I have the feeling that there are not many people who came out of these first two hours saying they absolutely love the show. You likely either hated the whole thing to pieces, perhaps not even allowing yourself to get through the first hour (*cough*Ivey*cough*), or you’re cautiously going to give it a chance. For those of you giving the show a chance, I have a feeling you’re just going to get a whole lot more of what you already saw, so sticking around in hopes it gets better is probably a waste of time. You either dig the idea of hokey comic book heroism and are able to suspend disbelief for a show like this, or you couldn’t be bothered.
I still hold to the theory that many who reviewed this show before the premiere went into it hating it before they turned it on, either because they weren’t interested in another superhero show, or they distrust or simply hate NBC. The NBC issue could be a worrisome aspect to The Cape, but I don’t believe it’s a reason to hate the show.
When I met with the cast and creator of The Cape at SDCC last year, one of my first questions was whether we’d see more colorful villans enter the fold. Just as I said, this is a lot like a Batman comic, with strangely-named villains and cohorts and characteristics to match. The answer I got back was that we would likely be seeing more down the line, but not so many that it gets overly complicated and, well, ridiculous. We may also see some other heroes of some sort come into the mix, or so it was hinted at.
What I found interesting about these first two hours was that one of the most heinous and despicable villains of the show isn’t someone with a fancy name, deformity or mask; it’s Marty Voyt (Dorian Missick). Not only has this scumbag assisted in the apparent death of his friend and partner, but he goes on trying to provide comfort to Vince’s wife and child in their grief. Plus, he isn’t any sort of respectable villain with some sort of plan in place — he’s just a lousy lackey. At first I thought perhaps he was forced into this whole thing and that he’s really just doing what he has to to survive, but then he went and told Dana the false news about Vince being dirty … for no freakin’ reason other than to make Dana miserable! Now that’s just scummy.
Getting back to the introductions of new villains and heroes. I really believe that there’s a strong possibility that Marty will befall some sort of accident himself, causing him to take on a nickname to match whatever deformity he receives. There’s also the possibility he starts to despise himself, instead deciding to take on a heroic persona to help The Cape take down Chess and the others. In fact, if the show was able to successfully pull off having Voyt later revealed as another hero, without making it obvious who this new hero is, it could be a Blow the Hatch moment. It would have to be done just right, though.
As for the show itself, I’m likely in it for the long-haul. For once I’m embracing the cheesiness and the completely unbelievable. I’m OK that Vince is able to learn to catch flying knives in a week; I’m OK with a cape being made out of spider silk is something a carny group has, and not the military; I’m OK that Vince’s son can’t recognize his own father’s voice. It’s all good. This show is not Heroes, thank God. It may have some serious moments, but I do not feel it takes itself too seriously. I’m ready to find out what more the show has to offer down the road. How about you?
Clacked by Keith McDuffee 
on Jan 09, 2011 @ 23:00 EST5EDT
I really enjoyed it. It definitely isn’t a super hero show like Heroes or No Ordinary Family. Though, since it is in the style of a comic book, I can see how some of the characters come across as a little hokey. But, I liked that about it.
It is different than other shows out there.
I’m interested in seeing where it goes from here. Much more intriguing than The Event, though that’s not saying much!
Carla, you are spot on with your assertion that The Cape is different from other shows out there. I liked that about it, too, but it worries me that being different is also what’s going to kill it. It seems every time a “different” show airs it dies an early death. Nielsen families don’t like different.
That is a concern. There was quite a bit of publicity for the show so hopefully enough eyes were on it tonight. And, those eyes liked it enough to talk it up around the water cooler tomorrow and get people to watch the rerun tomorrow night.
Spiderman, Batman, and other comic book movies do well, so there is a large potential audience … if they found the show in the first place.
I’m optimistic, too, but I can’t get behind the movie analogy from a ratings standpoint. Look at how good science fiction movies do at the box office, but it seems like scifi just can’t get a foothold on TV. Even Syfy seems to be moving away from hard scifi.
