No Ordinary Family
Tuesdays at 8 pm
ABC
I have been waiting for the premiere of No Ordinary Family on ABC since I heard about it this past summer. It has gotten quite a bit of advertising, and has grown quite a bit of buzz over the past few months. Many people consider it the spiritual successor to NBC's Heroes, which was canceled last spring after 4 seasons.
There aren't a whole lot of similarities between the two shows though other than the fact that both shows star people with superpowers. I imagine NBC's mid-season replacement show The Cape is more likely to be heroes spiritual successor in genre as well as tone, but time will tell.
In the meantime, No Ordinary Family seems like it is going to be a very character-based, family-oriented show. It is sort-of like a live-action version of The Incredibles, but instead of comedy and light-hearted fun, this will be a dramady (drama+comedy) complete with both humorous moments and character-based drama.
The show is about Jim and Stephanie Powell and their kids Daphne and JJ.Their lives have caused them to feel disconnected from one another until they go on a vacation to Brazil, and get in a plane crash in the Amazon. Their plane crashes into the Amazon, and they land in glowing green water. When they return home they find out that they all have gained superpowers - Jim is super-strong, near invulnerable, and can leap, Stephanie has gained super-speed, Daphne has gained the ability to hear other people's thoughts, and JJ, who previously had learning disabilities, now has super-intelligence.
I was under the impression that they would be the only super-powered people on the show, but was pleasantly surprised to see at least one more in the pilot, and I imagine there'll be more to come.
The pilot begins with the plane crash and then shows us how they developed their powers. The show is not above turning the usual comic conventions on their ears, such as invulnerability, "leaping tall buildings in a single bound", etc. as well as containing many Easter eggs for comic book and superhero fans. It seems like the writers are having a lot of fun with the show, it's characters, and the genre as a whole.
The pilot is a lot like the first issues of a comic book in that it explains the heroes origins, so the tone and pacing of the first episode is likely to be different then the rest of the episodes, but if the first episode is any indication, it looks like this show is going to be a lot of fun.
Overall I enjoyed the episode quite a bit, and can't wait for the rest of the season. This is one of the few new hour-long TV shows I will be watching this season (The other are The Cape and The Event). The Cape doesn't start until mid-season, and I haven't yet watched The Event but as long as the writing stays as strong, intelligent, and funny as the first episode, I think it is safe to say this is one of the best new TV Shows of the season.
Rating: A
