Back for a second season on Disney+ this week is one of my favourite shows from last year, Extraordinary. Season 1 introduced us to Jen, who lives in a world where everyone gains a superpower the moment they turn 18, except for her. We also met housemates Kash and Carrie, along with a stray cat who they adopted and named Jizzlord, only for it to turn into a man with no memory of his life before turning into a cat. The first season followed the struggles of all 4 friends and was a real breath of fresh air in what was already a crowded world of movie and TV superhero content. Thankfully, although not quite as funny as season 1, season 2 is pretty much more of the same.
Firstly, season 1 ended things on a couple of cliffhangers, some bigger than others, so I am so glad that this show is back, and the new season picks things up immediately after the moment those cliffhangers dropped. So, Jizzlord is now returning home from the supermarket, where a young boy had just pointed at him and said to his mum “That man looks like Daddy”, leaving him to (maybe) explain to Jen that he appears to have a family he knew nothing about. Jen has the money she needs to pay for the power discovery program in the hope that it will help her finally;y unlock her power. And Kash and Carrie have decided to split up.
Jen is paired with George (Julian Barratt), a qualified Discovery coach who can take you inside your mind to help determine any psychological blockages. Jen’s mind is rendered in the form of a huge, cluttered library that she and George find themselves in, with the task of sorting through all the mess to locate her power. Everything Jen has ever thought about, felt or done can be found in the library and there are book sections such as ‘Scatalogical Humour’, ‘Good Dogs I’ve Seen’ and the rather dusty ‘Mental Maths’ section. Some of the book titles Jen notices include ‘Boys I Have Ghosted’, ‘Times Carrie Cleaned My Room’ and ‘Weird Things You’ve Thought About While Masturbating’. Looking around the place, Jen declares “It’s a shithole”, and we find ourselves coming back to this wonderful place many more times throughout the season.
Another problem for Jen arrives in the form of Nora, wife of Jizzlord, who after putting up lost posters around town, finally manages to locate him. To try and reconnect with his son Alfie, Jen and Jizzlord invite him round to the flat for the day. Nora seems unnaturally calm and way too nice about the whole situation, but her power is telepathy, and she can unleash a barrage of hostility and abuse at Jen, all while innocently smiling and simultaneously holding a spoken conversation with someone else. Nora proves to be a powerful nemesis for Jen and an attempt by Jen to push Nora over the edge so that she might reveal her true feelings fails. So, she tries again. At Alfie’s birthday party. With hilarious results.
Meanwhile, Carrie finds herself struggling to move on from Kash, especially when he gets a job working at the same company as her! And Kash discovers that as well as being able to rewind time, he can now fast-forward it too. If only he could work out how to control it!
One of the highlights of season one for me was the group of vigilantes formed by Kash, the audition process and their subsequent adventures out on the streets were just hilarious. Luckily, the gang are all back, although not as much as I would have liked. But they do put on a presentation of ‘Vigilante: The Musical’ for the final episode. Written by Kash, and performed by him and his team, this proves to be a real highlight of the season.
Overall, I didn’t feel that season two was as funny as season one. However, the weird and wonderfully creative superpowers that some of the characters possess continues to be a huge source of enjoyment – from a colleague of Carrie’s who can tell when a woman is on her period, to another who can duplicate himself. Not to mention a friend of Jizzlord who automatically bleeps out swear words spoken by anyone nearby. It’s the casual way that these powers weave their way into the lives of our core characters that keeps the show fresh and entertaining. And once again, the season ends on a huge cliffhanger! Bring on season 3!
Where to Watch
Web developer by day, with a movie and TV watchlist that continues to grow as much as my spare time reduces! My favourite movie is Inception and, despite what everyone says, I do not have a man-crush on Tom Cruise.
