If The Cape were aimed at children or as a program to be watched by the whole family, it's campiness and cheese would be appropriate. It would be a GREAT show to enjoy as a family and in that enjoyment I could get past some of the overly clichéd acting, directing, and dialogue. However, some of the language, some of the violence, and the current time slot seem to indicate that the producers aren't interested in a preteen audience... and the silliness, plot holes, and overall feel presented in the Pilot lead me to believe they won't be able to develop a loyal audience of mature viewers. I can't imagine The Cape lasting much beyond an initial order of episodes. For all of the potential the show has, it misses on too many levels and fails to properly reach any defined audience.
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F_Hugh_Seekay10 January 2011
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johnnymacbest9 January 2011ABC's new show "The Cape" has a lot of good things going for it; especially with it's 1940's pulp-inspired superhero atmosphere, suspense, and hints at the mystical, which I really liked and hope in the near future, gets further explored. However, I felt the plot went by WAY too quickly. It would've been nice to see the plot unfold at a reasonably slower pace and get the audience to become more accustomed to the characters and proceedings. But there are some decent plot twists that made me smile though there are few between as the premiere episode was two hours long so even at that length, not everything can be fully explained.
I must say that it was a good start to a series that's hopefully getting better and better at the moment but I won't get my hopes up too soon as NBC's more recent superhero show, which had so much potential in which to build on(as evidenced by it's stellar first season) but with writer's strikes and the realization that Tim Kring and co really had no foundation for the subsequent seasons, the show died a tragic death. I'm hoping that with more polish and sophistication that this series will be a hit unless NBC and those on board learn their lessons and not screw it up. -
DarthBill12 April 2011PLOT: When nice guy family man cop Vince Faraday (David Lyons) is framed for crimes and murders he didn't commit by the criminal known only as Chess, he is forced to go underground, where he joins a rag tag group of circus criminals led by Max Malini (Keith David), who bestows upon him the cape, a mysterious object forged from a time long ago, endowed with magical properties. Determined to bring down the real Chess, Peter Fleming, the evil, corrupt businessman who tore his life apart and get back to his wife and son, Vince becomes the Cape (which incidentally was also the name of his son's favorite comic book superhero), and joins forces with the mysterious computer hacker Orwell (Summer Glau).
This series had a lot of potential that was still untapped at the time of its all too early cancellation. True, there were flaws in the execution, which is sometimes to be expected in a debut season. As the lead, David Lyons was good despite not always having the best material to work with (the episodes that aired often had him going on about trying to get back to his family before going off to fight someone - and then talking about his family again afterwards), but he was often upstaged by the supporting cast; in particular veteran character actor Keith David, that burly, baritone voiced force of nature that he is, often devoured Lyons in their scenes together as his mentor. Another problem was some uneven casting in the Faraday family. Lyons definitely had solid chemistry with Jennifer Ferrin, who played his wife Dana, but Ryan Wynott, the child actor chosen to play their son Trip, was a blank. Surely there must have been better child actors who auditioned, because Wynott is incapable of expressing any genuine emotion, which hurt the storyline of Vince trying to get home because his son comes across as so devoid of emotion that he might as well be made of cardboard. That neither the son or wife could recognize Vince as the Cape despite not really changing his voice was also laughable.
The introduction of Orwell having feelings for the Cape also came a bit late in the game and, honestly, one has to wonder how it could have gone anywhere when Vince was so steadfastly devoted to his wife.
The series did have bright spots though. James Frain was appropriately slimy and chilling as the villain. Summer Glau offered strong support as Orwell the computer whiz. Why this poor woman seems cursed to appear in TV series that don't last is mind boggling. And, as already stated, Keith David brought a much needed breath of zest and panache to his role as Max. The action scenes were generally well done.
What's all the more unfortunate is that the series was discontinued just when it was starting to find its groove. The two-part episode "The Lich" in which the Cape must rescue Orwell from a disfigured serial killer was genuinely creepy and kept you on the edge of your seat and showcased Vince's skills as a policeman while giving the 'family is strength' speech a rest. The last aired episode was an engaging undercover story with Vince impersonating an Australian criminal in order to access crucial information from the villains.
