No Ordinary Family season 1 thread (1 Viewer)

[Adam Lenhardt]

Originally Posted by Greg_S_H

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

Agreed. They've finally found a dynamic that works for this family, and they're finally exploring interesting places. The show they're making now I would very much like to see a season season for. I couldn't say that about the show they were making even four or five episodes ago.


When Daphne first encountered Joshua, I hypothesized that she would ultimately prove to have all of his mental powers. It looks like I was right. At the time, I think we all thought that Joshua knew she was a mind reader because he could somehow detect her attempts at reading him. Now I'm beginning to think that he knew she was a mind reader because he could read her. It was an interesting, and I believe deliberate, choice to introduce Daphne's mind control power the same episode that Joshua abused his to take his relationship with Katie from a place of redemption to a dark, creepy selfish place. Against the mugger, Daphne proved that with her seemingly far gentler powers, she is just as capable of defending herself as her parents with their far more obvious powers. In a way, she's the most powerful of all of them. She could have easily stopped Tom Seeley, someone her parents were virtually defenseless against.


But having no boundaries is a dangerous thing for anyone, especially a 17-year-old girl. Certainly Joshua hasn't proved capable of handling it. Her super-strong dad and super-fast mom can't stop her. Her teachers can't stop her. The police can't stop her. If she has time to speak, she cannot be stopped. But being liberated from consequences also liberates you from meaning. Lying about going on a date is a forgivable teenage transgression, but manipulating your father's mind is a whole other level of betrayal. So yes, she can make anyone do what ever she wants them to. But if she exercises that ability, she's going to make it so nobody wants to do anything for her. She'll risk losing her family, her boyfriends, everything that has meaning to her. And sooner or later, she'd talk her way into a situation she can't talk her way out of.

 

[DaveF]

(sigh) from great episode to mediocrity so quickly. The ham-fisted "double standard" meta plot was tedious. Jim and Steph not tending to the surveillance cameras after their smashup in the lab was disappointing. And Daphne getting the thrilling and disturbing ability to "write" in addition to reading minds is dampened by my surety that the writers will quickly discard all interesting consequences, as they did with Daphne having her memory erased at the mid-season break. Its a fun show, but the writers self sabotage. My wife notes it's too serious for a comedy but too light for a drama. And it looks lime it will be ended before it has time to figure itself out.

 

[Greg_S_H]

More darkness as the Powells enlist Joshua to dispose of a body. Staying with your murderer wife seems weird, but I guess it could happen. Dumb moment of the show: Jim busts the handle on the door, but shifty walks into her apartment and isn't alarmed until she sees the cocoa out of place. I didn't really care half an hour later. Still sort of dumb, still kind of fun.

 

[Nelson Au]

Greg, yes, the door bit was dumb. But I really enjoyed this one.


It feels like a shift in the series, now the Powell's have turned the tables. Overall, I think this was a good episode and look forward to see how the series goes from here. Daphne used her powers for good, more or less and it was nice to see JJ actually figure out he got Jedi Mind tricked. Though their storyline didn't relate to the parent's storyline.

It made sense now for the family to join with Joshua and work together.

What was well done was not being sure who was who, most of the time they show you, but with Stephanie, there were times I wasn't sure! At times you had to wonder! Except I knew Jim wasn't really dead. But his expression after he killed the Shape Shifter looked like he could have been her. Until she reverted to her real form, I wasn't really sure!

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Originally Posted by Greg_S_H

More darkness as the Powells enlist Joshua to dispose of a body. Staying with your murderer wife seems weird, but I guess it could happen. Dumb moment of the show: Jim busts the handle on the door, but shifty walks into her apartment and isn't alarmed until she sees the cocoa out of place. I didn't really care half an hour later. Still sort of dumb, still kind of fun.

