Apparently I drew the short straw when it came time for ComicsAlliance to pick their TV critic, because this week, I reviewed the two-hour premiere of The Cape in addition to my usual Smallville duties.
I’ll be honest, I went into this one with very, verylow expectations, and while it’s certainly a problematic show on a number of levels, it’s not entirely without stuff that I like about it. Plus, it gave me the opportunity to make my favorite animated .gif since that one of Little Riddler flipping right the hell out.
Vinnie Jones? Huh. OK, I’ll give it a look.
I worry that your “crap TV”-sense may need recalibration after continuous episodes of Smallville, though.
Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t do my planned re-watch of The Prisoner, or the entire review would’ve been “EVERYTHING ON TV IS GARBAGE.”
My favorite part, besides the Australian Crocodile-Man? The bad guy actually has chess piece contact lenses. It was when I first saw those that I knew I would be watching every future episode.
Isn’t Crocodile Man played by Vinnie Jones? In which case, he’s British not Australian.
Anyway, the Cape (no worse a name than, say, the Batman IMO) sounds pretty good. When sitting down to watch a superhero TV show, I expect to see supervillains robbing banks on stilts and being called things like the Carnival of Crime (again, no worse than the Joker or the Royal Flush Gang). Isn’t that what the comicbook superhero genre is all about?
Unfortunately, I’ll probably not get to see this in the UK until about a week or two before its cancellation is announced. Sigh.
Spoiler Warning.
You’ve got baaaaad CGI, a supervillain named after the ABBA musical, wearing awkward contacts, you’ve got the lamest fake death since The Clown (bad German predecessor to this series. Don’t look it up, it’s not worth it) and you’ve got the autistic kid from Flashforward not very convincingly playing a non-autistic kid. That was when I almost gave up on the series. But then I would have missed the awesome overload that followed.
Apu teaches Batman how to hypnotise people (“donget cocky”), Batman defeats River Tam with bubble gum balls, a little person beats up the Juggernaut (bitch) with a pipe wrench, Goliath tricks Batman into thinking that he’s got a dramatic death scene… and suddenly, I’m hooked.
Thank you for directing my attention towards this series. This is insane. In a good way.
The bit that sold me on tuning in every week was the gloriously ridiculous convenience store holdup scene. Faraday beats up the armed robbers, then walks awkwardly out of the front door in costume, clutching the thing (couldn’t tell what) he went in to purchase.
Also, “I’m the Cape.” “But you’re not wearing a cape.” “Exactly!”
Sorry. You and I saw different shows. I found The Cape cheesy, too tongue-in-cheeky and it looked to me it was desperate for a brown paper bag to cover it’s head with. I will be surprised if the show lasts for a whole season.
It’s basically Birds of Prey all over again, and without the consolation of seeing Ashley Scott on every episode.
(no worse a name than, say, the Batman IMO)
Get. Out.
This show was both ridiculous and ridiculously awesome at different points. It had plot holes big enough for a thoroughly inebriated Captain Kirk and crew to pilot the starship Enterprise through.
The city sign should read “Welcome to Palm City, home of the MOST UNOBSERVANT PEOPLE EVER.” The Cape spends half of the show WITHOUT A MASK, and people can’t find out his secret ID. He watches his own funeral ceremony, which is chock full of trained cops, and nobody spots him even though he’s like EIGHT FEET AWAY! No wonder their crime problem is out of control: There are no reliable witnesses!
(no worse a name than, say, the Batman IMO)
Get. Out.
:)
Well, naming your alter-ego after an officer’s butler (or a flying mouse, whichever you prefer) is only slightly better than a piece of clothing. Still, that’s just the name. The characters themselves are, of course, (justice) leagues apart and Batman wins every time.
Re: the training montage in the first episode:
“Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot… I shall become… a flamenco dancer!.”
PS
However, this made it worth the abundant Not Very Good parts:
“Do we think the raccoon acted alone?”