Wow! There's just so many positives to this show. The cast is perfect for the roles they've been given, the villains are intriguing, and the special effects are a hell of a lot better than most of the cheap-ass special effects that I've seen on other TV shows (including a lot of the shows that are on SyFy.) However, what's best about this show is the sarcasm from the sidekicks, as well as the son and the daughter on the show. Most of the humor for the mom and dad comes off as corny, but the humor from the others is both fresh and biting. My fiancé and I have both been watching the show since the beginning. The more we watch the show, the more that we get drawn in by the series. I can't believe it's getting canceled.
Add a Review
-
Stoli_Raz_N_720 February 2011
-
DarkVulcan295 October 2010The story of Jim Powell(Michael Chiklis) and his wife Stephanie(Julie Benz) decide to take a family vacation, in hopes to do something has a family, and take there kids along, Daphne(Kay Panabaker) and JJ(James Bennett). But quickly have a plane accident, and land in a pond of special water, special because when they get back something strange comes on all of them, Jim has superhuman strength, and is almost unbreakable, Stephanie is super fast, pretty much faster than a speeding bullet, Dapine has the ability to read minds, and is overwhelmed by it, and JJs mind is like super computer. We wonder what adventures will come The Powells way?
An entertaining series, awesome effects, and good chemistry between the cast. It's easy to see the comparisons between Fantastic Four and Heroes. I hope it keeps getting clever has it goes on. -
johnnymacbest28 September 2010Being a fan of superheroes and shows/movies based on them, I decided to give "No Ordinary Family" a chance and needless to say I was entertained. The show is lighthearted but there are some dark moments in it that really made it intense and kept my attention until the last few minutes of running time. The acting was for the most part above average, but it's the sense of intrigue that really makes the show; showing a family in crisis that are struggling to find common ground and I think that's one of the main themes in the show that makes it work. Heroes did this to a considerable degree but failed miserably in it's later seasons and I hope the show doesn't suffer that fate. The special effects were remarkable, thankfully not too much as to be a wannabe X-Men as I believe that less is more. But the highlights was the fight between Michael Chiklis's character and the guy who can disappear and faze through solid material. I'm just dying to see the next episode and the wild ride in the world of this (Ex)troardinary family.
-
f-sarkis12 August 2011It seems pathetic and nonsensical that this TV show has been cancelled. My guess is, since it does not have adult scenes, perverted language and swearing it is not cut out to be produced anymore.
No ordinary family has a great story plot and portrays a family with super powers. In their quest to find out what or how their powers work they are confronted by other individuals who also have powers.
This show is a great family show and as an avid follower it was a show where everyone in a family can relate to a character; a caring mother, the strong father, the smart children and the terrific friends.
Shame on you ABC, shame on you! -
Passionate_Gal27 September 2010I'm a huge Marvel fan, and I found myself fascinated with the Pilot. As the other reviewer mention it feels rush, but that is always the problem with pilots, so I tried to see past that and enjoyed it already knowing what to expect from a pilot episode.
The acting was great, the visual effects were great, maybe in the theaters they would've looked fake but for a TV show they were topnotch, the writing was 'meh', but it has the potential for improvement.
Can't wait to see if they can grab all the potential the pilot showed and turned it into a classic. Hopefully it won't end up like Heroes.
And I wouldn't say it's a mix between Heroes and The Incredibles, IMO it's actually more like The Incredibles meets Fantastic 4. -
dwk8992 December 2010this is everything a show needs ...great actors...darkness (batman) comedy (Reaper) WHY would you cancel it for BIGGEST LOSER Does that tell you anything about our society?
Im 62 and in a large spending class,so I wonder if the braintrust marketers will figure that out......
Please show us your intelligence if u have any..
this show is a perfect blend of all that we want on TV...
I will never understand why these good shows are trashed for crap like biggest loser. Are we such a society that we can only boost our self esteem on others TV FALSE misfortunes?
How pathetic are we?
