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Right off the bat, we learn that Yvonne Cho is dead (but I'm still waiting to see the corpse), which is too bad, because her friendship with Jim could have been used to provide an ongoing undercurrent of conflict in the Powell marriage, but hey, I'm not writing the show, just writing about it, and at least for now, Yvonne and her death amount to little more than a throwaway line.
All four Powells attend the wedding of their former family babysitter. While Stephanie is cajoling Jim onto the dance floor, the lights go out, but it's no power failure, it's an armed robbery. The thieves strip the guests of their bling, and even take Stephanie's wedding ring (or engagement ring -- look it's her ring, m'kay). Why she doesn't use her super speed to sneak it out of their booty bag, I do not know. But I know Jim doesn't use his strength and bullet-resistance to stop the crooks, because Stephanie reminds him that innocents could get caught in the crossfire. He does go after the bad guys as they make their getaway. Outside, the thugs ride to the top of the building on ropes taken right from Batman's utility belt, but when Jim attempts to jump up to the roof, he face-plants on the side of the building instead. Remind me to talk about this in the weecap.
What to do? Well, if you're a newly minted superhero and one of the world's two best sidekicks who also happens to be an A.D.A., you keep your rent-a-tux and start crashing weddings, 'til you nab the thieves. At the first wedding, Jim ends up with egg cake on his face, but at a later reception, he does nab the villains... who are promptly released for lack of evidence. George, however, manages to recover Stephanie's ring from the latest crime scene, because apparently the crooks carry all the goods they've ever stolen to each new heist. WHAT? Oh, Show. Be better than that.
The subplots involve Dr. RevCam King needing a sample of Stephanie's blood, because if the board is going to fund her wonder-plant research, they're going to insist upon an insurance physical. Stephanie freaks out, which is dumb, because she's a SCIENTIST, so she ought to know that blood tests are very specific. A blood lab doesn't put your blood into a magical machine that will reveal everything about you. No. It tests for the presence or levels of specific substances like lipids, glucose, iron, drugs and UGH. So yeah, that plot turns me off, even though the adorable Katie pulls a stupid blood switcheroo that has to be unswitcherooed. Elsewhere, Daphne blackmails JJ. If he wants her to keep his super-genius a secret from their folks, he's going to be doing her homework. He's amenable to this, provided she'll agree to read the mind of his new crush and find out if she likes him. (She so does not.) Also, Daphne reads the mind of her own friend, discovers the friend's parents are breaking up, and then clumsily tells her friend she knows about it. The friend is creeped out and leaves in a huff. Daphne wants to tell her friend what's happened to the family, like Jim and Stephanie have told George and Katie. Jim and Stephanie refuse to let her, at first, so Daphne falls back on her pre-crash super power, whining, in order to get her way. In the end though, she doesn't tell her friend about her powers, so this was all... I'm thinking... POINTLESS. Less pointless was Daphne's realization that Jim is up to something. She ends up following him to one of the wedding venues, with the assumption, I think, that he's cheating on Stephanie, which -- c'mon. Look at your folks, honey. Dad cheating on Mom is not how this story goes, or the casting would be so different. Anyhow, she instead runs into Dad, right as he's chasing down the bad guys, and now she has a new thing to freak over -- Daddy's danger lust.
The episode ends with Jim swooping Stephanie up to the roof of an exclusive restaurant, where he has private, candlelit dinner waiting for them. He returns her ring, even as he tells her it's the ugliest ring he's ever seen. It's just the only one he could afford when he was a struggling artist, because ARE YOU NOT YET CLEAR THAT JIM HAS NEVER BROUGHT HOME THE BACON. Stephanie argues with him that it's beautiful, which inspires Jim to wax romantic about the night he proposed to her. "You looked at [the ring] and said, 'That's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen'," he continues. "I knew right then I had the right girl. Every time I see it on your finger I know you love me for who I am, and I love you for the beauty you see in ordinary things." They smooch, and Jim finally asks his smoking hot wife to dance.
