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shadowkatWatched No Ordinary Family which I'd read a positive review of on www.robwillreview.com, and since I tend to agree with Rob's reviews on most not all occassions, figured I'd check it out.
He was absolutely right on all counts.
Prior to doing my own review - a few confessions:
1. I have a huge weakness for superhero stories or stories about people who suddenly get special powers.
2. Non-dysfunctional, warm happy family shows comfort me. What can I say? It's a thing.(ie. Nice to have show where the characters don't have Daddy or Mommy issues or you wish you could back in time and neuter everyone.)
3. After watching Life Unexpected tonight - which Emma Caulfield currently has a supporting role in - I've come the conclusion that there are only three, possibly five actors from the Angel and Buffy series that were in lead roles (ie. mentioned in the opening credits every week (note this means I am not including Amber Benson, Adam Rush or Danny Strong in this bit so don't respond with what about Danny in Mad Men) that I find watchable in anything else. They are : 1) Anthony Stewart Head (Merlin, VR5, Manchild, on stage in Chess, and assorted supporting roles), 2)Amy Acker (Dollhouse), 3)Julie Benze (yes, I know she wasn't in the opening credits of Angel in S2 but she should have been - besides, my post, my rules!) (No Ordinary Family and Dexter), 4) Vincent KArthesier (Mad Men) and 5) Seth Green (The Italian Job amongst other comedies). James Marsters, and Sarah Michelle Gellar are watchable but it depends on the role...Marsters was sort of watchable in Torchwood, Smallville, and Caprica, Gellar in Scream 2, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Cruel Intentions (which unfortunately were all before or during the first three years of Buffy), but most of the time? Ugh.
No Ordinary Family
The best thing about this show is the refreshing casting choices - they went against established trope or stereotype. Instead of the gorgeous GQ hunk or the slight nerdy type guy (who is usually who they cast in these shows and has been cast in all the other shows, think David Boreanze or Nathan Fillion (YAWN) ) - they cast an excellent and versatile character actor. Big, bald, heavy-set, Michael Chicklis of the Commish, The Sheild, and The Fantastic Four. A character actor with a wide range of acting experience. For the female role - instead of the nerdy scientist type or a beautiful model with no lines in her face, they cast soft-spoken Julie Benze, who may be amongst the few 40 something actresses out there that has not gotten a face-lift or botox treatment. She has actual laugh lines. And she exudes a weathered, strong, warmth that is needed here. Benze has a great deal of range - having watched her in both Angel and now Dexter - it is nice to see her take on yet another type of role. The kids? Look normal for once. They aren't beautiful and hot. And they are actually, kids. Which is sort of necessary considering that they've cast thirty and forty year-olds as the parents.
Most realistic casting that I've seen in a genre show in quite a while (excluding Caprica, Being Human, and BSG of course.).
The plot of the series is fairly basic: a family that is having trouble connecting with one another takes a vacation - spear-headed by the Dad who has taken on the bulk of the parenting duties for his too busy/career driven wife. Dad forces them to take a scenic tour of a rain forest in Belize. They run into a storm, the plane crashes into the water, and they barely make it out alive. Something was in the water - which we find out later has imbued each family member with an extraordinary power.
The powers are rather interesting. Instead of random powers, the powers given are tailor-made to the individual family members wishes, wants and dreams. Julie Benze's character is always short on time, always running late, always struggling to get places fast - all of a sudden she can run a mile in less than a second. She's super-fast. Like the Flash. Michael Chicklis character dreams of being strong, invulnerable, able to fight crime to serve a purpose, not be a weakling...he is not only super strong, but able to catch bullets and jump tall buildings (a far more interesting power than flying). Now he's invulnerable to harm. Daughter Katie - dreams of being able to know what people are thinking about her, what is going on, and all of a sudden she does - but feels cursed and overwhelmed by this power. While JJ, who is struggling with school, feels like the outsider,
and has been told he has a learning disability - is suddenly a genius.
How the characters deal with the powers, why they got them, what they choose to do with them and why, and how others deal with them - is the focus of the story. It's not the predictable - today we have a villian, we will defeat him, hooray tale or monster of the week - that early Smallville episodes were. Nor for that matter is it the convoluted ensemble piece that Heroes turned out to be. Heroes focused more on horror, and tended to be far darker and far more violent, while No Ordinary Family seems to be lighter in tone and more humorous. One of the problems I had with Heroes is it took itself far too seriously for its subject matter. Also I felt it focused too much on the horror of having power and being different, than on the delight. And, I admittedly have grown tired of stories about serial killers - which Heroes was far too fond of for it's own good.
(Dexter oddly is the exception - but that may be - because Dexter in a way satirizes all the other shows, and does not take itself that seriously.)
There are some interesting supporting characters here too: Mike Chicklis (can't remember the character's name) best bud - the DA. Who has a fun banter with Mike. Their scenes together are quite funny. There's also the female police detective - another cool twist in casting choices.
Instead of the tough streetwise male detective, we have a tough streetwise female detective.
