For the time being, "Razer" is the last episode of The Cape. NBC reduced the order from 13 to 10 episodes, and the The Event is coming back next week to finish off the final 12 episodes of the season. The Cape still has one episode left, but the date has not been set, if we'll even see it air.
"Razer" brings back Scales and his band of goons for a pretty mediocre ride. Vince goes undercover, pretending to be the mysterious Razer, yet another uber-criminal no one has seen. We learn that Max has ulterior motives for helping Vince, which calls into question exactly how much Max cares for Vince outside of his immediate abilities. In any case, it's a mutually beneficial relationship for now, as Max saves him in the end.
Peter Flemming is kind of crazy, what with Chess being separate yet controllable. Those weird Chess eyes, on the other hand, contacts ready to go all the time? Does the latest Orwell problem have anything to do with the door? It's not like I care (and I actually wanted to know what was up with Happy Town), but it could be good information to know some time.
After the cold open of Dana and Trip, they don't show up for the rest of the episode. Hurray!
Score: 8.2/10
Showing posts with label The Cape. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Cape. Show all posts
Monday, February 28, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Review - The Cape Season 1 Episode 8 The Lich (Part 2)
When you watch a live-action show, you expect a degree of realism. For one, humans should be similar to humans in real life. With this assumption, however, The Cape falls apart completely--or there's something in Palm City's water that makes people dumb as rocks.
Naturally, you'd think that Vince, even in costume, wouldn't be able to talk to Dana since she'd recognize him. (I can believe Trip is too dumb to recognize Vince.) Surely Dana would recognize his voice and bottom half of his face, so Vince would have to jump through additional hoops to get in contact with her. But no, Dana is oblivious until the end, which allows the plot to advance unencumbered.
In the end, the Lich turns out to be a bad villain. He's crazy, but that's it. With only a couple henchman, mediocre fighting abilities, and zero tricks, the Lich is easily taken down by Vince, Max, and Rollo.
Meanwhile, Orwell's dreams are totally random, without logical connections, and up to interpretation. She wants/was to be married to Vince/a guy, and Peter Flemming/her father showed up. And the white door... huh?
Score: 7.5/10
Naturally, you'd think that Vince, even in costume, wouldn't be able to talk to Dana since she'd recognize him. (I can believe Trip is too dumb to recognize Vince.) Surely Dana would recognize his voice and bottom half of his face, so Vince would have to jump through additional hoops to get in contact with her. But no, Dana is oblivious until the end, which allows the plot to advance unencumbered.
In the end, the Lich turns out to be a bad villain. He's crazy, but that's it. With only a couple henchman, mediocre fighting abilities, and zero tricks, the Lich is easily taken down by Vince, Max, and Rollo.
Meanwhile, Orwell's dreams are totally random, without logical connections, and up to interpretation. She wants/was to be married to Vince/a guy, and Peter Flemming/her father showed up. And the white door... huh?
Score: 7.5/10
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Review - The Cape Season 1 Episode 7 The Lich (Part 1)
I have this idea that The Cape is trying to assemble the most insane group of villains in the history of television, topping all sci-fi aliens or fantasy creatures. The outside world of The Cape seems fairly normal, with industrialized cities and the like, but there's so much wackiness on the inside that you have to treat the show as a comedy. This week, the big bad is the Lich, a fearsome thing lurking in the darkness, only drawing whispers under people's breath. And if you think this is an exaggeration, the characters act like 12th century villagers afraid monsters--really!
Instead of an all-out fury, "Part 1" is actually contained, with very normal procedural elements and little fights, until the final twist in the end where Orwell gets captured by the Lich.
The stuff with Dana this week wasn't just useless, but downright laughable. Was I flirting?!?!? NO!!!!!!!
Score: 8.0/10
Instead of an all-out fury, "Part 1" is actually contained, with very normal procedural elements and little fights, until the final twist in the end where Orwell gets captured by the Lich.
