What I’m Watching: No Ordinary Family (Season Finale)

No Ordinary Family: Season 1, Episode 20 “No Ordinary Beginning” (F)

Even when a show that had slipped off its track like “Flash Forward” ended, it indicated some sort of coherence and, if not, some organized chaos at the very least. This show, which started off strong and had plummeted in quality by episode four, reveals a hidden madness to its whole scheme that replaces the sloppiness and lack of intrigue that up until now had dominated the show. This presumed series finale is nothing if not schizophrenic, indicating a complete mess of ideas all thrown together into about fifteen minutes of action. Dr. King, who has been nothing but a background mustache-twirler for the majority of the series, is cast as a sudden hero when he rushes to the aid of the Powell family, then comes out as a villain when he tries to kill Jim and take his place in Stephanie’s life, and then redefined as a supervillain with a whole array of powers, only to be felled by a comic needle to the eye. This episode’s success hinges largely on the coincidental ability of its villains not to properly take away the powers of our heroes, prompting certain victory on their part thanks to Jim’s faux-shocker that the serum had worn off. More jarring, however, is the experience of watching this episode not live but online with a countdown clock, to the point that, with less than sixty seconds left, it was completely unclear in which direction this episode was going to head. Since prison guards apparently don’t bother checking to see if inmates are wearing suits or jumpsuits, George, along with 80 prisoners, now has powers. The Powell family has been recruited by the government to safeguard the human race. This all happens so quickly and unexpectedly that it’s as if all the events of the first season, including characters like Litchfield and Victoria, entirely irrelevant. This show feels even more like a waste of time, and I’m not happy that I stuck with it for the entire season. It doesn’t deserve a renewal, and I don’t think it’s going to get one. I’m curious to know what others with more faith in the series thought.

Season grade: C-
Season MVP: No one. This is a waste of the potential that actors like Michael Chiklis, Autumn Reeser, and Romany Malco have.

What I’m Watching: No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family: Season 1, Episode 19 “No Ordinary Future” (D+)

I wasn’t paying close enough attention and almost missed this special Saturday episode altogether. Of course that bit of alliteration is an oxymoron in itself, since Saturday night is never a show you want to host any type of programming, especially the second-to-last installment of a sure-to-be-cancelled show. Both of the stars even have pilots in second position, so I can’t imagine this show living on past its first season finale next week. There are considerable problems with this show that are still extraordinarily evident in this episode, pertaining to nearly all aspects of the plot. Set-up wise, the murder of Cordero isn’t a bad kick-off, but to suddenly position Jim and George as his best friends upon his death is just lazy. Even if Jim didn’t mind him as much once he realized that Jim saved his life, they still didn’t have anything close to a genuine friendship. Casting Raphael Sbarge as his ally on the force is, at least for a TV viewer who pays attention, far too obvious: he always ends up playing a bad guy, no matter what the role. This show is far too caught up with trying to explain everything away with babble-science, and JJ delineating an algorithm on how his mother runs into the future, which conveniently also makes her run into walls and cars, is entirely unnecessary and detracts from this show’s credibility. The return of Victoria is rather uncalled for, especially if she isn’t going to kill the doctor and doesn’t want to kill Katie, going back to the original problem this show has: no stakes. Chris not remembering anything about his relationship with Daphne after she fries his brain is a relief since he’s a worthless character, and she’s better off doing other things. Presumably, the final episode of this show will actually air, though I can’t imagine it’s going to wrap things up in anything close to a satisfying manner.

What I’m Watching: No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family: Season 1, Episode 18 “No Ordinary Animal” (F)

