ReCape: Watching The Cape Pages PREV 1 2 3 4 NEXT | |
Not all people, obviously. I personally think Elizabeth was too kind to it by half. | |
I can't tell if I'm supposed to take this review seriously or not. If not, you had me going for a while, but my sister, my Dad, and even my Mom like it. If you did mean it seriously, well that's just your opinion. The fact that you know the term Rouges Galery means that you're familiar with comics to a fair degree and if this show doesn't apeal to you I don't really get why not. Also, you forgot to mention Chess's left eye is a knight and his right eye is a rook, and you also forgot to mention that Cain is the Tower, symbol of sudden disaster, the poisoner of the Tarot. I personaly enjoy the show and plan to watch it for a long time to come. If you chose not to, well enjoy The Sound of Music or whatever it is that gets you interested. | |
She could of went into more detail ripping some of the parts apart but hey its a TV show that seems like it was called off of a kids network for being too dark. If this was Japan it would still be a kids show. (go look up Kamen Rider 555 apparently the most disturbing rider death and grimdark of all the Kamen Rider series) | |
woah shamus young caught in a flame war, glad i stumbled on this review. next thing you know ill find yahtzee reply to his review comments i am currently kicking myself for not noticing the garage door,thank you for pointing that out for me. | |
The show's two main problems: 1. Its pace is ridiculous. It's even more ridiculous than it sounds in this review. What if Batman Begins had a five minute montage about him learning the skills necessary to be Batman? It would be terrible. The Cape basically just shrugged off one of the best parts of superhero fiction. There's a scene of Faraday being taught how to hypnotize people by a supporting character. In the next scene between them, Faraday hypnotizes the supporting character no problem. There was no middle ground. "Look, now he has a cool hypnotizing skill. Next clip!" 2. It takes itself way too seriously. It gives off campy vibes, sure, but it doesn't play to any of them. You have a carnival of bank robbers (or whatever they called themselves) and we as the audience know how dumb that is, but the show doesn't seem to. It just isn't directed in a way that accommodates or acknowledges its silly aspects, and even if it were, I doubt there'd be time to make them click with the viewer. Anyway, Elizabeth is pretty much right on the money. But Shamus, grow up; you aren't acting any more mature than the people you're trying to mock. | |
I see a lot of angry people in this thread, and I can't see any other explanation than reflexive fanboy-ing. Look, I loved, LOVED Lord of the Rings online. But I personally took it out to the shed and gave it a savage whipping, in a 20,000+ word epic that ran for half a year. I picked apart every little flaw of the game. And I laughed as I did so. Other people laughed. Some liked the game, some didn't. Good times. It's good to be able to see the shortcomings of the entertainment we consume, even if we enjoy it. The complaints that "this is a bad / dumb / biased / unfair article because I liked the show" are missing the point. Harry Potter and Star Wars are classics that have shaped our culture, and people still hammer on their excesses. It's good. It's healthy. It's even fun, right up until a fanboy screams "HOW DARE YOU!?!" Maybe this show will run for a decade. Maybe it will be canceled before the end of February. Either way, it's just as valid a target for ridicule as Trek, or Watchmen or LOST or any other shows out there. | |
Caught it tonight, and it really is terrible. It was trying way too hard to be hip (the sidekick 'blogger' and all the
Firefly, Lost, That '70's Show, Twin Peaks, Arrested Development, the original V (though to be fair, that was a mini-series, not a pilot), Batman: The Animated Series, Animaniacs, Spaced, Futurama, Invader Zim, the aforementioned The Shield (though it has a couple of rough patches), and I think I'll stop there. Those, off the top of my head, were shows whose pilots were not shit, especially compared to the rest of the series, and I left off shows where maybe the pilot wasn't exactly television euphoria, but it at least offered some new angle that would make further watching rewarding somehow (like most of Whedon's shows, True Blood, The Walking Dead, Taxi, Veronica Mars, and The Simpsons). Speaking of which:
