Superhero, The Cape, Felled by NBC

According to this report, the NBC lineup started seeing changes physically last week when it chose not to air two hours of The Cape, which it has decided to cancel, which based off my initial thoughts of the show was not a surprise.

I am a bit conflicted though as I was starting to take a bit of interest in the series, albeit solely for the quality of the villains, who were creatively designed and nicely executed on screen. The biggest mistake this show and network made right from the beginning was in the overly generic name of the character/series, The Cape. I know he had a fancy cape, but Batman had a fancy belt full of gadgets too and he was not named after that.

Granted, there are still a few episodes I have not yet caught up on via Hulu, but I am planning to watch them and absolutely applaud NBC for allowing the show, which they cut the episode order down of initially before outright cancelling, to have a series finale.

NCIS - Truth or Consequences

I have never been a fan of mid-series flashback and/or series update episodes where they catch you up on who all of the characters are and why they are the way they are. Usually, they come in the season premier as a tool forced upon the producers by the networks as they try to re-claim viewers that have faded off or acquire new fans. The problem with it is that they never really work and come across very awkwardly, particularly to loyal viewers, who experience them as an annoyance.

One of the few exceptions to this, however, is the NCIS episode Truth or Consequences - the opening show of season seven (rebroadcast aired early this evening on USA). There is a little awkwardness as they attempt to showcase who all of the characters are, but the fact that it is coming from an interrogation makes it more natural as part of the story.

Beautiful Play in The Sunset Limited

If you proposed to me that I should watch a two-man, one location play essentially filmed as-is for a movie, I would say… “I don’t think so.” But Roger Ebert’s tweet about looking forward to an HBO movie snared my interest, leading me to the video trailer (below) for The Sunset Limited, which stars Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones, who also directed the film. I had nothing to do and since there was not a whole lot on the tube for the night, I gave it a go.

It was a decision I would not regret.

Tube Review 2.10.11

It was a night of surprises, which was thematic of the day considering Hosni Mubarak’s speech today after everyone thought he was stepping down. There was a great comedic twist on The Big Bang Theory and an unexpected performance from a guest star on Royal Pains.

Slow Down for Traffic Light

Fox debuted its version of a new ‘couples’ show this week called Traffic Light. There are a couple familiar faces and it has some promise, but overall it just seems… empty.

As with all the other shows of this type, it features three couples in different stages of their relationships with all three of the men being part of a longtime foursome of friends with the other one having recently passed. The central couple – the married one – is comprised of Mike (David Denman of The Office) and Lisa (Liza Lapira). The pair actually work well together and have some appeal, which is kind of surprising as Lapira really never had much depth in her buttoned-up role as Agent Lee on NCIS. She actually displays a surprising fun, comedic side in this show.