In the US: Sunday 9 January 2011, 9pm ET, NBC. Moving to Mondays from the 17th
Ah, my. What is up with NBC? They have the (initially) worldwide phenomenon that was Heroes then go and cancel it, just after an okay season set in a funfair. What do they put in its place? A superhero show called The Cape that’s largely set in a funfair. I’m not saying they’re a bit dim at NBC, but they are.
Of course, that would all be excusable if The Cape was better than Heroes. Yet “cop framed for a crime he didn’t commit, goes into hiding and becomes a superhero but can never reveal to his family that he isn’t dead and is actually fighting dark, sinister villains who like to wear silly outfits as well”? I think I might have heard that one before and it wasn’t good the first time. No wonder NBC is fighting so hard to get it noticed after such a dreadful start to its Fall season.
Nevertheless, despite being desperately unoriginal, ‘homaging’ more c-grade comics than you’d find in a recycling bin, having a lower budget than Heroes that makes every CGI effect look like it’s escaped from 1997 and having the world’s least charismatic hero, it does have just a little bit going for it: it’s actually very slightly fun and it does have Summer Glau, Vinnie Jones and Keith David in it.
NBC is trying its very hardest to get us to watch The Cape, which starts on Sunday at 9pm ET before moving to Mondays on the 17th. It’s about an ordinary guy (Vince Faraday, played by David Lyons) who decides to become a superhero and despite the presence of Summer Glau and Vinnie Jones in the cast, everything about it that I’ve seen suggests “complete cobblers” and makes me wonder why they cancelled Heroes.
Look – see for yourself.
Looks rubbish, huh?
All the same, NBC is pulling out all the stops in an effort to get this probable turkey to fly. This week, it’s been fitting capes to statues in New York. Beneath each statue is a plaque that details the historical figure’s greatest achievement and similarities to Faraday. Visitors to the statues will also be able to enter the “Hero Behind the Cape” giveaway via FourSquare and Twitter. By checking in at the location of a statue, tweeting a picture of yourself with the statue with the hashtag #herobehindthecapeswps or by direct messaging the official Twitter account, you can enter yourself into a competition.
One winner will be chosen each day between January 5-9 and receive an Apple iPad. The grand prize winner will receive the full “Hero” treatment in New York City: a luxurious dinner for two, limo service, two tickets to the taping of an NBC audience show and an Apple iPad.
Sounds good, but you’re still not going to watch it, are you?
In the US: Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC In the UK: Yet to be acquired
Brace yourself: this is the first of not one but two superhero shows on network US TV coming this Fall, with NBC’s The Cape due some time soon (presumably as soon as NBC cancels another show, since there’s no actual airdate yet).
But of the two, this is the most family-friendly. Family, incidentally, is the operative word here. Since ABC scored big last year with Modern Family, it must have seemed natural enough to go for family with the drama as well. Here we have an “ordinary family” – which apparently means “family doing regular stuff but with deep seated emotional issues and resentments, but nothing too dramatic” – whose plane crash-lands in the Amazon. Exposed to some weird green stuff in the river, when they return to the US, they soon discover they have super-powers, which in traditional Heroes style are exactly what they need emotionally: super-strength for the father who wants to fight crime, super-speed for the mother who has too little time, super-brains for the learning disabled son and the ability to read minds for the girl who can’t fit in.
It’s not as adult as Heroes, it’s not as kid-oriented as Kyle XY, it’s not as good as The Incredibles and it’s not as “ordinary” as Misfits – but it’s got Julie Benz (Buffy, Angel, Dexter) and Michael Chiklis (The Shield, Fantastic Four), it does have some really cool special effects and the stories are something the whole family can enjoy. Basically, it’s Merlin for Americans – but better, obviously