Personally I blame it on a faulty Nielsen ratings system. I mean, how could so many people go out for scifi in the theater, but reject it on their TVs? I say they don’t and Nielsen isn’t getting a representative sample of viewers.
It’s an unplug your brain, suspend your disbelief on a hefty hook, fun kind of show. It’s a living comic book and nothing more than popcorn escapist fantasy. I like it for what it is. Escapism is the reason I watch TV and while I enjoy biting social commentary and gritty, realistic dramas, I don’t demand all that. When the end credits roll I just want to feel like I’ve enjoyed myself on some level and I get that from The Cape.
I haven’t read comic books in decades, but it’s fun to have one on my TV. I’m in it for the long haul, too.
It is different than what is out there, and it might be just be what audiences are looking for.
The good guy is actually good.
The bad guys are really bad.
The good guy loves his family and says things like his family is his strength, not weakness.
The good crime fighter girl, is smart, sassy, has a cool ride and pad, and is not trying to play a harlot.
It’s fast paced and has some back and forth, win some, lose some battles that are fun to watch.
I watched with my family, and was able to see my boys laugh, and enjoy themselves and that made my viewing experience better.
I’d liken it to the “Expendables” in that there is cathartic joy in seeing the bad guys get their arses kicked.
I hope the ratings will back me up. I liked it.
I didn’t really like the rushed feeling the first half had. The characters were introduced and five seconds later they are best friends. The second half was much more enjoyable. It was hokey, cheesy, and silly, yet its doing it at least in a way that its embracing it. The villain portrayal of Chess reminds me of William Dafoe’s Green Goblin in the 1st Spiderman in that he is so over the top its hard to not be entertaining. Kieth David was fun as the circus leader. Summer Glau was hot. I was expecting The Cape to be played as a straight-man to all the over the top characters, but he too is portrayed tongue in cheek. It almost like this is a more violent and presented in darker shades version of the Adam West Batman series. So what the Hell I’ll watch it until its cancelled. I’m already watching or DVRing the two shows before it anyway.
Yep, I thought of the Adam West Batman too. POW! – Complete w/ the baddie getting hog tied, and who among us can say they don’t enjoy a good hog tie? :)
The premiere didn’t really blow me away. I am a fan of the genre, but even though the show tries to resemble a real comic book, the logical gaps are unbelievable
“You’re Orwell?!”
“Yes, come with me into my secret hideout!”
“We’re best frineds now. Take this earpiece so I can boss you around.”
For characters that have legitimate reasons for distrust, they sure become confidants very quickly. And how the hell did Orwell stay hidden for so long, evn though she is driving the most expensive and recognizable cars, that were ever build?
You can’t ask for logic in a show like this. Just enjoy the cars and explosions. :)
Exactly why I don’t like “shows like this.”
:P
I made it through the first hour, but bailed on the second. Now that I’ve got it on the DVR, I’ll give it at least another hour.
I loved this show. Some of the lines were so hysterical I laughed so hard, tears came. The store proprietor, for example, when asking what the superheroes name was. “the cape” “The Cape, huh? Well, you can work on it” His delivery was priceless and lets face it, the cape really is a dumb name. This is just plain fun.
Looks like The Cape has some potential. I’m happy they don’t stick Summer Glau behind a desk like Chloe on Smalville or make her a damsel in distress or something. She’s too much of a badass for that.
The arc story i’m awaiting is the relationship between Orwell and his father, but i think we’ll have to wait a little while before seing something about it.
Saying Summer looks amazing would be a *huge* understatement.
WOW!!
Can someone please tell me why we can no longer give a series a chance to hit its stride?
I, personally, am sick of people bitching out a show 1, 2, 3 episodes in.
The X-Files and Buffy didn’t hit their stride until the 2nd and 3rd seasons. Then they took off.
