"I'm With Cupid" - a 'Misfits of Science' Valentine's Day ficlet

"I’M WITH CUPID"

   Johnny B hurried down the hall to H.I.T. lab. When the boys from the lab called him for an emergency “only he could handle” he knew to get there fast – on Valentine’s Day or not.

   He jogged past Miss Nance’s desk which was so full of pink and white balloons, all sporting secret admirer tags, that she was completely hidden behind them. All he heard was a “Good morning, Mr. Bukowski” as he passed and pushed open the lab doors. 

   He stepped inside and looked around, expecting to see some sparking mass of scientific equipment on the verge of giving the basement a skylight. 

   Only… everything looked completely normal. 

   Well, normal for H.I.T. standards; he wasn’t sure why there was a Flock of Seagulls album being dunked in a fish tank by a volunteer wearing a scuba helmet, but he wasn’t going to go over and find out. 

   Billy and El were standing together working on an experiment of some kind involving a radio antenna, a table full of electronics, and an egg of Silly Putty. 

   “Hey, what’s the ‘emergency’?” Johnny B asked, walking toward his two friends in lab coats. He didn’t like being pulled from practice for no good reason… 

   As soon as Billy saw Johnny B he dropped what he doing. 

   “B-Man!” Billy exulted, stepping around the strewn table and over to Johnny B. “The B-Meister. The Fonz of the Modern Day. The Duuude of Coooool.” 

   Johnny B gave El a long-suffering look. They both knew Billy’s buttering up. El just shrugged and went back to the experiment. Billy put his arm around Johnny B’s shoulders and pulled him in conspiratorially.  

   “Can I ask you some advice?” 

   “Sure,” Johnny B replied, using one word to say ‘You can ask all you want, friend, but I give no guarantee I’ll answer until I find out what this is all about.’ 

   “What do you give a girl for Valentine’s Day?” If Billy had been wearing a tuxedo, he’d have been described as a nervous groom. 

   Johnny B considered for a moment. “What should you get Jane for Valentine’s?” Why beat around the bush? 

   “Well, maybe…” Which meant ‘Yes.’ 

   “Why ask me?” 

   “Are you kidding me? I mean, c’mon. You’re—you’re ‘Mr. Cool’ in leather and jeans. You’ve got the smooth groove going on. You’ve got girls falling at your feet.” Billy paused. “And besides, I’ve already asked everyone at work.” 

   Johnny B thought about all the girls in his past. In his past. “Yaknow, getting the girl and keeping the girl are two different things.” He continued when it looked like Billy was going to interrupt. “You’ve kept the girl, Hayes. You and Jane have something. She likes you, even in your condition,” Johnny B ended with a smirk. 

   Billy started at that. “My condition? What do you mean, my ‘condition’? Yaknow, not everyone can—” 

   Johnny B held up a hand. “Hey, I just meant it as an observation; I wasn’t trying to be mean. My point is: You and Jane really have something. So why not be yourself? It’s been working.” 

   “I dunno…” Billy said, unconvinced. He dragged his toe on the tile, thinking. 

   “Why not give the typical Valentine gifts?” Johnny B offered. He really did want to see Billy's predicament favorably solved. If just so Billy didn’t go around looking like a Pound Puppy. 

   Billy waved his hands in front of him like he was pushing away a proffered gift. “Chocolates? No way! Jane already thinks she’s fat. And, and, and—flowers? I don’t even know what her favorite kind are. I mean, I don’t wanna give her ones she’s gotten before and hates, yaknow.” 

   “Ask Gloria,” Johnny B said wisely. “I’m sure they’ve talked about it. She’d know.” 

   “Yeah right,” Billy rolled his head. “Like that would work. You know Glo – she’s young, she’s romantic – she’d probably have me down on my knee pro—she’s walking in the lab,” Billy finished, shutting up quickly. 

   Johnny B turned around and saw Gloria enter the lab. Jane was right behind her. Gloria had a bounce to her step; Jane was not so exuberant. Gloria stepped aside, with a smile on her face, leaving Jane in the open, with the floor so to speak. 