There's so much I like about this series. I see so much potential, but every week, I want to take the writers behind the woodshed for about 15 things. This week is no exception, and I'll hit all that in the full write up, but here's an example. In the pilot episode, when the Powells' plane runs into bad weather and everyone is freaking out, Jim tries to calm them down, which turns into this whole big thing about how Daphne knows her father lies to them about issues big and small. Yet here, two episodes later, she's all surprised that he's lying to her, because he doesn't do that. Two seasons later or even two months later? I'd buy it. But two episodes, later? Tsk. Still, the Powells make me root for them despite myself, and I remain crazy about Katie, George and... I'll admit it -- Dr. RevCam King. Don't judge me. Since it takes a new show time to find its feet, there's enough to No Ordinary Family that makes me root for it, even when I'm raising an eyebrow at it and giving it that look, which I'm giving it right now.
I'll be back tomorrow with more of that look in the full weecap. In the meantime, join the discussion in our show thread.
Watch the episode below, discuss it in our forums, and see why this show seems so familiar.
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Want more? The full recap starts right below!An angry-looking Jim Powell is hitting baseballs off an oceanside cliff, just like he used to do when he was an upset college student, so of course Sidekick George knows just where to find him. After a throw-away exchange acknowledging Detective Yvonne Cho's murder, and Jim's frustration at not be able to save the world, George reminds Jim that he only has a couple of minutes to get to an appointment he cannot miss. It's up, up and away for Jim, who lands on a downtown rooftop, trips over the edge and lands again, in the alley below. Using the mini mobile lair he's installed in his trunk, George tracks Jim's progress, rags on his lack of grace ("A little less black eye, a little more peas") and then gives him directions to his destination. On his Bluetooth, Jim says, "Tell Steph I'm on the way." He then bravely marches toward his destiny. Is it a bank robbery? A hold-up at a jewelry boutique? A kidnapping? Um, no. It's a tux shop.
Chi-chi Hotel; Wedding Reception: When Jim arrives, Daphne pouts that he missed the whole ceremony. Our first nephew got married this past weekend. My kids were too young to attend, but the older nephews and nieces were there, and mercifully, the bride and groom did not seat them with their parents, so we all had a fabulous time. (Rumor has it, Scott and I are still recovering.) Unfortunately for Jim and Steph, they're sharing a table with their little bundles of adolescent angst. The bride, who used to babysit Daphne and JJ, comes over to the table and gushes to the Powells that she's married today because she's always wanted what they have. When Jim and Stephanie shift uncomfortably under her glowing review of their domestic life, I brace myself for another episode about marital malaise, so I am happy to be able to spoil you here and now that this episode doesn't go back to that well. When the bride moves on, Stephanie tries to get Jim out on the dance floor, but Daddy doesn't dance. Just then, the lights go out. Jim chalks this up to a power outage, but no, it's an armed robbery -- and the robbers are armed with machine guns (or perhaps semi-automatics -- what do I know from firearms). They inform their victims that jewelry and cash can go right in the bag, thank you very much. Jim wants to try out his new superpowers on them, but Stephanie stops him by pointing out that innocents could get caught in the crossfire. One of the thieves approaches the Powells' table and says, "You. Barbie. The ring. Put the ring in the bag." Steph hems, haws and finally puts the rock in the sack. Once the bad guys exit, Jim runs after them, and watches as they zip up the side of the building on ropes straight off of Batman's utility belt. He takes a small running start, jumps up, up and away, but not away enough, because SMACK -- he face-plants, right in the side of the building. The crooks never notice him and escape without interruption.
Powell Pad; Morning: At breakfast, the kids want to know where Jim ran off to during the reception. Really? This didn't come up when he returned to them, or on the ride home? Please. Jim lies that he went out to call the cops. JJ asks Dad why he didn't go after the robbers. Jim wants to speak up, but Steph jumps in and says it's the cops' job to catch the criminals, "And it's your father's job to..." Daphne finishes her mom's thought: "...draw them." Jim cringes, which gets on my nerves. Police sketch artist is not a bad gig. Why does everyone act like he earns a penny an hour, cleaning under the toilet rim with the last toothbrush he'll ever be allowed to own? Fine. Okay. Jim wanted to be a "real" artist, whatever that is. Why couldn't/didn't he keep at it on the side? I mean, I'd take Damon Lindelof or Stephen King's career, but I've had worse jobs than recapping. Feh. Once the kids are gone, Jim and Steph discuss, again, how he wants to fight crime and she wants him to be safe. He'd like to come clean with the kids about his off-hour adventures with George, but Stephanie wisely points out that they'd just worry. Jim knows she's right, but that doesn't do much to mitigate his bad mood, and he stomps out the door -- on a mission to retrieve Steph's ring.
