The Cape - 1/9/11

Wow, I must be too critical. The many plot holes in these two episodes just annoyed me. For a super secretive wistle blower, Oracle has NO idea how to keep a low profile, from driving around in a very non-conspicuous car and carrying around papers (what were they, flyers?) announcing who she is. The hero is a dumb ***, who should have died with the first knife shot at him from that incredibly inconvievable machine. And how does 'time' flow in that world anyways? It looked like he was able to master the cape, escape artistry, disapearing in smoke, hypnotism, and "dwarf-quan-do" in a matter of days, yet it takes that council man 5-10 minutes to even begin to eat his meal!

I also how he sets up his secret lair in some abandoned house that is squater free, broods how to save the councilman, and immediately cuts to him in mortal danger and saved by Orwell.

OK, I'll stop being critical and get back to work. Thanks for letting me vent.

I have to say that this show was a lot better than I thought it was going to be.

Yes there were plot holes, but just about every TV show and movie has those.

Yes due to it being 2 episodes instead of really 1 2 hour pilot the pacing felt a bit weird, especially the switch between the 2 episodes.

But the idea of showing him as being falible, I love. you get to watch him learn as he goes. He makes mistakes, he can be killed.

The problems people have with Orwell, I have to disagree with. Orwell is known as an internet persona, with a modulated voice. Outside of vince, we see noone else who knows who Orwell is. I also noticed her mercedes didn't seem to have a license plate. Now add on that we don't know where her money comes from, havign a car like that could be just fine.

As with the start of any series, there are going to be bumps in the road, but what I saw shows a nice show that doesn't take itself too seriously, but is designed to have fun, and be fun to watch. It will be DVRd by me every week.

I enjoyed it. Looking forward to more.

I enjoyed it. I will keep watching.

Enjoyed it and have hope for it but the cliches were very heavy handed and the hero was just plain bland. It's not a good sign when all of your secondary characters are charismatic and your main character is meh.

Although admittedly in the Batman tv series many of the villains had much better presence than Batman or Robin.

Overall the series reminded me a lot of The Spirit in the way it took the campy bits seriously if that makes any sense.

The car thing was silly, since there are currently, what?, six of them in the world or something. Kind of easy to trace.

Looks like the TV guide was incorrect about tonight's episode: it's on at 9 tonight after Chuck.

I find the nitpicking of the show amusing. (especially since I've been nitpicking SGU) Do you guys get the idea that the show is being written like a comic book? As such certain storytelling techniques have been included in the show to make it feel like a comic book.

The hero being knocked off a building and getting attacked again almost immediately on the ground happens all the time in comic books.

Superman puts on a pair of glasses and no one can see the resemblence he has to Clark Kent.

More than one hero has a unique vehicle that should be easy to trace if any effort was put into it.

Spiderman lives in NYC, the city that never sleeps and no one has ever seen him entering or exiting his home? Yeah right.

There are just some improbable things we accept as part of a comic book story, and this show is emulating them successfully.

It was better than I expected...but I didn't expect much. I'll play it in the background while gaming if nothing else is on but won't be blocking out couch time for it.

45 minutes in I turned to my daughter and said, "You are getting the opportunity to watch some truly bad TV. This is going to get cancelled fast." The second hour, however, much better and I hope that shows more promise on where this will go.

I won't go into all the ins and outs, but I almost turned it off 15 minutes in... Ultimately, I just think they crammed too much in too fast at the start. Like I said, the second hour hinted at some stable, better paced legs to carry it forward.

A couple of things... Plot grabbed almost straight from Robocop (Privatization of City Police Force and the the Corporation running it is corrupt). Throw in a little Fugitive (Accused / Framed for a Crime he didn't commit), a dash of Batman / Shadow (receiving training in various mental / physical disciplines to become a masked vigilante).


-Not too hateful a show, a bit cheesy at points......

Comment: "Chess has made a fatal mistake, even the lowliest of pawns can become the most powerful piece on the board"

I watched the show last night as well. I echo the previous statements wherein the show does have promise. But the writing definitely needs to improve. I too predict early cancellation.

I don't mind some of the plot holes that have already been mentioned. Some of them are ripped from comic books to almost call them cliches.

The pacing really bothered me though. The first episode or hour if you will, felt incredibly rushed, and in the alloted time, some characters were not well established. I'd also include his training time, the establishment of his lair, and his ability to get his hands on so many exotic poisions in the second episode or hour.

Along with that, the leader of the carnival finds the lair awfully easily, so I'm a bit lost on just where it is located. Is it under / near the carnival?

The one really big thing that bothered me was that our hero, who just happens to be a cop, allows the Carnival of Crime to rob banks - not just money from Chess, but from multiple bank vaults. Now I understand the concept of the ends justify the means, but I just didn't see the transitional struggle of the main character in shedding his civic duties as a police officer, to siding with criminals.

Personally, I wouldn't have revealed the carnival group as a crime gang at all. Lettting them appear to be well trained carnies that behind the scenes end up using the hero to distract chess in order to commit crimes, and therefore creating a tension for the viewers where the hero's mentor is really a crime boss, would have added more depth to the show.

Also establishing why the carnie leader has a beef with Chess might help too, though it'd be enough to know that there is a beef and not just wanting his money.

The last critique I have is that I felt it was way too soon for Chess's idendentity to be revealed. He could have simply had another chess mask put on him and left it at that. Keeping the head of the corporation and chess as seperate-but-one-in-the-same, would have also added some depth.

The corp should have been protrayed as the salvation of the city, to draw more contrast from the villianous Chess. This would have been done better by showing more of the normal police inability to combat him and thus, their resources dwindling in their futile fight.
After all, if Chess was the cop who died, then why does the suit keep going back to that identity? If he's the master planner that we are presented with, the smart thing do to would be to shed all pieces of his Chess identity and create a new one. If they were going to keep it, then the entire framing / Chess decoy ploy is moot.

It looks like the show is going to be poking fun and campy with some serious thrown in.

I really think those that nitpick shows & films seriously won't enjoy it as much as those who play MST3K around them.

I watched them this morning when I got home from work, and I enjoyed them. It's the kind of light-hearted entertainment I enjoy after a long weekend of working all night.

Lots of references to the source material, and a knowing wink to the comic fans out there. It may not last long, but it will be fun while it does.

At least, as long as you realize the show doesn't take itself too seriously, and neither should the viewers.

As I posted in the Liberty forums about this....(paraphrased version)

I like it so far

Did anyone think that Mrs. Faraday being a lawyer came out of nowhere?

They sped past the names of the illusionist and tattoo lady if mentioned at all.

Since Orwell drove two rather high end cars it's obvious her day job is a car salesman. Those sale commissions buys her all those nice computers. Bet she raids all by herself.

These first two episodes are rough. Hopefully they can smooth out the rhythm and flow of the show. So we have the big bad and a league of international criminals, Tarot. I think The Cape needs to fight some more random thugs just to establish a rep with the locals. Better to have a street full of friendly eyes than having to rough up a few thugs every time you need info.

So far I'm digging it (watching the replay)

HOWEVER.. omg it needs to work on its pacing. seriously I never thought I'd say this.. but this show needs a side story that distracts, just a little bit.