You could graffiti a whole train carriage with the influences at play in Misfits. This fresh stab at a British superpower thriller is a little bit Heroes, a little bit Hostel, with slithers of Skins, Power Rangers and Dead Set thrown in for good measure. Yet from that messy mix, writer Howard Overman has somehow contrived something that feels fresh and original. Making a virtue of its zero budget by setting the action in what looks like a vandalised comprehensive, the Misfits set-up is simple. A mixed bag of young offenders turn up for community service, get caught up in a freak storm featuring giant snowballs and discover the crazy weather has bestowed them with bizarre powers.

But they're not the only ones warped by meteorological madness. Their previously caring, sharing probation officer has been transformed into a bloodlusty zombie and he's up for a killing spree, determined to pick them off one by one. It's at this point that you're better off disregarding E4's defiantly upbeat description of Misfits as a 'comedy drama'. There are laughs but they're of the salty, sweary, bloody kind. Misfits works just fine as a blood-and-guts horror romp and it's stronger on hysteria than hilarity. There's a brain bouncing around in there, too. The superpowers our merry band of losers find themselves in receipt of are directly related to their character traits: the geeky psycho becomes invisible (as he feels much of the time); a girl obsessed by what others think suddenly finds she can read minds. It's a neat touch that gives you something to chew over during the odd lapse in carnage.

And for those of you who like this sort of thing, follow Misfits on Twitter and you'll become privy to a secret character who doesn't actually pop up in the show until the sixth episode. Well, rock me back on my multi-platform boots, how darned moderne.

Misfits gives asbo teens superpowers

Howard Overman, creator of new E4 superhero drama, Misfits, on how he's clobbered comic-book convention.