School: At the end of math, upon receiving another good grade from Professor Dick, cute classmate Sarah asks JJ why he's no longer as clueless as she. He says he just woke up one morning and it all clicked. Sarah says, "I wish I could have woken up with you," which definitely gets JJ's attention. She blushingly walks that statement right back, but is happy to accept JJ's offer of help. Once she's off down the hallway, Daphne strolls up and drops a load of her homework on her little bro -- reminding him and informing us that she's blackmailing him. She'll keep his superbrain a secret from the folks, provided he keeps doing her work. Now that's genius. , Daphne's friend Megan finds her in the hall. Reading Megan's thoughts, Daphne learns her long-time-no-see friend is hurting and lonely, so she invites her over after school.
Global Tech: Cutie-patootie Katie informs Stephanie that the lab boys have noticed she's newly ringless. They want to know if she's available. Stephanie gloats that she's married to a guy who could beat them all up, which is kind of cute. It's nice to see she's enjoying Jim's physical prowess. The ladies meet up with head honcho Dr. RevCam King, who informs Steph the board will fund her wonder-plant project, but they'll need to take out an insurance policy on her, so she'll have to take a standard physical. Once he's gone, she and Katie freak over the blood analysis --since her blood is chock-full of anomalies. Katie warns that once they get a look at Steph's blood, she'll become the research. Dun dun dun. Wait. Make that dumb dumb dumb. These ladies are SCIENTISTS. If I know that blood tests are very specific things, they sure as hell ought to. It's not like your blood goes into a magical machine that reveals everything about you. No. It tests for the presence or levels of specific substances like lipids, glucose, iron, drugs. Bad show. No biscuit.
WiFi Lair: Jim vents to George. He'd like to come out of the superhero closet, but George reminds him there are reasons aplenty that superheroes keep their identities secret -- including getting all the blame whenever a crime goes unsolved. Jim just doesn't want to lie. Speaking as a lawyer, George assures him he'll get used to it. Hee. He then tells Jim not to return his tux. They need to find a wedding to crash, so they can bust this crime ring.
Powell Pad: Once she reads Megan's mind and learns that her parents splitting up, Daphne non sequiturs that her parents have problems, too. Since Megan never voiced her thoughts, she accuses Daphne of going through her stuff, which WHAT? Does she have a note in her backpack to remind her her family is crumbling to bits? Like her dad, Daphne lacks finesse, and can't manage to blurt out that she heard a rumor or something, so Megan continues to freak and is all You just happened to guess exactly what's going on in my life? She leaves in a huff, just as Jim and Steph return home. Daphne complains that she needs someone she can talk to about her new-bilities, and points out that Megan now thinks she's a freak. Jim and Stephanie are there for her, but no self-respecting teen wants to confide in the people who love her most. The Powell parents won't allow Daphne to tell a friend, and you'd think that since just two weeks ago, Daphne discovered her boyfriend was sleeping with her best friend, she'd understand why this is a trust issue, but no. She's all NO FAIRSIES. Title card.
Mom and Dad bring Katie and George over, so that the kids will have someone to talk to, but the kids understandably find this less than satisfactory. In a cute moment, Daphne overhears Sidekick George's thoughts about listening to the kids: "Anything but that puberty stuff. Just pass right over that, please." Smart man. Predictably, Daphne stomps off. Katie then wonders aloud what Daphne heard her says earlier. "Will there be food?" I want her to be real and move in door to me.