I want to be into this show, especially with fun ideas like Katie having powers and Jim and Stephanie being efficient at crime scenes together. Unfortunately, the plot and especially the heinous dialogue are particularly unbearable. Mrs. X’s use of the term “non-idiot” was what really set me off, and then every single thing that Eric Balfour uttered made me mad. Balfour is not a good actor, that’s something most people can agree on, and having him play a wolfman was not a smart idea (was Benicio unavailable?). His disappearing accent wasn’t even the worst of it. His attempts at mimicking David Caruso’s “CSI: Miami” style of speaking failed miserably. The creepy tracking shots as Balfour’s Lucas stalks someone were strange and didn’t jive with the rest of the show. When Balfour gets to hog most of the episode, why does Roberto Picardo, the onetime Emergency Medical Hologram from “Star Trek: Voyager,” get relegated to a one-scene part? Chris’ blatant desire to abuse Daphne’s powers is a shame since the character had been built to be somewhat three-dimensional, and even if he’s just a teenager, Daphne should realize that she doesn’t need to be manipulated by him. Stephanie’s survival was way too easily explained: “I’m fine, my metabolism, I’m a fast healer, I think I stained the floor.” I’m curious whether Jim’s game-changing decision to bring her to Dr. King will have repercussions, besides her apparent disappearance at the end of the episode. Katie being pregnant is an interesting development, if not unsurprising, but I can’t imagine that’s going to go anywhere productive or good.

What I’m Watching: No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family: Season 1, Episode 17 “No Ordinary Love” (C-)

I wrote about this earlier this week when reviewing the most recent episode of “Smallville” – having an episode centered on magic is never a recipe for success. I am absolutely thrilled about the idea of not one but two “Battlestar Galactica” alumnae in one episode, and I just wish they had been given better roles. Tricia Helfer is the perfect person to play a seductress, and it’s a shame that her part had to be so one-note. Lucy Lawless as a recurring high-up villain is appealing, but Dr. King hasn’t lived up to anywhere near his potential yet. With continuous memory loss present in this episode, there isn’t much moving forward of the plot, save for the further confounding of the villainy hierarchy. The fact that Stephanie is able to break the love spell put on Jim by asserting her own love for him is sentimental enough, yet this show doesn’t have quite the heart it thinks it does. I feel the same way about Daphne’s continued erasure of Chris’ memory and then her acceptance of his thankful reaction to her trusting him with the truth about her family. This show has always struggled with overcoming awkwardness when it comes to negotiating the drama and the comedy, and this episode epitomizes its problems in that arena. Stephanie’s immediate dismissal of Jim after he announces he’s leaving her for his new love doesn’t track. These not-so-ordinary people need to start realizing that they live in a world filled with superpowers and potentially suspicious scenarios, and they need to start questioning things.

What I’m Watching: No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family: Season 1, Episode 16 “No Ordinary Proposal” (C+)

I’m happy to report that this episode is considerably better than many of those that came before it, because we finally have a few serious moments and some real stakes! The specific storyline in this episode isn’t entirely terrific, but I’m much more pleased with its resolution. This family unit became more believable than ever before as Jim raced to the defense of his daughter and nearly killed Joshua. Katie got the more intense line, however, as she told him to leave the hurting of Joshua to her. It makes sense that Katie’s relationship with this former murderer and villain was never going to work, though it’s a shame because Joshua is a good guy now and could really be an asset to the Powell family. They definitely could use some help, especially considering the fact that they have multiple threats facing them, including JJ’s teacher, who has proven himself to be even dumber than he initially seemed by serving as a hapless pawn for Dr. King. It’s nice that Daphne helped out her boyfriend just like JJ did with his semi-girlfriend last week, and giving her some reliable happiness is fine. The revelation that Jim’s ricocheted bullet actually saved someone’s life rather than ruining it is pretty corny and sentimental, but given that this show has always been lighter than other shows with this kind of theme, it’s not a problem. In fact, I’ll admit that this episode actually did a good job of balancing the comedy, the light drama, and the actual serious drama involving Jim protecting his family.

