No ordinary family Ep II

mclark11 · 10-05-2010, 10:04 PM

Show is getting slightly better. They really try to do super stupid things but somethng stopped them.
How many people think that a person with the strength to lift a building can stop a car... Those scenes show that these guys are as stupid as grass. I mean how can a 200 lb person stop a 2 ton car. It doesn't matter how strong you are. I saw this on Wonder Woman when I was 12 yrs old and I thought "what a stupid scene"
Only a power like superman's can stop a car or train because he has his own propulsion. Spiderman could because he can spider himmself to the floor, but without a foothold and by foothold I mean a wall there's no way no matter how strong a 200 lb man can stop a speeding car.
Now these guys are stupid as stones but luckily the show saved itself by making this impossible. The right way to stop the car was the way they did it, which is by lifting the driving wheels.

Sromkie · 10-05-2010, 10:35 PM

They were inconsistent with the wife in this episode. They show her perceiving her surroundings in super speed (like last week), but then they have her tell her assistant, over the phone, that she is passing the signs too quickly to tell where she is. Based on what we have seen, she should have no problem reading the signs as she passes.

jjpk01 · 10-06-2010, 05:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mclark11

How many people think that a person with the strength to lift a building can stop a car... Those scenes show that these guys are as stupid as grass. I mean how can a 200 lb person stop a 2 ton car.

......

The right way to stop the car was the way they did it, which is by lifting the driving wheels.

Man, are you kidding me? It's a show. About super humans. What part of this is realistic? You just argued that superman and spiderman can do it the 'right' way, but these guys are doing it the 'wrong' way. Is this a joke? Please tell me you're just trolling.....

loubob57 · 10-06-2010, 06:27 AM

Why didn't the smart kid just tell his teacher to give him a test, just the two of them, so he can prove he's not cheating?

I was also waiting for the mind-reading girl hear someone plotting to blow up the school or commit suicide. I'm sure that one of those plots will eventually show up.

Fool Me Twice · 10-06-2010, 08:15 AM

Nitpicks aside, I'm liking this show a lot. It's a light family drama first (though with two surprisingly dark endings) rather than a super hero story first, and maybe that will save it from the fate of Heroes.

mclark11 · 10-06-2010, 08:50 AM

Here's the problem... if they lived in a comic book world where there are superheroes, the OK the stuff they do would make sence because they would hear stories of what "real" superheroes do.... but this is supposed to be the real world where there are no superheroes... The internal logic is that all laws of physics apply with the exeption of their superpowers... that's all... And they don't need to be all heavy and too realistic but they cannot follow the old batman show or just do silly stuff. And it is imperative to follow internal logic because if you don't you cheat the audience a la deux ex machina... in other words you have the hero fall in a vat of acid and he just happens to be wearing an anti acid suit even though there was no speculation that there was going to be acid involved... it would cheat the audience.
Like someone else mentioned they have established that she can see ok at superspeed, then she says that she can barely make things out for the sake of making drama.. This is a cheat... she either can or cannot see at super speed. It doesn't matter which it is, but just stay consistent...

Enrique · 10-06-2010, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fool Me Twice

Nitpicks aside, I'm liking this show a lot. It's a light family drama first (though with two surprisingly dark endings) rather than a super hero story first, and maybe that will save it from the fate of Heroes.

If you mean "from the fate of Heroes" 4 seasons and countless Awards and nominations then god I hope it does have the same fate.

allan · 10-06-2010, 09:26 AM

I loved the stuff with the car! Also, loved Speed Woman's problems; if cellphone distraction is a problem driving, it's REALLY a problem if you're running at 600 MPH!

lambertman · 10-06-2010, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enrique

If you mean "from the fate of Heroes" 4 seasons and countless Awards and nominations then god I hope it does have the same fate.

Which awards did it get after S1? Just curious.

That Don Guy · 10-06-2010, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loubob57

Why didn't the smart kid just tell his teacher to give him a test, just the two of them, so he can prove he's not cheating?

Even when he explained how he used Newton-Raphson to solve an equation (something that requires knowing how to take derivatives - the "short version" is, you take a guess as to what a root of the function is, then find the point at that X-value on the graph, draw the tangent to the graph at that point, see where it crosses the X-axis, and repeat as necessary), the teacher thought he was cheating - not by copying from somebody, but just "somehow".