Alas, it was too little too late, for the series is gone now. An unfortunate waste of a potentially good premise. -
stevenscaleb9817 January 2011I'm not a fan of comics or superheroes at all. However, I really like well made Batman things. I don't watch NBC too often so I didn't see any advertising for this. I was lucky to stumble upon it when I was chatting with a guy and his cousin (Eric Micheal Cole) is going to be in the episode "Scales on a Train" on January 24th. So, I watched the premiere and was pleasantly surprised. However, you have to be paying attention during this TV show because it moves very fast and has no unnecessary scenes. Some of the dialog can be very cheesy which gets really annoying. I love the creative idea of The Carnival of Crime and it adds a whole new element to the story. This is something that you'll have to watch from the start so you know why he has the cape and how he got the cape. Fortunately, the "Pilot" is available as a free download on iTunes. You don't have to like superheroes/comics to like this. Not everybody will enjoy this series but it has loads of potential. Just try to ignore the cheesy dialog and this series can be very enjoyable.
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cuong198111 January 2011Good: Cast is very solid especially Summer Glau and Keith David. They both seemed to fit very naturally into their characters. Interesting premise with a good cop turned vigilante with a comic book bent. Has great elements of tension, drama, comedy and a little flair for the theatrics throughout.
Bad: Writing (maybe directing? I'm not at distinguishing the two) was inconsistent throughout the pilot episode. The pacing was an issue. There was no clear progression of time so I was confused a lot about how much time had passed between scenes. A lot of the characters feel shallow and little time was concentrated on their depth, especially with the villains. World struggles to straddle the lines between campy, comic book world and the real world.
The bottom line: I would continue to watch the series.There's enough that grabbed me in the pilot episode to make me come back to it.Clean up the writing and allow for more development of characters and plots and you have a hit. Summer Glau and Keith David are good, not in love with the main guy. I think he's OK, maybe will get better as the series goes on. But compared to other shows that have been premiered in the past year this one looks way more promising. Give this show a chance. -
skippy58014 January 2011This show has several good ideas that were thrown out and replaced with what was shown. The plot was lightning fast. First he's a cop, commercial, then he works for ARK, Orwell tells him about L-9, commercial, Faraday is Chess and he dies, not really. That should have been the first show with the introduction to The Crime Circus in episode 2.
So Faraday is trained and fights 12 rounds with Marty from Pirates of the Caribbean. I can't see that a "superhero" couldn't pin a little person down for that long. Then Faraday fights Scales and thrown in the river then it takes Rollo 2 seconds with a pipe wrench to take out Scales. The real hero is Rollo and he kicks major ass! I hope they can slow down and then find some ground to work with. This show has some potential, but not for the uninspired naming of villains and heroes, except for Orwell, that was good, and she is hot. -
thefonz75011 January 2011I really wasn't sure about this show after the first ten to fifteen minutes of watching. Seemed like a show I would watch on the SyFy channel. Somewhere, though, in the fifteen-thirty minute mark, it became really interesting. David Lyon's performance as the tormented hero is quite believable, given everything that he went through. James Frain plays such a great over-the-top villain. Keith David provides the perfect mentor persona. Vinnie Jones and Summer Glau provide some fan-favorite faces.
The whole feel of the show seems like a throwback to the early 80s, with heavy doses of comic-book action and one-liners(again, done excellently by James Frain, so much that I was beginning to wonder if it was just bad acting or dialogue.
It's not quite Heroes, but we will see what the true power of "The Cape" holds in the future. I, for one, am sold on at least a few more episodes. -
thisisneworleans10 January 2011Make no mistake about it. The Cape is the cheesiest thing you can find on TV. I watched this despite my distaste for the rather obvious moniker the protagonist goes by because of the high budget and production values that were being flaunted around during every one of it's advertisements. But that isn't enough to save this...terrible, terrible show.
Note, this review will be harsh. So I'll get the one "redeemable" quality out of the way first. The acting...isn't all too terrible. Especially considering it's a TV show. It's astonishing how much David Lyons actually buys into his character. He does a nice job with the relatively poor writing.
