Tag Archives: No Ordinary Family

No Ordinary Family Canceled

3 Replies

ABC’s has officially canceled No Ordinary Family as of last Friday. The TV series starred Michael Chiklis and Julie Benz as the heads of a family who gained super powers, with Chiklis’ character gaining the standard strength+nigh-invulnerability power set, Benz’ character gaining super-speed, and their children gaining telepathy and super-intelliigence.

I wanted to like this show more than I actually did, and then I kind of got off track watching it when J was born. (Actually, I got off track watching everything, but I managed to catch up on the rest of my shows before the backlog fell off of Hulu.) I think I left off about six episodes in.

I do plan on catching up eventually when it goes to DVD or Netflix streaming, so no spoilers please!

No Ordinary Family Launches Tomorrow

1 Reply

Tomorrow night is the series premiere of No Ordinary Family, a TV drama about a family on the brink of collapse that suddenly finds itself with super powers.

Helpless-feeling Jim Powell (Michael Chiklis) suddenly finds himself super-strong, near-invulnerable, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Always on-the-go Stephanie Powell (Julie Benz) gains super-speed. Their self-involved daughter Daphne becomes telepathic, and their learning-disabled son JJ becomes a super-genius.

I got to see the pilot episode at Comic-Con, and it was really promising. There’s an Incredibles-meets-season-one-Heroes vibe to it. The special effects are great, particularly Stephanie’s first super-speed run. (Later scenes rely a lot on the standard vanishing/reappearing act plus wind.) Here are my thoughts on the episode as screened at the convention. They’ve reportedly added a scene or two to set up one of the ongoing storylines.

The Flash movie writing team is heavily involved in this series as well. Greg Berlanti co-created the show with Jon Harmon Feldman, and Marc Guggenheim is involved as a consulting producer.

No Ordinary Family premieres Tuesday on ABC at 8:00pm / 7:00 central. Update: Hulu has an extended trailer.

First Look at No Ordinary Family

Leave a reply

ABC ran the entire pilot episode for No Ordinary Family today at Comic-Con, followed by a brief Q&A session with Greg Berlanti, John Harman Felman, and stars Michael Chiklis and Julie Benz. It looks promising.

It’s a little hard to pin down, genre-wise. It’s not a super-hero show, but it has super-powers (and lots of references that comic book readers will catch). It’s not really an action show, though there is some action involved. I’d say it’s primarily a family drama with comedic and action highlights.

On one hand, there is a bit of an Incredibles vibe to it: It’s about a family with super-powers, the father is trying to reclaim his glory days by going out and secretly fighting crime, etc. But it’s different enough not to feel like a retread. For one thing, the powers are new, and it’s set (like Heroes) in a real-world setting that hasn’t seen super-powers before.

The pilot is structured as an interview with flashbacks, first with Jim Powell speaking, then with Stephanie Powell taking over, then switching back and forth. The episode shows the characters and how they relate, then shows each of them discovering their powers, then delves into how those powers affect them. Edit: You do eventually find out who they’re talking to.

Sort of like Freshmen, they all gain powers related to their self-perceived shortcomings.

Continue reading →

Speed Reading: Moments, Covers, Shoes, Rebirth, Brightest Day and No Ordinary Family

2 Replies

Some mid-week linkblogging as Comic-Con gets going…

Less than a week in, CSBG’s 75 Most Memorable Moments in DC History has already cited two Flash moments: The discovery of Earth-2 (“Flash of Two Worlds”) made day four, and Barry Allen’s lab-accident origin made day five.

Once Upon a Geek has been featuring DC Comics ads from shortly after Crisis on Infinite Earths. Today’s spotlight includes a 1987 ad for the then-new Flash series.

The Hooded Utilitarian really disliked Flash: Rebirth. (To be honest, I pretty much agree with this review — and yet I’m really enjoying the ongoing Flash series. It’s as if the two stories are being written by two different writers, both of them named Geoff Johns.)

Yesterday, artist Greg LaRocque dropped by to shed some light on the Flash Jam Sketch posted last month.

Adidas has winged shoes going on sale August 10.

Yahoo News posts a photo of three JSA cosplayers from last year’s Comic-Con International, dressed as the Golden Age Hourman, Atom and Flash (with Dr. Mid-Nite barely visible behind them). I think this is the group I ran into on the day that I was dressed as Jay Garrick, and one of them said, “I was you yesterday!”

Comics Alliance presents today’s comic book covers reimagined in the Silver Age

Firestorm Fan spotlights an Old West Firestorm and Sillof’s Gaslight Justice League.

The Weekly Crisis has analyzed the Brightest Day teaser image.

Marc Guggenheim talks to Newsarama about his upcoming TV series No Ordinary Family, about a family who gains super-powers but aren’t super-heroes. Early reports had the mother (Julie Benz) gaining super-speed, but this interview makes no mention of what anyone’s powers are.

ABC Picks Up No Ordinary Family

4 Replies

Remember No Ordinary Family, the TV pilot featuring a super-powered family headed by brick Michael Chiklis and speedster Julie Benz? Deadline Hollywood reports that ABC has picked up the Greg Berlanti-produced show. Marc Guggenheim (Flash: The Fastest Man Alive – Full Throttle) executive-produced the pilot and will remain “in consulting capacity.”

So even if Heroes doesn’t come back, there will still be at least one live-action speedster on the air this fall.

Update: The Hollywood Reporter has more, including the official description of the show (via @SpeedsterSite):

The Powells are about to go from ordinary to extraordinary. After 16 years of marriage, Jim and Stephanie’s relationship lacked 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 super powers. But saving and savoring their family life will be equally important as they try to find purpose for their new power and embark on a journey to find out what defines and unifies them. The Powells are a totally relatable family that happens to be a little bit amazing.

Julie Benz Speeds Into No Ordinary Family

1 Reply

ABC has announced casting for the Greg Berlanti television pilot, No Ordinary Family, a drama about a family with super powers. Julie Benz (Dexter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Angel) and Michael Chiklis (The Shield, Fantastic Four) play the lead couple. While the announcements don’t say what powers Chiklis’ police artist character has, Benz will be playing a scientist who develops super-speed.

If the name Greg Berlanti sounds familiar, IESB pegged him last week as the leading contender to direct The Flash.

Update: I missed the article when I posted this at lunch, but Rich Johnston reviewed a draft of the script last month. He described the script as “patchy,” but “a much more interesting exploration of possibilities of superfiction than The Cape. And leagues ahead of…Heroes.”