No Ordinary Family Pilot Feedback

The other day,  Julie Benz, the star of the upcoming series, No Ordinary Family, posted a link from her Twitter  directing people to watch her new show's pilot episode. It was available to the first 50,000 people but since I found out about it much, much later, I missed the opportunity to even check if it's available in my territory. Fortunately, people on the internet are enterprising. So, within a few hours, I found myself watching this series. And as expected, it feels a lot like the live-action version of The Incredibles.

No Ordinary Family Cast Photo

In No Ordinary Family Julie Benz plays  opposite Michael Chiklis, who after watching the pilot last night, proved to me that there's a reason why he won Best Actor for the Emmy's a few years back (2003).  As Jim and Stephanie Powell, these two actors shine with believability and Michael Chiklis can really play the lead effectively.

The pilot episode starts off slow, I have to tell you. Anyone expecting fast pacing and some really cool action scenes and effects will probably have to wait awhile because the first episode took pains to show that their family started out as ordinary....

Jim, Stephanie and their kids, Daphne and JJ, didn't have inherent super powers first and discovering that they had changed (after their plane crash-landed in a swamp somewhere in South America)....the story continues to show us how they first come to terms with having super powers.  It's pretty predictable and long-winded. I did sit up and take notice, however, when towards the end of the episode, a surprising twist was revealed. You would have to watch it to find out what.

I have anticipated this show ever since I learned about it.  As a fan of Chiklis on The Shield, I am conditioned to like it no matter what. Though, there were moments in the pilot where I felt was dragging, overall, it did not disappoint me.

It's interesting to also note that like in The Incredibles, Jim's best bud is played by a black guy. The only thing missing from this is a baby with superpowers as there is no JackJack in the Powell household.