When the two-hour pilot for an NBC superhero drama arrived, I cringed and put the advance DVD at the bottom of the pile of mid-season shows.

Can you blame me? Given NBC's frequently abysmal track record with drama pilots, given the residual 'Heroes' bitterness so many of us share, given that most networks have had a hard time executing the superhero concept well, it was difficult not to regard 'The Cape' with a great deal of wariness, if not outright fear.

Yet, wonder of wonders, the pilot for 'The Cape' (9 PM ET Sunday, NBC) turned out to be a nimble, engaging, fleet-footed bit of fun.

"Insane" might be too mean a word to describe the Owen-Ladino family on 'Wife Swap.' So how about "insanely upbeat," instead?

Shanti (whose real former name is Patti) and her fianacée Arjuna (whose real name is Harold), like to dress up as superheroes and walk around like that in full daylight in New York City, and, that's cool, and -- well, no. ... We were right in the first place. They're just a little crazy.

The pair are of a couple of self-described "relationship" experts, who wear spandex and use their superhero identities to teach students about how to deal with the opposite sex. We might feel better about this if their costumes were cooler. But they dress kind of like Wonder Woman. Both of them dress like Wonder Woman -- the guy and the girl.

Showtime got the most love today from the Producers Guild of America (PGA), as the guild announced nominations for television series (scripted and non-fiction). Showtime leads with four nominations ('Dexter,' 'Californication,' 'Weeds,' and the non-fiction 'This American Life.' AMC, Bravo, CBS, NBC and HBO each netted two nominations.

The nominated shows are listed below in alphabetical order by category:

Danny Thomas Producer of the Year Award in Episodic Television - Comedy
'30 Rock' (NBC)
'Californication' (Showtime)
'Entourage' (HBO)
'The Office' (NBC)
'Weeds' (Showtime)

Norman Felton Producer of the Year Award in Episodic Television - Drama
'Breaking Bad' (AMC)
'Dexter' (Showtime)
'Lost' (ABC)
'Mad Men' (AMC)
'True Blood' (HBO)

From gangsters and serial killers, it looks like cable television is preparing to tackle another adult subject: superheroes (or rather, homosexuality in the guise of superheroes). Showtime, along with Stan Lee's Pow! Entertainment, will be producing a series about a gay superhero. The series is based on the book "Hero" by Perry Moore.

Superhero secret identities have been used as analogies for closeted homosexuals before (the most obvious example I can think of is from the second X-Men movie in which Iceman's mom asks "have you considered not being a mutant?"). As a result, I think the concept holds some promise.

My biggest issue with this announcement is the involvement of Stan Lee. While I appreciate everything he's done for the comic industry and media entertainment, his ideas are kind of old-fashioned at this stage of the game. Still, if the show has the depth of other Showtime series such as Californication or Dexter, I'll be impressed.

This must be my week for nostalgia. First, I learned all about what the cast of Saved by the Bell has been up to for the last 20 years. Now, the news that The Electric Company is coming back to TV has pushed my nostalgia button once again.

As a kid, I was such a fan of The Electric Company that when my husband and three year old started singing the Spider-Man theme song, I thought they were wrong. I didn't understand where the lyrics, "Where are you coming from, Spider-Man? Nobody knows who you are," were in their version of the theme. I was set straight! I guess I can accept that Spider-Man theme situation, but to me, Morgan Freeman will always be Easy Reader.

(S06E17) You know you're in for a very special Smallville when it starts out with a WWF-style cage match, an extremely gratuitous shot of some very large boobs, and an all-out brawl between Clark and a Zoner who seems stronger than he is. It's like a Bizarro world version of the show starring everyone's favorite Kryptonian. Zowie.

Basically, it's Fight Club meets Smallville meets ... well, Superheroes Gone Wild. Toss in Lois chomping at the bit for a story, and you've got half the makings of a regular old episode of Lois & Clark, or is it just me? Although I don't remember Teri Hatcher donning red leather and claiming to be a wayward stripper from down the street who has a penchant for loving the ladies. Plus, did you catch the way Lois claimed she does a killer "Stars and Stripes" routine? Hello throwback to an old episode.

(S06E16) The wedding bells that have been ringing in the promos for this episode also sound like funeral bells ringing, is that a coincidence? We may never know. Anyhow, it's finally here, the Lex & Lana wedding that we've all been dreading/waiting for.

Did that scene of Lex and Lana watching the ultrasound creep anyone else out? It's scary to know what might come ripping out of that womb. I keep picturing that scene from Alien over and over in my head. I also hope that the photo Clark whipped out the window didn't end up decapitating someone in Malaysia. He really put some heat behind it.