That's not how it works in the real world, I'm afraid. If a show has nothing to offer that is interesting on its own merits, then no one is obligated to "give it time." I'm pretty sure fans of Gossip Girl-type shows wouldn't go around screaming about how it's a "fucking pilot," then order you to "give it time" if you pointed out a new show like that was shit. | |
I know I'm avoiding future episodes. | |
Yes there were CG problems, especially in the pilot but they seemed to improve on that by the second episode (namely in the CG involving the cape itself.) Cheesy dialogue was there, it's in the comics too so that's actually faithful to the "parent" material. First episode was rushed, second had some timing issues, but overall better than a lot of other shows. I give it a high C, low B at the start and it'll be interesting how it turns out by the end of the 8 episode season. | |
The 6 page recap was lengthy for an escapist article, then again this was a 2 hours series premiere, so I'd say it's warranted. I think that in and of itself is the first problem with this show. They tried to put way too much into a single episode, even if it was 2 hours. I mean come on writers you have an entire series to characterize and shit. Pace yourselves better! I think this show suffers from the same delusions of grandure our main character does. (The only way you can save a corrupt city is by being batman). This show is trying to characterize too many damn characters all at once. It also seems schizophrenic. At times it wants to be a comic book and at other times it wants to be sand-in-your-shorts-at-the-beach gritty. It needs to pick a direction and stick with it. So far this whole thing seems like a mishandled mess. Thank you NBC for further proving to me that by not watching you I haven't missed anything. To the fan-boys, this recap is exactly what it's supposed to be a critique. It points out problems and criticizes the weaknesses of the material being reviewed. So calm down, she didn't say "don't watch it!" And if there's one thing that never agrees it's oil and water, the other is critics and the public. I mean didn't Star Wars: A New Hope meet some pretty scathing reviews way back when? Didn't critics praise Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and yet it was a flop? Also side note: Did his having a family thing seemed kind of forced. I mean he has a wife, and he has a super hot female sidekick? Is that just like trying to be future temptation. further side note: Holy shit that was Summer Glau wasn't it?! I'm not sure her being a "blogger" makes a lot of sense. It seems like a poorly set up cultural reference. | |
loved the show, hated the recap. it was basically trolling. | |
Stupid? Maybe, but maybe we should applaud them for the ballsy move. Maybe they're going to try and NOT repeat the same shitty-ass tripe that resulted in LOST and BSG. Nothing but daytime soaps in the evening. Garbage. Any show that requires you to watch every episode in order to understand any episode is a show that I will not watch and will celebrate when it ends. Reason? That sort of show is designed to allow for shitty writing. That's the whole point. Each episode need not stand up on its own legs. You can have a 5 year old write it and all you need to do is either set up, tease, or reveal some Point Of Interest that actually may not be interesting in the least, hi LOST how are you doing I see you understand that well. Intersperse with a bunch of interpersonal drama that is so far removed from reality that the only people who could write such drivel are in fact themselves 13 year old girls, for only they could understand talking and bitching about trivial details endlessly without ever considering directly solving your problems or dealing with them quietly and must instead endlessly drone on to anybody who will listen. Garbage. Television is full of unentertaining uninteresting unoriginal garbage. Stargate SG:1 was pretty good, because it nearly lacked any continuity between episodes. Look at Star Trek also for a great example. You watched it because it was entertaining -- not because you wanted to know what fucking happened! SG:U was garbage because it copied BSG's model, which itself was just the cliff's notes version of a daytime soap with the setting changed to IN SPACE!