The stuff with Dana this week wasn't just useless, but downright laughable. Was I flirting?!?!? NO!!!!!!!
Score: 8.0/10
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Review - The Cape Season 1 Episode 6 Goggles And Hicks
"Goggles And Hicks" is supposed to be mildly funny, with the bumbling duo of Goggles and Hicks trying to kill Vince. Unfortunately, their utter stupidity doesn't translate into humor, but a string of groans. The problem with the episode and The Cape in general is that the enemies are boring. They're all hyped to be expert killers, but in the end, they all turn out to be total disappointments, doing nothing to indicate how great they could be.
The scenes with Trip are beyond painful to watch, but at least Dana is being productive now. With the recent news that The Cape will end with 10 episodes instead of 13, the show is all but dead. Still, I'll just ride it out until the end.
Score: 7.8/10
The scenes with Trip are beyond painful to watch, but at least Dana is being productive now. With the recent news that The Cape will end with 10 episodes instead of 13, the show is all but dead. Still, I'll just ride it out until the end.
Score: 7.8/10
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
NBC reduces The Cape's order to ten episodes
According to Deadline, The Cape has had its order reduced from 13 to 10, and since it is almost done with the tenth episode, production is stopping soon. With steadily declining ratings, this move doesn't come as a surprise, and cancellation is on the horizon.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Review - The Cape Season 1 Episode 5 Dice
To start, I'm going to ignore the logic and science behind T.R.A.C.E. Let's just assume it remotely realistic.
The Cape hangs on the edges of moral issues, always sure with the suggestions but never fully embracing the morality of superheroes. "Dice" puts Vince into what would seem to be a tough situation--except it's shown in a way that Vince only has one decision. Does Peter Flemming really need to be alive for Vince to clear his name? According to Orwell, yes, so Vince runs with it. Thus, any qualms he has about saving Flemming are pointless since he's helping himself.
Most problematic in this is that Tracey/Dice gets the short end of the straw, portrayed as the 'bad guy' of the episode rather than a damaged savant. And, of course, the whole discussion on fate, ending with Max's line "There are no accidents," leaves no opening. Dice's blindspot is a personal problem, but the rest of the universe rolls along as planned. Basically, in the writers' minds and the universe's course, Vince will eventually beat Chess.
If you been keeping up with the ratings, you'd see that the ratings are still dropping, and even if it stabilized at this very moment, it'd be a goner anyway.
Score: 8.2/10
The Cape hangs on the edges of moral issues, always sure with the suggestions but never fully embracing the morality of superheroes. "Dice" puts Vince into what would seem to be a tough situation--except it's shown in a way that Vince only has one decision. Does Peter Flemming really need to be alive for Vince to clear his name? According to Orwell, yes, so Vince runs with it. Thus, any qualms he has about saving Flemming are pointless since he's helping himself.
Most problematic in this is that Tracey/Dice gets the short end of the straw, portrayed as the 'bad guy' of the episode rather than a damaged savant. And, of course, the whole discussion on fate, ending with Max's line "There are no accidents," leaves no opening. Dice's blindspot is a personal problem, but the rest of the universe rolls along as planned. Basically, in the writers' minds and the universe's course, Vince will eventually beat Chess.
If you been keeping up with the ratings, you'd see that the ratings are still dropping, and even if it stabilized at this very moment, it'd be a goner anyway.
Score: 8.2/10
Monday, January 24, 2011
Review - The Cape Season 1 Episode 4 Scales
"Scales" has a very cool mixture of factions and allies, which isn't the least bit realistic, but is entertaining nonetheless. On one side, there's Vince and Orwell who both want to take down Peter Flemming. On another, there's Scales, who is informed by The Cape of Chess's real identity, Peter Flemming. Then there's Max's circus crew which is robbing the train and possibly disrupting Vince's operation, and lastly, Peter Flemming himself and his police officers.