-- Don

MickeS · 10-06-2010, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fool Me Twice

Nitpicks aside, I'm liking this show a lot. It's a light family drama first (though with two surprisingly dark endings) rather than a super hero story first, and maybe that will save it from the fate of Heroes.

That's how I feel about it too. And I didn't like the dark endings. I thought the tone in the scene in this episode where the bad guy uses telekinesis to aim the gun at the woman was wholly unnecessary and just didn't fit in. I don't know why they feel the need to do that.

Sromkie · 10-06-2010, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MickeS

That's how I feel about it too. And I didn't like the dark endings. I thought the tone in the scene in this episode where the bad guy uses telekinesis to aim the gun at the woman was wholly unnecessary and just didn't fit in. I don't know why they feel the need to do that.

I didn't like that scene for another reason: The gun didn't fire until he was out of the room; why didn't she just move out of the way? He didn't even go back to check to make sure she was dead. (Well, since we didn't see her dead, I guess it's possible that she did move out of the way, but somehow I doubt it).

JYoung · 10-06-2010, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mclark11

Here's the problem... if they lived in a comic book world where there are superheroes, the OK the stuff they do would make sence because they would hear stories of what "real" superheroes do.... but this is supposed to be the real world where there are no superheroes... The internal logic is that all laws of physics apply with the exeption of their superpowers... that's all... And they don't need to be all heavy and too realistic but they cannot follow the old batman show or just do silly stuff. And it is imperative to follow internal logic because if you don't you cheat the audience a la deux ex machina... in other words you have the hero fall in a vat of acid and he just happens to be wearing an anti acid suit even though there was no speculation that there was going to be acid involved... it would cheat the audience.
Like someone else mentioned they have established that she can see ok at superspeed, then she says that she can barely make things out for the sake of making drama.. This is a cheat... she either can or cannot see at super speed. It doesn't matter which it is, but just stay consistent...

Who says this isn't a comic book world?
Jim could be this universe's version of Superman.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sromkie

I didn't like that scene for another reason: The gun didn't fire until he was out of the room; why didn't she just move out of the way? He didn't even go back to check to make sure she was dead. (Well, since we didn't see her dead, I guess it's possible that she did move out of the way, but somehow I doubt it).

Considering he had her in a TK lock, I'm guessing he wasn't too worried about her moving.

I'm still liking the show but I just hope these dark moments are planned out by the showrunners and not the network insisting that they make it more like Heroes.

BTW, not a good idea to practice super moves (the car running over sequence) right next to a major freeway in Los Angeles where anyone can see you.

atrac · 10-06-2010, 02:22 PM

The husband that got dunked -- is he the host of a reality show? He looked so familiar and that's all I can come up with.

Still liking the show, although the dark ending was quite jarring for me. Quite a mean spirited moment in such a light show so far.

Agreed with the "too fast to see the street signs comment." She could have if she looked!

The super speed stuff really reminds me how much I miss the early 90's "The Flash."

Enrique · 10-06-2010, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lambertman

Which awards did it get after S1? Just curious.

Won? None, but were nominated for "Best Network Television Series," "Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series" , "Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series" and "Best Television Series on DVD." These were all between there 2nd Season going into their 3rd.

trainman · 10-06-2010, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loubob57

Why didn't the smart kid just tell his teacher to give him a test, just the two of them, so he can prove he's not cheating?

'Cause the power has made him "book smart," but not "street smart."

One thing I really noticed in this episode is that they don't seem to have decided whether or not the show is actually set in Los Angeles -- they're willing to specifically say Flagstaff is 500 miles to the east, but then they have fake license plates that say "Drive Safely" instead of "California."

MickeS · 10-06-2010, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trainman

One thing I really noticed in this episode is that they don't seem to have decided whether or not the show is actually set in Los Angeles -- they're willing to specifically say Flagstaff is 500 miles to the east, but then they have fake license plates that say "Drive Safely" instead of "California."

I was wondering about that license plate too. I thought maybe it was one of those license plate you pay extra for and the money goes to a specific cause, otherwise it seemed like a weird thing to do. So this is not a real license plate design I take it then?

