Lucy Lawless, No Ordinary Family
You know what the opposite of super is? When a show that's on the bubble scores a fierce guest star and utterly wastes her. Kind of like No Ordinary Family did last night.
When news broke that the live-action answer to The Incredibles had locked in Lucy Lawless for a four-episode arc, we were all like "our hero!" Not that the show is The Cape-bad — it's actually quite fun, despite two charmless kid characters — it's just that nobody is watching. You'd need Clark Kent's hearing to pick up any buzz on this one. So the hope was that maybe the flawless Lawless' stint as Mrs. X could save NOF from its villainous ratings and bring some heat to the Powells' home.
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Disney's Pixarless CGI flick Chicken Little ruled the weekend box-office roost, debuting at No. 1 with a better-than-expected $40.1 million. Iraq-war drama Jarhead also opened strongly with $28.8 million, good enough for second place. Still, total receipts lagged 10 percent behind the same period in 2004, when The Incredibles premiered with $70.5 million.
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Everything old is new again
Question: What's your take on when the story of The Incredibles takes place? Some of the cars, interior decoration and clothes look like they're from the early '60s, but the dialogue has a modern feel to it. Thanks for finding the answer for me; I've loved your column for years.
Answer: The Incredibles (2004) takes place in a kind of indeterminate era, but the look and feel of the décor evoke the early '60s because the main inspiration for the story is Marvel's Fantastic Four comic-book series. The Fantastic Four debuted in 1961 and Brad Bird clearly grew up reading and loving those early issues. When he wrote his own superhero story, he retained the look (clothing, furniture, home accessories, cars etc.) that he associated with the comics of his formative years. At the same time, the unde
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