Upstairs, JJ brings Daphne her completed AP history exam. He's thrown in some tangents, so no one accuses her of cheating. [So his super-brain powers include not only understanding math, but also learning and processing dates and facts? It still seems like there'd be a lot of extra reading to do. - Zach] Reading his mind, Daphne knows her bro wants a favor and indeed he does. He wants her to read Sarah's mind and find out if she likes him back. Mutual blackmail, I like it.
Global Tech; Day: Steph goes to see Dr. RevCam King. She's nervous about her funding resting on her physical. RevCam tells her they already have her sample, so he's sure it will be fine. Privately, Steph finds this curious since she hasn't given a sample, but manages to cover with King. Later, Katie admits that she took the physical for her. Steph understands her impulse, but points out that the lab has a sample of her blood on file from her employee screening. Since they could wind up jobless and in prison, the ladies realize they'll have to switch it out. How thorough is this company with employment physicals? Sheesh. Are they doing full metabolic panels and DNA analysis, or what?
School: Daphne approaches Sarah, bumps into her, awkwardly brings up JJ and then reads the girl's mind. Her thoughts about JJ amount to God, I hope he doesn't like me and He's nice for a major tool. Aw.
Wedding: George and Jim scope out the joint and unfortunately meet up with the father of the bride and lie that they're old friends of Pete, his newly minted son-in-law. Eventually, Sidekick George steers Jim to the dance floor, where he embarrasses them both. Then the father of the bride brings Pete over to catch up with them. Pete can't remember them, but then the lights go out. Jim scopes out a man walking to the front o the ballroom with purpose. He tackles him and they both end up in the cake, but the guy's no robber. He's the cake man. [Hence the cake server in his hand, and not a machine gun. - Z] The bride's cries lead us into commercial.
Powell Pad: George wants to work on Jim's finesse, so he explains that dancing will teach him awareness and control. It doesn't go too badly until Jim turns and smashes his super-fist into the wall. Just then, Daphne comes home. The guys act like they're lying when they say George is teaching Jim to dance, so she immediately gets suspicious. To prove his point, Jim starts dancing again. Daphne can't meet his eyes as she commands him to stop. Besides, she wants to talk to George. Thrilled that she's taking them up on the offer, Jim beats a hasty retreat.
Lab: Katie and Steph start their blood sample switcheroo caper. The jerkface from the pilot episode, who mocked Stephanie during her wonder-plant presentation, also happens to be the jerk who has "black keycard" access. Katie distracts him while Steph picks his pocket. All he feels is a gust of air and asks Katie, "Did they just kick the AC on?" Once she knows Steph's mission has been accomplished, Katie immediately drops the chatty Cathy act and walks away, leaving Jerkface hanging.
Powell Pad: Daph wants advice from George about the JJ/Sarah mind-reading situation. George is psyched because although super-strength and mind reading aren't in his wheelhouse, this kind of stuff is. Daphne cracks about having served as flower girl at both of his weddings. George allows that while he's no marriage expert, he's a master at dating. He tells her to go easy, so JJ won't get hurt. "Tell him she's not into guys like him -- that she only dates a certain type of guy." So, general tools rather than major tools? Daphne then changes the subject and asks George if he was really teaching Jim how to dance. Now he was, but not for the reasons Jim stated, so George gets nervous and reminds himself that Daphne can read his mind -- which she hears -- because she can read your mind, Sidekick George. As he makes his way out the door, he starts thinking the names of state capitals: "Alabama, Montgomery; Alaska, Juneau; New Mexico, Santa Fe -- no, Albuquerque." Subtle, Sidekick George. Real subtle.
Daphne tells JJ George is keeping a secret about their Dad. She then tells him Sarah likes him, but he's not her type. JJ says he could be her type if he knew what that type was. Rather than saying something unattainable, like oh say, guys that are over 6'4", Daphne blurts out, "Jewish ones." Oy vey.
Alone, JJ researches Judaism and starts learning Hebrew, online.