JYoung · 10-06-2010, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trainman

One thing I really noticed in this episode is that they don't seem to have decided whether or not the show is actually set in Los Angeles -- they're willing to specifically say Flagstaff is 500 miles to the east, but then they have fake license plates that say "Drive Safely" instead of "California."

Tell me about it.
The Powell's live in "Pacific Bay" but when Jim jumps around, it's the very recognizable Los Angeles Downtown skyline.

And the yard Jim was getting run over at is right off the Pasadena Freeway, just north of the Avenue 26 exit and the I5 interchange.

And the school fair was at a church in Boyle Heights.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MickeS

I was wondering about that license plate too. I thought maybe it was one of those license plate you pay extra for and the money goes to a specific cause, otherwise it seemed like a weird thing to do. So this is not a real license plate design I take it then?

It was a "faux" California plate. Close but not exact.

vertigo235 · 10-06-2010, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by That Don Guy

Even when he explained how he used Newton-Raphson to solve an equation (something that requires knowing how to take derivatives - the "short version" is, you take a guess as to what a root of the function is, then find the point at that X-value on the graph, draw the tangent to the graph at that point, see where it crosses the X-axis, and repeat as necessary), the teacher thought he was cheating - not by copying from somebody, but just "somehow".

-- Don

Well in a way the teacher is actually correct. He is cheating... He obtained superpowers, it's sort of like taking steriods. Of course he didn't mean to get the superpowers, but yeah he has an unfair advantage I guess.

If mom were in a race and won against normal people, would she not be cheating?

mclark11 · 10-06-2010, 09:22 PM

wouldn't Newton-Raphson only be an approximation but using the Quadratic equation give the exact answer (for a high school problem)... Isn't the logic backwards..

The Spud · 10-06-2010, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sromkie

I didn't like that scene for another reason: The gun didn't fire until he was out of the room; why didn't she just move out of the way? He didn't even go back to check to make sure she was dead. (Well, since we didn't see her dead, I guess it's possible that she did move out of the way, but somehow I doubt it).

I don't think she's dead. I think Jim saved the day.

gastrof · 10-06-2010, 09:57 PM

As for them using real LA locations in the fiilming, but not saying it's LA...

Where SHOULD they be filming?

If they're in a fictional city, they've got to use real city locations to film. Otherwise they'd have to use greenscreen and matt paintings or CGI.

I mean, it's not like a Superman show can go to the real Metropolis to film. There isn't one. There's no city called Pacific Bay either.

betts4 · 10-06-2010, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vertigo235

Well in a way the teacher is actually correct. He is cheating... He obtained superpowers, it's sort of like taking steriods. Of course he didn't mean to get the superpowers, but yeah he has an unfair advantage I guess.

If mom were in a race and won against normal people, would she not be cheating?

Sort of like Dad using his super strength to knock that guy into the water.

Okay, I get that, but how do you NOT use the superpower he has? Can he just turn it off? I guess he can get the answer but write the wong down as he did in the last test. Can the sister ignore the voices when she wants or does it just hit her when she is in crowds but in just a classroom or something.

p.s. and yes she looks like Joan of Arcadia.

MICHAELSD · 10-06-2010, 10:35 PM

I'm really enjoying the show. I wouldn't have began watching it if it wasn't for Julie Benz, but it is the best new series so far this year. Sure, I hope the ploys stay on a realistic path and cliches are avoided in the future, and that super-villains have a believable backstory and plan. I'll keep watching every week, the cast is very likable. The producers have to keep it feeling unique and believable.

MickeS · 10-06-2010, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Spud

I don't think she's dead. I think Jim saved the day.

The only reason they didn't show her getting shot is to keep the rating family friendly. Of course she's dead.

MickeS · 10-06-2010, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atrac

The husband that got dunked -- is he the host of a reality show? He looked so familiar and that's all I can come up with.

Nope. Never heard of him: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0243952/

He does look a little like Jeff Probst maybe.

atrac · 10-07-2010, 02:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MickeS

Nope. Never heard of him: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0243952/

He does look a little like Jeff Probst maybe.

That's who I was thinking of...and it's obviously not him though. Thanks!

That Don Guy · 10-10-2010, 09:46 AM

Somebody owes Vince McMahon royalties for using the "superhero in training" line.

(Let me rephrase that, for those of you who didn't get it the first time: Super Hero In Training.)

-- Don