Please get your life back and watch this great show,,,, -
cadillac2013 October 2010No Ordinary Family was one of the shows critics liked and one to watch for this season. Now, I'm not a big fan of TV. I don't watch much TV, and what I do watch I don't tend to follow faithfully. In fact, the last time I did follow shows faithfully were 24 and LOST. I'm a sucker for superhero shows, following Heroes pretty faithfully as well. So, No Ordinary Family intrigues me.
Missing the pilot and catching the second episode, I don't think I've missed anything. However, I have enjoyed what I've seen. The show is entertaining. And if Heroes was the superhero super group (X-men, Avengers, etc.), then this is the Fantastic Four of TV. It would also be comparable to The Incredibles, as many have compared. It's a good angle and it adds depth to an otherwise stale genre. Not so much for TV, but with so many superhero stories flooding the entertainment market, this more family friendly fare adds a little something to the field of TV.
The added element of family also seems to give it a little bit more life. Where as Heroes didn't last very long due to overblown stories and too many characters, Family could last long enough if it takes care to stick to it's core of the family and their problems. Essentially, this is a family sitcom without the comedic focus and with super powers. It's a good combination, even if you're not particularly a fan of the genres. The acting is quite good on the part of Julie Benz and Michale Chiklis as the parents. The kids are adequate, playing the typical teenagers with teenage issues. Autumn Reeser is cute as Mrs. Powell's lab assistant and Romany Malco is humorous as the best friend of Mr. Their adequate for entertainments sake, but also a bit cliché, which is disappointing.
The villains are also a bit of a disappointment. Whereas, for comparison, Sylar was a fairly complex villain, the villains here not only have superpowers as well, but are fairly cliché and evil. Hopefully this will change and more interesting villains will appear. But for now, the family dynamic and entertaining super power antics are fun enough to watch. How long they stay fun is a matter of time to tell. This is one show, though, I'm willing to keep watching for the time being. -
watashinobaby26 February 2012This was actually one of better show's on paranormal/superpower ability's I have watched in a long time, and that I was able to watch with my family . ABC shame on You.
If Desperate housewife's got what 4 seasons and it is so freaking clear that it is horrible show this should have gotten at least chance for second season.
Is it because it's about family? I donno but ABC has made some pretty bad choices in history and I am quite sure it will repeat.
Shame. I think I am not going to watch anymore of their shows ever coz I always get disappointed when I realize they are canceled. -
SnoopyStyle8 September 2013The Powell family (Michael Chiklis, Julie Benz, Kay Panabaker, Jimmy Bennett) gains superpowers after a plane crash in Brazil. The mother Stephanie works as a scientist in Global Tech on an Amazonian plant. She gains super-speed. Her police sketch artist husband Jim gains super-strength. Their daughter Daphne gains telepathy and their geeky son gains super-intelligence. Katie Andrews (Autumn Reeser) is Stephanie's lab assistant and Dr. Dayton King (Stephen Collins) is her boss. Jim's assistant DA friend George St. Cloud (Romany Malco) knows his secret and is a comic book fan.
The show has a strong start as the family tries to discover and deal with their new superpowers. It's a fun family take on super heroes. The problem starts when they try to overload it with the sci-fi drama of company secrets and the more serious story lines. It should have kept the show on the lighter side. The kids should deal more with school and school friends. The company intrigue should be pushed back to later years. This should have been a simple comedic superhero procedural show for the first year or two. -
gdump7 December 2010This concept has great potential -- just look at what "The Incredibles (2004)" did with it.
Sadly, this show just doesn't live up to the potential. It should be about how the family learns to live with their gifts and learns from their mistakes. Instead, it is about how often they repeat the same stupid mistakes and act totally inconsistently.
Teenagers acting stupidly is one thing -- this is what teenagers do. The problem is that it's just not interesting. Even an artsy father acting stupidly is believable -- once. However, a top-level research scientist acting stupidly over and over is just not believable.
