TV REVIEW: No Ordinary Family

The new TV season is underway with a vengeance and I'm glad I love me the sitcoms.  Because there are LOTS of them.  I really enjoyed 'Mike & Molly'.  'Better With You', 'Running Wilde', and 'Raising Hope' are also promising.  

Returning programs make me happy, too. I love 'Community', 'The Big Bang Theory', and 'How I Met Your Mother'.  I like 'The Middle', 'The Office', 'Modern Family', and '30 Rock'. Perhaps surprisingly, I think 'The Good Guys' is awesome.  I mean surprising because it's not sci-fi, and it's only fantasy in a 'this is total fantasy' sense.  Dan rules!

There's stuff that mattered less to me, and stuff I gave up on. I really don't recommend '$#*! My Dad Says'.

And yesterday, there was 'No Ordinary Family'.  The live-action 'The Incredibles' or 'Fantastic Four'.  (I know there was already a live-action Fantastic Four.  THIS was less compromised.) If this is genuinely Smallville's last season (Sweet Rao, let it be so, let my prayers be answered, release me from torment at last... yes, I'm still WATCHING it.  GEOFF JOHNS might write one this year!) then it's my latest shot at a GOOD superhero show.  (Yes, I was excited about 'Heroes' at first, too.  Sigh.)

'No Ordinary Family' is both well written and well acted, with unashamed super-powered folks and their mighty feats, a good sense of humor (VERY welcome) and interesting drama.

It's got Ben Grimm married to Darla the vampire only she's not a vampire; she runs really fast, and Conrad from 'Weeds' is not a pothead anymore, instead he's Ben Grimm's friend, plus one kid who's got mind powers and the other kid's got mind powers also!  Mind powers are INEXPENSIVE powers, folks.

I have no complaints whatsoever with the pilot and I hope it goes well. Which means it'll last half a season, go straight to DVD, earn another half season with zero budget and most of the cast missing, and vanish forever.  Still, it's got good reviews besides mine.

It's important to me that this show does well.   Writer Greg Berlanti is the screenwriter of the upcoming Green Lantern live-action movie with Ryan Reynolds and it would be nice for everyone if that wasn't a piece of garbage.

What I'm saying is check it out.  If you can see past the forest of excellent sitcoms and the drain clog that is everything else.