The Cape

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.

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.

ABC'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.

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".

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.