[Change_Now_2008]

Hello All:
Both my wife and I had high hopes for this new show. We hoped the show would take up the void Heroes left when it was suddenly snatched from the airwaves. Sadly, we were mistaken. The actor themselves hold no blame in our disappointment. Heroes, villains, and (for the most part) those in between did a good job in portraying their characters. The special effects were decent (except for that HORRIBLE blue screen fight between the Cape and Scales on top of the train last night). Where the show falls short:

Dragging out the storyline: Ok, we understand. He was framed, almost everyone believes he was this villainous, Chess, and almost everyone thinks he's dead. He also wants his family back. But, really the story would have been MUCH better if he was on the search to discover who framed him and he didn't know Chess' real identity. For the ENTIRE audience to know who Chess really is only frustrates us when watching his futile efforts to "out" him. Then when Chess and the Cape are face to face with the Cape's hood off, are we to seriously believe that Chess can look at that curly blonde hair & chin and not be able to tell who the Cape really is? Oh and EVERYONE knows that Orwell is Chess' daughter (that wasn't tough to figure out). Quite honestly the story would have been better if Chess attempted to kill Faraday and his family, he survived, they died, and he spent his time bent on revenge trying to discover the true identity of Chess and taking out bad guys on his way to the truth.

Flashbacks: We realize that the flashbacks are important in bringing out the story's ending moral, but they are truly getting tiresome. We record the show on our DVR and find ourselves fast-forwarding through them. The flashbacks would have been less tedious if his family were dead and the only way to see them again were in the flashbacks. Then, the flashbacks would have been motivators for vengeance and kept the storyline more compelling.

Character Morals: The Cape used to be a police officer, and apparently before that he was in the military. Apparently he previously wasn't opposed to killing bad guys if they had desires to kill and harm others. Now that he's a "symbol" he does want to take a life? I would have thought that the execs of NBC learned their lessons when they saw the success of "Southland" when it moved to TNT and loosened up on the "moral meter". Every "super" villain the Cape was come up against were cold-blooded killers, but he thought it best to tie them up, knock them out, and send them to jail; just so they can return later, kill a few more people....and repeat. According to last night's episode he carries a gun with him, but doesn't use it. For goodness sake, he knows that his best friend betrayed him and hasn't confronted him or warned his family that the guy can't be trusted!!!

One too many characters: Let me say first, I love Summer Glau! I think she's a good actress, and let's face it she's wonderful to look at on any screen big or small. However, making her Orwell (both daughter of the real Chess and his largest anonymous adversary) was a mistake in my opinion. Her character is a rich girl with "daddy issues" who is secretly fighting against everything her father stands for. It would have simply made more sense for Orwell to be David Keith's character rather than the ringleader of the "Carnival of Crime" (Which by itself is very corny). I'm sure there could have been another role for Glau to play (maybe to be one of the few people who believed the Cape to be innocent, or whatever). We can also tell the Faraday's wife and her boss will become closer, his son will begin to like his, and Faraday will begin to feel like he's being replaced (No, I don't have access to the scripts, but the storyline is becoming THAT predictable).

THE Cape: In the opening episode Max Malini said that there were 37 illusions utilizing a cape. We have only seen two: Disappearance and grappling.....THAT'S it. And as far as we've seen you don't even need a cape to disappear. Those 2 tricks get old rather quickly. Truth is it doesn't DO anything. It does not stop bullets. I does not make him invulnerable. The cape can't morph into anything. He doesn't even use it to fly or glide. As far as we can tell there's nothing truly special about it.

For us, there were just too many missed steps and storyline errors. Apparently, given the show's ratings, we're not the only ones who feel this way. It was a good effort, but we doubt if it is wise to pick up the show for a second season. Last night was the last episode we plan on watching and we have already deleted future scheduled recordings. I'm not sure if this will even be posted, but I wanted to let my opinions be known.

[CatGoverness]

I watched half of last night's program. Up to that time, I had watched all episodes. I just could not handle one more, entire, show. NBC needs to put this one out of our misery, sooner than later. What really makes this show completely ridiculous are the circus people. Terrible characters and actors to boot. Sorry NBC. Keep trying.

[soroso]

"Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" saved Heroes. Sometimes it just takes a catch phrase to get a show going.

Developing the characters has taken some time, as well as back plot like the "map" or "legend" Max pulled out last week which was a flash back. He said that there are no accidents. (Referring to Faraday being found alive.)

[BoozeMaster]

A second perspective from a fan:<div><br></div><div>I'm seeing a lot of people who do not seem to "get" this show. It's fair to ask "what's to get?" so I will enlighten you,</div><div><br></div><div>This is a comic book show. Not a superhero show, though it is that too, but a comic book show. The shots look like comic book panels, the characters are colorful, and in some cases over the top. It's structured like a traditional comic book story arc. Each time we get a title? That's a new issue. Each episode is an arc, and part of the greater storyline. Are there plot holes? Sure, it's a comic book. Usually they get ret-conned later, or what seems like a plot hole is actually hinting at something deeper that occurs later. It's a four color comic brought to life. If you're not a fan of the genre, that's fine, but it doesn't make the show bad.</div><div><br></div><div>In fact they've done some things very, very well. For example, they've managed to put grown men in superhero/supervillian and have them NOT look&nbsp;ridiculous. This is amazingly hard to do, and the creators and producers deserve mad props for pulling it off. The show is well shot, and executed, and they've managed to assemble a phenomenal cast of actors, that any geek or comic book fan would be thrilled to work with. Keith David in particular is always a joy to watch/hear work, either in voice or on screen. The only real misstep this show has made, in my opinion, is in being on NBC in the first place. Not the best network for this kind of show.</div><div><br></div><div>Here's hoping that we will get at least a few more seasons of The Cape and his fight against injustice in Palm City!&nbsp;</div>