IF this show is to make it to a second season, its only hope is a total replacement of the writing staff. -
bob_bear8 September 2013I came to this series late and just watched it on DVD over the course of about two weeks. I absolutely loved it.
The casting was superb, the scripts were, for the most part, top notch. I really enjoyed watching the family evolve and with each episode something new was brought to the table. It alternated effortlessly from being amusing to being dark. Most importantly it had heart and intelligence. The SFX were amongst the best I've seen on TV.
So how did this get canceled when so much crud runs on and on? A limited appeal? Lackluster promotion? Too good for its own good? Clearly it wasn't deemed to generate enough advertising revenue because at the end of the day it's not about quality but about profit.
A series that will leave you wanting more. Still, it's worth watching as a stand alone season. I just wish there were more to come. -
tantoedge4 January 2011This series is wicked slick, but the writing can be hit or miss. At times it can be incredibly entertaining, and at others, insulting towards your intelligence. The characters and plots are both engauging with good relations. When the writing is good, it's great and very entertaining. When it's off, you're throwing popcorn. I thoroughly enjoy the series for the approach they take, but there are definitely more than a few moments where I'm forced to yell at the screen in frustration for the message, or strong armed, over bearing, attempt at delivering a message. Generally, a great television series, despite these shortcomings. I recommend it to anybody who enjoyed Heroes, Supernatural or any such show.
-
NOTE: the spoilers are only about secondary plots
I get that the show is supposed to show the family adapting to having superpowers, and they are supposed to show the family slowly learning how to be superheroes, but some (actually, a lot) of the stuff they do is borderline retarded, which is detrimental to the show.
For example, it takes the dad like 4-5 episodes to realize he should probably wear a mask to protect his identity. Also, he jumps through the city, causing damage every time he falls/lands, and doesn't seem to think this is a big deal.
The son wants to impress a girl, gets his sister to read the girl's mind. When the sister finds out the girl's not into him, she tells the brother that the girl only dates Jewish guys, so he learns how to pretend to be Jewish, which naturally fails miserably (and supposedly hilariously, but I don't remember it being funny). And this is the guy whose superpower is an enhanced reasoning ability. Also, just about every math-related thing he (and everyone else, actually) says is wrong, but I suppose I can't expect the writers to know that.
The daughter (who can read minds) wants to impress a guy, and he tells her that he likes art. She decides that she needs to get her brother to learn about art, and then read her brother's mind, while she is on a date at an art museum with the guy (she has the brother follow in disguise). I'm guessing her Wile E. Coyote plan failed because I stopped watching after that. I mean, she can READ MINDS, just read the guy's mind and figure out what he wants. Or just make out with him or something, that'll probably work, too. Come to think of it, half the telepathic stuff she does can probably be accomplished conventionally.
I'm pretty sure the wife did some stupid stuff, too, but to be honest her character is so boring, I tend to tune out during her scenes.
I really wanted to like this show, which is why I saw so many episodes, but the writing is just awful. The examples I wrote here are not isolated. Pretty much every episode has two or more things like this. The actors do a pretty decent job considering what they are asked to say and do. The special effects are fine, too. Maybe I'll check back in a year if the show's still on the air. -
jim30260418 April 2012For the life of me I cannot figure out why this show was canceled. Makes no sense. This was a great mixture of Fantistic 4, Incredibles, X-Men all rolled into a fictional real people atmosphere. Was very fun to watch. Well executed. Normally shows go to the pot after years of eventually poorly written scripts. This show did not exhibit any signs of such bad writing or bad acting or bad directing. "shaking head in disbelief". There are many other series that fall far short of the excitement and fantasy that "no ordinary family" gave to viewers like myself and my family. Please. Bring this back, with same writers and directors and actors. If you change it in any way, you will destroy the experience. Regards
-
paperback_wizard28 September 2010Remember TGIF? No, not the restaurant; the Friday night programming block on ABC. From the mid-80′s until about the turn of the century, it featured such family-friendly favorites as "Perfect Strangers", "Full House", "Boy Meets World", and "Sabrina, the Teenaged Witch". As Friday night started to become less of a "ratings" night, the programming has become more and more of a dumpster slot, with less popular programming taking up the evening. Most of the shows, if they can be seen at all, can only be found in cable syndication or DVD boxsets.
