Did you happen to catch the Cape on Sunday night? It is one of the new superhero shows that have been talked about for months, previewed and marketed at comic conventions, and meant to grab a piece of the superhero action that the big screen has been enjoying. I have to admit that this is my second attempt at writing about the show. I watched the first hour of the series premiere last week but after watching the second hour last night, I decided to revise my previous statement. You can check out a summary of the first episode here (be warned, there are spoilers).
The Pilot episode was made available to fans via the DC Comics Digital App last week and I eagerly checked it out. In the first hour I saw many different pieces of superhero shows of the past that it made my head spin. There was the Batman styling of the Cape’s dark hooded/caped appearance. And, when the Cape is talking to the kid Trip, he started with disguising his voice a little, a la Christian Bale’s the Dark Knight. Max Malini and the Carnival of Crime resembled a circus version of the Joker and his gang from the old Batman cartoons, complete with a woman that looked and sounded like the criminal clown’s squeeze, Harley Quinn. Orwell is this mysterious, well funded, technologically equipped hero-guide that is reminiscent of Eyes Only/Logan Cale from the show Dark Angel. The show is shot well and using that comic book look a lot like NBC’s previous show, Heroes and has the musical scoring of a hero movie/show. The first episode was definitely an origin story with a lot of information given and some plot holes left open for the show to potentially build on. At first glance, I thought the show jumped around, had some fun and funny parts, an interesting group of characters, but I did not finish the show suspenseful, wanting to know what was going to happen next. The guy wore a hood and cape that didn’t really hide his face all too well, and Faraday’s face was plastered over papers and television after his very public demise. No one was going to figure out its Faraday? These days a hood does not equal Clark Kent’s glasses. Orwell’s character will serve well as a partner for the Cape, especially with her technological resources. The Carnival of Crime’s illusions make for interesting “super powers” for the Cape, but there was no explanation as to how they work. And the Cape is very clearly, CGI. After the disappointing falling and eventual canceling of Heroes, I expected a higher level from NBC.
Like I said, first hour, a little disappointing then came the second hour and I must say, it was very redeeming to me. There were masks, another big baddie, a lair, and then more questions. Without revealing too much, the Cape is shelved by Max after the hero almost dies. Surviving, Vince leaves the Carnival of Crime to pursue his goals solo. On his own, he finds and develops a lair, continues to train himself (one aspect in a very interesting way) and also starts to research his newest foe, Chess’ hired gun, Cain. He also makes a mask to use in the absence of the caped costume to help prevent Patrick Portman, a Palm City official from being bumped off. With Orwell and a renewed confidence from Max, the Cape saves the day. Along the way Orwell and the Cape discover that a criminal organization known as Tarot (the title of the episode) has their hands in the crime of Palm City. Back at the Faraday home, there is drama with the still grieving widow and son of our hero, when Vince’s ex-buddy, Marty starts to reveal details of the investigation that is further blaming Vince Faraday for the Chess’ crimes and Mrs. Faraday starts to use her maiden name to try and get jobs to start caring for her smaller family. The second hour still had a lot of clichés from other superhero stories (closing scene shows the Cape perched on a rooftop overlooking the city …cough…cough…BATMAN!…cough) but overall I was intrigued to find out who Tarot is and how they’re involved. Also, what are Vince’s medals for and why was he apprehensive to share that part of his past? The Chess has clearly been established as Arch-Nemesis and did I mention the hero finally gets a MASK!!! Additionally there were nice touches of detective work, family drama scenes (some more flashbacks of the Faradays), the action was fairly decent albeit short, and we still have no clue who Orwell really is. (Check out the second episode summary here – SPOILERS).
Do I think this series will be a hit? I think it is too early to tell. I judged this show pretty harshly after the first episode but then was proven to be too hasty on my opinion by the second episode. While I like the show’s cast members (Summer Glau, Keith David, James Frain, Vinnie Jones, Richard Schiff to name a few), I do not think the actors or dialogue will win many awards just yet but maybe as plot lines develop and expand, the performances will improve. The show also
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