The Cape looks interesting.
One thing you have to realize going into this is that it’s meant to be campy. Unlike Heroes — which took itself way too seriously — this show really does come off as a live-action comic book. There are guys with weird afflictions and nicknames to match; the hero’s disguise is almost as absurd as Superman’s. If you roll your eyes at classic comic books like Batman and Superman, then you won’t be amused one bit by The Cape. It’s not a show to be taken very seriously — it’s just meant to be fun, just not in the family-fun style of No Ordinary Family … and without super powers.
*POST AUTHOR*
Wow … Couldn’t have said it better myself. Wait….
The more I see of The Cape, the more promising it looks. To call The Cape campy is an understatement, but it doesn’t seem to be taking itself too seriously – which is a trap that certain shows have fallen into before. In each of the three clips we can see the characters poke fun at the odd situations: Orwell takes an easy “superheros in pajamas” jab, the shop owner implies that The Cape’s ominous moniker needs work, and even Max Malini isn’t above a few pokes at Faraday’s expense. If the writers can keep the characters fun and the action sequences entertaining, this may become a sleeper hit.
I just read the ratings were 8.4 million. I wonder how much drop off they can allow for and not be in trouble. Hey Brett, what’s the threshold for such things?
NBC is airing the two hour pilot again tonight, so hopefully the water cooler buzz today will help bring in some new viewers. So, the drop off may not be too bad … if people tune in tonight.
I can’t say I absolutely loved it, as it was admittedly a rushed and clunky pilot (and it was only one hour long, when 90 minutes might have allowed the character introductions a bit more time to breathe), but I’m not sure what you mean by saying that “sticking around in hopes it get better is probably a waste of time.” I don’t think the show will suddenly pull a twist and become far different than what we’ve seen, but like any new show it will improve through the first season as the actors become more comfortable in their roles and the writers change scenes in response to what the actors bring to the table beyond the scripts. I’m definitely riding this show all the way down to cancellation, be it in one season or five.
As to Marty, he also could have tried to make Dana believe the coverup out of simple self-interest. Since she has some sort of legal training, she could easily have made proving her husband’s innocence her personal crusade, and uncovered Marty’s duplicity somewhere along the way. If he could deter her from this by piling on the muck, they would both be in much less danger from Chess.
Vince had a week to learn knife catching? It seemed more like overnight to me.
Spider silk armor is kind of a superhero/sci-fi staple. My understanding has always been that it was much too expensive for the military to deploy on a large scale. A unique suit commissioned by a master thief/illusionist is something I’ll easily buy in a Batman sense. According to this article from 2005, natural spider silk can not be commercially farmed, and gene-splicing research into artificial silk production is still in its infancy. Certainly the military will be interested once the technology becomes feasible.
My personal nitpick was that The Cape falls out of a penthouse window in front of Orwell’s car, and Cain is down there on the ground floor in less than sixty seconds to try to grab her. At least give us the courtesy of showing him using a zipline or something.
As much as I disliked the Heroes carnies, I love the ones on The Cape. I’d rather the show focus much more on them than the Farraday family, who can remain perfect and ideal beacons glimpsed from a shadowy rooftop.
I was deeply amused by the fact that Vince is perfectly aware that his son’s favorite superhero has a terrible name, and that continuing to sport the moniker after Max took back the cape just made him look silly.
And as I expected before ever watching, Keith David was my favorite part of the show. They completely fooled me with his fake death scene, as I could easily believe they’d kill the Liam Neeson-type mentor off in the pilot. Love that he felt chagrined about wasting such a good speech by not dying.
This is the kind of show where domino masks and slightly deeper voices completely hide one’s identity from everyone. In Orwell’s case, hoodies, wigs and sunglasses are just as good for hiding her identity. Besides, everyone knows that the infamous crusading blogger is both older and male. :)
It takes itself only slightly more seriously than The Middleman, which is not a bad thing in my eyes.