   “Hayes,” Jane began. “These are for you.” She stepped forward before she changed her mind and placed a bright-red, ribbon-sealed box of chocolates in Billy’s hands. 

   Billy stared in shock. “Wha-wha—What are these?” 

   “Happy Valentine’s Day, silly” Jane said instead of answering. 

   “But, but, I was going to…” 

   “It’s the 80’s, Hayes, the woman can take the lead,” Jane said pointedly, preventing Billy from putting his foot in his mouth. 

   Billy smiled; he liked it when Jane got righteous. He pulled the ribbon off the heart-shaped box, opened it, and pulled out one of little chocolatey clusters. “Nutty Buddies! My fave! How did you—” 

   Jane smiled, pleased, and Gloria beamed. Johnny B and El joined in the smiling, too. Johnny B playfully elbowed Gloria, with a smirk that said ‘I guess TK isn’t your only power.’ Gloria’s smiled broadened. 

   “Wow, thanks!” Billy gushed to Jane. He put his arm around her and gave her a ‘thank you’ peck on the cheek. 

   “You’re welcome,” Jane replied. 

   “No, really, thank you,” Billy said, meaning for more than the chocolates. He put his other arm around her and gave her a proper hug. His hand found its way to her belly and her baby bump and he pulled back. “Wait.” 

   Billy glanced at Johnny B. ‘Be yourself,’ huh? “Wait, I got something for you, too,” he told Jane. 

   Billy turned to a storage pile and began digging around. “I have it here somewhere.” He dug through a stack of overdue reports, searching. “I know it’s here, just a sec.” He lifted an old paper plate that probably could have been identified as having been used for lunch had it been analyzed fifteen days ago and pushed to the bottom of the stack. He finally pulled out what he was looking for. 

   Billy turned toward Jane and held up a tiny Misfits of Science tank top. The white shirt with pink and black lettering had been shrunk down to the size of an infant onesie. 

   Jane stared at it and put her hand to her mouth, tears forming in her eyes. “Oh, Billy,” she whispered. He accepted her. He accepted her past, and her mistakes. And he was willing to love her. He was willing to love both of them. And she had to admit that, even through all of his Billy-ness, Billy was the sweetest guy she had ever known. 

   “I kinda put it in the thermo-infuser instead of the dryer,” Billy said in an attempt to diffuse the moment. “So I thought, ‘Hey, this would be great for—yaknow.’” 

   “Oh, Billy,” Jane repeated. She threw her arms around him and they embraced. Billy gave her more than a peck this time. 

   El laughed and gave the couple happy applause. Johnny B swept Gloria up in a ‘Way to go!’ electro-twister hug. Gloria looked even more happy than before and watched Billy and Jane. 

   It was at that moment that Dick Stetmeyer walked in the lab. His eyes went right to his head research scientist. Right to the position his head research scientist was in. A position that would make Cary Grant jealous. Although right now he'd rather it were Cary Grant – he wasn't on company time. “What is the meaning—?! 

   Before he could finish, El grabbed him by the shoulders and steered him into a tight U-turn, right back toward the door. “It’s for an experiment,” El excused, guiding Stetmeyer out.

    Love was an experiment. One that the world could use a lot more data collection on.

~FIN~

Elvin Lincoln's jacket - the genuine article

So recently, I, along with the help of other misfits (thank you guys so much!), was able to acquire the screenworn jacket used by Kevin Peter Hall's stunt double on Misfits of Science. It's awesome to hold a piece of television memorabilia from your favorite childhood TV series!! I inspected every inch of it, and below are photos of the jacket and some interesting details:

An adjustment to the size?

The word 'Misfits' is curved and the other 2 are straight.

The bright pink embroidery, with all its shiny texture, is very cool.

Having never owned a varsity jacket, I hadn't realized the collar and cuffs folded out.

