Cybill Shepherd: No Ordinary Grandma

In one respect, ABC's new superhero series No Ordinary Family is quite ordinary: the producers have tapped yet another sitcom star from decades gone by to play a lead character's mom.

Cybill Shepherd, of Moonlighting (1985-1989) and Cybill (1995-1998), will play Barbara Crane, mother to Stephanie Powell (the mom character played by Julie Benz).

Husband Alan Crane is played by Bruce McGill, a television and film veteran who's been in everything from McGuyver to Wolf Lake.

So far one episode as guest stars has been mentioned, but the parents are surely being positioned for recurring roles if the series itself survives.

Barbara and Alan are being presented as antagonists/foils for Jim Powell, the husband played by Michael Chiklis. Julie Benz described her character's parents as being similar to her own--overprotective, especially when it comes to the question of whether any man is good enough for their daughter. "They don't know yet about what's happened to the family," says Julie about the parents' first appearance. "So we have to decide if it's best to clue them in or keep them in the dark."

It's interesting casting, but it also sounds like standard-issue superhero plotpoints overlaid on standard-issue sitcom plotpoints. Nonetheless I have faith that a cast on this order of magnitude--including not only Chiklis, Benz, Shepherd, and McGill but also Tate Donovan, Josh Stewart, and Stephen Collins--can overcome any triteness they might be provided. The writing team includes Allison Adler (Chuck) and Darren Swimmer and Todd Slavkin (Smallville), all well-versed in dramedy.

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