You're totally wrong, the screams of "HOW DARE YOU!?!" are but a sign that you're on the right path. Though I guess that's a slightly different kind of fun. Sacred cows are made of meat and should be eaten. | |
I agree. Let's make this happen. Shamus has our back everybody. Lets all picket till this gets changed. | |
Compared to all other superhero TV series prior to The Cape, this show rocks. And honestly I disagree with most of your bashing of the show. | |
I just caught it earlier. Either The Cape is a massive joke by the creatives at NBC or it's an elaborate ploy to bring in viewers who's comic book IQ is slimmer than an issue of final crisis. And another thing, what the hell is with the big rush for Rich people to live inside of garages? I mean, Tron: Legacy was one thing, but this? I mean, she drives a Porsche then a Benz, but She lives in a Firehouse turned Modern-art house. | |
What you should be kicking yourself for is not noticing that before entering the garage, she drove through a large gate, the door of which she lowered, and they are in a walled area. What Elizabeth ignored in her hasty attempt to up her snark count is that Orwell is obviously extremely rich, and they are most likely in some sort of private mansion-type structure.
And that's exactly what I'm talking about, you loved something so much that you were willing to take the time and effort to craft a satire that played it's flaws up for humor. Educational and entertaining. This article is dashed off, a thoughtless act of malice for something she didn't care about in the first place.
Hey, just wanted to point out that you accidentally quoted me. So, if you want that guy to see your post, you might want to fix that. | |
Since i just readed whole thing and thought if she gives such good bashing it's shame that i dont have chance to see whats whole thing about... brb oook | |
I have to question your credentials that allow you to make sweeping judgments like "Poor pacing," and "bad camera work."* I noticed very little of what you play up to be massive faults. Maybe what was skipping around every few seconds was your attention**. -You don't know that L-9 is a rapidly expanding explosive (despite it being mentioned 2 or 3 times) Why would I go through all this trouble? Why is it important I show just how little you care? I don't want someone to read your poorly conceived and written article and think they got a real review. The Cape, as something new, deserves an honest examination, and I recommend people watch it for themselves. Some will hate it, some will love it, and some (like me) will think, Hey, this could be interesting. If you don't like it, good for you, but your article has little to no real humor value, and without humor you simply have a nasty opinion, and as any Escapee will tell you, it's just that, your opinion. Unless you can present it in a truly entertaining way, or have a thought deeper than, "It's bad," or "It's good," keep it to yourself. *Not saying you have to be an expert to have an opinion, but if you're going to use technical terms, you better have the knowledge to back it up. Otherwise, stick to, "It was hard to follow." **Oh, look at me, I can snark too. Can I be a featured writer, Escapist staff? 0_0 Pretty please? I'll even get a goofy avatar and everything! | |
Umm, yeah, you call people who freak out about those things FANBOYS because those properties have a FANDOM. I seriously doubt that The Cape has anything that could be considered a community at this point. People in this thread aren't complaining about the criticism because they have serious time or energy invested in this series or because they think it's a deep and affecting work. What is fanboy supposed to mean here? Is anyone who says that something is being unfairly criticized a fanboy? | |
Um, I think the article was a bit harsh and really hasn't given the show a chance yet. I mean how about writing an article about "No Ordinary Family"...thats been around awhile and is total drivel. Where are us comic/superhero fans supposed to turn now? No more Hero's, Smallville is ending (Even if many people don't seem to like the show I certainly loved it) and the other super hero show released this year is some kind of Joan of Arcadia meets Family Ties mix up (With a bit of Fantastic Four mixed in just to draw people in). The Cape certainly has room for improving. I enjoyed "The Walking Dead"'s pilot far more for instance.....but I enjoyed The Cape's pilot far more then "No Ordinary Family"....and I still watch that crappy show. Why? Because I'm desperate for a good super hero show and will be even more starved for one next year once Smallville goes poof. So yeah, the pilot wasn't great. It didn't leave me on the edge of my seat for the next episode but I have more motivation to watch it then other shows on tv. Even Chuck is leaving me a bit cold this season (was one of my favorite shows before this one). I don't want to jump on the bandwagon of saying the article blew, but I think it might have been a bit premature to tear the show apart so much and such an article might cause quite a few people to avoid watching the pilot or giving the show a chance at all. You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but please.....give superhero/comic shows a chance? I'm willing to watch even the worst ones due to not having much choice......If I can sit through week after week of shows like NOF.......The Cape is a giant step up. I'd rather it not get canceled due to having such a small viewing audience....at least not till a few more super hero tv shows are made to replace it. | |
The phrase "poor man's Rob liefeld comic" is a beautiful gem of description in and of itself. | |
Well, they've done it... They have accidentally done one of the most hilarious type of shows out there - sub-conscious parody! | |
You guys feel starved of superhero TV shows? Misfits - British superhero TV show in the vein of Skins + Heroes, except good.
