. The only problem was, by this time MoS was one of the forgotten TV shows and there was nothing about it available to me.

Time passed (16 years!), and with the internet, I happily googled MoS and poured over everything I could find. But it wasn't enough. What I really wanted was to re-experience the Misfits – the colors, the music, the fun of a great team fighting for what's right... Only now I'd come across so many people online talking about how they'd rewatch their favorite 80's shows after two decades and be so disappointed at how cheesy and outdated and horrible they were to them, now that they were older and more sophisticated. What if I rewatched MoS and hated it?!

A little while later, my sister got me digital copies for my birthday (thank you Koch Media for releasing a DVD with the English!). So after we listened to some music from 'Give My Regards To Broadstreet' and lots of 80's new wave, we put on MoS and watched it over for the first time in so long. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I felt just like I had as a kid.

Of course, there were some flaws and out-datedness and cheesy stuff, but everything about the show that had thrilled me in the past was still there. The brilliant blue of Johnny B's bolts was just as brilliantly blue. The tumbling, chaotic way the Misfits saved the day was just as tumbling and chaotic. The offbeat humor was just as funny as it had been before. And there were even some wonderful elements that had gone over my head before, like the superb performances of the cast (both dramatic and comedic). I re-experienced 'Misfits of Science' and was contented.

It was odd to see it after so long though because it was like looking into some sort of meme mirror. I could see all the bits of cultural DNA I'd unknowingly taken from the show and carried around as part of my own. The type of humor, the attitude of excitement the Misfits did everything with, and yes, vestiges of the style and slang and confidence of Johnny B (I'm still working on the awesomeness). It was all so natural a part of me by now that I'd forgotten this show was one of my main influences.

So my reason for making this site is because I liked 'Misfits of Science' growing up, I still like it now, I missed it for so long, I want to share it with others, and I want to give it a place of honor. And even though one TV show is such a tiny part of the world, it can bring such joy to someone who likes it.

-- Joanna Magnolia/Janis Kunz







Site Contributors

Thank you to everyone who contributed!

Teresa

Chuck!

Twonkbot

aTomiK

Tobias

Courteney Online

PenangGirl - if you've met KPH, PenangGirl would love to hear from you about what he was like in person, thanks! :D

Triv

BMan8

Cory Calhoun

Karin A.

Michael Scarola



17 comments:

  1. Mate, you're a legend... I, too, remember the MoS, and my most vivid memory was Johnny B... I was a little younger than you when I saw the first run in the mid-80s, and from memory only watched a handful of shows, but it has stuck with me for nearly 30 years. I still have yet to relive the awesomeness that helped shape my love for science fiction and superheroes, but I'm sure that when I do I'll be able to forgive its 80s-ness and remember my childhood fascination and fantasies. Big ups to you for creating this site and giving me some content to find on Google! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You're very welcome, Ollie. It's great to hear how MoS stays with us so strongly and for so long - it's a testament to just how different of a show it was back then and how cool of a show it is even still today.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Damn I´m so into this. I really appreciate what you wrote about MoS. I Just finished rewatching the Pilot on an awful VHS Copy...but man...I´m for real...this stuff really makes me feel romantic about the late 80s and early 90s. It´s just great...and even though it seems like if most of my feelings for all of this are based on Pepsi-, Nike- and Coke-commercials, that doesn´t mean that it´s not real. Peace.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Amen to what you say, Anonymous. That era rocked. And MoS will always encapsulate it for me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I may be the only person that has all episodes on original 3/4" tape including one that might not have aired. I only ask that you keep all communication completely confidential.
    Sincerely,
    Mitch Bombay.
    Bombaystorage@gmail.com
    I am in Hong Kong so response will be slow.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi there, Mitch :)

    I decided to go ahead and publish your comment cos I think MoS is one of the most awesome TV shows ever and its fans deserve all the opportunities possible to acquire viewable copies, so thank you for wanting to help with that. If, however, Universal ever does get around to giving us a much-deserved official DVD release, I'll want to remove your link so the company won't get upset, okay?

    Are you a big MoS fan? If you want to come to the forum and talk about your experience with the show, you're welcome to. :D The more fans we get to meet with, the merrier!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi there, duno if you still check in here at all but well, here's a big 'HI'from Germany. I watched and loved MoS in the late 80s and love them still. just a few days ago bought the DVD after somehow I suddenly remembered it. Funny, how things come back up. Anyway, was around 20 then, 44 now and never mind the rather uh - cheap special effects - I still love the show. And wish there could've been more. And my favorite was Johnny B. as well.. but in fact I liked the whole crew. Guess, after I run out of episodes - which will be tonight, even though I tried to make them last I will probably simply start again. Thanks for all those pics and all the work you put in here. Well, I could probably add a novel about what MoS means nowadays but this is not the place ;) Keep going, best regards, Karin

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Karina. Yep, I do still check in here (and will until the day I die ^_^).

      That's AWESOME that you got to get the DVD set and are enjoying it so much still. Great shows are great even with age. :D

      Thank you for your kind compliments! Take care!

      Delete
  8. I am from Argentina and I agree with site's author.
    I was raised up watching this kind of series.
    I love seeing them.
    I still miss............ those misfits :P

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Welcome, Anonymous from Argentina. It's great seeing how far around the globe the Misfits have touched hearts! Thanks for leaving your comment :)

      Delete
  9. So happy to have come across this site. Loved the show when it was on, still do actually. I always keep my copies on hand. There are shows today - edgy, sci-fi, ensemble casts - people call these cutting-edge, but they always remind me of Misfits. This show was so ahead of it's time, and in some aspects, still superior to the shows trying to be what this show was.

    Very glad to see it lives on here.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love the show use to watch it in Japan when my dad was station there in the 80s it's sad the had to stop the show due to the death of. Martin .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Carl. Thanks for the interesting comment! I know, it's really sad isn't it. I'm glad he got this great role to be immortalised in, it suited him and his talents so well.

      Delete
    2. Hi, Carl. Thanks for the interesting comment! I know, it's really sad isn't it. I'm glad he got this great role to be immortalised in, it suited him and his talents so well.

      Delete
  11. I think it is time that I thank you in person for all of your terrific work.
    Let's get together and chat.
    MTM...JB

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That would be fantastically amazing! Send me an email (th3rdbass@gmail.com) and we can set something up! :)

      Delete

Feel free to put any questions, comments, or discussion pertaining to this page's topic here. (All submissions are moderated so there will be a delay before they appear.)