A ridiculously boring summation of a ridiculously boring show. Hey, look at them both as comedy and I have the 2 hours + reading time back!
ReCape: Watching The Cape
- Thread starter Elizabeth Grunewald
- Start date
I liked it. Needs more Keith David and less boring family. And the computer chick needs some more acting lessons but has potential. 'Like, oh my god, I'm acting. Yaaahhhh.'
It'll be interesting to see who likes it and who doesn't. I don't think the over-thinkers of the world will enjoy it.
It'll be interesting to see who likes it and who doesn't. I don't think the over-thinkers of the world will enjoy it.
I thought it was ok. Both the article and the show. As soon as I saw the absolute irony of "Orwell is watching you," it immediately became a comedy to me. Also the chess piece contact lenses...oh god that's hilarious. And Summer Glau constantly saying she can't be caught but driving around in an uber conspicuous Mercedes. Incredibly cheesy but still kind of fun.
EDIT: Just wiki'd the writer and apparently he's doing a Shrek spin-off for Puss in Boots...they'll never let it die will they?
EDIT: Just wiki'd the writer and apparently he's doing a Shrek spin-off for Puss in Boots...they'll never let it die will they?
Pretty much this. I enjoyed the article on the Simpson's a while back particularly for this reason. Mocking an established franchise is perfectly fine. Even the mocking of GFWL. But this article was just done poorly. Some people are taking as a serious account of the pilot episode, adn will refuse to watch it. As a target audience (we're a bunch of geeks. We're (the Escapist) expected to watch things like the cape) doesn't tune in, the show is likely to get canceled before it can get better.Mysnomer said:
And we complain that there's nothing origianl on normal TV these days. Maybe because people watch the latest season of family guy or the Simpson's. I'm just glad I saw Cape all the way through rather than Burger Town.
The Cape was chessy super hero stuff. His "Don't give up hope" talk to his kid made me groan, but got a genuine smile when he starts lecturing Trip about math and listening to his mother. The villains were decent, and (for the guy saying they removed all the mysteries) the Totem, totec...whatever the card things are called group is still a mystery to be solved. Yes, it had pacing problems, odd dialogue, and plenty of other problems. but is was still fun to watch. Elizabeth just sounded like she hated it from the start. It was poorly done deconstructionist humor. If it stays at the current level, I'll probably stop watching. But, as has been said above, the pilot is usually the worse, and I hope for it to improve. Hopefully, it will have a chance to do so.
I thought the show was entertaining. Which is why I watch TV. Which is also why I have no business being a critic.
Well, yes it is cheesy, but it's the good cheese, y'know, the Batman and Robin cheese. Although it's understandable that we don't really care for that that type of campy-screwbally type of humor in "The Era of Gritty Remakes", but back in the advent of comic book hero TV shows, many shows relied on camp and cheese. Personally, I see it as someone trying to merge the two ages of comic book based media: "The Early Camp" and "The Later Grit". While it may not be perfect, it's only the Pilot episode, it could get better along the way.
One parting sentence: Don't judge a book by its cover.
One parting sentence: Don't judge a book by its cover.
Didn't watch it, but this recap is pretty much in line with the other reviews/recaps I've read. I certainly won't pass personal judgement on the show sight unseen, but when most people seem to be agreeing that it either kinda sucks or really sucks it's hard to ignore.
Eh...Neither the recap or the show really interests me that much. It's gotten to be were if you have seen one superhero you have seen them all these days (still gonna go see the Green Hornet and see if they did Bruce Lee's character justice or not.)
That being said, what's up with the hate always directed towards this particular writer. It's almost like it's a popularity hate thing like everyone does with Activision. Or is it a sarcastic hate? Did I miss something while I was not haunting this forums for a few months?
That being said, what's up with the hate always directed towards this particular writer. It's almost like it's a popularity hate thing like everyone does with Activision. Or is it a sarcastic hate? Did I miss something while I was not haunting this forums for a few months?
If anything I'd say the recap doesn't go far enough in tearing this show apart. The main character is vanilla as hell, the family is hokey and adds nothing thus far, Orwell/Summer Glau is just shoehorned in with no explanation and adds nothing except being there for fanboys to drool over, and the main villain is just evil because, well, he is. Which is the laziest and least interesting type of villain one can hope to create. And the entire show is just so damn rushed it's comical, he learns all his superhero abilities/powers in a two minute montage. Really? Movies take longer than that to set up their origins and they only have two hours to work with, you have at least several episodes before this crap gets cancelled. The writers though seem intent on just making this a villain of the week schtick instead of anything with a plot.
