A new American television series, No Ordinary Family, has just begun broadcast on this side of the Atlantic. Its premise is simple: an ‘ordinary’ family – wife, husband, daughter and son – with the the usual moderate middle class disfunctionality gain super-powers and must adjust to them. I’ve seen two episodes, and will probably watch a few more out of mild-mannered curiosity. In the pilot the show quickly established the Powell family dynamics: Stephenie (Julie Benz), the Mom, is a scientist, career woman and the main wage earner; Jim (Michael Chiklis), the dad, is a police sketch artist and failed painter who feels inadequate despite being the main carer for…