No Ordinary Family "No Ordinary Proposal" Review

The last few weeks of No Ordinary Family episodes were like mirages in the desert. Imagine the viewer as someone stranded in the desert, desperate for water. Now, I've never been nor will ever be desperate for outstanding NOF episodes but, at the least, I'd like the show to suck a little less than it has for most of the season. The last 2-3 weeks featured mediocre to average episodes which are improvements considering the first ten or so episodes of the series. Of course, one of the episodes in the last 2-3 weeks absolutely sucked during the first half. Tonight's episode reminded me of the show's lazy roots and its disinterest in substantial storytelling. "No Ordinary Proposal" confirmed the lack of direction the season had as...well...lack of direction (and I assume the writers room threw things on the wall early in the season, hoping they stick and now they're like Homer Simpson with his eyes closed, trying to eat pie (which means the writers have some vague idea of what they want the show to be but they hope like hell they won't crack their skull trying to reach their destination...they're failing)).

"No Ordinary Proposal" didn't abandon its serialized elements but those serialized elements that made the last two or so episodes mediocre to average felt somehow weaker. Dr. King continued exposing Sylar II's past to Katie and Stephanie, especially after he and Katie's engagement. The Powells learned about the mind-wiping ability Sylar II possesses. The revelation ended with Sylar II on a bus, a broken man and losing his powers rapidly (gee I wonder if he'll leave the series for good as tragic antagonist...a cautionary tale for addicts of any kind in the show's mind or ABC's collective mind). Of course, Sylar II left town before Stephanie could witness the success of her synthetic anecdote to the super serum.

Dr. King continued to make bold statements about characters that came from left-field. Last week, the writers seemingly decided willy-nilly to have Dr. King in love with Stephanie. This week, he referred to Sylar II as his son--or like a son because he's taken care of Sylar II since the age of six. Obviously, Dr. King has delusions of grandeur. The development of super serum and the power he leverages with such a concoction makes King feel invincible and unstoppable. He remains an enigmatic character and we've yet to understand why he makes declarations to supers about why they cannot hurt him. Nevertheless, his delusions of grandeur include a complex problem that JJ solves. His plan, or his company's plan, is under wraps but I'll make a wild prediction that involves nothing less than the end of the world because every superhero series or movie devotes its final act to the prevention of the end of the world.

Dr. King's quiet insanity is a problem too. On Dollhouse, the writers devolved Boyd into nothing but a crazed lunatic with delusions of grandeur. It made him a less memorable villain as well as more cartoonish. King's probably going to become cartoonish by the end of the season--as silly as The Penguin during the first volume of Batman the Animated Series. Dr. King enlisted JJ's villainous teacher to blackmail JJ into solving that complex problem which only adds to silliness of Dr. King's role as antagonist in the series. I'm positive that JJ could've reported his teacher's blackmail to the principal but this is No Ordinary Family--the same damn show that featured JJ performing complicated surgery. It seems like NOF wants Dr. King to be the HRG of this series but Dr. King's on track to make the Worst Characters list.

Meanwhile, the show brought back Jim Powell's useless case-of-the-week. The show added a personal wrinkle to the B story by directly involving Daphne's boyfriend's father. Chris' father became crippled two years ago. Chris steals the serum from the Powells after discovering the serum cures anyone of anything. Soon, Chris' father is a bonafide super villain. You see, the serum amplifies anyone's core (something anyone watching the pilot figured out during the pilot) so the criminal in Chris' father existed throughout his life became amplified along with his physical strength. The pursuit of Roy is of no consequence. The story exists to show the audience what the serum actually does (again the "Pilot" made it clear...this series isn't exactly a James Joyce novel). Also, the B story brings Chris and Daphne closer together. They exchange I Love Yous.

NOF has a troubling history of social commentary. For instance, in one episode, Jim doubted a white upper-class family was capable of committing crimes because they're white and upper class. Roy will return to his life as a cripple once the serum leaves his body. With the serum in his system, he becomes a dangerous criminal and the show uses that fact to justify the decision to let Roy return to life as a cripple. Such a fate is just cruel. The legal system exists for folks like Roy.

Meanwhile, a bullet that hits Jim ends up in the gut of a teenager. Jim feels responsible but he learns from the mother that the bullet saved her son's life. The doctors discovered a small tumor during surgery that would've never been detected until it was too late for the boy.

NOF has an old testament way of rewarding its characters and punishing its villains. I'm not sure if that's the best storytelling technique either.

Overall, the episode was typical NOF. I disliked large portions of it. There were some interesting scenes. But the episode return to NOF form.

Other thoughts:

-This was episode 16 of the series so the end is near after the next hiatus. Season 2 doesn't look promising.

-Anthony Michael Hall portrayed Ron Minor. He won't win any Emmys for his performance.

-imdb.com doesn't have factual credits for the episode so I cannot list the writers or director like I usually am able to do.

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