No Ordinary Family

I wasn’t sure what my reaction was going to be to this new TV series, but I’m happy to say that it’s extremely positive. It’s the story of a dysfunctional family of four that was drifting apart only to be brought together by the acquisition of preternatural abilities.

The series stars Michael Chiklis (The Shield, Fantastic Four) as the patriarch Jim Powell. Julie Benz (Dexter) as his wife, Stephanie Powell. The siblings, Kay Panabaker as Daphne Powell and Jimmy Bennet as JJ Powell. Romany Malco (Weeds) is George St. Cloud, Jim Powell’s best friend and confidant. I have to give credit to Julie Benz who I hated in Dexter for the naïve, weak and simpering character she played. This woman is truly an actor. As Stephanie Powell she exudes, confidence, strength and remarkable intelligence. 

On a forced family vacation to bring them all together; their chartered plane crashes with only the family of four on board, and the pilot (who presumably didn’t survive) played by Tate Donovan (Damages). As they escape from the sinking plane they are bathed in phosphorescent particles. When they return home and resume their normal dysfunctional lives, they soon discover that they have—powers. 

The powers manifest themselves from parts of their psyches. Just like the Fantastic Four, which I’m sure this show will get lots of comparisons to. Jim Powell gains nigh-impervious skin and Hulk-like leaping ability. Stephanie Powell can move at lightning speed. Daphne Powell manifests psionic abilities (telepathy for the uninitiated) and JJ, the slow and not too bright sibling gets a staggering intellectual boost.

In the super heroic tradition, Jim Powell sets out to fight crime once he has tested out his abilities. Unfortunately, thus far, no costumes or code names. But he is given a “lair” (complete with Wi-fi) by his best friend George. I’d really like to see this series commit to telling a real superhero story with all the idiosyncrasies that go along with it. As a family is involved, I think it would be important to protect their identities.

Where there are heroes, villains can’t be far behind. We learn that one of the criminals that Jim pursues also has preternatural abilities that will make X-Men fans rejoice. This criminal has the power of teleportation, not ordinary teleportation, Nightcrawler type teleportation that seemed to be ripped from the X-men 2 movie. Borrowed or not, it was still refreshing to see. Can I get a “BAMF”?

I have high hopes for this series and I plan to watch it every week. For the pilot episode, I’m giving No Ordinary Family 4.5 out of 5 fingers.