This leads to conflict between former allies, Scales and Flemming, and a conflict between Vince, a crimefighter, and Max, a thief, is also brewing. Although we don't know how ambitious the writers want to be, these developments, on the surface, look very encouraging.
All the scenes with Trip, flashback and present-day, serve absolutely no purpose but to manufacture pathos. I'm fine with Vince wanting to get back to his family, but please add some plot. At the very least, use the opportunity to expand the characters of Vince and Trip beyond the simple fact that Vince was/is a good parent.
Score: 8.6/10
This leads to conflict between former allies, Scales and Flemming, and a conflict between Vince, a crimefighter, and Max, a thief, is also brewing. Although we don't know how ambitious the writers want to be, these developments, on the surface, look very encouraging.
All the scenes with Trip, flashback and present-day, serve absolutely no purpose but to manufacture pathos. I'm fine with Vince wanting to get back to his family, but please add some plot. At the very least, use the opportunity to expand the characters of Vince and Trip beyond the simple fact that Vince was/is a good parent.
Score: 8.6/10
Monday, January 17, 2011
Review - The Cape Season 1 Episode 3 Kozmo
To recap my review of the series premiere last week, The Cape isn't a deep show or particularly emotionally resonant. It does, however, embrace the superhero to the fullest, with big fights, costumes, and a slew of characters ripe to explore.
"Kozmo" isn't too different from the previous two episodes, especially the second episode "Tarot," but it immediately tries to involve the other characters. We learn about Max and Gregor and how Max probably did some bad things a long time ago with the Kozmo moniker. Orwell is introduced to the circus, although they don't know that she is Orwell yet, and Gregor accurately expresses how alone Orwell is. The episode ends with the Vince versus Gregor fight which doesn't differentiate itself from the previous fights, but is cool enough.
There's heavy implication that Orwell is Chess's daughter with the spin ballerina comparison and all those things Gregor said about her. Whatever the connection may be, we know there's plenty of backstory to come from Orwell and the circus people.
The biggest problem with the show so far is that family stuff. Whenever Dana and Trip show up, it's an obvious attempt to tug at heartstrings, and more often than not elicits eye rolls instead of tears. Would it be too much for the audience to see them going through daily life instead of the exact moments they're thinking of Vince or The Cape?
Score: 8.5/10
"Kozmo" isn't too different from the previous two episodes, especially the second episode "Tarot," but it immediately tries to involve the other characters. We learn about Max and Gregor and how Max probably did some bad things a long time ago with the Kozmo moniker. Orwell is introduced to the circus, although they don't know that she is Orwell yet, and Gregor accurately expresses how alone Orwell is. The episode ends with the Vince versus Gregor fight which doesn't differentiate itself from the previous fights, but is cool enough.
There's heavy implication that Orwell is Chess's daughter with the spin ballerina comparison and all those things Gregor said about her. Whatever the connection may be, we know there's plenty of backstory to come from Orwell and the circus people.
The biggest problem with the show so far is that family stuff. Whenever Dana and Trip show up, it's an obvious attempt to tug at heartstrings, and more often than not elicits eye rolls instead of tears. Would it be too much for the audience to see them going through daily life instead of the exact moments they're thinking of Vince or The Cape?
Score: 8.5/10
Monday, January 10, 2011
Review - The Cape Season 1 Episode 1 Pilot / 2 Tarot
The Cape should not be taken seriously, and certainly not as seriously as the show takes itself. But that's fine. Even with the pacing, lack of depth, or any number of problems, it's still damn entertaining. Who doesn't want to see a costumed hero run around and beat up various goons in a city which is being taken over by an evil guy?
"Pilot" sets the stage for episodes to come, introducing Vince Faraday (David Lyons), a cop framed by Chess (James Frain), his wife Dana (Jennifer Ferrin), the carnival folk who help him along the way, and Orwell (Summer Glau), who seems to be the utility-girl. Vince becomes The Cape after fastforwarded training from Max (Keith David) and vows to take down Chess.
