Misfits of Science

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Before there was Heroes.

Misfits of Science is a short-lived American superhero fantasy television series that aired on NBC Fridays at 8 P.M. EST (against CBS's Top 10 hit Dallas) from October 1985 to February 1986. It featured a cast of super-powered humans who work for Humanidyne Institute and their madcap adventures. Sort of like The A-Team meets the X-Men. An episode was written by Tim Kring, later the creator of the NBC show Heroes. A double-length pilot and 15 additional episodes were created; all episodes but one were broadcast in the United States during its original run. In France, the series was known as Superminds. In Germany where it was known as Die Spezialisten Unterwegs (The Specialists on Their Way). The Mexican Spanish dub called the series Los científicos rebeldes (The rebel scientists).

Noteworthy for providing Courteney Cox with her very first acting role (after her appearance in Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" video), as well as being the only regular TV series role for the late Dean Paul Martin, as well as one of his last.

The pilot can be seen here.

Tropes used in Misfits of Science include:

• The Alleged Car: The decrepit ice cream truck the team rides around in.
• Badass Normal: Dr. Billy Hayes
• The Big Guy: Dr. Elvin "El" Lincoln
• Black Best Friend: Elvin, to Billy.
• Bland-Name Product: Many of the magazines in the montage at the end of the pilot, including such seemingly-familiar titles as "Timely", "Roving Stone", "Miz" magazine, and "Partyboy", among others.
• Calling Your Attacks: Johnny B^[context?]
• The Chick: Gloria "Glo" Dinallo.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: The Ice Man, who played a major role in the pilot, simply vanished from the cast. Amusingly, the ice cream truck they needed to transport him remained the team vehicle for the remainder of the series.
• Clip Show: Episode 14, "Against All Oz", in which Billy falls asleep and awakens in an Alternate Reality and thinks his adventures with the Misfits were All Just a Dream; the clips come in when Billy tells his coworkers about his "dream".
• Cold War: Episode 11, "Grand Elusion", revolves around a Russian scientist and his daughter and their defection to the United States.
• Cool Shades: Johnny habitually wears a pair, as much to hide his Glowing Eyes as just to look cool.
• Delinquent: Glo, who has a criminal record, and whose parole officer Jane Miller was included in the team during early episodes.
• Elemental Powers: Johnny B, a lighting-thrower.
• Empty Piles of Clothing: Elvin leaves these behind when he shrinks.
• Filing Their Nails: One of the defining characteristics of Miss Nance of the Humanidyne Institute, secretary to the Misfits, although in her case it's misleading — despite her apparent disinterest in her own job, she is in fact the person who keeps everything running and cares about everything, to the point that she says "good night" to the rabbits in their cages before turning off the lights every evening.
• Fixing the Game: Happens twice in sixteen episodes. In both cases, Glo uses her TK to help someone be more successful at a sport than they normally would have been -- first helping El go undercover as a talented basketball player (which he is so not), and two episodes later helping out a professional wrestler.
• Funny Background Event: Lots of them, all the time, in the lab involving other people with powers that Humanidyne is testing and investigating.
• Glowing Eyes: When he's fully charged up, Johnny's eyes glow gold.
• The Hero: Dr. Billy Hayes
• High Concept: The show title and core concepts were thought up by then-president of NBC, Brandon Tartikoff.
• Human Popsicle: Arnold "Ice Man" Beifneiter, who froze himself in a primitive cryogenic chamber in 1937 in response to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Elvin took hormonal treatments to make himself normal-sized but ended up with shrinking powers instead.
  • Johnny B. would really rather not drain electrical devices or be burned by water, the combination of which forces him to live alone in a trailer in the middle of the desert.
• An Ice Person: The Ice Man.
• The Lancer: ^[context?]
• Lightning Can Do Anything: Johnny B^[context?]
• Mind Over Matter: Gloria is a telekinetic.
• Missing Episode: The last episode in the US airing.
• Mouse World: Elvin occasionally runs into threats on this scale, even though he's more GI Joe-sized than mouse-sized.
• Mundane Utility: Glo used to use her TK for shoplifting.
• Naked People Are Funny: Elvin's size-changing occasionally leads to this, as he didn't invent Magic Pants to go along with his ability and must redress himself in dolls' clothing.
• Noodle Incident: Plenty of references to other superpowered people are thrown in for laughs.
• Not Wearing Tights: The Misfits are basically superheroes in a world that doesn't have superheroes outside the comics, even though they are far from the only people with powers.
• Pokémon-Speak: Sort of. The only thing the Ice Man can say is "Amelia". (Earhart, to be specific.)
• Ripped from the Headlines: Of the National Enquirer, according to Brandon Tartikoff:

We'll rely on the National Enquirer for story ideas.

• Scooby Stack: From bottom to top, Glo, Jane and Elvin, in one episode.
• Shock and Awe: Johnny B. can fling lightning bolts powerful enough to blow up cars when he's fully charged up.
• The Smart Guy: Dr. Elvin "El" Lincoln
• Spinning Paper: A montage of spinning magazine covers celebrates the Misfits at the end of the pilot.
• Stereotype Flip: Elvin wants to be normal-sized because (among other reasons) he can't play basketball, and he's sick of people assuming he can and does it well because he's a seven-and-a-half-foot-tall black man.
• Superhero: Plays with the concept, as well as occasionally playing it straight.
• Super-Hero Origin: Several are presented during the pilot.
  • More are seen or alluded to throughout the series, including an episode about three senior citizens who get powers from irradiated hamburgers.
• Super Speed: Johnny can also run fast enough to turn into a semi-invisible blur when at full charge.
• Weaksauce Weakness:
  • The Ice Man must live in a freezer, or he'll die from room temperature heat.
  • Johnny B is "short-circuited" and burned by water.
  • Glo has to be able to see something to affect it with her TK. A blindfold completely robs her of the ability to use it.
• Written-In Infirmity: Jennifer Holmes' pregnancy was written into the story as the result of an involvement with another man despite Jane's mutual attraction with Billy.