No Ordinary Family season 1 thread (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

Far and away the best episode. If the rest of the season is this strong, it will be quite fun.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I agree with the choir here. The bad moments were no worse than the usual bad moments for this show. The good moments were a great deal better than the usual good moments for this show. Real characters are starting to emerge, at least when it comes to Jim, Daphne and JJ. I also liked the "Breakfast Club" homage, especially for the tactful way JJ and Daphne used their powers. JJ was so stupid in the early episodes that I'm still surprised when he finds a better way forward than the setup suggests. Instead of blurting out that he has powers, he uses his powers to create something magical for Natalie, the girl who just dumped him. Instead of focusing on being dumped, he sees through it to really listen to why Nat felt she had to do it. Daphne is learning that simply intercepting a thought or a memory doesn't mean she has to blurt it out. Instead of contradicting the bad body's lie in front of everyone, she waits until they're alone and listens for his side of the story.


Meanwhile, Jim is starting to get smarter about the theatrics of being a vigilante. Instead of trying to cover up being bullet-proof, he finds a way to explain being bullet-proof.


And the dinner scene at the end was the first scene since the broken car scene where these four people felt like a real family. They're finally starting to figure out what these characters say to each other when they're not talking about their powers.

 

[Greg_S_H]

That was good fun. If they keep doing what they did here, they'll have a hit on their hands. They do seem like they're trying to redeem Joshua at this point. They probably want us to forget he killed a cop, a scientist, and did other bad stuff. Maybe they need to introduce a mind-controller who was working on him.

 

[DaveF]

I guess they've already let go of the notion that JJ can only remember information for six hours. Otherwise, he must have been studying chemistry earlier that day in preparation for making the snow


Now, does JJ keep chasing Nat? Or does he turn to the cute, popular girl who's looking to date the next Bill Gates?

 

[NeilO]

One thing that happened off screen that I presume will impact other episodes - after the shape-changer as Katie saw Steph's super-speed, she went off. I presume she went to report what she saw.

 

[Peter Rohlfs]

I think the boss already knows from when she swapped the blood samples. He was watching the blur in the surveilance video.


Peter

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

Whenabouts was it established JJ can only remember information for 6 hours? I have no recollection of that.

 

[DaveF]

A few episodes ago, they were determining the limits of everyone's powers. And for JJ, it was stated he had a six-hour retention limit on newly learned information. Ah, here's a reference.



http://noordinaryfamily.wikia.com/wiki/JJ_Powell

On the episode No Ordinary Mobster, Katie tutors JJ and had a conclusion that he can only holds the intelligence for six hours.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I'm sure they've dropped that. It shouldn't be hard to justify by saying, "The more he's used his powers, the more he's been able to retain." But, until recently, he did seem like a pretty dumb kid with some flashes of genius. Now, his intelligence seems to be known and accepted by the rest of his peers.

 

[DaveF]

And with that comes the weakness: This show feels like it had no plan. There was an idea of a family with four superpowers and everything else is figured out on the fly. Jim gas no mask. Jim gets a mask because it's sensible. Jim stops wearing a mask for no reason. JJ is supersmart. JJ gets a limitation. JJ's limitation is never heard of again. I hope this is just first season thrashing about and previous episode is the show gelling. That's a show with a lot of potential.

 

[NeilO]

Originally Posted by Peter Rohlfs

I think the boss already knows from when she swapped the blood samples. He was watching the blur in the surveilance video.


Peter

He knew from that video that someone did something, but I don't think he knew for sure just what he was watching. Now he surely knows for sure.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Maybe, unless it's another mini-cliffhanger they dispose of quickly.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

DaveF, thanks for that. How disturbing. Even with you providing a link, I still have no recollection of it. Let's just chalk it up as the phone rang while I was watching the episode. I'd almost like that limitation, though, as part of being a superhero is working around your weaknesses. A 6-hour limit would certainly address some of his stupid decisions -- and some of my issues with what one with basically infinite intelligence should be doing with that power. I keep going back to dad saying, "Well, you know Einstein? Smarter than that guy," when describing JJ's power.

 

[Greg_S_H]

No fambly again this week. I don't know why. At least it's back same Powell time, same Powell channel next week.

 

[Patrick Sun]

When you only have 11-12 episodes left, and 5 months to air them (and mainly in February and May), you get re-runs here and there in January, March and April.

 

[Nelson Au]

Good episode this week. Looks like the secret's out now! The emerging Jedi mind tricks in Daphne was handy. I was curious how this show is doing and if the Zap to It site is right, this show is in trouble, ratings wise. I hope it survives. The whole Tuesday night line-up is in danger.

 

[NeilO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nelson Au

I was curious how this show is doing and if the Zap to It site is right, this show is in trouble, ratings wise. I hope it survives. The whole Tuesday night line-up is in danger.

We thought Dr. King had his previous suspicions confirmed last week by the shape changer, but this week we see direct evidence that he knows about the family. Now, though, for the first time the family has suspicions about him.

As far as the ratings:

[url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/02/09/tv-ratings-tuesday-glee-traffic-light/82050]http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/02/09/tv-ratings-tuesday-glee-traffic-light/82050

it says that it "tied a series low with a 1.5 adults 18-49 rating." On their renew/cancel index
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/02/08/abc-goodbye-detroit-1-8-7-so-long-no-ordinary-family-farewell-v/81822

it looks quite grim - "certain to be cancelled at the end of the season."

 

[spshultz]

it looks quite grim - "certain to be cancelled at the end of the season."

Probably to be replaced with yet another Law/Cop/Doctor show. Ugh.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Too bad. Right when it's becoming fairly consistently good.

Katie's comic book references were off this time, though. Cyclops and Phoenix? Since when? 1980? I know Cyclops and Jean were together long after that, but now he's been with Emma Frost for a long time. Hawkgirl and Green Lantern. What? I thought it was always Hawkman and Hawkgirl. And, no, Iron Fist and Power Man have never given off even the slightest gay vibes. Note: I don't read any of this stuff, but I know enough about all of it except the DC Hawkgirl stuff to be conversant.


All that aside, it was not only good, it was a relief to see that they aren't going to just ditch "Joshua's" murders like it seemed they would. I'm sure they'll say he was acting under duress, but it's not just swept under the rug now.

 

[Peter Rohlfs]

The Lantern/Hakgirl reference is to the Bruce Timm Justice Leaugue cartoons.


Peter