Downstairs in the living room, Jim is upset that Stephanie is breaking into the lab to switch her blood sample, but she has no choice. Meanwhile, he's still planning to retrieve her ring. They wistfully recall when their activities were things like movie night. Once Steph is gone, Daph comes down to figure out what's going on with dear old dad. He's slicing an apple and reminds her of when he used to cut them into the shape of a lion's mane. Daphne is all That's baby stuff. I'm a big girl, now. Wah. She's unimpressed when Jim tells her she'll always be his baby. Their moment is interrupted by a call from George, who tells Jim to meet him at the Bell Pacific Hotel for another wedding. Daphne of course reads the hotel locale from Dad's mind, even as he lies that he's going to the precinct. She gives him a chance to come clean with her, which he can't do, because Stephanie doesn't want him to. Jim's guilt is written all over his face when Daphne says, "Dad, you wouldn't lie to me, right? You always tell me the truth." He does his best to cover though, and says, "Always." See, this is the problem with parents, today. My parents wouldn't have lied to me, or tried to explain themselves. They would have just told me it was none of my damned business and then would have kept thinking, "If you try to read my mind I will ground you until you're 30. Now go to your room." There are ways not to confide in your kids -- ways that don't require lying to their faces.
Outside the lab, Steph finds Katie decked out from head to toe in her best bad-guy black caper outfit. The plan is to switch Katie's blood sample with Steph's from an earlier trial. Katie then tells Steph how to pull off the switcheroo. She can't stop or the cameras will record her presence. Elevators will slow her down, so she must take the stairs. Steph is in and out in a jiffy. Mission accomplished... or is it?
Powell Pad: House: Sarah is over for a study date with JJ, who is wearing a Chai pendant (as in L'Chaim), and blathering on about performing mitzvahs and preparing for Shabbat, because what's a little cultural and creedal appropriation when you're trying to get into a girl's pants? The thing is, Daphne lied to JJ about Sarah having a thing for Jewish boys, and Sarah isn't Jewish herself, so JJ's coming off like a bigger tool than ever. It's too much for the poor girl, and although she doesn't have Steph's super speed, she blazes out the door.
Wedding: The guys exposit about how the cops don't have enough manpower to cover every wedding, but the people in the show thread miss that and complain about the show not having cops at every wedding. Sigh. George gets Jim out on the dance floor, so they'll blend in, and Jim's doing much better this time, but then the lights go out. The criminals order everyone to get down and threaten them with lines like: "Who wants to go home? Who wants to die?" Jim tells George, "I'm going to see a man about a ring," and trips one hoodlum, but is gunned down by the . When Jim rights his bullet-ridden body, the bad guys assume he's wearing a kevlar vest, assume he's a cop and flee the scene. Jim and George give chase, but Jim stops cold when he sees Daphne walking right past them. He can't believe she followed him into harm's way, but he's got to catch up to the robbers. The crooks make their way to the roof with Jim in hot pursuit. He jumps as high as he can, grabs hold of a fire-escape ladder and grabs the ankle of one bad guy, sending him crashing down down down down to the front windshield of an approaching police cruiser. People in the thread noted that Jim didn't seem to care that he might be taking a life, but something in an earlier episode made me think that part of the premise here is that the huge crime wave flooding the city is being perpetrated by super-villains. This seems borne out by the fact that the guy Jim throws down off the top of the building isn't even rendered unconscious. Plus? Superhero show. I'm just saying.
Powell Pad: Daphne is waiting with Steph when Jim arrives home. Daddy's little baby is all, "You lied to me... I've always been able to count on a few things: JJ saying stupid stuff; Mom always talking about work; and you always being honest with me about everything...." Hello, people, the pilot was two episodes ago, and during a time of extreme duress (the plane crash) Daphne made it pretty clear that Daddy lies to her about things big and small. Are the writers not watching their own show? This is such a stupid mistake, and one that's so easily correctable. She could have just said, "You promised -- no more lies," or something and the result would be the same, except I wouldn't be sitting here shaking my head 'til my neck aches. Bah! At any rate, Daphne's all I'm 16 years old like that's a wicked impressive advanced age, and whinging about how she's tired of being the only one who has to keep secrets in the whole family. She's off to tell Megan about her new-bilities and stomps out. I tried to stomp out of the house, once. My (non-abusive) mother grabbed me by the pony tail and um... persuaded me not to. Jim wants to stop Daphne, but Steph talks him down, which is a good thing, because just then, George calls. There's a problem down at the precinct.
