Customer Reviews

The Cape: Complete Series

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

TV shows always seem to be an all or nothing proposition in Amazon reviews. If someone watches a show, they automatically feel that it is five star quality despite its limitations. If someone tries a show and doesn't like it, they generally relegate it to a one star status despite its good points. Don't believe it? Go to the reviews of any program you absolutely hate and look at the glowing five star reviews from its fans. In truth, most shows fall somewhere in between--not every show you watch should automatically be considered as great entertainment and not every show you dislike merits a dismissive one star. I bring this up with NBC's short lived "The Cape" for one reason--I have only heard the show described as terrific or as terrible with very little middle ground. Personally, I think the show is neither terrific nor terrible but falls into the TV netherworld of a show with potential that never really fulfilled its promise.

Capitalizing on the notion that every story with comic book origins deserves a Hollywood treatment (in itself, a specious idea), "The Cape" was introduced to capture the audience left when the increasingly problematic "Heroes" left the air. But lacking that show's complex mythology and appealing cast, it was an uphill battle from the start. I do contend that the elements to have developed a successful show were all present, they were just never assembled in the right way.

The Good: David Lyons was a likable lead--a family man and cop who is forced into a heroic alter ego when framed (and seemingly murdered) by the town's super villain. James Frain has a nice menace as the unstable foe. Morally corrupt Keith David and a bevy of carnival performers provide unlikely support to our new hero. And sci-fi stalwart Summer Glau is on hand as the altruistic, and completely underdeveloped, Orwell. And best of all--Vinnie Jones!

The Bad: The show never loses interest in Lyons' wife and child. And, I'm sorry, they just aren't compelling characters. The show's momentum grinds to an absolute halt every time they appear. Excruciating.

The Frustrating: I don't think the show ever determined what it wanted to do and is tonally all over the place. Veering from maudlin to comedic from one moment to the next does little to shore up the inconsistencies in the show. Frain, Glau, and David all have great potential--but none are given fully developed plot lines. There is simultaneously too much going on and not enough--there needed to be more focus on the elements that worked. There needed to be more emphasis on the bigger good versus evil concept as opposed to lesser stand alone episodes.

The DVD set collects the series' ten episodes (one was only shown on the NBC website, but never aired). With so many choices in this overcrowded genre, I don't know that "The Cape" rates particularly highly. But it is far from unwatchable and its cast is game. A show I wanted to like more than I did, it still boasts nice production values and a laugh or two--but never gelled to one cohesive vision. KGHarris, 4/11.

The Cape was an attempt to tell a costumed crime-fighter's story, straight and simple. It harkened back to the pulp roots of today's comic book heroes, and offered up a look at how these scenarios would actually shake out in that world.

That's what I really liked about the show. The creators were telling their stories in an earnest, non-campy fashion, and having their characters actually dealing with the situations they found themselves in. Evil hides behind the institutions of law and order, with the biggest threat coming not from our hero, but Evil's competitors. Those people our hero was forced to leave behind are shown dealing with the ramifications of the frame-up, and the loss of the primary bread-earner of the family; and we also see how our hero inspires others into standing up for what's right.

This is all heady stuff, which allowed one to question the conventions of the genre, and look at them with fresh eyes, especially with how they would fit into today's world.

The problem came in the execution ... as the previous reviewer noted, tonally it was inconsistent as the world seemed to reside on the borders of the mundane and the bizarre. Then, also, the writing was inconsistent, with certain matters glossed over when they should have been examined, and other matters scrutinized when they should have been glossed over.

So, yeah, this series wasn't perfect, and it did provoke A LOT of love it/hate it discussions ... so, obviously, it isn't for everyone. But, given the relative scarcity of original costumed crimefighters appearing on TV, I do give the series credit for at least trying.

The series really started to click when the characters discovered their sense of humor, but by then it was too late. Consequently, it was when the series was hitting its creative stride, that it was cancelled because it couldn't attract and hold an audience.

The Cape had all the right elements: an honest cop, a beautiful wife, an adoring son, a super villain, an alluring, intelligent young woman, a best friend with a secret, and a group of circus criminals who were really not a bad lot when you got to know them. So, what went wrong?

NBC gave The Cape a good time slot. NBC promoted it heavily.

As the storyline developed, the main characters were filled out with their back ground stories. Episodes were improving in plot and character development.

Peter Fleming's Chess alter ego was given a sympatric storyline. Max Malini and Rollo were just two great characters, brave, courageous and of course thieves.

Keith David is a fine actor, and he played Max Malini to the hilt with a devilish glee. Martin Klebba's Rollo was a delight as he interacted with Max and The Cape. His fight with the evil Scales was one of those rare moments.

Summer Glau's mysterious Orwell character was just stunning. The evolution of her character was well done as her feelings for The Cape intensified as each episode progressed. Her true identity was revealed in bits and pieces.

Trip Faraday represented every boy and his love for comic book heroes. His belief in his dad was very touching. The Cape, his own personal superhero, gave him a sense of hope and wonder.

Dana Faraday's steadfast belief in her husband's innocence was a constant in the series. She truly loved her husband and took every opportunity to prove his innocence.

I watched every episode and enjoyed it. Of course, it was not perfect.

