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?
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