Megan's Porch: Daphne arrives, apologizes for being a freak and says, "I want to tell you the truth about how I knew your parents were getting a divorce. It may seem really hard to believe. It's even more difficult to say, but here it goes. The truth is...."
Precinct: Jim arrives to find the bad guys being released. Per George, they had nothing concrete to link the bad guys to the crime, because the lights were out and no one can I.D. them. I'm not buying this insufficient evidence excuse, but I'm so disappointed in a million little details this week, that I'm afraid if I go into my reasons, I'll end up putting you to sleep. George says they have to let the villains go. "That's how it works for us mortals. The system is not perfect. I know that. Maybe with some practice and some luck, we'll get 'em time." Jim bemoans their situation, but stops short when George hands him Stephanie's ring. It's a beautiful diamond solitaire, probably somewhere between a half and a whole carat. It seems one of the uniformed officers recovered it at the scene. Because what? The bad guys bring the booty from heists to each subsequent one? Oh, Show! Be better than this. Jim softens as I harden. Commercial.
Powell Pad: JJ calls Daph a traitor and yells at her for setting him up. When Daphne tries to talk to him, he marches off, grumbling "I don't need this tsuris." Heh. When Jim wants to know what's up, Daphne tells him it's a long story. She then lets him know she didn't end up telling Megan the truth, after all, because she doesn't want things to change between them. "Once you know someone's secret, it's all you can think about, sometimes. It's all I think about with you." Whenever Jim goes out, she's going to worry what danger he's facing. So, the message of this episode is lying for the win? Maybe I won't let my kids watch, after all. Jim then blathers on about how the powers are allowing him to be who he always wanted to be, and I start to nod off, so lets move on to the scene.
Lab: RevCam King summons Jerkface to his office and asks him why his keycard was used to access the medical lab, the night prior. Since Jerkface wasn't there, the guys chalk it up to a computer glitch, as nothing is showing up on the surveillance tape. RevCam dismisses Jerkface with a "That's all, Francis." Once Francis is gone, RevCam reviews the tape again, and notices a brief blip, right in front of Stephanie's vial of blood. Dun dun dun.
The episode ends with Jim swooping Stephanie up to the roof of an exclusive restaurant, where he has a private, candlelit dinner waiting for them. He returns her ring, even as he tells her it's the ugliest ring he's ever seen, which it so was not. It's a round-cut solitaire. It's a classic. I mean, I assume he didn't buy the clearest, most colorless stone, but it's not an ugly ring. Methinks someone needs to check out the Bella/Edward Twilight Engagement Ring to get some perspective on ugly. Jim goes on and on about how the (NOT) ugly ring is the only one he could afford when he was a struggling artist, because ARE YOU NOT YET CLEAR THAT JIM HAS NEVER BROUGHT HOME THE BACON?! Stephanie argues with him that it's beautiful, which inspires Jim to wax romantic about the night he proposed to her. "You looked at [the ring] and said, 'That's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen'," he continues. "I knew right then I had the right girl. Every time I see it on your finger I know you loved me for who I am, and I love you for the beauty you see in ordinary things." So, you didn't know she was the right girl, before you proposed? Huh. They smooch, and Jim finally asks his smoking hot wife to dance, and I finally get to put this episode to bed.
There's so much I like about this series, particularly the onscreen talent. I see so much potential, but every week, I want to take the writers behind the woodshed for about 15 things. Still, the Powells make me root for them despite myself, and I remain crazy about Katie, George and....I'll admit it -- Dr. RevCam King. Don't judge me. I know it takes a new show time to find its feet, but must say there's enough to No Ordinary Family that makes me root for it, even when I'm raising an eyebrow at it and giving it that look, which I'm totally giving it right now.
If you're giving the show that look, too, or even if you're not, please feel free to email me at CynthiaMcLennan[at]gmail.com or shout out to me on Twitter and tell me why. 'Til then, look, up in the sky. It's a bird. It's a plane. It's me, e-mailing this weecap off to editorial.
Watch the episode below, discuss it in our forums, and see why this show seems so familiar.
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