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No Ordinary Quake
Original Air Date: Oct 26, 2010
Ryan O – Two Cents Reviewer
ryano@thetwocentscorp.com
Well, another episode about lying. We be might sensing a theme, no? The Powells are all lying to each other. George lies to Stephanie. Katie also lies to Stephanie but for an entirely different reason. Daphne doesn’t do much lying but thinks a friend is lying to her.
But wait! It’s not all lying. There’s a powered-villain this week! And it’s a cool power, too.
Daphne and Stephanie are shopping for running shoes for Stephanie — who just bought some three days ago. (My running shoes last about 400 miles but Stephanie is probably a bit rougher on her shoes than the average runner.) JJ and Jim are over looking at cleats for JJ when there’s an earthquake. Things shake and rumble and fall. A woman yells that she is trapped. Jim is about to start pulling things off the pile when JJ tells Jim to pull a specific beam. Jim pulls it, the pile of debris cascades to the ground around the woman without hurting her and the woman is free.
Stephanie wants to test JJ since she thinks he has a power. So, she tells him she wants his pee as a control against the rest of the family since he’s still normal.
George talks to the DA’s secretary to get information — she doesn’t want give it up but she says the office suspects the recent earthquake wasn’t an earthquake at all.
Dr. CEvilO gets a call from henchman about tracking someone.
Katie has research from the archive (on a 3.5” disk! Awww, technology I am not nostalgic for.) from the scientist who looked at the same chromosomal anomalies the Powells have. It’s encrypted, so it’s going to take some time before they can examine it.
Daphne and a friend are at a coffee place to apply for jobs (isn’t Daphne just 15?) that run into their english teacher, Mr. Robbins, and their classmate Olivia. Olivia leaves. Mr. Robbins thinks, “If they suspect anything, we’re screwed.” He leaves Her friend suspects them.
George talks to Jim about the earthquake being man-made. The police suspect someone is using concussion grenades or something that produces an electromagnetic shockwave. A pharmacy was robbed and the grenade was a diversion. As they’re talking, another pharmacy is hit and the pharmacist is dead.
Megan goes to talk to Olivia in the locker room. Olivia thinks and Daphne hears, “They so don’t get it.” She says there’s nothing going on but thinks, “They can’t know what’s going on.”
George suggests that Stephanie break into evidence to steal a tape of the most recent pharmacy robbery. Stephanie really doesn’t want to do that. So, George tells her the tape is of Jim using his powers. Stephanie agrees but Jim isn’t pleased with George.
JJ shows up to his mom’s lab with his pee and gives it to Katie, who takes it to the lab, leaving her computer with the decryption program running and trying to break the resarch open. JJ breaks the last bit of encryption to get to the research. Not sure how THAT works.
Stephanie gets the evidence. “Once. You’re on your own now.” In their “secret lair,” George and Jim watch the tape. It’s grainy once the shockwave happens but the robber is clearly a woman.
Daphne talks with her mom about what to do if she overhears thoughts she shouldn’t hear if they’re thoughts about people doing bad things. She explains herself and her mom tells her to be absolutely sure since it’s serious. Yes, Daphne, be 100% sure. Listen to your mother.
Jim and George talk about the girl, who previously had a clean record. She’s stealing anti-epileptic drug. It doesn’t make any sense to them.
Katie calls JJ in and tells him she knows he cracked the encryption. She wants to know why he’s lied to parents. Stephanie comes in, compliments Katie for cracking the file and flits out. Katie is feeling pleased that Stephanie complimented and appreciates her work. JJ tells her that feeling is why. Katie says she’ll cover. Also, the pee showed he was pregnant. JJ needs to have a talk with his friend the pee-supplier.
Daphne talks to Mr. Robbins about what’s going on between him and Olivia. He says nothing is happening but thinks about how he needs to end it since they’ve slept together.
Katie told Stephanie that JJ’s results were normal and she tells Jim. Stephanie still feels JJ has powers. George call Jim — there’s another robbery and it’s in progress.