However, his acting doesn't disguise the horrible cliché-ridden show that is The Cape. Let me start out by saying after I watched the show, I honestly believed a 13 year old watched The Dark Knight and impulsively decided to write his own superhero tale about a corrupted government and the symbol the town needs to rally behind. I've noticed that comparisons to Batman are seemingly encouraged. That does not make it OK to basically airlift the concepts from Batman into your own show. I mean seriously, I recall a line that was something like "Your the symbol this town needs." That isn't JUST in Batman, it's a recurring theme in a lot of comics. However, the comparisons to Batman don't end there with the seemingly mirror city of Gotham and the cape that can be used as a weapon.
It should also be noted that the main villains name is Chess. OK... Does he have a sidekick named Checkers? The basic idea is this guy sees his life like a game of Chess (yeah, haven't heard that one before) so he decides to call himself Chess. The thing is, for a guy who is supposed to calculate every attack with pinpoint accuracy, he sure is stupid. And when he gets into a little fist fight with the protagonist, he goes from chess player to brutish fist fighter. Continuity is nice, yes? There are seemingly limitless areas of problems here. Poor storytelling, NO character development whatsoever, horrible quick pacing that doesn't clue you in on what's going on (who is this guy, what is he doing, WHY should I care?). It's as if you're supposed to care about The Cape's family because the show seems to want to assert that these people ARE indeed his family for 2 scenes in the least subtle way possible. How about the 15 seconds where his best friend is introduced, give the protagonist some lip service about how he's a good cop and proceed to stab him in the back a total of 4 scenes later. Then he gave perhaps the most lazy, half witted evil glare at the audience as if to say "yes, I am evil." But why should I care? You've only given me a few seconds to even get to know the character. I have no idea if he's a good guy or why he's best friends with the protagonist. As far as I know, he's always been a conniving douchebag and that whole scene shouldn't have been a surprise anyways.
There's even a scene where the guy who teaches The Cape to fight (Keith David) is about to die. And he gives The Cape some sort of cliché, I'm-about-to-die speech. But this is the same guy that robs banks at gunpoint and was seriously about to behead and chop off the limbs of the main protagonist not 30 minutes beforehand. What the heck? How are you supposed to empathize with him? These are BASIC storytelling flaws. BASIC. I cannot emphasize that enough.
In any case, this show is bad. Very, very bad. It is so unprofessional and so terribly written that I am surprised NBC would pick it up. It actually has me missing Heroes even though I wasn't a big fan of that. You give ME the money and the time slot this thing got and I will churn something 1000x better. And that's not me thinking highly of myself, that's me thinking very, very poorly of this utter garbage.
The Cape is riddled with clichés, poor storytelling and horrible character development. This isn't a show I can watch every week and care about the characters. The characters are boring and fill out whatever necessary archetype needed in the show. Except they're not needed because nobody cares about them. The Cape's useless sidekick (Summer Glau) should be the most evident reason not to watch this show. Any show that feels the need to validate itself by including a sexy useless sidekick who literally does nothing but sit behind a desk the entire time and provide awkward sexual tension is BAD news. Especially when it's trying to take itself seriously. -
nkozminski10 January 2011This show has received a lot of bad reviews thus far, and I find that uncalled for. Sure, many people may not see the appeal in this show, what with it being a superhero story that we have seen before, but I think this is a great show. If you did not enjoy the first episode, DO NOT GIVE UP, as the show gains a firmer footing even as soon as the second episode. The story gets deeper, the characters more pronounced, and the plot thickens. I am somewhat disappointed that they introduced Cape's sidekick so soon, as seeing Vince struggle through the trials of becoming a superhero would have been more believable.
This show attempts to capture the grandiose story of a hero such as Batman, but without our hero having the benefits of unending cash and gadgets. It also keeps the storytelling style gritty and dark, but without going completely film noir.
While this show's debut has many in doubt, I have throughly enjoyed it so far, and I look forward to the continued adventures of the Cape. -
mellar_9210 January 2011With classic comic book characters being reinvented for the 21st century with the new Iron Man and Batman films, I was happy to hear that a new series was being created based around a fictional comic book character called The Cape.