These are the only POC's in the cast - the female detective is Asian, and DA is black. (I'm noticing this a lot now...because it is a huge change over the last few years, where you were lucky to have a guest star who was a POC in a tv show (cough*Buffy*cough). This is a big change and something to celebrate, I think. It's far from perfect, but it's growth.) We also have Stephen Collins playing Julie Benze's boss, a shady research scientist/corporate big-wig (yes, that old time-worn cliche..but it is sort of fun here and I like Collins. Plus nice to see him playing a shady role for a change.) And finally Julie's geeky lab tech - whose favorite character of the X-men is Kitty Pryde. (This series seems to be more interested in referencing Marvel comics than DC, so like Marvel is more science based, and more character based. Which means it might be more accessible to a broader range of people. Particularly the science element - the family doesn't know how they got their powers, but there are hints that it might have something to do with what Julie's company has been doing.)
The episode I saw was told in an interesting format - we, the audience, was in the point of view of the couple's therapist that the DA had suggested to Mike towards the beginning of the episode. Mike and his wife were a bit estranged, their powers are bringing them closer, but they need to work on their relationship and the relationship they have with their kids. One of the main themes is the desire to connect with others, but feeling you have no time to do it or don't quite know how. Superpowers has always been a good metaphor for that difficulty.
So there are two main threads here: the thread about family dynamics and the one about having superpowers. With multiple other possibilities popping up.
Unlike Heroes - No Ordinary Family is a bit more self-contained. It has four main characters as opposed to ten. All the main characters live in the same house. We aren't constantly jumping around the world, back and forth in time, and pov. It requires less attention from the audience.
Heroes was a bit too ambitious for its own good and often lost its audience in all its narrative gimmicks - to the point that I often thought - okay, pick one, we don't need time-travel, out of order time line, flashback, and multiple shifts in pov all in one hour - I have a head-ache.
On top of this - No Ordinary has the added bonus of not having anti-heroes. And I happen to like anti-hero characters, as you well know. But...the problem with anti-heroes is if you aren't careful your straight heroes start to resemble holier-than-thou hypocrites that certain members of the audience, namely me, have this overwhelming desire to strangle eventually. It is very hard to write a show with anti-hero and straight heroes and make them both complex. The trick is basically to make everyone gray or neither hero nor villain, which Heroes attempted to do but screwed up on with Sylar. No Ordinary Family may do a better job by just giving us a human family gifted with super-powers and letting us watch them struggle to handle it. Sometimes simple is better, or so says the gal who likes to complicate things out of boredom. ;-)
Overall rating? B+
It's not perfect, but definitely enjoyable and yes, I'm watching all of it this year - it is getting a record series on the old DVR.
He was absolutely right on all counts.
Prior to doing my own review - a few confessions:
1. I have a huge weakness for superhero stories or stories about people who suddenly get special powers.
2. Non-dysfunctional, warm happy family shows comfort me. What can I say? It's a thing.(ie. Nice to have show where the characters don't have Daddy or Mommy issues or you wish you could back in time and neuter everyone.)
3. After watching Life Unexpected tonight - which Emma Caulfield currently has a supporting role in - I've come the conclusion that there are only three, possibly five actors from the Angel and Buffy series that were in lead roles (ie. mentioned in the opening credits every week (note this means I am not including Amber Benson, Adam Rush or Danny Strong in this bit so don't respond with what about Danny in Mad Men) that I find watchable in anything else. They are : 1) Anthony Stewart Head (Merlin, VR5, Manchild, on stage in Chess, and assorted supporting roles), 2)Amy Acker (Dollhouse), 3)Julie Benze (yes, I know she wasn't in the opening credits of Angel in S2 but she should have been - besides, my post, my rules!) (No Ordinary Family and Dexter), 4) Vincent KArthesier (Mad Men) and 5) Seth Green (The Italian Job amongst other comedies). James Marsters, and Sarah Michelle Gellar are watchable but it depends on the role...Marsters was sort of watchable in Torchwood, Smallville, and Caprica, Gellar in Scream 2, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Cruel Intentions (which unfortunately were all before or during the first three years of Buffy), but most of the time? Ugh.
No Ordinary Family
The best thing about this show is the refreshing casting choices - they went against established trope or stereotype. Instead of the gorgeous GQ hunk or the slight nerdy type guy (who is usually who they cast in these shows and has been cast in all the other shows, think David Boreanze or Nathan Fillion (YAWN) ) - they cast an excellent and versatile character actor. Big, bald, heavy-set, Michael Chicklis of the Commish, The Sheild, and The Fantastic Four. A character actor with a wide range of acting experience. For the female role - instead of the nerdy scientist type or a beautiful model with no lines in her face, they cast soft-spoken Julie Benze, who may be amongst the few 40 something actresses out there that has not gotten a face-lift or botox treatment. She has actual laugh lines. And she exudes a weathered, strong, warmth that is needed here. Benze has a great deal of range - having watched her in both Angel and now Dexter - it is nice to see her take on yet another type of role. The kids? Look normal for once. They aren't beautiful and hot. And they are actually, kids. Which is sort of necessary considering that they've cast thirty and forty year-olds as the parents.