There's an interesting pink-colored smudge (the same shade as the lettering) on one sleeve. My imagination runs wild with explanations, of course. Paint from the Fundae Sundae perhaps?

The inside is a comfy smooth rayon lining. Yes, I tried it on, even though it's about 8 sizes too big for me! ;)

So, the Misfits' jackets are Albion award jackets - a popular sports jacket manufacturer.

The care tag lists the sleeve material as cowhide even though the sleeves are clearly the same wool as the body. There are plenty of Albion varsity jackets with leather sleeves, so I guess it's just a one-for-all type of tag.

A barcode firmly affixed to the inside states, 'Universal Studios.' You know, that company that would shred or burn the wardrobe and other props from its discontinued shows. That is, if they weren't rescued first, like this jacket was. We really owe you one, Eric, thank you again!

Another thing I noticed while studying this jacket was that it has 8 snaps. (What? Doesn't everybody obsessively count sets of objects in their view?) Well, it has 8 because of its large size for our wonderful giant, Kevin Peter Hall (or stunt double, who would have had to be similar in height anyway). Billy's and Johnny B's jackets both have 7 snaps, and Gloria's has 6, the smallest of them all. (Probably a good thing this jacket was El's large one, cos if it had been Gloria's I would've been sorely tempted to wear it all day every day instead of preserve it in bug and water proof storage.) Gloria's jacket also opens with the female style (top snaps are on the right - to the person wearing it). Billy, El, and Johnny B's jackets all open with the male style of top snaps on the left-hand side of the jacket. This leads me to believe that the crew member who retained this crew jacket that was once listed on eBay was a woman. And also 7 sizes smaller than KPH.

"Misfits of Science" Kickstarter-funded Shot-for-shot Intro Remake

There's something totally awesome about seeing a TV show intro that you know inside and out lovingly and hilariously remade.



Check out their YouTube channel for a side-by-side comparison of the original and the remake, and also a blooper reel.

Point about the Remake that I found pretty cool:  The font! Such a wonderful recreation.



Strangely enough, there's a second Intro Remake, this one "Misfits of Science: 2013":



I like how they put in some new humor (teasing a tiny El), it makes it easier to imagine what a new version might be like if made today...



Funny thing about these two remakes? Nobody attempted to do a remake of the theme song itself.

What if Misfits of Science had a cartoon or comic book...?

It's fun to play 'what if,' and it's nearly impossible to resist when it comes to fandoms. What if Miracles had gone on for more than 13 episodes and Paul and Keel eventually had to take on the "coming darkness"? What if War of the Worlds had a reunion movie while all four main actors are still with us, what would a worthy storyline be? Or what if Misfits of Science had been allowed to become super popular and had gotten trading cards, coloring books, a line of comic books, or its own spin-off cartoon? That's one of the things I find so cool about this awesome pen and ink MoS fan-art from The Napkin Guy -- it helps me to imagine that alternate universe where such a thing actually became reality.....

Check out his other superhero drawings here:
https://www.facebook.com/TheNapkinGuyonWix

Thank you @jetts31 for sending me the original drawing! It's now nestled in with the rest of my MoS collection :)

Which Misfit of Science are you?

'Misfits Of Science' Limericks

Because 'Misfits of Science' is cool and so is the limerick form (don't let anyone tell you otherwise). These were written by my sister and make me giggle, smile, or cry at the perfection, depending.

DEAN PAUL MARTIN:

Dean Paul Martin has some little fame
though mostly because of his name
but as Billy he shines
cause when he does his lines
he really gets into the game

If comedy timing's your thing
that's what to the role Martin brings
so you'll get lots of laughs
watching Billy make gaffs
and even occasionally sing

 BILLY:

Billy, the leader of the team
is always hatching some scheme
when it doesn't work out right
he'll get into a plight
but he doesn't let it make him lose steam

His heart's in the right place, you know
and he doesn't mind letting it show
he wants people to ken
that "not fitting in"
just means "plenty of room left to grow"

 KEVIN PETER HALL:

A man called Kevin Peter Hall

an actor over seven feet tall

was offered the part

of a scientist smart

no need to wear makeup at all

He snatched up the role very fast

it was just what he wanted, at last

he played the role to the hilt

for this part he was built

and he added quite well to the cast

EL:

(told from the point of view of Billy)

My friend Elvin disliked being tall
cause he couldn't much play basketball
so he had a good think
and decided to shrink
and now he's the size of a doll

he was able to achieve this "diminish"
because he's such a good chemist
now he fits in his bed
without bumping his head
but alas for just fifteen minutes

 

MARK THOMAS MILLER:

The man, Mark Thomas Miller
plays a rock musician that's killer
so when he's on screen
you watch every scene
and don't think that any are filler

As for the rest of his role
the parts where he uses his volts
his miming's exact
doesn't look like an act
you'll think he can really fire bolts

JOHNNY B:

(told from the point of view of Billy - do you sense a theme here? LOL)

My friend Johnny's electric
it took him awhile to accept it
now that he's fired
about being wired
we can always have free pyrotechnics

As for music, he's got quite a knack
for played C to B back-to-back
but if you tell him it's bad
he might just get mad
and then you may find yourself zapped

COURTENEY COX:

A young Courteney Cox plays a teen
of a type that you've never seen
it looks like she's doing
all the pushing and moving
cause her concentration's so keen

Courteney Cox plays Gloria with ease
equal parts stormy and breeze
she'll make you think twice
is she naughty or nice?
either way you're sure to be pleased

 

GLORIA:

With Gloria Dinallo you'll be fooled
cause she looks like she's fresh out of school
but as you'll soon discover
if you look past her cover
she's a telekinetic who rules

She's really quite good in a fight
and is often annoyingly right
she likes rock 'n' roll
she has lots of soul
and her smile is dazzlingly bright

 

JENNIFER HOLMES:

Jennifer Holmes played a part
that may not be considered high art
but Jane's scenes with Glo
were a high point of the show
and added to the series' moral heart

 

JANE:

Jane's the probation officer for Glo
and she likes to remain in the know
she keeps an eye on her actions
tries to prevent new infractions
and delights in watching her grow

She's a true friend to Glo, you can tell
and a surrogate mother, how swell
and the times when she'll get
in a dealing with H.I.T
she'll keep Billy in line just as well

 

MAX WRIGHT:

Max Wright always makes you laugh aloud
he's got something to please any crowd
the way he worries and wails
as Dick with his travails
would make any comedian proud

His performance is really quite strong
it seems as if he does no wrong
he can do a mean frown
or act like a clown
and pulls it all off with aplomb

 

DICK:

Richard, or Dick as he'd like to be known
can ofttimes be heard to bemoan
please finish this task
is that too much to ask
and be kooky on time of your own

Richard's job is tough, no denying
but that doesn't keep him from trying
to make H.I.T run smoothly
without all the tomfoolery
and all the while keeping from crying

And 2 silly ones:

A guy named Johnny B. Goode
bought a guitar made out of wood
he played it real well
made it ring like a bell
like nobody else ever could


Three young friends rather silly
formed a trio, Dino, Desi and Billy
They had a little fame
because of their names
but critics were decidedly chilly

  Thanks to @SunglassesAtMidnight and @Emmanuelle for the B-Man and Johnny B. Goode pics!

"Misfits of Science: An Oral History"

Years ago in your youth you watch a TV show and fall completely in love with it. But horribly it seems to be unloved by the world at large, and you can find nothing substantial in the way of behind-the-scenes info. You quest for years for further knowledge, yielding bits and pieces only, scraps of mentions here and there. This is all you have to feed your insatiable desire to read more about your beloved TV show, so you allow it to be enough. All the while you're screaming on the inside, wishing your show was as popular as other sci-fi, like "Star Trek" or "Heroes", where every detail of creation, production, and filming is so readily available as to be impossible NOT to find. But then.... Miraculously.... Joyously.... AN ORAL HISTORY IS PUBLISHED!!