After watching the two hour special though I had mixed feelings. Even though the cape has a great cast and great acting (with a few exceptions) including David Lyons, James Frain, Summer Glau and Keith David, I felt it was just a bit too cheesy and it felt like it belonged back in the 60's with Adam West and Batman. The camera cuts were fast and the odd tilted shots with cheesy one liners really put the icing on the cake. All it was missing was a few "Splat" or "Kaboom" stickers appearing in the middle of a fight.
Now don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed seeing a new, if somewhat albeit, original character with a good mysterious background and great acting. David Lyons (who is new to me) suits the character well and puts a good deal of emotion and wit into his character. James Frain (TRON: Legacy) portrays a great bad guy, even though I thought he slipped once or twice. Summer Glau (Serenity, Firefly) and Keith David (He's in a lot) like usual acted amazingly with Summer Glau bringing the sex appeal and Keith David bringing his hard hitting attitude with wit. The only down side to the acting (this is being a bit harsh and a bit nitpicky) but I thought Ryan Wynott (Trip Faraday) let the side down with his poor acting. You can't forget the great cameo appearances though of Vinnie Jones as Scales and Ken Davitian as a shop clerk. I especially loved the little line shouted at Ken, "Hurry up Borat!".
Overall I thought it was a pretty bad start to the series with it being quite rushed and pretty cheesy, but then again I had expectations that it would be more like the new Batman or Iron Man films and not like the original 60's Batman.
I will keep watching hoping it gets better but this series really isn't for me. -
synther-956-33724821 January 2011Of the last ten years, this show would have to be ranked number one on the worst list. It's just awful. The writing is bad, the acting is bad, the SFX are bad...there is literally nothing good about it. Everyone involved on this project, including those at NBC that approved it, should be ashamed of themselves.
The lead character suffers from the standard over-the-top do-gooder syndrome that every television cop and D.A. suffers from. Though he pulls it off in a really bad and campy kind of way, rather than the "I want to puke your so GOOD," kind of way that you see of Eliot Stabler on Law and Order: SVU. Likewise, The Cape's wife...err...widow?...whatever, suffers from the same standard overworked D.A. "oh my god, I can't protect them all" syndrome. The actual cape itself is shaping up to be it's own character and the writers have already gone back on what they originally said. Originally, the cape was stated to be weighted, able to stretch and flex, and was spun from spider silk making it stronger than Kevlar. OK. That's a little far fetched but it is somewhat in the realm of believability. With the episode titled "Kosmo," the cape suddenly grants superhuman strength and is able to rip a closed door off a truck. When was that ability added in? Oh, right...never. It just looked good and the writers suck horribly.
Believe this: If you watch this show it will be an hour of your life you will never get back and you are most likely going to miss that hour. -
self_indulgent10 January 2011I read with astonishment some of the criticisms of this new series ! Some are so highbrow as not to be believed...
It seems that some "connoisseurs" feel free to measure everything new up against whatever they feel to be their most incredible movie viewing experience...given this, most other movies will fall short.
It seems senseless to criticize a hamburger for not being a prime filet mignon .. a hamburger is a hamburger... the only question should be.. "Is this a good hamburger".
The acting seems tight considering it is meant to be comic book based. The characters are fun to watch.. Other than the whole situation being unbelievable (this is where we have to suspend belief) it is a fun ride.... and YES this is a wonderful hamburger !
There could have been more time spent on developing the characters but perhaps this will be dealt with in upcoming episodes.
I am hesitant to admit that I have very much enjoyed this show so far...after all , I also very much enjoyed Firefly(13 episodes),Raines (7 episodes) and several others that were axed by the networks before they had a chance to gather a fan base.
If we as viewers cannot rally behind new (and possibly quirky) programming then we have ourselves to blame when we are fed nothing but "reality shows" and the sixth season of "My dog dances better than your dog"
I sincerely hope that "The Cape" is given time to attract fans.
I am already one of them. -
SnoopyStyle12 September 2013Vince Faraday (David Lyons) is a cop who's been framed for murder leading him to fall off the grid and presumed dead. To reclaim his life and bring the criminals to justice, he takes on his son's favorite comic book superhero "The Cape". Max Malini (Keith David) is a circus ringleader of a gang of bank robbers. He mentors and trains Faraday. Meanwhile, investigative blogger Orwell (Summer Glau) wages war on crime and corruption in Palm City.