Its spirit is still alive and well on ABC, though, in the new superhero family show "No Ordinary Family". Michael Chiklis ("The Commish", "Fantastic Four") and Julie Benz ("Angel", "Dexter") are Jim and Stephanie Powell, a typical nuclear family. They love each other, and their children Daphne and JJ, played by Kay Panabaker and Jimmy Bennett, but they just can't seem to make their "dysfunctional" family work in today's high-paced world. Stephanie has her career, Daphne has boy trouble, and JJ is struggling in school. Jim suggests they turn Stephanie's work trip to Brazil into a little working vacation for the whole family to give them all a chance to reconnect. The trip almost ends in disaster, as they charter a tour plane that crash lands in the middle of a storm. The family manages to swim ashore and return home, where things seem to return to normal.
Seem to.
Jim, returning to his job as a police sketch artist, manages to save a colleague's life by catching a bullet with his bare hand. Stephanie (always in a hurry) finds that she has superspeed and can now make time to spend with her (almost) estranged family. The kids take a little longer to discover their own powers, but in the end, this "ordinary" family discovers they've gained something extraordinary.
It's a fun premise, and perfect for the network that brought us "Step by Step" and "Family Matters". But while the laughs are good and the few special effects they use are visually interesting, it's about par for the course. One can hardly imagine how suddenly gaining superpowers would affect anyone, let alone a whole family at once, so you can hardly criticize the writers for what seems to be some fairly disjointed dialogue. Blending discussions of how these powers will change their lives with talk of the problems they had before the accident doesn't go over so well. And while Chiklis and Benz are great performers, their chemistry does seem a little forced at times.
I usually give origin stories and series premieres a pass, especially where superheroes are concerned. After all, this is a new cast, with a new mythology and even new physics, it seems (keep your ears open for a fair amount of "lampshading" when it comes to explaining how their powers work). I'm even a little excited at the prospect of more family-friendly programming. That being said, I didn't see much about this show that made me think "extraordinary" was quite the right word for it. We'll just have to see how the rest of the season goes.
(Read the original review at http://fourthdayuniverse.com/reports/2010/09/a-very-ordinary-tv-show/ ) -
Stig101 January 2011I love this show. It is easily in my top 5 shows currently airing at the moment (along with Chuck, Lie to Me, Sons of Anarchy and Previously Dark Blue before it was cancelled).
The show is very light hearted and manages to mix comedy with action and drama extremely well. The family are quite cliché and the powers aren't exactly 'original' but they make it work.
The cast do a great job portraying their characters, the only one I'm not a huge fan of is the antagonist Josh Stewart (but he's slowly starting to grow on me now). The rest, however, are awesome. Michael Chiklis (Star of The Shield and Fantastic Four) does a brilliant job as the father while Julie Benz (formerly Rita Morgan in Dexter) puts on a strong performance as the mother of the family. You also have Kay Panabaker and Jimmy Bennett as the kids.
The character development in this series is great and although the story is predictable (for the most part), it is still highly entertaining. The characters relationships are believable and very engrossing. I think the pairing of Jim Powell (Michael Chiklis) and George St. Cloud (Romany Malco) is one of my favourite bromance relationships right now on TV. Romany Malco is AWESOME in this series. I've never really seen him act before so I'm not sure if it's the script, his acting or a mix of both. But he is extremely funny in this show, he is constantly shooting out one liners which make me literally laugh out loud, although it has to be said I feel his acting in the more serious scenes is lacking at times. The second prize for most hilarious character in this show has to go to Stephanie Powells best friend and work colleague Katie Andrews (Played by Autumn Reeser), she is incredibly geeky and so socially awkward, hilarious to watch.
