Next week is going to bring us the season finale of ABC’s superhero show “No Ordinary Family” and amidst a sea of fluctuating ratings, reviews, and even cast interview admissions the show seems to be teetering into cancellation. This is a surprise as both ratings and storyline were picking up more speed than Julie Benz as Stephanie Powell, the scientist/mother/speedster of the family. That said, ABC’s decision to move the most recent episode from its normal Tuesday timeslot to Saturday brought in the lowest ratings the show has seen yet. So, let’s get our Autumn Reeser as Katie Andrews (Stephanie’s Assistant) lab coats on and make a few initial incisions on the body of what may or may not still become TV’s best super-powered drama.
The Powell Family knows how to pose
As a fan, I will admit the show started off pretty lacking in action and direction, but a solid cast kept my interest. Between the stark dynamics of the Powell family lightened by the sidekick humor of the already mentioned Reeser (as a mousy comic-obsessed assistant) and the comedic-timing genius of Romany Malco as George St. Cloud there has been enough levity to at least keep me from changing the channel. The family themselves, headed by the bulk of Michael Chiklis as Jim Powell (a super strong character similar to the one he played in Fantastic Four minus the solid rock skin) has been likened countless times to a live-action Incredibles. I cannot disagree with this comparison more as by the end of the movie the Incredibles were used to their powers and were known to the world as guardians where the main dramatic focus for the Powell family is harnessing their power, using it morally, and to continue keeping their identities and abilities secret. The greatest strength of the show is also its greatest weakness; the dynamic of a four-person superhero team keeping their secret against a clandestine organization blends what was best about NBC’s Heroes with the aforementioned teams of four. The combination does keep the show fresh enough to enjoy.
The Powell's, their sidekicks, and crew.
The characters that populate the show are by no means new to fans of anything relating to this website but the representations are a pleasant change from the standard. Chiklis plays a father who fills a role in the family normally represented by women. He’s no stay-at-home dad but since his wife is a career woman he is the most involved in his children’s lives. The children, Daphne played by Kay Panabaker and J.J. played by Jimmy Bennett, are your typical awkward teens wading their way through the pressures of high school. Ultimately, the show is a family program intended to appeal to no specific demographic so while there are some plots that revolve around high school drama, work relations, and marriage/relationship interaction, no single aspect weighs in heavier than the others. Include the rotating door of special-guest villains, my favorite so far being Ethan Suplee as Mist Man, and its easy to see why this show could and should populate our airwaves for several seasons.
There is a flipside to the “appeal to everyone” paradigm that the show maintains which is what Chiklis himself referred in an interview as “turning mayo” – meaning the product ends up bland and colorless. I would agree that this is true of the first half of the season but I also chalk some of the initial blandness up to properly outlining character relations. The show took a short break from December 7th to January 3rd but when it returned it was clear that some serious changes had been made the biggest of which being the tone. The 2011 episodes are full of villains and moral dilemmas. Despite this being a family show there have been several times where Jim or someone else, in the act of stopping a “super”, has accidentally killed the person. The villains themselves are for the most part misguided criminals given powers by the lab Stephanie Powell works at, in experiments to grant people what the Powell’s have via their South American plane crash. For more on interviews with Michael Chiklis and the improvements of the show please follow these links here, here and here.
The question now remains, will No Ordinary Family live to see a second season? Word around the water cooler is no, as both Chiklis and Benz have taken roles in other pilots, but as we all know this doesn’t necessarily mean anything other than they’re hedging their own bets. For my money I’d rather see the Powell family battle it out with the mysterious Mrs. X played by Lucy Lawless and the continued Kafkaesque management of regular people given temporary and addictive superpowers which allow them to do all the dark things many of us would if we had similar power. For more on the show check out their official website here.
Tags: Jared Walter, Movies & Television, No Ordinary Family, Super Heroes
About the Author
Written by Jared Walter
I occasionally write for ComicBooked.com but mostly I focus on my podcast Vigilante Nation and joining the other heroes of CB for some of their podcasts. I'm the guy that is pretending to be smart.
What Next?
Digg itSave This Page
Subscribe to ComicBooked
Related Articles