While I appreciate the attempt to create a counter-superhero, it's too silly to have a hero whose only power is a supercape. It made him feel like a lower grade comic book character. The circus idea seems like fertile ground, but in the end, it's just too derivative. And while Summer Glau is a lovely girl, she's never been a deep actor. And this show do need her to do much more than being physical. -
alanrayford11 January 2011Some people are alcoholics. Others are addicted to drugs or gambling. From 1981 to 2008, my vice of choice were comics. Even though I haven't read one in over two years, I can always get my fix from movies like "Spiderman" and "The Dark Knight" as well as on television thanks to "Smallville".
This is why when I first heard about "The Cape" I was intrigued. Then I saw the first promo and felt that initial enthusiasm fade. Still, I figured it couldn't hurt to watch the pilot. Well, after enduring 47 minutes of something not unlike being socked in the nethers, I'm prepared to admit I was wrong. I was so wrong that I couldn't bring myself to watch the second episode of the premiere.
First I'll mention the only part of this train wreck which connected with me. Some of the acting was surprisingly good. Vince Faraday's (David Lyons) anguish over having to abandon his family felt authentic. Dana Faraday's (Jennifer Ferrin) agony over believing her husband to be dead felt so raw and real, I was stunned. As for the carnival folk, they each felt like they were actually pulled away from working in a circus (take that however ya' want). Aside from this, the rest of the acting really isn't worth mentioning except to say just that. Now it's time for the bad.
Visually, "The Cape" is FUBAR. I know that most of the action takes place at night, but we should still be able to clearly see what's happening. I could tolerate having to guess what was going on in "Batman Begins". Here, I can't help but feel it's to hide deficiencies. Also, Faraday's costume looks as stupid as the day is long. He's wearing a chest plate over a black onesie, with a hooded cloak. Yet he has no mask? Isn't he supposed to be worried about endangering the safety of his family? Even if he dons a mask, this drab costume does nothing to grab your attention or appear even vaguely dynamic. As for Peter Fleming's (James Frain) alter ego, he looks like a reject from "Eyes Wide Shut". At least Scales (Vinnie Jones) gave me hope for one day seeing a live action Killer Croc.
The action/special effects are abysmal. When in use, the cape looks like a CGI afterthought from 1992. How is a cape supposed to be wielded as a whip? I could get using it to confuse someone in close quarters, but definitely not to throw them around from a distance. The disappearing into a plume of smoke f/x is used too frequently, and isn't impressive. And based on what I could see of the fight scenes, the actors and stuntmen don't appear to know how to stage an engaging fight. Check out the fight between the Cape and Scales and then the fight between the Cape and Fleming to see what I mean. But this isn't the worst part.
The biggest offender on "The Cape" is the writing. How in the world is anyone supposed to be able to follow the events of the pilot and not roll their eyes straight out their heads? A family man/cop could becomes a private security officer, then is framed for a crime, then almost killed, then falls in with carnies, then learns advanced combat techniques/escapism/lookin' like an idjit', becomes a superhero, and, finally, foils the villain's nefarious plan within an hour. I'm winded just thinking about it. The lead character is tied to a circus, despite his concerns being in Palm City. This would only make sense, and barely at that, if circuses never traveled. Keith David playing Max Malini is nonsensical, if for no other reason than the name. Couldn't the writers have rethought the character to fit the actor at all? And real escape artists cannot disappear right in front of your eyes and in full light, by turning into smoke. That would be hard magic, not escapism or illusionism. Why would a hardened criminal choose to tie up an attacker, wearing a hooded cloak, in chains and throw him off a boat instead of using a gun to shoot him dead—and then throw him overboard? These are many, but not all of the problems with the script.
"The Cape" needs to be cancelled now. If it doesn't make it to four episodes, then it may be realized as a dud and forgotten about. But, should it reach six before the plug is pulled, and it will be, people may remember it and superheroes might carry a prime time stigma. Seeing as how this is the first true superhero show since "Lois & Clark", it would be a shame for this drivel to ruin the possibilities of other, more deserving properties getting some face time.
