Who'd have thought that the second hour-long superhero drama premiere to come out of Comic-Con actually rates one of the better pilots we've seen in years?
Trust us, No Ordinary Family may seem hoakey on the outside, but you won't want to miss this one.
Where The Cape lacks believablity, No Ordinary Family actualy succeeds in creating a realistic world in which one family finds themselves with extraordinary powers, and actually react like human beings. No easy task, as anyone who paid to see Fantastic Four will tell you. Instead, stars Michael Chikis and Julie Benz, formerly of Dexter, put forth their equally likeable charm and snappy writing propels us past any initial doubts that this premise could work as a series.
It doesn't hurt that most characters feel perfectly aware of the ridiculousness of situation, as well as superhero mythology, especially in the way Michael Chiklis'character Jim Powell corrects Romany Malco's D.A. George St. Cloud that he can leap tall buildings in a single bound, not jump.
It's little touches like that and the way Julie Benz' lab assistant rationalizes all the issues that would scientificaly befall a speedster like The Flash, namely constant eating to sustain a high metabolism, and an energy field that prevents her clothes from tearing to pieces as she runs. Shame.
We'll definitely be tuning into the premiere on Tuesday, September 28th on ABC, but here's a few more tidbits in the meantime:
- We don't know if the series will continue in this fashion, but both Julie Benz and Michael Chiklis narrate the events a la Peter Parker, later revealed to be their session at couples' counseling.
- We're not given an entirely definitive explanation for the origin of their powers, but we saw the family's tour plane over Brazil crashing (another FF reference), putting them in contact with a pond made phosphorescent by mysterious ancient plant Julie's character researches.
- Chiklis gains super strength, durability and leaps tall bounds, while Julie Benz discovers her super-speed, their daughter and son eventually gaining telepathy and super-intelligence, respectively.
- We love the attention to detail, particularly in the way Chiklis can't fully control his super-jumps, or in that bullets can in fact penetrate his skin, depending on the distance.
- Casting Romany Malco was a fantastic idea.
- We soon learn that our titular family aren't the only super-powered folk around, with one bank robber revealed as a teleporter, in an excellent fight sequence.
- Josh Stewart has been cast in the role of a "watcher," who will have an ability of his own and pose a threat to the family
Trust us on this one folks, stay tuned!