I applaud the idea of making a show that isn't a cop/medical drama, but everything else about this show was bad.
I applaud the idea of making a show that isn't a cop/medical drama, but everything else about this show was bad.
I watched it (actually watching the rerun now on monday, nothng else is on at the moment), and thought it was pretty good. It's only the pilot episode, so chances are that everyone on the show is just getting the hang of their roles, and the writting hasn't hit it's stride yet. There is certainly quite a bit of room for improvement, the acting needs work (Keith David and Summer Glau being the exceptions, providing good performances, though Summer Glau seems to still be a bit unsure about her role), the writting can be incoherent and overly-cheesy at time, and the CGI needs work; but all in all, there's a heck of a lot of potential.
One more thing. Despite all of the shows flaws, I have to say that I've fallen in love with the show's soundtrack. The music is, quite frankly, awesome.
One more thing. Despite all of the shows flaws, I have to say that I've fallen in love with the show's soundtrack. The music is, quite frankly, awesome.
Maybe it's because I didn't know what to expect and had no expectations, but I actually thought it was quite good.
Of course the very first episode has "pacing problems" because they wanted to put the whole history of why and how he becomes the cape into one episode and I'm actually very thankful for that.
Seeing as we all know more or less that he is going to turn into 'The Cape' and become a super hero, we don't need or want that part to drag on over multiple episodes. Ergo I don't agree on the issues raised with the pacing at all and am very happy it was kept so short.
Of course the very first episode has "pacing problems" because they wanted to put the whole history of why and how he becomes the cape into one episode and I'm actually very thankful for that.
Seeing as we all know more or less that he is going to turn into 'The Cape' and become a super hero, we don't need or want that part to drag on over multiple episodes. Ergo I don't agree on the issues raised with the pacing at all and am very happy it was kept so short.
The thing with the Cape is, I think many of its "flaws" are intentional. It's not a comedy, but it also isn't one of the overly serious / pretentious dramas that have dominated scripted TV. It's a throwback to the days of the A Team, Magnum PI, or Macgyver where you didn't need long serialized plots, brooding emo characters, or conspiracies about conspicacies within more conspiracies. Just a simple good guy fights bad guys and has fun doing it story. Maybe it's no firefly, but then again Firefly got the axe because no one watched it because they couldn't get over flaws in the first few episodes, so maybe we should learn something here about letting a show grow into itself before we jump ship.
Besides, do we want The Event back in that timeslot?
Besides, do we want The Event back in that timeslot?
I caught it tonight, and, missing the first couple of minutes, thought this was part 2 of a two-parter (since it referenced things like the police chief dying, and both the whole Orwell thing and the corrupt cops implied a previous introduction).
Apparently it wasn't. That's how bad this script is. (Also: seriously, my TV's over-the-air clock said 8 on the dot. I don't know how much I missed, but it couldn't have been more than 2 or 3 minutes.)
Seriously, two hours minus commercials is feature-length film territory. This story actually has a lot of detail and all the elements of a compelling (or at least entertaining) narrative, too. To bad it has barely any exposition (except when it has too much of it), and the writing is just plain bad. The pacing also gave me whiplash. This could have been good if they took the first half and extended it over the two hours and polished it up a bit.
Also, here's an example of the bad writing: the guy rings up his family and, saying nothing, hangs up. The circus guy then goes on to explain why he shouldn't talk with his family. This is confusing and backwards; they should have presented the dilemma before the conclusion, and failing to do so is what requires the explanation - which doesn't even make sense in-character since the character already drew said conclusion. Not to mention the whole scene takes place in mere seconds. (Edit: This is also an example of the no exposition/too much exposition problem the show has.)
Apparently it wasn't. That's how bad this script is. (Also: seriously, my TV's over-the-air clock said 8 on the dot. I don't know how much I missed, but it couldn't have been more than 2 or 3 minutes.)
Seriously, two hours minus commercials is feature-length film territory. This story actually has a lot of detail and all the elements of a compelling (or at least entertaining) narrative, too. To bad it has barely any exposition (except when it has too much of it), and the writing is just plain bad. The pacing also gave me whiplash. This could have been good if they took the first half and extended it over the two hours and polished it up a bit.
Also, here's an example of the bad writing: the guy rings up his family and, saying nothing, hangs up. The circus guy then goes on to explain why he shouldn't talk with his family. This is confusing and backwards; they should have presented the dilemma before the conclusion, and failing to do so is what requires the explanation - which doesn't even make sense in-character since the character already drew said conclusion. Not to mention the whole scene takes place in mere seconds. (Edit: This is also an example of the no exposition/too much exposition problem the show has.)