When The Thundermans premiered, I thought it was just another cliché show about a family with a secret. I may have been one of those who felt like it was a copy Wizards of Waverly Place. But the Thundermans proved me wrong. It proved that it had its way of taking a seemingly common plot or theme and making amazing twists with excellent character moments that make you appreciate the level of creativity. At first I wished they were actually focused on saving people. But as time went by it started making sense. We've seen them grow. We've seen Phoebe training to become a superhero through multiple episodes. We've seen Max develop through a phase of trying to be evil. He spent season 3 working on a chronicle for Dark Mayhem to prove that he was a supervillain material; then he got the chance to be supervillain, but made the right choice.
What makes The Thundermans super isn't just the superpowers, it's the chemistry between the characters that comes off so seamlessly thanks to the excellent acting of cast. The writers, the producers and the cast have mastered their characters so well that the show pretty much runs itself. That's what I call great writing. Despite their differences, Max and Phoebe have one of the best brother- sister chemistry on TV. They tease each other, prank each other but if you mess with any of them or any of their siblings, you face the Thunder Twins. Of course Max wouldn't admit he cared about Phoebe during his evil phase but he was always there for her when it mattered. The Thundermans know each other so well, their strengths and weaknesses.
Speaking of excellent acting, the Thundermans cast portrays their characters so naturally. They come off as real people with dialogues that you can actually expect in a normal life situation. Both Kira and Jack have mastered Phoebe and Max so well such that they're basically a version of themselves. Addison Riecke plays Nora in a way that makes you want to rewatch her scenes, not just because Nora is hilariously evil but also because of the way the actress delivers the lines. The Thundermans cast knows how to show emotions and changing situations through tonal variations and expressions unlike many Nick characters who talk in one tone throughout. For example the Henry Danger and Game Shakers characters basically shout their lines throughout. Dan Schneider used to write great shows but now all his shows do is shout, scream and run around the entire episode. I don't know if the problem is the actors or writing and directing. The only other Nickelodeon show with great acting at the moment is the underrated Nicky, Ricky, Dicky and Dawn despite their young ages. Unlike most Nickelodeon shows that find their humor in stupid plots, jokes and dumb characters, the Thundermans' funny moments stem from smart jokes and cleverly constructed plots. Thanks to almost everyone in the Thundermans family being super-smart, sassy and competitive, they try to outsmart each other, which results in hilarious moments. The only Thunderman who isn't smart is Billy but his funny moments come off as genuine and natural. This is in contrast with dumb characters we find in other shows like Dez (Austin & Ally), Max (Wizards of Waverly Place) etc. All those other shows have an unrealistically dumb character who makes annoying jokes even at serious moments. The Thundermans know how to treat important plots seriously and how to mix humor with action without ruining the importance of a serious moment. The Thundermans excels with creative, complex plot lines with a lot of details and changes that makes you wonder who they managed it all in 22 minutes. A regular Thundermans episode usually has 3 plot lines but characters are often shared across multiple plot lines and many of the plots intertwine at some point. Yet, despite many plot lines, they manages to accomplish so many plot points such that by the end of the episode, too much has happened. This is not usually the case with shows like Henry Danger and Game Shakers which often have a small bit of a story and spend over 10 minutes doing the same thing such as running around, screaming, shouting, beating a clown or arguing about how to pronounce something. Basically, very little happens in Henry Danger episodes and most of them can be summarized within very few sentences without leaving key details. If you try to write a Thundermans summary, it's not easy because there are so many key details that happen, making it unfair to leave it out. Every moment on the Thundermans are well calculated to add a significant plot and/or character development such that missing one minute would make you lose key plot details. The Thundermans embraces continuity and consistency. The show runs numerous story arcs across multiple episodes. Something might appear small and insignificant in one episode but then it shows up in another episode and eventually become a major plot line like the Nose Hairalyzer, Max's Chronicle, Cousin Blobbin and Doggin, Chainsaw storyline etc. In most shows such things are brought up to serve that episode's plot but after that you never see them again. The only other show in Nickelodeon and Disney that respects continuity as much is Disney's Liv and Maddie. Very well written. Shows like Henry Danger are so bad at continuity and consistency that they've even managed to give their characters superpowers in one episode but after that, the characters become normal ordinary people. For example, they made Henry Danger indestructible in an episode and gave Charlotte super-strength in another, after which none was ever mentioned again. Those are just a few of the many reasons that convinced me the Thundermans is an outstanding show that everyone should be watching. If all the Disney and Nickelodeon shows had the level of smart, creative writing that's on the Thundermans, we'd have great kids television.