Yeah, murder's a line you can't return over once you've crossed, even when it's in self-defense. It's funny you should say that staying with your murderer spouse seems weird -- I agree 100 percent, but isn't that technically what Stephanie's doing? Vastly different circumstances of course, but it's interesting they focused on these two parallel moments in this episode. Both, in a way, about jealousy. The murderer was jealous of Natalie's mother, who was having an affair with her husband. Jim was jealous of Dr. King, trying to replace his place in Stephanie's life in the most invasive way imaginable. Jim was in a fight for his life either way, but it's that revelation that gave him the anger that allowed him to prevail -- and perhaps what drove him to take things one step too far.


The door thing was dumb, but of limited impact; instead of being alarmed when she saw the door, she was alarmed when she saw the cocoa. Since it's a given that someone in her position would investigate a break-in of her safe house, the exact trigger of suspicion didn't really matter.

Originally Posted by Nelson Au


It feels like a shift in the series, now the Powell's have turned the tables. Overall, I think this was a good episode and look forward to see how the series goes from here. Daphne used her powers for good, more or less and it was nice to see JJ actually figure out he got Jedi Mind tricked.

I agree. This show has gotten more ambitious in recent weeks, and now the big moments are actually having consequences. I'm also happy about JJ being more or less immune to Daphne's mind control. That's a power that, while not as flashy as super speed or strength, has the potential to be TOO powerful if unchecked. Joshua's ability to block her attempts at penetrating his mind, and JJ's ability to outmaneuver her implanted thoughts suggest there could be a plausible reason why she can't just walk into Dr. King's office and tell him to spill his guts, and then tell him to forget she ever stopped by. It also checks her ability to manipulate Mom and Dad, since JJ will be there to rat her out if he disapproves.

What was well done was not being sure who was who, most of the time they show you, but with Stephanie, there were times I wasn't sure! At times you had to wonder! Except I knew Jim wasn't really dead. But his expression after he killed the Shape Shifter looked like he could have been her. Until she reverted to her real form, I wasn't really sure!

While it would have been ballsier to kill the real Jim and have Rebecca Mader's character impersonate him going forward, it's not a show I'd particularly want to watch. Jim's the heart of the show, and his lack of duplicity or great complexity is part of what makes him an endearing protagonist. His rescue of Daphne and JJ at the murderer's garage was a pretty awesome hero moment, with papa bear storming in to defend his cubs.


It does raise questions though; assuming he didn't commit a double homicide by splitting the murderer and her husband in half with their jeep, wouldn't the fact that he stormed in wearing no mask, ripped an entire double-wide garage door off its hinges, and then pushed a parked vehicle several feet raise some suspicions at the police station? You could say that no cops would believe such an outlandish story, but the demolished garage door was still sitting right there on the lawn!

 

[Greg_S_H]

I don't think they got a look at him. He was behind the jeep. But, I didn't study the moment so I'm not sure. I didn't even really make the connection between the wife's action and Jim's action, but it's almost unheard of for a superhero to take a life under any circumstances. That made me a little leery about the whole thing, but it was sort of self-defense. They should have had her slip in the fight and died, but I guess that would have been a cop-out. Really, I think sometimes superheroes should take a life. How many people have died because Batman took Joker alive? But, if it's still a medium for kids, you have to be careful with it (plus, morality aside, you don't want to discard your Jokers).

Didn't they do the dead hero being impersonated by a villain on Heroes? I seem to remember Sylar . . . oh, yeah. He was Nathan for a while. I thought the show had pretty much evaporated from my brain, but I remember that. I think there have been comic books where a hero was killed and replaced, and it wasn't popular, so the villain just "became" the hero permanently and it was forgotten. I'm glad that didn't happen here. The dead Jim being Shifty was obvious from the first minute, though.

 

[NeilO]

It sure was hard to tell which Jim was which during their fight, which of course kept us wondering just who was killed even though we knew it really couldn't be the real Jim. I was glad that he finally realized that the shape-shifter Steph told him about was at large causing trouble, but disappointed that he revealed his weakness to her after she just told him about things she saw at the house.

I don't think that they can keep her death a secret for long.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Jim and Steph ought to bring the body up to the lab and stand on either side. Weekend at Dr. King's. I think pretending to send her to South America is smart. Now, if they can just get a report back that she had shapeshifted into a mouse and a snake had her for lunch. . . . I bet her powers don't work Odo style, though. She can probably only do humans.

