Fall TV Preview

SYNOPSIS

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The Powells are about to go from ordinary to extraordinary. After 16 years of marriage, Jim and Stephanie's relationship lacks the spark it once had, and their family life now consists of balancing work and their two children, leaving little time for family bonding. During a family vacation set up by Jim in an attempt to reconnect, their plane crashes into the Amazon River. But this is where the fun starts for the Powells, as they soon discover that something's not quite right. Each of them now possesses unique and distinct superpowers. But saving and savoring their family life will be equally important, as they try to find purpose for their new powers and embark on a journey to find out what defines and unifies them. The Powells are a totally relatable family who happen to be a little bit amazing.

Michael Chiklis (The Shield) stars as Jim Powell, Julie Benz (Dexter) as Stephanie Powell, Romany Malco (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) as George St. Cloud, Tate Donovan (Damages) as Mitch McCutcheon, Autumn Reeser as Katie Andrews, Christina Chang as Yvonne Cho, Kay Panabaker as Daphne Powell and Jimmy Bennett as JJ Powell.

The pilot was written and executive-produced by Jon Feldman. The series is executive-produced by Feldman, Greg Berlanti, Morgan Wandell and David Semel, who also directed the pilot. Joe Hartwick, Jr. serves as producer. No Ordinary Family is from ABC Studios.

Starring:
Michael Chiklis as Jim Powell
Julie Benz as Stephanie Powell
Jimmy Bennett as JJ Powell
Kay Panabaker as Daphne Powell
Romany Malco as George St. Cloud
Autumn Reeser as Katie Andrews
Christina Chang as Det. Yvonne Cho
Tate Donovan as Mitch McCutcheon

Filmography links courtesy of IMDb link-it programme.

REVIEWS

Please note that these reviews may contain spoilers.

Randi Dertzo's Take
Dexter is by far my favourite active show and I was devastated when I saw the season finale last spring. Thankfully, I won't miss Julie Benz for long as she returns in No Ordinary family and boy, what a return! I absolutely loved this show. This is as close as it’s gonna get to having a “real” family getting super powers and I can’t wait to see more. Julie Benz and Michael Chiklis... Really, you doubt this? It is also fun to see that both the mother and father do some narrating. They both take turn presenting new elements to the story of how they obtained their powers and how they discovered it. As most family on TV, they’re dysfunctional! The mother is at the top of her field as research scientist and the father is not really feeling at home taking a bigger part of taking care of the family. Of course, having super powers can change all that! It was fun to see each character discovering their abilities by themselves at first and sharing them later on. There’s also a twist in the pilot that will definitely be the backbone for future episodes. Here’s a hint: You can’t have all these powers and just catch petty thieves, right? :) No Ordinary Family is on a relatively tough spot since it will compete with Glee airing on Global and FOX. On CBC, The Rick Mercer Report is followed by 22 Minutes. NCIS airs on CBS while Citytv and NBC air the Biggest Loser. The CW will present One Tree Hill. There’s something for everybody in that timeslot!
Rating: One of my personal favorites!
About Randi Dertzo I'm the founder of this website and I also owns ChannelCanada.com and Viewers.ca, a discussion forum about television in Canada.

Gordon McDougall's Take
When I first heard that Michael Chiklis, who was last seen as one of the most vicious lead characters ever seen on TV (The Shield) and Julie Benz, who was last seen in a bathtub full of blood (Dexter), I couldn’t quite get why their next career moves would be to star in a lighthearted drama about a family that develops super-powers. The script of the first episode helped me get over those prejudices. Aside from the typical origin story we’re used to seeing whenever comic book characters are adapted for movies or television, this is a family with problems that aren’t going to be solved in an hour. Dad is a police sketch artist who is tantalizingly close to the cop action, but frustratingly far from it, as well. Meanwhile, he watches his work-obsessed wife, envious of her fulfilling career. When he becomes nearly invulnerable and she develops super-speed, you get the feeling their lives are going to change for the better…just not right away… The daughter and son aren’t so lucky. When she is suddenly able to read minds and he goes from being a remedial student to super-genius, their powers seem doomed to amplify the teenage angst and soap melodrama that most of us endure in high school. Now that the origins are out of the way, I’m looking forward to the next episodes. This is one of those flight of fancy shows that will make most viewers imagine what their lives would be like if they suddenly had new powers that didn’t ask for. No Ordinary Family has elements of The Fantastic Four, The Greatest American Hero and a dash of Spider-Man, but I get a feeling it’s a show that is going to quickly develop its own voice. This show has some stiff competition (NCIS, Glee, The Biggest Loser, One Tree Hill), but if ABC is patient, they could find a decent audience.
Rating: One of my personal favorites!
About Gordon McDougall TVGord is a radio host at 580 CFRA in Ottawa. He does a weekly segment about TV every friday which you can hear in MP3 in the '580 CFRA Interviews' section of their website, www.cfra.com