The new NBS series, The Cape, has debuted to mixed reviews. I’ve caught the first few episodes on hulu.com and it isn’t bad. It reminds me a bit of the old Batman weekly series: a superhero with no super-power, funny costumes, over the top villains, sappy idealism. The Cape is not quite as cheesy or as over acted, but close. I don’t mean that in a bad way. The old super hero show was a lot of fun and The Cape is enjoyable if taken on that level. The family story line (Faraday becomes The Cape after he is framed and his family believes he is dead) adds a level of bitter sweetness that I enjoy, but doesn’t quite mesh with the carnival thieves that befriend The Cape or the show’s disappear-in-a-puff of smoke moments. For now I’m giving the whole thing a cautious we’ll see.
Airs on NBC Mondays 9/8c
What is Orwell’s secret?
One of The Cape’s helpers is the investigative blogger, Orwell, played by Summer Glau. Despite the superhero tone of the series, this is probably the most normal character I’ve seen Glau play. There was River, the brain-damaged psychic teen in Firefly, Cameron, the emotionless terminator in the Sara Connor Chronicles, a vengeance seeking mad scientist in Doll House and the list goes on. I like her as Orwell and I like the character in general. What blogger wouldn’t like the idea of a blogging heroine? But Orwell has secrets. It has been hinted that she has “daddy issues” so I thought at first that she might be the daughter of the arch villain of the series but the ages don’t seem right for that and in the last episode they came in close contact (though Orwell was masked at the time) and he didn’t recognize her.
If anyone else is watching, I’d love to hear your theories on Orwell’s secret!
Romantic Disasters on the Horizon?
One of the more disturbing aspects of the show is that The Cape and Orwell have great chemistry. A romance blooming? I normally root for romance, but The Cape has a family. They may think he’s dead but he is still technically married with a loving wife and son. The wife is also building a friendship with romantic possibilities with a colleague who seems like a good guy. This is just disaster waiting to happen and I have no idea what to hope for. Of course, TV never does romance well anyway, but this is clearly a no win situation for the romance loving viewer. I’m not sure yet how far I’m willing to go with this series.
Have you seen The Cape? What do you think?
Smart Girls love SciFi 
I actually like The Cape. My fave ep is number 3 but probably because I’m a Thomas Kretschmann fangirl (LOVE him!) and I love seeing him on my screen heh. It does kind of seem like the old Batman series which I enjoyed growing up. I like that The Cape is a light and fun superhero. I’m getting tired of superheroes trying to be realistic and gritty. If I want that, I watch the news lol. I want superhero fun goodness when I see fantasy/sf series.
I like that the hero has a family also. And Summer is rockin’ the show along with one of my fave actors, Keith David as Max. I hope this lasts lil longer despite the criticisms it’s been getting. It isn’t much but it has a big potential for being a fun show. I think you may be right about the romantic disasters. I hope they don’t go down that road but I guess we shall see.
I haven’t seen this show, but I have to agree, it’s very tricky to dangle a romance plot when one of the characters already has a family.
They need to address this issue before any relationships get too serious.
I love this new series! I love the ‘family is my strength, not my weakness’ theme and the love between father and son. And since the show is framed like a comic book, I love the way each scene is lit and set as if it came right off the page. The use of chapter titles lets us know it doesn’t take itself uber seriously, so the carnival freaks and slight layer of cheese work, in my opinion.
When Vince and the Cape met he asked her if she was ‘like 16’ which I think is a signal to viewers that romance will NOT develop. If it does it will only be on her end (because of the afore-mentioned daddy issues, and is anything sexier than a man committed to his family?).
My only complaint is that I sometimes have a hard time figuring out the plot. I think the story-telling could be smoother–or I just need to smarten up!
Bottom line, if one watches it with the tradition of the comic book in mind, I think that will help it go down better 🙂
Hi Sally! You are probably right about the family storyline. He is definitely dedicated to his family. I think they’ll use that to torture him for some time.
I have only seen the first two hours and was thrown out of the story by a couple of details. Other than that, I enjoyed it for the most part. I’ll have to catch up on episodes.
As for the relationship between Vince and Orwell, gee I hope not. Unrequited on her part, okay, but for him? No. Hey, this is a family show 🙂
Sally, that’s another aspect I love about this show. The chapter titles. 😀
They remind me of individual comic book issues (maybe a whole episode is a graphic novel? Hehe). I also love the opening credits and theme. Kind of reminds me a little of M.A.N.T.I.S. from the 90s.
I’m on the fence about this show. It’s got some good moments, but other times it gets kinda cheesy. I was also thinking Orwell & Chess might be father/daughter, but who knows. I’ll give the show a few more episodes, but I’m not sure if I’ll get more into it.
OT: When is The Event coming back? I haven’t seen or heard anything about it in a while now =/
The Event returns at the end of next month. Feb 28th!
Cool, now we just have to hope it gets picked up for a second season! 😉
I’ve tried really hard to like this show. Unfortunately, the only reason I’m caught up on the episodes is because there was nothing else to watch. I just don’t like it. Maybe that’s because I’m not a fan of comic books? I don’t know. I was just really thrown off in the first episode when it seemed to be a serious, super hero drama (which would have been awesome), but then all the sudden they threw in circus clowns and easily defeatable, slightly ridiculous villains. And every single time the Cape is standing there next to Chess, I’m thinking “Kill him! Arrest him! Tie him up! Do something!” I mean, that’s the Cape’s goal, right? He even tried to kill Chess in an early episode, but now, when they meet it’s just like, “Hey, how are you doing? I hate you. See you later.” It’s frustrating.
As for Orwell, she’s the only part of the show I still find interesting. I think Chess is her father. I really feel like I remember Chess saying in some episode, “Find her.” Maybe the ep where he had a secret file?
Oh, and speaking of the secret file. What kind of ridiculousness is that whole hologram system thing he has? I can make my iphone compile information and open a file in less time and with just two swipes of my finger.
*ahem* Back to the story line. I don’t think there will be a romance between the Cape and Orwell. He’s too hung up on his family. Honestly, I wish the whole family thing wasn’t there because one thing the show is missing IMO is sexual tension. Give me a bit of sexual tension and I might be hooked. And, yeah, I guess it’s nice for a show to take that family angle occasionally, but, meh. It would be better without it. 🙂
I feel bad for Summer Glau. I really don’t think this show is going to make it.
LOL – I’m ALWAYS looking for the romance. I guess I don’t really see The Cape and Orwell getting together, I just think they have better chemistry than he had with his wife. I like the son, but not so much the wife. I feel guilty typing even that, but there it is.
I’m one of those who hasn’t seen The Cape yet, so I really can’t say much about it. Though I am interested enough to catch up and watch it. I do like Summer Glau, so that is enough reason to watch, maybe– the blogger idea is nice. But I’m not so sure about another campy superhero.
It isn’t a show I’d make a point of catching on-air, but it is great as an online watch.
I think the series has potential – it’s an intriguing dark version of a reluctant Batman. I adore Summer Glau – but you’re right, there is the family issue. The chemistry is great, but he has a very wonderful, grieving family…
Great to see so many weighing in on this. It looks like our opinions are just as mixed as other reviews I’ve seen.