In this day and age of economic ups and downs, a television program needs to click with viewers real fast in order to survive. It is unfortunate that series are not given a full season (22 episodes) to develop viewership.

Of course, The Cape's ratings fell from 8.6 million to 4.06 million over the course of its short airing. It was a dismal failure in terms of revenue generation for NBC as were some other new series-The Event, Chase, and Undercovers.

Should you buy this series? Only if you have an interest in this genre.

Judge Mac McEntire, DVD Verdict -- "There's some goofy fun to be had, but at other times The Cape can be a chore to get through. For what is--a guy with a cape fights crime--the show is far too ambitious for its own good. At any given time, we go from slapstick comedy high jinks with the circus characters, immediately into the Cape's wife and son in tears while mourning his loss, and from that immediately into the Cape duking it out with a room full of henchmen. The creators are trying to do Christopher Nolan one second, Tim Burton the next, and Martin Scorcese after that. This mishmash of styles and tones is jarring and viewers will be exhausted by the time each episode ends; not in a good way. So, yeah, the series of something of a mess, but it does have its good points. The action scenes are generally well-staged, the production values are solid, the villains-of-the-week are interesting, and it is pretty sweet to see our hero whip that cape around when fighting bad guys. But for all The Cape gets right, it just doesn't fit into the iconic superhero category."

Now I don't know if the DVD is any good, but I do intend to add the show to my super hero collection of films. I'm truly disappointed that the show didn't make it. ( I liked it better then Heroes but only nearly as much as the Saint.) I liked most of the episodes. But then I love the circus, super heroes, comic books, and dark stories. These are the kind of stories that I can never see enough of. I loved, ( the mother, the son as a bite of normal stuff in an otherwise very dark sided and reluctant hero needing to connect with his family ) and sidekick ( Smart, in hiding antihero that needs a hero of her own). I love origin stories and that is what the cape was all about. The sidekicks torture was troubling but like anything traumatic heals if it ever does at all, very slowly. I never saw the on line show that will be new to me. But I never missed a show.

While the other reviewers have valid points, I enjoyed the series for its entertainment value. My principal complaint is that because only ten episodes were made, the viewer is left with an incomplete storyline. Given its poor ratings and imminent cancellation, it would have been nice for the network to create a final episode tying up all the loose ends.

this show took a while to find its footing. a genre show like this needs to catch attention very quickly to survive. unfortunately the first episode plays out like a 45 minute 'previously on' segment and the next couple of episodes, while they are better, can still feel a little clumsy and inconsequential. they at least serve as a decent introduction to the universe though, and make the later episodes, starting with the two-part "the lich," very compelling. unfortunately, the show was already dead by the time it got there. I wish shows like this were given more time to find an audience, or at least get a second chance on cable. as NBC cut the original order of 13 episodes down to 10 mid-season (and only aired 9 of them) the finale doesn't get a chance to offer much in terms of closure. that said, if you're looking for a solid super hero show, pick this up or check it out on Netflix.

I was really saddened to hear that NBC's "The Cape" had been cancelled. Though it never fully hit its stride, "The Cape" sure had an awful lot going for it. First off-it was a great looking show with fairly decent production values and a nice colorful comic book style. It also featured a very charismatic and likable protagonist in the lead character "Vince Faraday". A man of honor, ethics and a dedication to his family-Faraday is the kind of guy I think most of us would aspire to be like. The characters that made up the carnival were likewise appealing and had the potential to introduce conflict to the show considering their not always so honorable ways. "Orwell" was not only an interesting character, but an interesting concept as well that and added an extra dynamic (and perhaps a bit of subdued romantic tension?) to the show. Had the series continued-I think it would have drastically improved over the course of a few seasons. I think this season was all about discovering the direction in which they wanted to take the show-but not knowing fully where they were headed. Most great television didn't nail it right out of the gate. Even X-Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer stumbled a bit their first seasons.

The only thing that really soured me on "The Cape" were the villains. With Villains dubbed such generic, "goofy" names like "Chess" and "Scales" how can an otherwise competent show not descend into the world of cheese? Chess is one of the worst villains I have ever seen on any tv show. A stupid looking mask and freaky contact lenses-an interesting villain do not make. And as a note to the creators of the show-if you can't pull off good make up on a limited television budget, then for goodness sakes, don't give one of your villains snake-like skin. Vinnie Jones is a good actor with an intimidating presence-does he really need scaly skin to make him seem formidable? I would have loved to have seen The Cape go a more "serious" route with their villains sort of like Sylar on the first season of Heroes. For that season (and that season only) Sylar was a mysterious and quite terrifying villain and made a great antagonist to the heroes. He didn't need a goofy cliche moniker either.

Overall-I really enjoyed "The Cape" and I wish it would've stuck around a little longer to fully realize its potential. The good outweighs the bad for the most part, and I'll always remember this show for Vince, Orwell and the Carney folks-I'll try to forget about the cheese ball villains.

GREAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTT SHOW.. havent seen tv this good since 24....... too bad it didnt stick and got axed!!!! too many perverts in the world today only want to watch crap......& networks cater to them

Great series, loved it. It had a clever story line. Too bad it didn't last longer as my children enjoyed it too..