The Cape: The Complete Series

Yet another network TV attempt to bring the new superhero zeitgeist to the small screen, The Cape is a rather blatant reworking of Batman, set in a near-future metropolis—plagued by out-of-control crime—where a ruthless corporation is attempting to privatize all of the city services. David Lyons stars as Vince Faraday—an everyman cop framed for murder and presumed dead—who resurrects himself as a costumed hero with a magnificent cape and an identity borrowed from a comic book character. The show's inspirations are varied—The Dark Knight, a central villain modeled after the Green Goblin from Spider-Man, the corporate politics of Robocop, just to name a few—and its guiding aesthetics are characterized by stylized urban settings, flamboyant plots, and colorfully gimmick-laden guest crooks. Summer Glau is oddly miscast as computer genius and cyber-rebel Orwell, but James Frain brings larger-than-life gusto to the role of Peter Fleming, the thoroughly corrupt and madly schizophrenic corporate overlord, while Keith David matches him for showmanship as Max Malini, a circus magician who becomes The Cape's mentor. Although passably entertaining, the series never found the true creative originality to power its pulp storytelling, and failed to land either a general audience or a cult following. Cancelled after just 10 episodes, this 2011 compilation brings one story arc to a close but leaves others unfinished. Optional. (S. Axmaker)