 

[Nelson Au]

Originally Posted by Greg_S_H


That poor actress, she dies in Lost and here on this show. I wonder though if she is really dead.

 

[Greg_S_H]

No, it's just acting. That would actually be interesting, if she's somehow alive and Joshua is just pretending.

 

[Peter Rohlfs]

I was suprised dad had Daphne leave. I would want my mind reading daughter around when dealing with a shape shifter.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Originally Posted by Peter Rohlfs

I was suprised dad had Daphne leave. I would want my mind reading daughter around when dealing with a shape shifter.

My guess is that he wanted his daughter alive more than he wanted her insight. It was a nice moment for the show to showcase Jim as the responsible adult.

 

[DaveF]

That was an expectedly good episode!


But, Jim, please, start wearing gloves. And protective eyewear. And reconsider a mask. Seriously, you should know better by now. You're not stupid. Just sloppy. Delegate it to George; he's a responsible, task-driven guy. Make him in charge of your gear. He'll protect you from yourself. Good talk. Now get back out there, buddy!

Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt /forum/thread/303269/no-ordinary-family-season-1-thread/180#post_3781761

 

[Nelson Au]

I saw Julie Benz on Good Morning America today. She was on to promote the series and commented on future episodes. Usual fluff.


She was asked if they will reveal how the family got their powers from the water in the plane crash. She replied that yes, we will find out soon. And if she got super powers what would she want, she was asked. Of course she said she likes super speed. She also talked about how cool it is each week that the effects guys can pull off these cool super villains.


There was no feeling that the series is canceled. But of course, this was a promotional appearance. She was excited by the upcoming shows and tomorrow nights will be no less exciting.

 

[Nelson Au]

The back alley fight with deflecting bullets was kinda crazy, I guess Jim stopped worrying about his powers from being seen by the bad guy. Poor Katie. I was thinking that by her dumping Joshua, he could decide to go back to his old ways. But it looks like his story line could be over, the serum worked and no one will know. And I thought they would still use him to help in the fight. The super powered father of Daphne's boyfriend was pretty creepy. I guess Daphne could forgive him for trying to help his Dad. Nice B and C stories, didn't see that one coming with JJ's teacher.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

It says something that the show is now one I expect to be fairly decent now. I thought Joshua's explanation to Jim why he erased Daphne's memory, while self-serving, was fascinating: he knows what the temptations are from being able to read, write and erase thoughts and memories are. Those temptations ultimately resulted in him on a bus out of town. Daphne has a tough road ahead not falling into the same trap.



I'm glad we finally got pay off on a couple of the cliffhangers that were tied up peremptorily and just sort of left dangling.

 

[spshultz]

I'm very interested in where the JJ story line is going to go. He's extremely intelligent but somewhat naive.


Every episode seems to get just a little better. I really hope this show has strong legs to stand on because I really enjoy watching it and would hate to see it get canceled.

 

[NeilO]

Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt

I'm glad we finally got pay off on a couple of the cliffhangers that were tied up peremptorily and just sort of left dangling.

It was great to see realization dawn on Stephanie when she heard about Joshua's mind powers.

I was a bit disturbed with Jim's reaction. Making holes in the wall while threatening Joshua was a bit much. "Hey, Katie, look at what we found out. Sorry for all the mess, I'm sure your insurance will cover it."

I was quite surprised that JJ's teacher was asking him to solve a really complicated equation on the blackboard. He really should have realized that this was more complicated than an academic decathlon question. Of course the big surprise was Litchfield getting paid off by Dr. King. Things are building up even more.

 

[Peter Rohlfs]

This was the best written episode of the series.

My only minor quibble was the resolution of the kid who got shot. Did the writers realy need to add the whole he had cancer thing??

For once the characters all acted in a reasonable fashion.

I actually look forward to the next episode.


Peter

 

[JohnS]

I'm wondering that the equation J.J. solved was the formula for the super powers to make them permanent.