Most realistic casting that I've seen in a genre show in quite a while (excluding Caprica, Being Human, and BSG of course.).
The plot of the series is fairly basic: a family that is having trouble connecting with one another takes a vacation - spear-headed by the Dad who has taken on the bulk of the parenting duties for his too busy/career driven wife. Dad forces them to take a scenic tour of a rain forest in Belize. They run into a storm, the plane crashes into the water, and they barely make it out alive. Something was in the water - which we find out later has imbued each family member with an extraordinary power.
The powers are rather interesting. Instead of random powers, the powers given are tailor-made to the individual family members wishes, wants and dreams. Julie Benze's character is always short on time, always running late, always struggling to get places fast - all of a sudden she can run a mile in less than a second. She's super-fast. Like the Flash. Michael Chicklis character dreams of being strong, invulnerable, able to fight crime to serve a purpose, not be a weakling...he is not only super strong, but able to catch bullets and jump tall buildings (a far more interesting power than flying). Now he's invulnerable to harm. Daughter Katie - dreams of being able to know what people are thinking about her, what is going on, and all of a sudden she does - but feels cursed and overwhelmed by this power. While JJ, who is struggling with school, feels like the outsider,
and has been told he has a learning disability - is suddenly a genius.
How the characters deal with the powers, why they got them, what they choose to do with them and why, and how others deal with them - is the focus of the story. It's not the predictable - today we have a villian, we will defeat him, hooray tale or monster of the week - that early Smallville episodes were. Nor for that matter is it the convoluted ensemble piece that Heroes turned out to be. Heroes focused more on horror, and tended to be far darker and far more violent, while No Ordinary Family seems to be lighter in tone and more humorous. One of the problems I had with Heroes is it took itself far too seriously for its subject matter. Also I felt it focused too much on the horror of having power and being different, than on the delight. And, I admittedly have grown tired of stories about serial killers - which Heroes was far too fond of for it's own good.
(Dexter oddly is the exception - but that may be - because Dexter in a way satirizes all the other shows, and does not take itself that seriously.)
There are some interesting supporting characters here too: Mike Chicklis (can't remember the character's name) best bud - the DA. Who has a fun banter with Mike. Their scenes together are quite funny. There's also the female police detective - another cool twist in casting choices.
Instead of the tough streetwise male detective, we have a tough streetwise female detective.
These are the only POC's in the cast - the female detective is Asian, and DA is black. (I'm noticing this a lot now...because it is a huge change over the last few years, where you were lucky to have a guest star who was a POC in a tv show (cough*Buffy*cough). This is a big change and something to celebrate, I think. It's far from perfect, but it's growth.) We also have Stephen Collins playing Julie Benze's boss, a shady research scientist/corporate big-wig (yes, that old time-worn cliche..but it is sort of fun here and I like Collins. Plus nice to see him playing a shady role for a change.) And finally Julie's geeky lab tech - whose favorite character of the X-men is Kitty Pryde. (This series seems to be more interested in referencing Marvel comics than DC, so like Marvel is more science based, and more character based. Which means it might be more accessible to a broader range of people. Particularly the science element - the family doesn't know how they got their powers, but there are hints that it might have something to do with what Julie's company has been doing.)
The episode I saw was told in an interesting format - we, the audience, was in the point of view of the couple's therapist that the DA had suggested to Mike towards the beginning of the episode. Mike and his wife were a bit estranged, their powers are bringing them closer, but they need to work on their relationship and the relationship they have with their kids. One of the main themes is the desire to connect with others, but feeling you have no time to do it or don't quite know how. Superpowers has always been a good metaphor for that difficulty.
So there are two main threads here: the thread about family dynamics and the one about having superpowers. With multiple other possibilities popping up.
Unlike Heroes - No Ordinary Family is a bit more self-contained. It has four main characters as opposed to ten. All the main characters live in the same house. We aren't constantly jumping around the world, back and forth in time, and pov. It requires less attention from the audience.
Heroes was a bit too ambitious for its own good and often lost its audience in all its narrative gimmicks - to the point that I often thought - okay, pick one, we don't need time-travel, out of order time line, flashback, and multiple shifts in pov all in one hour - I have a head-ache.
On top of this - No Ordinary has the added bonus of not having anti-heroes. And I happen to like anti-hero characters, as you well know. But...the problem with anti-heroes is if you aren't careful your straight heroes start to resemble holier-than-thou hypocrites that certain members of the audience, namely me, have this overwhelming desire to strangle eventually. It is very hard to write a show with anti-hero and straight heroes and make them both complex. The trick is basically to make everyone gray or neither hero nor villain, which Heroes attempted to do but screwed up on with Sylar. No Ordinary Family may do a better job by just giving us a human family gifted with super-powers and letting us watch them struggle to handle it. Sometimes simple is better, or so says the gal who likes to complicate things out of boredom. ;-)
Overall rating? B+
It's not perfect, but definitely enjoyable and yes, I'm watching all of it this year - it is getting a record series on the old DVR.