It's gloriously crammed from digital cover to digital cover with absolutely nothing but words from the cast and crew reminiscing about their time with the show and the era when they worked on it! It's got trivia you never even dreamed of! It's got anecdotes that make you laugh and cry together! It's got that ever-sought-after, ever-before-elusive behind-the-scenes info! Marred only by the two inevitable drawbacks to it - not being nearly long enough and not being able to include interviews from those who have passed away - it is the Holy Grail of your Misfits of Science searches.


Thank you so much Will Harris for making that part of my life and childhood complete :)

 

EXPERIENCE IT HERE

'Misfits of Science' the Soundtrack

Because there is no official Misfits of Science soundtrack release, I decided I should try and right that wrong with the universe. So I collected songs used in the show, full versions of ones heard in the show, musical score from the episodes (mostly sans dialogue), and little bits and bobs that I found deserving, and put them together in one 80's-happy package. So for anyone who loves the music from Misfits of Science and has eternally begged the gods to make a soundtrack exist, here's the closest you're gonna get:

Check it out here

"Misfits of Science" fansites

Check out the two most recent additions to the online fan presence for 'Misfits of Science':

FROM THE FANS - tumblr

STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART - Facebook

Special thanks to SunglassesAtMidnight for all her wonderful work!

Other 'MoS fansites:

SunglassesAtMidnight - Twitter

Misfits of Science - Facebook

Science of Misfits - Blogger

Science of Misfits - YouTube

Misfits of Science - Twitter

Happy Valentine's Day - Misfits Style!

Happy Love Day!! <3
--> click for mood music <---

Awesome HQ's [POI, MoS, WotW, Miracles]

There are certain fictional worlds that tug at you, worlds that make you long to be able to step inside that particular universe and walk around its environments. For me, 'Person of Interest', 'Misfits of Science', 'War of the Worlds', and 'Miracles', definitely do that!! Many a time I've dreamt about hanging out with each one's respective teams at their too-cool headquarters...

These awesome HQ's supply that tactile feeling mentally, like you know exactly what it would feel like to be there. What the lighting is, what the acoustics are, where everything is located, how the mood of the building impacts the activities within...

It's hard to remember that these aren't real places. They don't really exist. Due to the demands of filming a TV show, they need to be sets - and not even always contiguous ones either. One floor might be on one soundstage while the secret basement may have been created at another location all together. And the exteriors are 'second unit', filmed elsewhere in the city sometimes.

Occasionally a show is lucky enough to commandeer a real-life building for its purposes, but even then it can be, in actuality, located in a different city than portrayed on the show, and it still isn't going to be somewhere you can visit and find crime-fighters or superheroes hard at work.

However, once these HQ's - these focal points of where our favorite characters plot and plan and grow close - are seamlessly placed within the episode, they come alive in our minds and become a reality, a place that we can consider from all angles and fill in the gaps and shadows. What fan doesn't try to imagine what's behind closed doors in the background, or what rooms and corridors are in between the entrance shot and the interior shots, or what items are in the drawers and on the shelves.


And now, in no particular order except for year order, are four of my favorite awesome HQ's:

Humanidyne: H.I.T. Lab

    Location:
          Southern California

    Team members: 
          Dr. Billy Hayes
          Dr. Elvin Lincoln
          Johnny Bukowski
          Gloria Dinallo




Humanidyne is a large government complex and the Human Investigation Team lab is in the basement. (I wonder what work the rest of Humanidyne is doing all the time the Misfits are engaged in their shenanigans?) It's filled with complicated equipment of all shapes and sizes, and who knows what's in the walk-in freezer at present.

This is a lab, yes, but it's also a doctor's office - waiting room, receptionist, and all. I can just imagine being a test subject or a volunteer there, surrounded by the kookiness that's present at all hours. However, amid that is a purveying sense of fun and joy of life and the desire to find advancements in science to better the human condition.