Imagine a live action Daredevil show. If done properly, it could merge the legal thrills of "The Defenders" with the high octane action of a Jet Li film. What about a primetime show focusing on Robin (Tim Drake, not Dick Grayson)? It could marry the teen drama of "One Tree Hill" to the kind of excitement found in "The Dark Knight". You can't tell me shows like this wouldn't be good for anywhere from a 60 to 80 share in primetime. However, should "The Cape" be allowed to run long enough to sour the public and the studio heads on this specific type of property, this could very well be the last time a show like this airs for another ten plus years. -
I do not know why good shows are given a short period of time to make it on a network and other shows that are corny and have very little value are given not only a whole season but two or more seasons. This is a good entertaining show that anyone in the family can watch. In a time when Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Green Hornet, Green Lantern, Fantastic Four, The Hulk, Wonder Woman, Ironman, and now Captain America, I think we have room for another superhero and this one does a great job of defending the American way. Why is the network talking cancellation when the show has barely had a chance to get started. Most shows don't find their groove until the second season when they have time to work out all the bugs and find out what works and what doesn't. I think NBC needs to give The Cape a reprieve and lets see what the show can with a few more shows under its "cape".
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brianshima1 March 2011I'd like to start by saying that I would prefer rating this a 6.5, however there is no such option. Typically with n.5 you would round up but in this case I simply cannot justify rating this show a 7.
As many are aware this is another take on the live action superhero genre, in this case more so in the vein of batman than spider-man. That is to say whether the physical manoeuvres demonstrated by the hero are only possible with supernatural ability or not, they are intended to be non-supernatural and presented as such. This is fine, many television shows feature heros that don't have supernatural abilities and yet are able to still pull off feats that are impossible in the real world.
The requirement for suspension of disbelief when viewing this show is not in and of itself a downfall however the way it is pushed is. It is not consistent in degree of intensity, at some points the show will seem almost like a superhero genre parody and at others they will attempt to incorporate a strong sense of realism and drama.
Many times the writers seemed to shoot themselves in the feet because just when some episodes are getting quite strong a cringe-worthy one-liner joke will be delivered which really hurts slowly built-up atmosphere. What's worse is that these completely inappropriately timed lines, more often than not intended as comedic relief in otherwise grim situations damage the depth of the character delivering them and makes them take on more of a caricature feeling.
The show has potential for sure, but generally easily preventable things are really making it difficult to look past all of it's short comings and objectively still call it a great show, whether it contains some great elements or not.
For the most part the acting is adequate or good, which, along with the stronger points of the show are sufficient to make me continue watching (along with being a fan of Summer Glau's work) but if the acting were generally sub-par I don't think the writing would be enough alone to keep me watching.
Overall a far from perfect show that has it's share of strong shortcomings but does have some endearing qualities in the form of elements such as character development that often come close to enjoying success but just have a few hiccups along the way holding them back. -
austinights10 January 2011I love great TV and this is simply not it. I always give a pilot a fair shake, because I want to be entertained, particularly these type of shows. For example, I really enjoyed HEROES when it came out on NBC, then went back in its second season. This show shouldn't even make it to January 17th 3rd episode, because its just bad all the way around. I have no vested interest in any of the characters, the plot is dumb and poor copycat and the editing is at best 'troubled.' The only thing I liked in the show is the music used in various scenes. I don't need to write anymore, because the numbers from viewers will hang this cape out to dry!
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I collected Comic Books for over twenty years. I love the genre and am happy to see new TV shows and films on the subject getting better all the time. The Cape had some decent acting. Everything else about it made me feel physically nauseated. The story felt amateurish and easily predictable. It was slow and had little content. It seemed that the actors directed themselves instead of following anyone's vision. There was obviously a decent budget but the story is painfully weak. My 'supension of disbelief' is high, but could not begin to believe this drivel or empathize with the characters. I actually started this account because I felt such disappointment in this show.
