The Cape

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.

Vince(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.

An extremely intelligent but nefarious ex-stockbroker convicted of embezzling millions from his clients spends 7 years of his 15 year sentence studying the law and planning his appeal. Though guilty, he concealed his crimes so well that only a technical slip-up by his bungling defense attorney caused his conviction. The bitter, brilliant convict achieves the overturn of his conviction the same way- on a tech- nicality. He vows revenge on the judicial system and passes the bar exam with flying colors. The press takes notice of this "ex-con" lawyer, and his notoriety gets the attention of Dana Faraday's law firm. Seeing the opportunity for free publicity, they hire him on a trial basis. The un- scrupulous lawyer proceeds to get every criminal he defends an acquital by unethical, often illegal means, without getting caught. His successes and his questionable methods come to the attention of Peter Fleming, who, though he controls much of the police dept., is still looking for inroads to control the courts and prisons. He also sees, and seizes apon, the opportunity to identify and recruit the smartest, most ruth- less criminals to create a street syndicate under his control to go after the Cape, Orwell, and any other public or judicial figures that get in his way. He does this through the manipulation of "the Lawyer" who is hell-bent on wreaking havoc on the judicial system, hiding behind the guise of a 'champion of the oppressed' defense attorney. Suspicions of Orwell, The Cape, and even Dana, working together, lead to the exposure and ultimate downfall of "The Lawyer", and the thwarting but not defeat, of Peter Flemming. Just an idea. Awesome show, but try to keep the plots and villains believable, though a little stretching doesn't hurt.

Good: 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.

I 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.