Have you been watching “No Ordinary Family?” You should be. For those missing “Heroes,” particularly the fun of the first season, this is your next stop. The ABC super-powered family dramedy features Michael Chiklis and Julie Benz as the parents of two kids that finish out their fantastic quartet.
Now this review won’t spoil it for you other than to say that it’s a family of four that crash a plane in South America and gain super powers. Chiklis’ character gains super strength, including the ability to leap great distances, and is highly impervious. Benz’ gains super speed. The son gains a super brain and the daughter is a telepath. The last spoiler: there are others with powers.
The season started slowly and lacked the punch that comic book hero fans would require. Here’s the good part: Chiklis immediately decides to use his powers to fight crime. He has an inside edge with his day job as a criminal sketch artist. His Assistant District Attorney buddy George partners up with him and creates a crime fighting lair with multiple monitors and police scanners. On the flip side, Benz is a scientist who with her assistant’s help is researching their mutations.
The plot thickens as they discover others with powers that do not seem to possess those as permanently. Add to it, a scientist related to the characters, by profession, is lurking in the background. Of course, the others with powers are not on the right side of the law. Some of them are participating in investigating Chiklis’ clan. Chiklis and company seem like a genuine middle class modern family trying to cope with the biggest change in their lives since the kids entered their teen years.
Why is this review not episode specific? No need to be. You can watch the first eight to ten if you like. They are entertaining, but not as important or compelling as those that follow. Eleven is where it starts to build. The action and plot grow and thicken.
Back to “Heroes:” without bashing that show, but when you title it as such, you expect them to be heroic. You don’t expect everyone to run around whining about themselves. Again, these guys immediately want to help people, exemplifying human nature as we have seen it so many times before with the likes of Mr. Kent, the Richards, Mr. Parker, and a variety of others that put on colorful leotards (that’s what they were back in the day).
Is this show brilliant? Is it groundbreaking? Does it reinvent the wheel? No. It doesn’t need, want, or try to be. It is fun. The effects are solid. The acting is complementary to the script and direction. The stories will keep you for the entire hour. And again, the plot is finally in place and developing nicely.
The entirety of the season is still available on Hulu.com