Thank me later. | |
That was a good read, Liz. "What the shit were these people thinking?" And Summer Glau? Why? D: | |
Or, there's that "superhero" on it who's invincible. I don't like Misfits. They're all unlikeable as well. | |
SOMEONE IS GOING TO NEED SOME ICE FOR THIS BURN AND IT IS NOT I OR HG131. (..It's Elizabeth.) Seriously, it has Summer Glau in it. IT'S INSTANTLY AWESOME. Are you just jealous you aren't her? With your recent outbursts about awards shows and all, anyone would think you're just being petty about it.. EDIT: Then again, it's NBC. Nothing they do is right OR good. Except for maybe Community. Jimmy Fallon has brilliant moments on Late Night, but he will NEVER be Conan O'Brien. Besides, Fallon RUINS any brilliant moments with shitty segments soon after. | |
I read the pilot part of this yesterday before watching it on DVR last night. some of the comments were quite spot on. It's unreralistic, it jumps too frequently between shots and scenes and a lot of mystery was stripped away early on. That said I loved the cheesy camp it had going on and look forward to the second hour later this week. this is definately something I will give some time too until all other TV ceases to be relevant when Game of Thrones Premieres on April 17th on HBO. Please, Please watch this show if you can. It will be epic. and if Miss Grunenwald does a deconstruction of that after the pilot then there may well be some fanboy crying/anger from this corner! | |
Maybe I'm just a huge chess nerd, but when the writer said calling Dana his queen was a better metaphor than calling his family the king, she basically said the guy's family being important to him is less plausible than his wife being faster and more powerful than he is. Learn the definition of "metaphor". | |
At least HG didn't get billing in an online magazine. | |
There were definitely some low points (Dialogue, Plot holes, lack of explanation for a few things) but, all-in-all, I enjoyed it. I don't expect a Superhero show of this caliber to take itself too seriously (Like Heroes tried to do) and I'm glad they are using an original property instead of something already done or a remake. High Points: Low Points: I look forward to seeing where they take the show. | |
Speaking of which, I think this recap series is as good as any to prove your point. I won't be reading any more. | |
I see what was trying to happen here, but it seemed a lot like you set out to dislike the show, then wrote 6 entire pages about how godawful it was, trying to bait people who actually liked it into being annoyed. Humor is funny, trolling is not. Then Shamus trolling the people you trolled also is not. It's a mildly entertaining show, it's nice to see stuff like this popping up, at least they're trying it. It's pretty campy and cheesy, but that seems to be what they're going for. It's hard to de-construct something when you're just pointing out what they did and not de-constructing it at all. "Ha ha, this happened and is exactly what they were going for, I pointed it out and that's funny!" He fought a midget in one scene and you think it's supposed to be taken seriously when he's trained by a group of carnies? Maybe I'm wrong and it is supposed to be a super serious drama, but I didn't take it that way. Maybe you just went into it with the wrong expectations. I dunno. | |
trolling aside the recap is bad... | |
.....Shows like this are the reason I don't watch television... Screw the cape! I got Megaman X and Zero!! Cause real heros don't wear capes!
| |
| Pages PREV 1 2 3 4 NEXT | |
counter counter point: The pilot was enough to keep people interested I am interested to see what they do with the group Tarot. Seeing as how they took out the Tower in the 2nd ep of the series. (It was 2 episodes for the premiere.)
If it starts to suck I will stop watching it. I kept watching Heroes until around halfway through season 2 because it sucked so hard by then.