Today brings the premiere of another promising show: No Ordinary Family. Pete’s previously mentioned it here, and while we missed catching it at SDCC (sadly), we still managed to get a little sneak at the premiere… OOOOH SHINY. What better time to have a little writeup to tell you if you should watch the latest superhero show? After Heroes, I’m sure everybody is wary.
So the story begins with the good old family origin tale. Chiklis (as Jim), was missing good old family time, but ends up following his wife on a research trip with the 2 kids… they get into a plane accident, blah blah. POWERS, BOOYAH. As simple and as generic as they come, but this is one case where cliche definitely works – the show, after all, doesn’t attempt to stray too far from cliche, and such familiarity, early on, will be good for the show – but we have to see how and when the show departs from the known and identifiable before the show can stand on its own.
Extra fun thing one: BAMPF!
Of course we have the discovery and testing of powers… with very interesting attempts to explain the powers and how they work and originated! Very cool. All done by a boffin who’s a fan of Kitty Pryde. Uber cool. (You shouldn’t eat in the lab!! Come on!!!) And if you’re going to get powers not from outer space, some undiscovered river is going to be a good source (miracle drugs, anybody?) (Also, potential storyline alert involving evil scientists who want to harvest powers!) It should be obvious whose powers Chiklis is emulating (if it’s not clear, the little conversation he has in the show should make it very clear, and it’s great that they stick to the original actual powers before things got out of hand). The show almost takes a quick veer 3/4 through the show which could have been a game changer, but it went right back into formula again… I won’t say that it’s a bad thing, because turning it into a dark bent about how the powers have limits so soon might have been a bit too much – and we already have a bigger problem on our hands which we’ll visit soon, I’m sure. A little side note, but I wonder how long Lucas is going to last as a character – especially since the Bieber look-a-like appears in Glee too, in a possibly bigger role. (Parentheses!)
Extra fun thing 2: With Wifi!
It has touches of a documentary with talking heads (The Office / Modern Family style), perhaps to ease the viewers into the show, but we’ll have to see how this works out. In the end, we know it’s pitched as a more fun, less serious, family friendly superpower show – if anything, the choice of music should make it pretty obvious. And even with all the generic stuff going on that I’ve mentioned, seeing Chiklis in a fun role (kinda like the Thing, but less of that crappy movie feel) and the vibe that the show gives off, it’s all very promising. Let’s see where this goes, and hope it remains fun!