What makes The Thundermans super isn't just the superpowers, it's the chemistry between the characters that comes off so seamlessly thanks to the excellent acting of cast. The writers, the producers and the cast have mastered their characters so well that the show pretty much runs itself. That's what I call great writing. Despite their differences, Max and Phoebe have one of the best brother- sister chemistry on TV. They tease each other, prank each other but if you mess with any of them or any of their siblings, you face the Thunder Twins. Of course Max wouldn't admit he cared about Phoebe during his evil phase but he was always there for her when it mattered. The Thundermans know each other so well, their strengths and weaknesses.
Speaking of excellent acting, the Thundermans cast portrays their characters so naturally. They come off as real people with dialogues that you can actually expect in a normal life situation. Both Kira and Jack have mastered Phoebe and Max so well such that they're basically a version of themselves. Addison Riecke plays Nora in a way that makes you want to rewatch her scenes, not just because Nora is hilariously evil but also because of the way the actress delivers the lines. The Thundermans cast knows how to show emotions and changing situations through tonal variations and expressions unlike many Nick characters who talk in one tone throughout. For example the Henry Danger and Game Shakers characters basically shout their lines throughout. Dan Schneider used to write great shows but now all his shows do is shout, scream and run around the entire episode. I don't know if the problem is the actors or writing and directing. The only other Nickelodeon show with great acting at the moment is the underrated Nicky, Ricky, Dicky and Dawn despite their young ages. Unlike most Nickelodeon shows that find their humor in stupid plots, jokes and dumb characters, the Thundermans' funny moments stem from smart jokes and cleverly constructed plots. Thanks to almost everyone in the Thundermans family being super-smart, sassy and competitive, they try to outsmart each other, which results in hilarious moments. The only Thunderman who isn't smart is Billy but his funny moments come off as genuine and natural. This is in contrast with dumb characters we find in other shows like Dez (Austin & Ally), Max (Wizards of Waverly Place) etc. All those other shows have an unrealistically dumb character who makes annoying jokes even at serious moments. The Thundermans know how to treat important plots seriously and how to mix humor with action without ruining the importance of a serious moment. The Thundermans excels with creative, complex plot lines with a lot of details and changes that makes you wonder who they managed it all in 22 minutes. A regular Thundermans episode usually has 3 plot lines but characters are often shared across multiple plot lines and many of the plots intertwine at some point. Yet, despite many plot lines, they manages to accomplish so many plot points such that by the end of the episode, too much has happened. This is not usually the case with shows like Henry Danger and Game Shakers which often have a small bit of a story and spend over 10 minutes doing the same thing such as running around, screaming, shouting, beating a clown or arguing about how to pronounce something. Basically, very little happens in Henry Danger episodes and most of them can be summarized within very few sentences without leaving key details. If you try to write a Thundermans summary, it's not easy because there are so many key details that happen, making it unfair to leave it out. Every moment on the Thundermans are well calculated to add a significant plot and/or character development such that missing one minute would make you lose key plot details. The Thundermans embraces continuity and consistency. The show runs numerous story arcs across multiple episodes. Something might appear small and insignificant in one episode but then it shows up in another episode and eventually become a major plot line like the Nose Hairalyzer, Max's Chronicle, Cousin Blobbin and Doggin, Chainsaw storyline etc. In most shows such things are brought up to serve that episode's plot but after that you never see them again. The only other show in Nickelodeon and Disney that respects continuity as much is Disney's Liv and Maddie. Very well written. Shows like Henry Danger are so bad at continuity and consistency that they've even managed to give their characters superpowers in one episode but after that, the characters become normal ordinary people. For example, they made Henry Danger indestructible in an episode and gave Charlotte super-strength in another, after which none was ever mentioned again. Those are just a few of the many reasons that convinced me the Thundermans is an outstanding show that everyone should be watching. If all the Disney and Nickelodeon shows had the level of smart, creative writing that's on the Thundermans, we'd have great kids television.