What I’m Watching: No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family: Season 1, Episode 15 “No Ordinary Powell” (D-)

I just don’t understand this show. It seems to me more complicated to have the stakes be so incredibly low all the time, and it definitely doesn’t help the show get anywhere interesting. Victoria has been a horrendously disappointing character, and it’s not Rebecca Mader’s fault. Even Joshua, now a bona fide good guy, had no problem pulling the trigger on Jim’s cop buddy, yet Rebecca has to resort to duplicitous phone calls and simple laziness? In terms of shapeshifting science, a subject about which I purport myself to be just as much an expert as anyone else, it doesn’t make sense that she would have the same level of strength as Jim, and even more so, that she wouldn’t have powers only because Jim doesn’t have powers. Jim wins the award for the dumbest character in this episode because he confesses his greatest weakness to a woman who pulls out the most random proof of her identity and then doesn’t even notice that George is legitimately trying to shoot him. Also, why does he leave his doppelganger’s corpse out for his wife to find, and why does she only shift back to her natural form after Stephanie’s had a panic attack set to melodramatic music? When it comes to the kids, if Daphne is going to be so obvious about her newfound abilities, she could at least try to use them to persuade JJ (who, for the record, could sense what she was doing but still not be able to resist her) to walk out of that room with her when she made up the story about the phone call. JJ’s cry of “What did you do to her?” was fairly pathetic – they didn’t do anything, they just knocked her out. Nothing more would ever happen on this show.

What I’m Watching: No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family: Season 1, Episode 14 “No Ordinary Double Standard” (C+)

I was all set to like this episode until it stalled about halfway through, but I’d like to at least commend it for trying something new and succeeding with it at least a little bit. The idea of competition between Jim and Stephanie to determine whose powers are better as well as who can best utilize them to help solve crimes is an entertaining one, though I’m not sure how well it was executed. It’s that lack of a serious tone that often presents a problem for this show, particularly when characters die or boyfriends erase their girlfriends’ memories, presenting severe events that clash with other lighter developments. I will say that I enjoyed Katie’s efforts to seduce George and his subsequent fury over having been used by her. The children dating seniors was an iffy plotline, and while I enjoyed Jim’s snap judgment that congratulated his son on dating an older woman but forbid his daughter from dating an older guy, it didn’t strike me as entirely realistic parenting. Daphne’s newly-discovered skills make her seem an awful lot like the Watcher, who is now using his abilities to help maintain his relationship with Katie, which can’t be a good thing for the future of their romance. Daphne’s use of her powers on her dad was a bit shocking, though on this show it’s not likely to have any consequences. If this were a much more intense drama on some cable network, which I fully understand it’s not, Daphne’s highly manipulative actions would lead to some pretty awesome moral confrontations and developments in future episodes.

What I’m Watching: No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family: Season 1, Episode 13 “No Ordinary Detention” (C-)

There’s one thing that worked pretty well in this episode, and that was Jim’s attempts to mimic Bruce Willis in “Die Hard” as he started taking out hostage takers in the police station. His brilliant and rather awesome plan was short-lived as it came to an end just like Harrison Ford’s stowaway act in “Air Force One” did. I enjoyed seeing Jim and George think smartly and try to position Jim as a real-life action hero, and that’s something I’d like to see more often on this show. I was extremely disappointed with Joanne Kelly’s guest spot since the actress is much more fun as Myka on Syfy’s “Warehouse 13.” Rebecca Mader’s role also proved rather less than impressive due to her status as the world’s dumbest shape shifter. It’s important to remember that you need to neutralize whoever it is you’re trying to look like so that they don’t show up and ruin all your plans (that would of course go against this show’s nature of never having stakes). It’s a good thing that the Watcher finally revealed to Katie that he has powers, but Stephanie definitely came way too close to showing Katie’s duplicitous other that she has powers. The detention truth or dare wasn’t terrible as a way of giving the kids something to do, but I’m not pleased that it featured one of TV’s worst characters, JJ’s sniveling teacher. Mr. Litchfield. I had hoped that his near-fatal accident would have turned him into a less cartoonish and one-note character.