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DarkVulcan2912 January 2011Vince(David Lyons) is an honest cop, and is happily married with a son. But Vince's good life is quickly taken away from him, when he is framed for crimes by a certain criminal, and is believed to be killed in an explosion. But Vince is quickly taken in by a circus act led by Max(Keith David). Once Vince gets his strength back, he is eager to taken down the people that framed him. He finds a cape with awesome abilities, Max trains Vince on how to use it. Now crime has a new enemy, a superhero known as "The Cape".
A good show, a little flawed, but still entertaining. I hope it doesn't suffer the same fate as M.A.N.T.I.S.(1994) and Birds Of Prey(2002). The actors do well, and the action scenes are alright. I hope it will last a while, but if it doesn't, can't say they didn't try. -
gray1937-117 January 2011Someone noted the reason to watch this pap was Keith David. I can't disagree that he is good -- and, hey, they fixed that gap between his teeth! (Wonder why that took so long.) Actually, the only reason I can see to watch past episode 2 is the exquisite Summer Glau, and her role is no way as pithy as the emotionless cyborg in "Sarah Conner." The problems with this show are that it is dumb, stupid and boring. The plot is right out of "Robocop," but infinitely slower, and David Lyons is definitely not Peter Weller. I can't imagine an audience big enough to keep this on the air until the beginning of summer -- unless they give us a lot more Summer. Where, oh where, did NBC go?
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Every Monday I look forward to watching "The Cape". I liked it at first and as the season progressed it became even more interesting. Episodes build on one another with clues as to where the story is taking you and keeps unfolding each week.
It took a few episodes to get going but it really needed this to lay the groundwork of the storyline and characters.
This show is relatively mindless but still keeps you interested with twists and new villains. The villains have been the key to its success. It is easy to understand so it is good for the whole family.
Although the violence can be a bit much for the younger ones and sometimes me, who is looking for shows with less violence, it is still a far cry from most TV shows.
It is basically sexless which again makes it good for families. -
Placiddragon10 January 2011I was very interested in this, not because it was a superhero type of show, but because it had Keith David and Summer Glau in it, both actors i really like.
After torturing myself through the pilot episodes (yes, i had to fight the (at times overwhelming) urge to turn it off), i can easily say that i wont be returning to see the next episode.
To avoid spoiling any specifics for people who are planning on watching the show, i'll keep it to very general terms.
I found the acting of the entire cast (with the exception of Keith David, but he is far from a show saver) horrible.. beyond abysmal really. When you on top of that add corny dialog chock full of clichés, it gets unbearable.
There are some fun moments, but overall the entire thing was a huge letdown. How on earth could the TV execs green light this thing, was that the best they had ? -
PhatDog11 January 2011After a masked super-villain sets up a cop as a killer, he goes underground and joins another gang of criminals, so he can become a masked super-hero, with the help of a female "techie". As a super-hero, he fights the super-villain (who now controls the city) and other villains, while trying to clear his name and avoid his family. The first two episodes are full of ridiculous plot points. It has much more in common with the 1960s Adam West "Batman" than the 2000s Christian Bale "Batman". "Willing suspension of disbelief" is largely impossible for anyone over the age of 13. It is very unclear why NBC would put out this product. The tone seems aimed at adults, but with this verisimilitude, it will only appeal to children.
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welshNick10 January 2011I was hoping with such an impressive looking cast to be thoroughly entertained when I sat down to watch this given all its hype. First of all the bad points, way too fast paced for a pilot. In a pilot you should really be introducing the characters so the audience gets to know them. Keith David tried his best. I don't think Vinnie Jones took it very seriously and less said on the circus troupe robbing all those banks the better. This is most definitely not a prime time show even allowing a little license for tongue in cheek.
Now the good points, very few, in fact I cannot think of any. I doubt this will last on television for very long. It would have been 1/10 but the murder of the police chief was well done. -
tekwyzrd10 January 2011The first two episodes of The Cape are an example of what to do to interest viewers. The show had a "feature film" feel as opposed to the low budget hack feel of most modern television programming. I can only hope that future episodes continue to meet viewer expectations.
While not a "fan", I'll admit I enjoyed seeing Summer Glau in another television series. I was disappointed by the untimely demise of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Dollhouse.
To summarize, with most networks spewing a continuous stream of cop, lawyer, and medical shows, NBC has created a show that stands above the rest.