Who wouldn't want to join in one of Billy and El's experiments or do some test work with Johnny B and Glo? Even getting chewed out by administrator Dick Stetmeyer for not providing the test results on time would be great. The lab is always crammed with toys and science-y gadgets, so enticing for someone who loves to play around with that sort of stuff. Oh what fun it would be to grab a visitor's pass and hang out with the Misfits of Science for a while.

Entry for H.I.T. at 'Science of Misfits'.

The Cottage

 
    Location:
          Northern California

    Team members:
          Col. Ironhorse
          Dr. Harrison Blackwood
          Dr. Suzanne McCullough
          Norton Drake


The Cottage is a top secret government facility tricked out with the highest-end equipment and technology, with the sole purpose of providing a means for the Blackwood Team to protect the planet against the threat of invading Mor-Tax. Norton looooves his supercomputer, Suzanne is at home in her personal microbiology lab, Ironhorse has a gym and shooting range, and Harrison's office is an exact recreation of his old one at the college. The basement command central has all the feel of being inside the inner workings of a computer combined with a federal agency task force war room.

The Cottage is located in beautiful countryside, secured with the best in anti-intruder devices (Ironhorse knows this well, since he had to infiltrate their own security once). There's a horse paddock, a pond with swans, and tree-covered hills that lead to the water. Quite a picturesque contrast to the dark sick twisted gritty side of fighting aliens.

With its rich furnishings, the interior of the main house is right out of some Better Homes magazine and Mrs. Pennyworth and Kensington lend to the air of a rich home as well. But for all the stateliness the Cottage exudes, it can feel as homey as any family living room. One of my favorite scenes has got to be when the newly thrown-together individuals are spending their first evening around the fireplace and Ironhorse is telling Debi a story of his Indian ancestor.

 

 

Sodalitas Quarito

    Location:
          Boston

    Team members:
          Paul Callan
          Alva Keel
          Evelyn Santos




SQ is housed in part of an unassuming brownstone, a building that feels as mysterious and overlooked as the paranormal cases that the SQ gang investigates. Evie brings her son Matty to work with her, and while she, Paul, and Keel are researching cases and solving the odd haunting, he plays in the office rooms. What a spooky environment for a little boy to let his imagination run in. It reminds me of attics and hidden secret places that call out to be discovered.

What supernatural-related things are lurking among the jostles of office items? What sort of artifacts does Keel have stashed there? This place promises mysteries galore, like the floor that's not really there, so the rain leaks through to the floor below like it was the roof. Makes me just want to explore every dark corner and see what lies there.

It can only be reached by the alley entrance in the rear, making it feel like a place you have to search for to find. The way it has no walls and is just a lot of dark space trying to be filled up makes it feel haunted, like Paul himself. But at the same time it also feels inviting, because you know that its occupants are ready and willing to do all it will take to solve a client's problems.

 

 

The Library

    Location: 
          New York

    Team members:
          Harold Finch
          John Reese
          (Bear ^_^)


An old library owned by Finch, but in financial limbo and therefore off the record. Perfect for clandestine vigilantism. It has so much area that is 'broken down' - a metaphor for our heroes, no? It also has a dignified magnificence that befits an abode for these two world-experienced men. I can't help wondering though, we've been shown the apartment Finch gifts Reese, but where does Finch sleep? Surely not in the Library all the time.

The Library comes well-stocked with a horde of books, something that turns out to be more important to the work Reese and Finch do than just a nice collection. And the center round table (does that make them Dark Knights of the Round Table? ;P  ) with Finch's five monitors of geeky coolness is a great central hub.

Versatility is something this place doesn't lack, seeing as it's been used as a nursery, a doghouse, and a safe haven/detention cell for Leon. I like how things are used for unintended purposes; the damaged pane of glass in place of a whiteboard, books for baby Leila's playpen, a filing drawer holding not files but firearms... Speaking of, I wonder just how many weapons Reese has squirreled away inside the Library?

Entry for the Library at 'Pedia of Interest'