The Cape

I'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.

With 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.

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.

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.

This 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.