The Cape

While critics like me count quibbles, kids of all ages should share my husband's assessment: "It's a superhero show. Superman flies. Give The Cape a little space."

It's probably doomed to cult status, but The Cape is primal fun.

Whether you like it or not depends on your ability to leap with the show. We won't lie, though. While the pilot is well-executed, once we get into hour two of NBC's planned two hour premiere, we got the feeling that this may be too much of a good thing in one sitting.

Every time he flaps into view in his baggy hoodedness, he looks like Batman in need of a tailor. [17 Jan 2011, p.40]

It's lighter than "Heroes," but also less coherent. Still, fans of Summer Glau (you know who you are) probably won't be able to resist.

The source of the show's downfall is more basic: It rushes through everything, pulverizing potentially engaging characters and story until the whole production starts to feel like a long trailer for itself.

The Cape falls into a wasteland of its own making, where neither the stakes nor the jokes can distract one from the thinness of its writing.