What I’m Watching: No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family: Season 1, Episode 12 “No Ordinary Brother” (C-)

Having a troublesome sibling stop by a series isn’t something terribly uncommon, and the effectiveness of it as a storyline can vary. In this case, Mike Powell’s appearance doesn’t do much to help enliven the show, and his presence only serves to reinforce the bigger problems on the show. It’s not all bad, of course, and especially for those who like the show and are frustrated each week with my reviews, I’ll try to highlight some of the positive aspects. Daphne’s new role as a member of the peer disciplinary board makes sense, and it’s certainly a good use of her powers, though I’m a bit perplexed as to why she felt the need to get the kid suspended when his brother was clearly trying to defend him (not a flaw of the show). Rebecca Mader is definitely a great addition to the show, and the revelation that she’s a shape shifter is cool. The Watcher really needs to stop before so forthcoming about his plans and feelings regarding Katie since she’s going to be the one who gets hurt by all of it. JJ’s betting powers are absolutely useful, but it felt incredibly convenient that an injury would just happen to happen at the very moment where they needed to win big most. Most importantly, I don’t feel that Mike’s presence has helped any of his family members grow at all, and I don’t feel it’s necessary for us to see him again on the show. He may have upped the stakes momentarily, but now everything’s back to normal.

What I’m Watching: No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family: Season 1, Episode 11 “No Ordinary Friends” (C-)

What better way to demonstrate that this show is not exciting than by having two guest stars from one of television’s most exciting shows? Though they never appeared on the series at the same time, both Ricky Schroeder and Annie Wersching (who could be confused with the more talented recent “Human Target” guest star Molly Parker) appeared on “24” during its later seasons. Here, they play a husband and wife who just happen to become best friends with the Powells at the same time that Jim comes face to face with one of them in the midst of some big robberies. This small, bubble universe that the Powells live in is becoming so contrived and coincidental. The roles formerly held by George and Katie are devolving into obnoxious stereotypes, and it’s proving less engaging by the episode. I do like that the Watcher has decided that it’s time to take a stand, but his very unsubtle way of broadcasting the termination of his allegiance is surely going to come back to haunt him. I’m somewhat curious, I’ll admit, to see what Katie does now that she’s found the diary, and I would love to see the Watcher incorporated more into the weekly narrative and have the two of them team up to help protect the Powells and take down the villanous Dr. King. Daphne’s shockingly quickly regained memory and JJ’s ability to calculate punches aren’t going to cut it in terms of thrills and intrigue here, so there needs to be a sharper focus elsewhere.

What I’m Watching: No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family: Season 1, Episode 10 “No Ordinary Sidekick” (D)

As if this show didn’t have enough issues already, now we have two entirely ridiculous plot developments that I simply can’t defend. The first has to do with Detective Cordero’s sudden 180-degree character transformation. It’s a heinously unbelievable shift on par with, though hardly as weight as, Luke’s sudden change from huge jerk to nicest guy on the planet midway through the first season of “The O.C.” Even if Jim did save Cordero’s life, that doesn’t mean that Cordero completely goes from being a grumpy, obnoxious commander to a sap willing to wait hand and foot on the sketch artist. The second unconscionable twist is the Watcher’s revelation to Katie that he wasn’t actually her date but just saw her sitting alone and went up to her. That in itself isn’t problematic. What is far more disturbing is that Katie doesn’t seem to take issue with the fact that he was using a fake name for the entirety of their relationship thus far, making him ridiculously untrustworthy. He seems to have made his own mistake, however, by wiping all of Daphne’s memories since she got her powers rather than selectively taking out her memories of him. I guess his powers are more like the device in “Men in Black” that just takes everything. Dr. Chiles’ demise is more of a relief than anything, and I will commend one performer – and a surprising one at that – for his appropriately chilling and effective performance, and that’s Stephen Collins as Dr. King. One strong performance does not a show make, however, and I’m hopeful that this series can really improve when it returns in 2011.

What I’m Watching: No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family: Season 1, Episode 9 “No Ordinary Anniversary” (D+)

Could George be any more clueless? I find it hard to believe that he wouldn’t respect Jim’s anniversary night and would instead insist on making him feel guilty for not running headfirst into a raging fire rather than spend time with his wife. Katie is supposed to be the socially unaware one, which makes me resent the mention of “Battlestar Galactica” that she makes since it’s clearly designed to represent how out of touch with being cool she is. What I did like about this episode (and there wasn’t much) was the fact that the Powell parents actually teamed up and fought crime together, enabling Stephanie to use her speediness for something other than just running fast (namely, evading fire). There was a hint of cool effects when the fire guy sort of became a fireball, and it was a nice break from the otherwise standard shots of each of the Powell family members’ powers. JJ hosting a poker game is all-advised enough, but what concerns me more is that these Powell children continue to use their powers for immoral reasons, and having one of the poker players talk to Daphne like she’s a piece of meat isn’t quite enough to negate all of her duplicity and illegal thought-listening. Back at Stephanie’s workplace, the whiny meddling of Dr. Chiles isn’t going to lead anywhere good, and having him follow Dr. King and the Watcher is surely going to result in his death. Dr. King taking away the Watcher’s powers is somewhat intriguing, but why should the Watcher let him do that so easily and without a fight?

