No Ordinary Family – Dump the brother, take the redhead

Hokay … that was a no-brainer. Old habits, apparently, aren’t so easy to break.

Joshua / Watcher (Josh Stewart) hasn’t quite gone cold turkey when it comes to his powers. He didn’t just explain away Stephanie’s diary Katie (Autumn Reeser) caught him with from last episode — he mentally altered the writing on the pages to work a plausible excuse and save his ass. So all is good in post-JiggyLand with he and Katie. Enough said.

(Well … except for the fact we just keep seeing how powerful Watcher really is. Is anyone convinced he’s going to give up his abilities because of a simple slap and tickle? Not me. And the start of the show supported that. I called it out last week and I’m sticking by it. Time will tell.)

Meanwhile on No Ordinary Family, Jim’s brother Mike (Jason Wiles) slides into the picture. And, in true, goofy storyline fashion, everything this episode revolved around him. In a nutshell, he’s a screw-up of sorts … he finds out about everyone’s powers … he’s in trouble … and he ends up getting out of dire straits with big brother Jimmy’s help. The end. Rather the weak storyline with little real excitement to enlighten us on the Powell family front, eh?

However! We are introduced to a new (red-headed!) face in the crowd: Global Tech Human Resources VP Victoria Morrow (Rebbeca Mader, who also played Charlotte Lewis on Lost). She announces our sprightly little Katie is getting a promotion. Seems Katie’s off to the other side of the country, Florida. She’s got her own gig. That’ll take care of Joshua’s relationship with her … right?

Nope. Not quite. Joshua’s onto Dr. Dayton King’s (Stephen Collins) little game to get Katie out of the picture. And he threateningly tells him as much. But King counters with the fact Joshua isn’t out of reach where Global Tech’s long arm stretches. There’s this little thing concerning “weakness, joint pain and depression” Joshua just might have to deal with as a result of a lack of super serum he’s used to getting in order to maintain his powers. “Well … looks like I’m just going to have to work that much harder at spurning your wishes,” he counters at King. The plot thickens….

Don’t you want to get into the back story of King and see what all his shenanigans are about … what the bottom line is? I do. And I hope it comes sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, we’re treated to some spectacular epic fails where the powers of the Powells are concerned. In quick order:

• Jim gets backed into by an SUV while coming to the aid of his brother Mike (Jason Wiles) and gets tossed off the roof of a multi-story building. With no harm done to him. Mike takes note. Oops.
• Stephanie (Julie Benz) screws up and “appears,” right before her stunned brother-in-law. Rut roh … super speed revealed. Oops.
• Daphne’s (Kay Panabaker) abilities, while on her school disciplinary council, don’t make the cut and get an innocent student in big, huge trouble. Oops.
• JJ’s (Jimmy Bennett) mental muscle doesn’t cut the mustard at the horse track, resulting in thousands of dollars tossed to the wind. Seems there’s more involved in calculating a long-shot than purchasing a program and taking into consideration a rain-soaked track. Oops.

Twists to end the show? Katie’s staying after all. And the lovely Ms. Morrow turns out to be a pawn of Dr. King in the Global Tech machine … and a shape-shifter, too. Cue dramatic music.

Stay tuned, folks….

Clacked by Michael Noble
on Jan 12, 2011 @ 16:00 EST5EDT