The Cape 1/24/2011 (spoilers)

What, no discussion for last nights episode? Have people lost interest in this show already?

[Spoilers below]









Well I'll get this started. Overall I enjoyed the episode. The bit near the end where Peter Fleming/Chess comments on working together to stop the run-away train was very classic villainy, "You're right, that's much more interesting." Followed up by, "Now you're learning how to play." Very reminiscent of the Joker vs Batman.. Almost makes me wonder if Peter Fleming knows who The Cape truly is, but simply doesn't care to act on that knowledge because he actually enjoys the "game" now that he's faced with a challenging opponent.

The subtle hint at the end about Max Malini possibly being the "true" villain was also very interesting. Vennie Jones as Scales is great. This show truly is entertaining, can't wait until next Monday!

P.S. Don't get mad at me if you were just spoiled on last nights episode. Warned ya twice.

Yeah, watched it Sunday night and enjoyed it. I'm liking the morality mosh pit the show has going on. Too bad that stuff can get irritating pretty fast, so hopefully they don't ride it till the wheels fall off.

Yeah, if Chess is as smart as he claims, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out Cape's identity. Especially now that he's seen Cape up close with the hood down.

Really, Cape needs to try and disguise his voice a bit. Maybe something a little gruffer (but not Bale-as-Batman sore throat gruff).

Chess can't even recognize his own daughter when she's wearing a domino mask while talking to him. I doubt he recognizes someone he only met a couple of times and has good reason to believe is dead.

Overall I'm liking the show though it does stumble now and again. I keep thinking that Eric Close and Dennis Haysbert need to make cameo appearances though.

Did Summer remind anyone else of Sigourney Weaver in that episode? Especially the opening scene.

I like a number of elements in this show and think they have some interesting ideas, but I have to say that-- overall-- the writing comes across as really amateurish. It feels like something written by a highschool kid.

Didn't get to watch it till a little bit ago (on Hulu). Scales looks like he might be an interesting character. I was worried there wasn't anything special about him other than a skin condition, but it seems he's a bit tougher than he looks.

Other than wondering why Cape would be carrying a gun, the show was good. I think he needs more gadgets, though, especially working with a techie like Orwell, though I suppose that would make him a little too much like Batman.

I like the show but I can't help wonder if the writers or director are deliberately making the heroes so bland. Seriously I love the villains. They have personality and charisma to spare. But the good guys? I have to fight to keep from fast forwarding through their scenes. Even Summer and that disturbs me.

I think Orwell is the real hero of the show and should get more focus. Maybe a 2 hour episide where she has to get information at a beach while wearing a bikini or maybe some of her fathers goons are conducting business meetings in a strip club and Orwell gets a job as a dancer so she can spy on them while doing lap dances . . .

I actually think this may have been the best episode of the bunch,... but it still had some holes/issues that have kept me from buying in completely.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arnabas I like a number of elements in this show and think they have some interesting ideas, but I have to say that-- overall-- the writing comes across as really amateurish. It feels like something written by a highschool kid.

I think Arnabas hit it on the head - the scripts need support. The visuals have established themselves in a way that is working, and the (generally) 'small set' scenes seem to be working as well. The dialogue and pacing needs to catch up.

Yes, the writing leaves something to be desired. For example we got the scene where Fleming opens his chess box and then plays around with his holographic display, turning it into a chess board before spinning it and having it resolve into a single file titled "The Siren." It didn't seem to really have anything to do with the episode and we never find out who or what the Siren is leaving me with the feeling that the only reason the scene is there is because someone thought it looked cool.

And the revelation that Orwell is Fleming's daughter is something that should have been handled with subtlety, gradually playing out over the course of multiple episodes until the big reveal when people would have smacked their heads for not seeing the clues and figuring it out sooner. Instead we get beat over the head with a 2x4 with the fact that they're related and it just makes the characters look stupid for not being able to see what is so obvious to the audience.

I think the writing is exactly where the makers of the show want it to be. It's campy and cheesy and lots of fun, and it's creating characters that are larger than life and incredibly colorful. The Cape has a rogue gallery that's already as good as Spider-man's, and they might push him into Bat-gallery territory eventually.

Take some of the dialogue from this last episode. Isn't this wonderful?

"Get the hacksaw, boys. Betty needs a shave."
"You just made me remember you."
"Next time I see you, I'm gonna make a new pair of boots!"
"You're not as smart as you think you are." "I wish that were true."

Don't take this show seriously. Think of it as a comic book on TV and you'll enjoy it more.

As a fan of all things Bruce Campbell, I have no problem with lots of cheese. Cheese is not the problem with The Cape's writing. The problem is with the more technical side of things; structure, pacing, etc.

One note that rang jarringly false for me was when Orwell, in her mask, came face-to-face with (who we're led to believe is) her father. Here's this woman who has constructed this secret persona with the purpose of opposing everything Fleming is, going to a bit of trouble to do so, and yet almost telegraphs who she is right to Fleming's face. I think Fleming even made the comment that she'd been reading the wrong blogs, or somesuch, recognizing perhaps that she was quoting the Orwell Party Line. Then she retreats (possibly because she was >< that close to revealing herself), but only as far as to stand behind the guy she'd just been standing in front of.

Now, this scene can be interpreted more than one way, I'll allow, and I probably took the "She Couldn't Be That Stupid...Could She?" route. Fleming's statement was likely to show he was just blowing her off. Orwell, for her part, may not have been face-to-face with her supposed father for a span of time likely measured in years. Thus, she kinda lost her cool, and control of her tongue, momentarily. And in a crowded train car, there ain't a whole lot of places to go.

I'm okay with the way the show is going, and will keep watching, but it's rather lightweight to me. Still, I try to judge every new show by the ST: NG yardstick--that show was far less than stellar many times during its first season. Thus, I cutteth the slacketh. I do agree that the camp makes it a bit unique.

Sort of the same problem I had with V. Cast is too small to have a major member not directly confront the major badguy while still trying to hide from them. It's too easy for the writers to script these confrontations without thinking things through, same with Vince not keeping his mask on or hood up.

While Batman may reveal his identity to his love interest in every movie, a guy who is trying to protect his family by hiding his identity from the bad guy, a bad guy who already knows him, a bad guy whose right hand man was Vince's friend, should be doing everything in his power NOT to confront them directly.

Same is true with Orwell. She should know that she's way up on Flemming's too kill list, even if it does turn out to be her father, she shouldn't expect that to save her. But having the good guys NOT confront the bad guys directly simply wouldn't be "good TV".