"Tarot" is more or less a standard episode with the plot about saving a guy who can prevent Chess from taking over the prisons, and Vince shows that he can continually grow as a superhero by training himself.
From what we can see from the first two episodes, the lines are clearly drawn: Vince is the classic superhero good guy, a tireless fighter for the people, while Chess is the bad guy, a totally evil criminal who wants to take the city. Dana and Trip truly believe Vince was innocent, and Dana puts herself in a position to dig around.
Going forward, The Cape has plenty of room to grow. We can learn more about each character, more enemies can be introduced, and maybe it'll gain a few complex themes. And if the show doesn't really change, we'll see if it's still as entertaining as it is now.
Score: 8.7/10
"Pilot" sets the stage for episodes to come, introducing Vince Faraday (David Lyons), a cop framed by Chess (James Frain), his wife Dana (Jennifer Ferrin), the carnival folk who help him along the way, and Orwell (Summer Glau), who seems to be the utility-girl. Vince becomes The Cape after fastforwarded training from Max (Keith David) and vows to take down Chess.
"Tarot" is more or less a standard episode with the plot about saving a guy who can prevent Chess from taking over the prisons, and Vince shows that he can continually grow as a superhero by training himself.
From what we can see from the first two episodes, the lines are clearly drawn: Vince is the classic superhero good guy, a tireless fighter for the people, while Chess is the bad guy, a totally evil criminal who wants to take the city. Dana and Trip truly believe Vince was innocent, and Dana puts herself in a position to dig around.
Going forward, The Cape has plenty of room to grow. We can learn more about each character, more enemies can be introduced, and maybe it'll gain a few complex themes. And if the show doesn't really change, we'll see if it's still as entertaining as it is now.
Score: 8.7/10
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Preview of Week - 1/09/10 - 1/15/10
The Cape - NBC, Sunday, January 9, 9:00pm ET
NBC's new superhero show, The Cape, airs tonight before moving to its normal timeslot on Mondays, 9 PM. Will NBC's ploy work, or will The Cape fall by the wayside like every superhero show in the past decade?
Californication - Showtime, Sunday, January 9, 9:00pm ET
The new season of "Sex Addiction, Gratuitous Sex, and More Sex" arrives tonight.
Episodes - Showtime, Sunday, January 9, 9:30pm ET
What happens when British television producers try adapting their show in America? That's question Episodes tries to answer.
Shameless - Showtime, Sunday, January 9, 10:00pm ET
Right after Episodes is Shameless, an adaptation of the British show of the same name. Funny how these things work out.
Lights Out - FX, Tuesday, January 11, 10:00pm ET
A drama about boxing seems exactly the kind of edgy, out of the box show FX prides itself on. We'll see if viewers tune in.
Off The Map - ABC, Wednesday, January 12, 10:00pm ET
Grey's Anatomy in the jungle... sounds like something I wouldn't watch, but I'll watch the pilot anyway.
NBC's new superhero show, The Cape, airs tonight before moving to its normal timeslot on Mondays, 9 PM. Will NBC's ploy work, or will The Cape fall by the wayside like every superhero show in the past decade?
Californication - Showtime, Sunday, January 9, 9:00pm ET
The new season of "Sex Addiction, Gratuitous Sex, and More Sex" arrives tonight.
Episodes - Showtime, Sunday, January 9, 9:30pm ET
What happens when British television producers try adapting their show in America? That's question Episodes tries to answer.
Shameless - Showtime, Sunday, January 9, 10:00pm ET
Right after Episodes is Shameless, an adaptation of the British show of the same name. Funny how these things work out.
Lights Out - FX, Tuesday, January 11, 10:00pm ET
A drama about boxing seems exactly the kind of edgy, out of the box show FX prides itself on. We'll see if viewers tune in.
Off The Map - ABC, Wednesday, January 12, 10:00pm ET
Grey's Anatomy in the jungle... sounds like something I wouldn't watch, but I'll watch the pilot anyway.
