The Cape represents NBC's first attempt at a superhero serial since ... well, since Heroes was cancelled just one year ago.
But even with the almost epic crash and burn of the Heroes franchise in its final seasons, it's kind of understandable why NBC would give the genre another go. Comic book fans have proven that they'll watch or read something long after it's proven itself to be terrible. I'm sure NBC execs were running their hands together maniacally thinking about a consistent high-earning audience tuning into season 11 of The Cape: The Cape ... IN SPACE! That's not to even mention the obvious merchandising opportunities that come along with creating a superhero from scratch.
Unfortunately for NBC and nerds everywhere, The Cape is terrible - bordering on unwatchable.
The Cape tells the story of Vince Faraday, the only decent cop in a crooked town of Palm City. After the death of Palm City's police chief at the hands of a masked villain named Chess
the city of Palm City decides to privatize its entire police department by turning it over to Ark Industries. Apparently, Palm City is a much more fragile version of Miami than appears on Dexter where the city has seen the deaths of hundreds at the hands of serial killers but still doesn't see the need to privatize the police force. But I digress ...
Chess, who coincidentally has the exact same British accent of Ark Industries Chairman Peter Flemming (James Frain), kidnaps Faraday, frames him as Chess and after a series of unfortunate events is presumed dead. Of course, this being a show called The Cape Vince Faraday eventually rises from the ashes thanks to some carnies and becomes a superhero called the Cape - which he based off of a comic book he used to read to his son at night. Apparently, one of the powers that comes along with being the Cape is being immune to copyright infringement, because I can't imagine DC Comics tolerating someone dressed up as Batman fighting crime on the city streets.
It's forgivable to be cheesy as a superhero show, but it's inexcusable to be lazy and to be rushed. The writers of The Cape cram the origin story of the Cape all into one 43-minute block - and it's a relatively long origin story. Christopher Nolan took 150 minutes in Batman Begins to tell the story of a rich playboy becoming a vigilante, and The Cape pilot tells a similar story in a third of the running time.
The show is a complete misfire, and the only moments of levity are when you realize that Vince Faraday looks exactly like Dennis from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I never thought I'd say this, but I'd rather just have Heroes back.
- Alec Bojalad is a junior studying journalism. If you, too, want Heroes back, e-mail him at ab239807@ohiou.edu.
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Alec Bojalad
