If there is one fad I hope never fades away it is America's recent obsession with superheroes. No Ordinary Family plays like an adult version of The Incredibles. It has the great family dynamic, the cool super heroes, but ditches the silly kid crap. Or, to put it simply, it reminds me of The Fantastic Four.
The pilot does a fantastic job of running through the origin story without turning the first episode into a boring fact finding mission. It touches on all the necessary elements you would see in any comic book. Checklist time:
1 - Genesis of powers (beautifully far-fetched, as always)
2 - Awkward learning to deal with powers phase (ooops! I just tore the fridge door off!)
3 - Learn to kick ass
4 - Fight some fucking crime
But every sci-fi show lives or dies by its special effects budget, which fortunately appears to be no issue here. Not too spoil too much but their representation of a character with super speed is the best I have ever seen on movie or television.
Michael Chiklis picks up right where he left off on The Shield. Brimming with charisma and impossible to dislike he plays the patriarch, Jim Powell. Having traded in his badge and gun for a suspect sketching book he is still fighting crime even before his powers manifest. It is fun to see him playing a more sensitive and softer character after his tour de force run as Vic Mackey.
The rest of the cast is equally pleasing. Julie Benz (Dexter, Rambo, The Pun
isher) is beautiful as always as the driven mother, Stephanie Powell. I am surprised she took this role, from her previous work I assumed she had a minimum bloodshed clause in her contracts. Romany Malco (who I will always remember as R.O.M. of College Boyz fame) plays a great best friend to Michael Chiklis, as well as eye candy for the ladies according to a female friend. And hot off her big run on Entourage Autumn Reeser plays a co-worker to Stephanie Powell. I have had a crush on this girl ever since I first laid eyes on her on The O.C.I personally cannot wait for this show to hit the air. So far no one has managed to make one of these superhero genre TV shows go the distance. (Smallville doesn't count, it sucks, and it relies on the built in fan base of Superman.) Obviously it is a little early to judge how this one will do over the long haul, but I think it looks promising. Plus, I never bet against Vic Mackey.
Catch the premiere September 28, 2010 @ 8 PM!
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