What I’m Watching: No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family: Season 1, Episode 8 “No Ordinary Accident” (C-)

In this episode, we do have some stakes, but that doesn’t mean it’s a quality hour. The intermittent functionality of Jim’s powers seems somewhat convenient since he never actually runs the risk of being discovered or hurt, and I’m appalled that he manages to walk around mask-less after last episode’s close call while taking out criminals and fully demonstrating the use of his powers. JJ’s teacher is a preposterously stupid villain, haughtily bidding his student “good day” and delighting at being able to take him down with the newly discovered hacking evidence. The way this storyline was handled also felt too clean and simple, since JJ saving his teacher by assisting his mother’s super-fast surgery should have resulted in JJ facing disciplinary action since he wouldn’t be able to confess to being the one to save his life. Daphne manages in this episode to be even dumber than her brother, using her powers to win her crush’s eternal affection and promptly undoing all her not-so-hard work by blurting out the truth. I wouldn’t be so bothered by her actions if she actually got somewhere with them. Katie’s budding romance is going according to plan for her seducer, and if this were any other show, I’d say it wouldn’t be long before the Powell family secret starts unraveling and danger begins to loom. I haven’t mentioned it before, but I’ve felt that the happy tone of the opening credits has been incredibly inappropriate over the past couple of weeks. To give “Heroes” a rare compliment, the eclipse music worked much better for any type of action that was occurring.

What I’m Watching: No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family: Season 1, Episode 7 “No Ordinary Mobster” (C-)

Fortunately, this episode is much better than the previous horrid grandparents installment, but unfortunately, that doesn’t mean it’s anywhere near good. The risk that presents itself in this episode comes from the main character being impossibly stupid – wearing a mask but not bothering to secure it or ensure that his captive doesn’t pull it off while he’s pinning him to a wall. That risk is additionally negated by the fact that someone else happens to off the guy who could forever change Jim’s life for the worse, once again keeping the Powells completely safe. A new threat has emerged, of course, though I do have to take issue with how that came about. Even though JJ’s newfound power came with the gift of deductive reasoning, apparently it didn’t come with foresight and the ability to predict that his internet chatting plan would lead something in the real world. What doesn’t track at all is that Dr. King’s number one henchman was able to find out that Katie would be waiting to meet someone there when he isn’t able to immediately deduce that the whole Powell family is hiding a major secret. I find that little plot hole more than a little troubling. I was thrilled, however, to see the addition of Amy Acker, most recently seen on “Dollhouse” and the horrible “Happy Town,” as George’s love interest, and I’m so relieved that she wasn’t killed. Hopefully she can inject some much-needed quality into this show and give George something else to do besides hang out in a lair all the time.

What I’m Watching: No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family: Season 1, Episode 6 “No Ordinary Visitors” (D-)

Okay, perhaps this grade is a bit low. But this episode was so astonishingly boring that I can’t believe it even aired. I’ve been reading plenty about how there are no stakes on this show, and that’s truer in this episode than it’s ever been before. Telling people about their abilities should be a serious risk for the Powell family, yet they’re playing it off as a simple annoyance with which they don’t want to deal. Casting Cybill Shepherd and Bruce McGill (often the most entertaining part of “Rizzoli & Isles”) as Stephanie’s parents should have yielded much better results, and their failure as characters is mostly due to the awful writing in this episode. The relationship between Jim and his in-laws, and Stephanie and her parents, for that matter, is sketched in such an archetypal manner that it’s almost unbearable. Jim’s endorsement of his son using his powers to defeat his bullying grandfather is puzzling and uncharacteristic. The evolution of Daphne’s powers also seems unnecessary since it feels like a crutch to help her master her abilities. The one thing that I can praise in this episode is the awesomeness with which Jim sprung to the kid’s defense and tackled him out of the window. Even if this show gets everything else wrong and can’t get out of his childish mindset, at least it’s able to properly convey the exciting use of one of the characters’ powers. It’s not much, but it’s something, and at this point, this show needs all the help it can get.

