I might as well as just get this out in the open right now: "No Ordinary Family" is one of the best shows I've seen on TV in recent years. No, I'm not being hyperbolic. I mean, it really is that good. It was a show that kept me thoroughly entertained, and on the edge of my seat constantly waiting for the next big surprise (and episode).
And therein lies the problem: "No Ordinary Family" is not an Ordinary TV Show and therefore, it was just too unique to last beyond one single season with an open-ended cliffhanger climax before it was unceremoniously canceled by NBC, presumably for reasons related to poor ratings.
Due to my work schedule, I was unable to meet the demands of staying up late at night to watch "No Ordinary Family" while it was still airing regularly on TV; I'm actually quite unable to do this with many TV shows I want to see because of my schedule. Hence my review here is based on the season-one DVD, which I've spent the last three days getting caught up on (TV-on-DVD is a real life-saver).
It angers me that genuinely unique (if not totally original) TV shows are a rarity these days, especially in 2012. It happened when my favorite TV show within the last several years "Heroes" was unceremoniously canceled two years ago (and I was a huge, loyal fan of that show, by the way), and it happened when "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" was canceled the year before. I think that when it comes to this sort of television - and I'm sure I'm not alone on this - Americans just have too short attention spans to even be able to handle "No Ordinary Family," which while not too intelligent or sophisticated, is at least entertaining, gripping, and watchable.
In speaking of the show's merits, it has many. Essentially, "No Ordinary Family" is a play on modern-day comic book superhero mythology. It borrows trace elements from the aforementioned "Heroes," as well as the animated Pixar hit "The Incredibles" (2004), and adds in a lot of humorous comic book references and family dramedy dynamics to make it stand alone on its own two feet. It's all done in light, fun, good humor and it's not pickled in angst or nostalgia (imagine if Christopher Nolan was behind this series - personally, I'm glad he wasn't because his so-self-serious intensity would have killed any and all fun to be had here). And it also boasts some impressive, movie-quality special effects on-hand here, as well.
As a superhero fan and comic book reader, just being a superhero fan and comic book reader are just two of the reasons why my curiosity caused me to wander around to "No Ordinary Family"; it's a delight to watch the show and its self-knowing characters work with and around contemporary and traditional comic book lore to make every episode count in some way toward the bigger picture.
This series had me hooked from the word "go". It gets off to a bit of a slow start, but quickly finds its proper footing halfway through the first season.
Things begin with a plane crash in the Brazilian jungle. The four bickering members of the Powell family, on a family trip, miraculously survived, but are forever transformed by the event. Of course, the experience has caused them to bond closer to each other than they were before, but they've also unexpectedly gained superpowers. So the once-normal, boring, and "Ordinary" Powells are thus turned into an "Extraordinary" family of super-powered super-folks:
- Family patriarch Jim Powell (Michael Chiklis), a police sketch artist, gains superhuman strength and durability, like Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible from "The Incredibles" and Ben Grimm/The Thing from the Fantastic Four (in a strange little irony, Chiklis portrayed the latter in the two live-action "Fantastic Four" movies), and uses these abilities to battle crime on a daily basis
- Mother Stephanie Powell (Julie Benz, of "Dexter"), a noted research scientist and driven careerist - the rest of the family was accompanying her on a scientific expedition when their plane crashed in Brazil - acquires superhuman speed and a rapidly increased metabolism (which allows her to heal almost instantaneously from any injury)
- Teenage daughter Daphne Powell (Kay Panabaker) develops telepathy, meaning she can read minds, which later evolves into "pushing," being able to "push" thoughts into people's heads; both abilities allow her to increase her social standing/status a little bit at high school
- And teenage son JJ Powell (Jimmy Bennett) acquires higher cognitive functioning, which basically makes him a super-genius able to instantly understand and comprehend post-graduate-level mathematics, learn new languages almost immediately, and understand & comprehend complex machines and structures; I really wish I had this ability for my high school math classes.
So obviously, they need to keep their powers a secret but as the series progresses, they try to learn the source of their powers while also battling all sorts of crime high and low. Eventually, powerful forces will cause this family to use their special abilities and bond together as one to face an even more dangerous threat to humanity. Also along to help them are Stephanie's perky comic book fan-girl lab assistant Katie Andrews (Autumn Reeser) and George St. Cloud (Romany Malco), Jim's twice-divorced best friend who is also an assistant district attorney and also establishes their base of operations in his garage.
As I stated earlier, this is a great, fun, funny, action-packed superhero TV series that doesn't take itself too seriously; it's all good fun. But also to reiterate my points from before, people seem to have increasingly diminishing attention spans, which more than likely led to this show's premature demise after only one season. This last part made me especially angry upon learning the truth about its fate.
In short, it was too fun, and too "Extraordinary," to last.
8/10