I'd say this show could pull in a pretty wide audience (I can just as easily imagine a 14 year old watching this as I can a 50 year old). It's light hearted, fun and easy to watch. Yes it has the sci-fi/fantasy element to it which is akin to shows like Chuck, Heroes, Supernatural, Buffy, Smallville etc. But it also has a more family oriented feel to it at times and what this show does brilliantly is applying super powers to every day events.
I'm struggling to describe the feel of this show. I'd suggest everyone checks out the pilot to get an idea for what it's like themselves rather than relying on the reviews posted here.
A lot of people have been comparing it heroes but I find it far to light hearted to be compared to heroes. It's nowhere near as dark and serious and has far more comedy integrated throughout. I'd say it's more like Chuck than Heroes.
I've only seen the first 8 episodes (it's still on it's first season) but so far I'd give this show a 9/10. Yes it has it's clichés (the family couldn't be any more of a stereotype) and it has it's flaws, plus the special effects aren't the best (but are still impressive for a TV show). But overall this show is funny, charming, easy to watch and above all entertaining. -
Brownsbros31 October 2012I have to go against the critics. Most of the critics said the problem was that Michael Chiklis and Julie Benz were out of place playing heroes. I disagree. They were my favorite part of the series. I thought they had good chemistry with one another. It's the kids that I didn't like. The son lied for several weeks about his enhanced brainpower with the phony baloney claim that they didn't love him for who he was. The daughter started off okay with just the ability to read minds, but then developed the ability to manipulate them. She went off with her boyfriend, put the family in danger, her dad tries to punish her, and she uses her power to change his mind. She could pretty much get away with anything. That's not a trait for someone who is supposed to be one of the good guys.
Autumn Reeser was great as the lab assistant/comic book fan. her relationship with Joshua I felt was a little forced. The most out-of-place person had to be Stephen Collins as the lead bad guy. After 11 seasons on 7th Heaven, I just can't see him as anything other than Rev. Camden. With all that said, I thought they still should have gotten a second year. -
takhisis-251-57314328 December 2011We loved the show and then it gets cancelled. We wanted to see what happened next. we want to see more of what happens to this family and see how it copes with the challenges of the world and growing up. they left off with more to be seen. Please bring it back. we want to see more!!!!!!!!!!!! we sat and watched of the episodes in three nights just so we could see them again we missed some of it and we just wanted to see them again. We loved how family problems still come in to play and they can still be resolved and still take the time for crime fighting. After 18 years of marriage they can still find the time to be together and have time for each other and family. Just Please Bring It Back We Miss It Desperately!!!!!!!!
-
holdingz125 March 2011my criticism is of the general plotting and writing that insults any audience who tries this weak and unimaginative TV show. There is a repeating theory that if characters refuse to simply say something to another character, even something simple as where were you after school, there will be an endlessly contrived result that creates audience interest.
my theory is that somewhere in the industry there are 2 or perhaps 3 creative writers....when they are not hired or when they start a show and leave it is all over except waiting for cancellation.
look at the adult male lead, Michael Chiklis. his approach is to pant- breath lines.
The core concept may have been interesting but the execution is pure awful. -
dgrayman23 May 2011I am a big fans of superheroes stories, you can name it almost most of them I can familiar with the story. so my opinion in here is based on my "experience" to watch them and I will give my ratings in many aspects.
For the powers (5): too obvious and don't have its own distinction with other superheroes movies, superhuman strength.. seen it, super-speed.. watched it, mind-reader.. lots of superheroes use this power already.. Maybe super genius is little bit different.
Characters (6): the father character maybe is a bit unique because he is somehow not a leader figure in his family.., the mother is the leader figure in the family.. the son and the daughter are an average stereotype kids who tries to adapt to their friends at school, nothing unusual. Although, I like how good the characters can connect well with each others, it feels natural.