What I’m Watching: No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family: Season 1, Episode 5 “No Ordinary Quake” (C)

My biggest problem with this episode is actually something that hadn’t yet troubled me but did in this episode with this new villain. For one thing, she’s not actually a bad guy, just someone who was transformed against her will and is on the run, unwilling and unable to trust anyone. While every good superhero does not a proper origin story, muddling everything too much by having real villains hunting the semi-innocent episodic villains doesn’t work well. My other complaint is more aesthetic: the earthquake-causing baddie just sucks at using her power. Just lifting her hand up unenthusiastically shouldn’t be able to produce the effects it does. Jim’s insistence on constantly showing his face and threatening the livelihood of his family is foolish, and George legitimizing lying to his wife because he’s the one doing it rather than Jim doesn’t track either. Katie’s discovery that JJ’s sample showed that he was pregnant is an example of this show not knowing what it wants to be: it’s a comic moment that then turns into JJ’s sudden best bud at school getting upset about his girlfriend being pregnant. It’s a strange, random storyline that isn’t going to go anywhere and doesn’t contribute much to the overarching plot, save for JJ’s abilities finally being revealed. Daphne’s use of her powers continues to be obnoxious since she really needs to go deeper and try to listen to more than one sentence of someone’s thoughts so that she doesn’t consistently pick up the same wrong information.

What I'm Watching: No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family: Season 1, Episode 4 “No Ordinary Vigilante” (C+)

So now the things that I had initially excused about this show have begun to overwhelm the main elements of the story and put the show in a lopsided position of starting to contain more bad than good. I could have sworn that I saw J.J. on Television Without Pity's Fall TV 2010 Most Annoying Characters list, but it seems that he was mysteriously left off. His desire to have his parents be proud of him for his achievements is completely undercut by the fact that he's lying to them. Something tells me that they would be very impressed with the way he's using his newfound abilities to improve his academic and sports-related performance, yet his endlessly manipulative modus operandi negates all of that, making him an utterly dumb, detestable character. Daphne isn't that much better, and while I initially praised this show for focusing on the entire family, reading minds to get into parties and steal beer is hardly worthy of a quarter of an episode. I understand that Autumn Reeser on any show is almost entirely for comic relief, but having her and Stephanie fail to come up with anything better than “we're talking about our periods” as an excuse when cheesy villain Chiles walks in on them isn't terribly impressive. I'm also not enjoying the silliness of Jim actually faking allergies and covering up his face to avoid having the witnesses identify him as the vigilante. Guillermo Diaz, of “Weeds” and even “Mercy” fame, you do not belong behind a mustache as a cop on this show. There's much work to be done on this formerly promising show.

Take Three: No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family: Season 1, Episode 3 “No Ordinary Ring” (B)

At this point, I’m really not sure this can ever become a great show. It seems a bit too grounded in the simplistic sensibilities I made excuses for last week, and while it’s entertaining enough, I feel that it could be capable of much more. Part of the problem is the consistently sluggish attitude that Jim has because his plans don’t seem to work. Stephanie executed a terrific operation with Katie’s help (though it appears Dr. King is on to them), so why do all of Jim’s attempts at heroism need to end in failure? Even his successes don’t pan out perfectly, and it would be nice to see him win one for a change. I do love the use of both Romany Malco and Autumn Reeser as the confidantes for the parents and, in this episode, their kids. I enjoyed having Daphne try to read Katie’s mind and discover that she is thinking about food, while George is scrambling to try and hide his thoughts from the mind reader. What absolutely did not work in this episode was the J.J.-crush plotline. Daphne telling him that she only dates Jewish girls and then having him research Judaism and wear a giant Star of David around his neck was almost unbearable to watch. It started out okay – J.J. looking at and absorbing the Hebrew alphabet – but it was taken way too far. This show needs to grow up a little and try to cater to the whole family; not just the kids watching.

