The superhero genre is traditionally best left for feature film, with a few notable attempts to disprove that maxim: “Heroes,” “Smallville,” “Power Rangers,” to name the exceptions. That list doesn’t inspire much confidence going into ABC’s new show, what appears to be an unanimated version of “The Incredibles” (is the similarity allowed because Disney owns ABC and Pixar? If another network had developed this show, would it have been shut down for legal issues? Thoughts to chew on), “No Ordinary Family.”

“No Ordinary Family” tells the story of a family weighed down by work, technology and teenage ‘tude. When the badass Michael Chiklis, the no-longer-delicate Julie Benz, the grown-up Kay Panabaker and the unknown Jimmy Bennett are cast as your nuclear family, it’s a wonder they have any problems, but they’re unhappy just like us! Chiklis, the clear leader of both the series and the fictional clan as Jim Powell, orchestrates a family vacation to South America, where their plane plunges into magical South American lake water. Unbeknownst to the crew, they have been imbued with superhuman abilities: Jim has super strength, Stephanie (Benz) has super speed, Daphne (Panabaker) can read minds and JJ (Bennett) overcomes his learning disability with super intelligence. They spend the pilot realizing and experimenting with these new abilities.

As such, the pilot feels more like a prologue than a first chapter of this new series – no villains emerge, other than the characters’ own human flaws and Stephanie’s sexually predatory boss (played, ironically, by the dad from “7th Heaven”). That idea generates the thematic core of the series: how do superficial things, like jobs, technology and even superpowers, affect our identities and important relationships? The literal translation of this issue comes with the reveal of the therapist (played by the dad from “Billboard Dad!”) in the final moments of the pilot. The Powells will work through their superpowers and their family issues in tandem.

This is where the pandering to American audiences muddles not only the superhero genre but also the show’s ability to identify with a specific genre at all. Is it a comedy? Is it a drama? Is it a superhero vehicle? Is it a high school show? Family shows such as “Parenthood” or “Brothers and Sisters” define the hierarchy within their families very quickly, in that “Parenthood” cares more about the parents and “Brothers and Sisters” cares more about the children than Sally Field. The pilot of “No Ordinary Family” sets the series up as a vehicle for Chiklis and Benz, nearly forgetting the children, a choice that would change the whole concept of the series. The preferential treatment of the parental figures suggests that the show’s family aspect lies with the running of a family, not merely living with one. Admittedly, there are enough sitcoms about the former, but the further “No Ordinary Family” drifts from family interaction, the less coherent of a series it becomes.

This is not to say the work lives of the adult Powells are uninteresting. The “work” Jim and Stephanie do in the pilot consists of testing their strength and speed, respectively, with their sidekicks in tow. Romany Malco and Autumn Reeser, as the assistants-turned-sidekicks, encapsulate the genius casting of the series and are the most likable roles in it, perhaps because they are able to have personalities where the Powells, with the exception of Jim, are reduced to stereotypes.

And how’s the action itself? Nothing to write a column about. Growing up in the age of superhero movies, I think it’s difficult to recreate it on a television budget (or a non-HBO budget) without appearing hokey. The actors, however, are able to sell the sequences on the merit of “what does it feel like to have superpowers?”

The show, thanks to a great cast with good chemistry, has potential to be heart-warming and addictive if the family dynamic is executed correctly. I’ll also be intrigued to see how the first season will be structured, in terms of conflict and episodic developments. “No Ordinary Family” is no ordinary concept (and certainly no original one), but it has to avoid being an even worse adjective, “blah.”