Story (5.5): really confusing, I think the writer is trying soooo hard to make the story look complex but it becomes not very believable. For example, if you watch in the first episodes, the father sometimes do the opposite of what he just said and believed with no logical explanation at all. In episode ten, the writer make the story too simple, why are their side kicks want to get out of their own teams just because a personal feeling? where is the determination to be a hero that the characters showed in first episodes. It looks like they are just playing a game and being a childish, grow up.. you are all an adult (the father and mother's sidekicks) it's like "if i don't like the person Im out the game".. hey are you serious want to save people? there are super villains in this TV series you know.. It's like I am watching a cartoon here, even cartoon's story nowadays is not like that. So actually is not the characters' that make the story becomes so weird, but it is the writer's responsibility.
OK, why I give 6 in here because I like that we have given another choices to watch superheroes story. Also there are many jokes that match with their own personalities. But if they are planning to make the second season of this.. please please please, don't let me get the feeling "it's not relevant, why is she doing that easily? Why didn't he just do this?"... anymore and try not to make the story complex if the writers don't have the capabilities to make complex story. -
This is a version of "The Greatest American Hero" on Qualuudes.
The writing is terrible; the stories are worn-out; the acting is flabby. There is no character development, no revelation, nothing. The shadowy bad guys are so shadowy as to be non-existent, and contain no interest-level whatsoever.
What began as an innocuous little family show has become a chore to watch with the kids. I would rather do the dishes for the punishing hour that this show airs. When I am looking forward to the commercials, and PLEADING with the rest of the viewers not to pause the show for me if I am fortunate enough for the phone to ring while it is on, there is a serious problem.
With no redeeming qualities, I am very surprised that this show has not been canceled. -
LifeLongBachelor7 December 2010I am a huge fan of No Ordinary Family it is a fresh original show the whole family can enjoy. The acting is incredible the story is believable. The show has Michael Chiklis from shows like "The Commish & The Shield" two very entertaining shows in their own rights. Plus he was also in the Fantastic Four movies. Also it has the truly delightful Autum Reeser from The O.C.. Really the only downside to this show is the rather plain and drab performance put for forth by Stephen Collins. He just doesn't have the acting chops necessary to play the villain. But over all I truly enjoy this show and hope to see it for many years to come.
-
OK, the writing and acting is cheesy and mediocre at best, but I can deal with that. What it started to bother me really, really bad, is that the only recurrent bad guy in the show is the Math teacher. He doesn't trust his students, he scowls constantly and never smiles, he makes outrageous accusations (as I teacher, I fear I would have been fired if I made half the hateful comments this guy does), and he looks overtly Middle-Eastern. Also, it seems that the guy doesn't have a life and so he spends his time stalking his students. In episode 4 he is in the stands checking out the football players (oh, no! A gay Middle Eastern??? I really hope that Jim has a chance to beat him up before he contaminates his students!!!) and scowling at the fact that JJ is now in the team.
Then we wonder why Americans are more afraid of Middle-Easterns now than they did right after 9/11. It's like ME's are the new Russians, or something. -
mhtyler21 October 2010the writing is very ordinary. I don't blame the excellent leads in this rubbish, we all need a paycheck, but please, please, please ABC, hire a writer instead of a chimp.
The pilot show was a forgettable origin program that starts off with every family cliché possible, and then moves on to every superhero cliché possible.
Honestly, if you're going to use the word ordinary in the title, make an extra effort not to live down to it.
In short, you've got the actors, you've got the premise, but writing matters, which is why I won't be watching anymore. -
jeanney-bravo25 February 2011This has to be one of the best shows on TV at the moment. It has superhero figures, i've always been into that. And they're basing it all in the real modernized world we are living in right now. A lot of us will be able to relate to their everyday problems, such as family, school, and things like that. (Though we don't have to worry about having powers and keeping our secret identities... i think.)
No Ordinary Family is great. I absolutely love it, best thing i've seen in a while since all my other shows have all finished their seasons. I'm 14, and this for sure isn't the best review ever, but my point is, YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS. YOU'LL LOVE IT.