Round Two: No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family: Season 1, Episode 2 “No Ordinary Marriage” (B+)

I started this episode out with more positive feelings than I left it with, but I’d still like to posit that it was an effective second installment and that it demonstrates that the show should work. What I initially dismissed but eventually found bothersome was the constant bashing of the parenting by both Jim and Stephanie, and the way that both are so mercilessly bullied by the other parents. I though that a snarky line like “I keep my phone on, in case my kids needs to reach me,” as delivered by one of the other mothers, was funny and was the kind of dialogue that isn’t meant to be taken too literally, rather in keeping with the show’s somewhat campy sensibilities. By the end of the episode, however, it becomes a bit too much, and I think it’s not quite necessary to help its heroes become what they can be with their new abilities. The way that JJ’s teacher speaks to him so rudely and condescendingly also seems harsh, but I’m sure he’ll eventually have his revenge on the obnoxious professor. The continuing mystery of the source and meaning of the powers is interesting, and I’m enjoying both parents’ pursuit to learn how to best safely use their abilities to do the most good. Jim’s decision to actually tell someone besides George was a bit surprising, though sadly it appears that she’s now dead and his confession will have been in vain. It also seems like Stephen Collins’ Dr. King is truly evil and behind pretty much everything related to our new super-family, and while it may seem corny right now, I think that it will work well in establishing a mega-villain for the Powell family to eventually have to take down. We’ll have to wait until episode three to see if this show can really deliver and sustain itself.

Pilot Review: No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family (ABC)
Premiered September 28 at 8pm

The latest new series from ABC actually has a lot in common with the best new show the Alphabet produced last season, and the similarity extends to more than just the name. Like “Modern Family,” this season’s new superhero drama is show that can be enjoyed by the whole family. It’s a relatable story that enhances its plot by giving its characters superpowers through which to express themselves. It’s also reminiscent of the Fantastic Four, though this family is a whole lot more ordinary to begin with, as both parents work jobs and the kids are still in school. When all is said and done, however, this is an enormously entertaining series that should be able to remain quite entertaining for a while. It has strong characters and talented actors playing them, and there’s more than enough able support on the sidelines for the two leads. Michael Chiklis can never top the work he did on “The Shield,” but having him play a nice guy who doesn’t press people’s faces against lit stovetops should work well for him, and he’s extremely endearing and sympathetic in the pilot. Julie Benz was a hated character on “Dexter,” and having her here as a less whiny, more productive mother should also be great. Helping them out are Romany Malco, formerly of “Weeds,” and the lovely and funny Autumn Reeser, recently seen on “Entourage” and “Human Target” after starting out in the third season of “The O.C.,” and both make the very most of their limited roles. Kay Panabaker is great as the teenage daughter, and Jimmy Bennett seems like a strong choice to play the younger, less intelligent son. In addition to trying to establish a great, intriguing family dynamic, the show also knows when to insert some comic-book awesomeness, as evidenced by the last-minute revelation that the wife’s boss, played by Stephen Collins of “7th Heaven” fame, is involved in some major and mysterious criminal activities. I’m hooked at this point, and I’m hoping that successive installments can be just as fun as this hour.

How will it work as a series? Some might find it too hokey, but it’s important to remember than this is only an introductory episode, and therefore it should become more normalized and calm once the characters have a handle on their respective powers. It’s unclear at this point what kind of audience this show is supposed to appeal to, and if the villains feel too dumbed down, some might be annoyed with the show. I have faith that it should prove entertaining for all ages.
How long will it last? Theoretically, a while. The problem is that it’s up against two massive ratings juggernauts: “NCIS” and “Glee.” Still, ABC’s other dramas, like “The Whole Truth” and “My Generation,” will likely fare worse in their respective timeslots, and this show may be the one that has ABC’s backing this year. I imagine that it will make it to a second season, though possibly not right away unless it becomes a certifiable hit.

Pilot grade: B+