Jim gets there. He confronts the girl. She blasts him and he withstands it until he’s pushed back into (and through) a concrete wall.
George says she’s hardcore and has a cool power. He wonders why the villains have the cool powers — shockwaves and teleportation. Jim is a little, humorously, defensive, saying his powers are cool. Neither of them understands why she’s stealing epilepsy medicines. Jim tells George he hasn’t told Stephanie there are others out there with powers.
Stephanie and Katie look at what was on the disk. Blueprints. Blueprints? Stephanie wants thinks another round of decryption might reveal something because why this scientist would have encrypted blueprints. Katie admits she had help the first time it was decrypted. Finally, it comes out that JJ cracked it.
As Jim comes in the door, Stephanie confronts Jim about the lies. He’s about to admit that, yes, there others with powers, when she says it’s JJ’s lie specifically. JJ says it’s the first time they’ve been proud of him. Stephanie says JJ shouldn’t be using his powers on the football field since it’s an unfair advantage. JJ is pissed. He wants to keep playing. Stephanie says no more football until he lose his powers or forever, whichever comes first. JJ pouts off. Stephanie is angry that Jim didn’t back her up.
Dr. CEvilO is talking to his henchman about where Rebecca (shockwave girl) is. Oh, hi. She’s at his door. He acts worried for her. She says she wants to be normal — but nothing is working. She doesn’t want to be locked up again. She’s shot in the back and Dr. CEvilO instructs lackeys that she needs to be “transferred back to the dorms.”
Stephanie gives a speech about the plant to the investors and stockholders or something.
Rebecca wakes up in the back of a van. She blasts her way out of the van (really poor job of prisoner transport there). She blasts a guy and takes his keys. She’s about to get the car when Jim confronts Rebecca. She blasts him but he fights through it. She stops, “You’re one of us. They get you, too?” He doesn’t really understand but, hey, he’s going through a lot right then, so I can cut him a break. He asks for her trust. Then, Telekinesis guy shows up and flings her back into a concrete column, knocking her out. Jim is also out.
Olivia shows up at Daphne’s house. The principal spoke to Mr. Robbins. Olivia says he was dating her mom but now everyone thinks the two of them were sleeping together. Daphne feels bad since she was the one that told the principal but she really thought she was doing the right thing. Hey, Daphne, remember how your mom said be absolutely positive? You really only like 75% positive, weren’t you?
Stephanie zips down to Jim. He wakes up and is okay. He says he’s been lying (by not telling her about others with powers). Back at home, Stephanie is furious. She can handle weird stuff but doesn’t like the lying. Jim wants Stephanie to leave the research alone. It’s dangerous.
Daphne apologizes to Mr. Robbins. He says it’s good to look out for your friends but you have be careful. AND 100% SURE, DAPHNE. (So, this plotline was about encouraging her to use her powers to be MORE invasive so she can be sure about things, right?)
Jim shows up in the football locker room to apologize to JJ before the game (I thought there was no more football according to Stephanie?). JJ says the powers let him live a cool life. Jim says JJ doesn’t need powers to be the person he wants to be.
JJ gets put in the game after the QB gets knocked out (that’s two weeks in a row, somebody should start doing a better job coaching the offensive line). JJ gets into the game. He’s just aboutto use his powers and throw a bomb but instead he tucks the football and runs downfield. A defensive player leaps a blocker and just flattens JJ. I hope they have a third-string QB. I hope the third-string QB is willing to get crushed, too.
All in all, another fun episode. There are still holes in the writing and sometimes things come out very “after-school special,” but the positives more than make up for it. Plus, it was fun to see Jim and Stephanie work together as well as JJ and Jim. I’m looking forward to more of that.
What did you think? Is the show meeting your expectations? Give us your Two Cents below!
Next Week: No Ordinary Visitors
TheTwoCents 
Nice summary, hilarious about the offensive line lol