Remember the old Spider-Man cartoon? Not the one from the 90s, the one from the 60s that was all groovy and had those confusing shots of Spidey shooting his web straight into the sky, and you wondered what the hell he was hanging on and swinging from. Airplanes? A blimp? Giant birds? It didn't make any sense, but the theme song was cool:

In his satin tights
Fighting for your rights
And the old red, white, and bluuuuuuuuuuuue!

Oh, wait, that was Wonder Woman.

If you've been waiting to see how the guy who made the transformation of a former cheerleader named Buffy into an action hero seem credible was going to bring a superhero with a lasso and invisible airplane to the big screen, you're out of luck.

In a post to Whedonesque, Joss Whedon says he's no longer associated with the Wonder Woman movie. Apparently Whedon didn't share the studio's vision for the big-screen adaptation. He says the studio could have ordered a series of rewrites until his ideas were completely lost. But rather than have that happen, he's been pulled off the project.

If you've ever wanted to be immortalized in comic book form or just enjoy the feel of spandex, than you're in luck. Nationwide auditions are currently being held for the second edition of Who Wants to be a Superhero? The surprise SciFi Channel hit pits eccentric, homemade superheroes against one another to see who catches comic industry legend Stan Lee's eye.

The application form for the show is intense. They need to know your backstory, your weaknesses, your powers, the "noble code" by which you live, your catchphrase, your weaponry, your motivation, your secret identity, etc. If you don't show up in costume, they want you to draw it. ("Feel free to label any props or weapons.") This "superhero" thing is serious business. I can't even decide if I'd rather have the gift of flight or invisibility.

You can check out the audition schedule after the jump. The show's website also gives you a way to audition if you can't make the casting caravan's ten-city tour. Good luck, heroes. We need you now more than ever.

The creative team behind Sci Fi's new female superhero, Painkiller Jane, took the stage at TCA, but spent most of the time fielding questions about what they thought about NBC's Heroes. Executive Producer Gil Grant and series star Kristanna Loken both claim to have not seen Heroes, and seemed to bristle a bit at the questioning. Honestly, the shows are fairly different, both in plot and scope, but they haven't even taken a peek at what could feasibly be called the competition?

Q&A: "Can Jane feel pain?" -- overheard from a critic behind me: "Yes, when she reads the reviews." Ouch.

The cover of the August 31, 1987 edition of the magazine, that is. Seems that Masi Oka was one of the smart kids pictured on the cover of that issue of Time, the one titled "Those Asian-American Whiz Kids." Oka is on the left, with the blue shirt and the backpack.

The story came to light on Monday night's episode of Late Night With Conan O'Brien. Oka was a guest on the show, and Conan surprised the Heroes star by showing him a copy of the magazine. The picture was taken by the parent of one of his friends.

As we told you a while back, Oka went on to work for George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic, and actually still works there part time (as far as I know). When he started there out of college, he actually had something in his contract about his movie career.

Anyone have a copy of this issue? Could be a cool collectible. Everyone rush over to ebay starting right....now.

[via TV Tattle]

(S01E03) Ya know, you'd think if Niki could leave her son Micah with a friend during the day, she could find someone to watch over him while she heads into the desert to bury bodies, rather than leave him in the backseat and claim she's just out stargazing. It's like this Las Vegas stripper-with-a-porn-site and an evil mirror-twin is a bad parent or something. Also, if Hiro's comic shows him back in Tokyo with his friend, how come he didn't know he was five weeks in the future in New York last episode? I have my doubts about Hiro ... why does he keep calling the comic-book artist Isaac, whom he knows is an American, and try to talk to him in Japanese -- then wonder why the guy hangs up?

Sadly, this episode struck me as disjointed and I'm more annoyed with nagging little questions like those above than anything else.

(S06E02) Second show and already here we go with the gimmicks. Clark gets a cold -- a super-powered cold, but nevertheless ...

I know a lot a viewers were disappointed when Zod's conquest of Earth was thwarted in only one episode. I rather, prefer Lex to be Lex, but it's tough to buy the world returning to normal so soon -- even though Kal-el is spending his nights surreptitiously cleaning up Metropolis after "Dark Thursday." It's too soon for me to get excited over a comic relief episode filled with Kryptonian super-sneezes. Clark's fourth-wall-breaking quip to Chloe about putting the world in jeopardy "on an annual basis," was kind of cute though.

In unintentional humor: Lex is kidnapped by a black-ops duo using massively corny walkie-talkie code: the bear is hibernating. Over.

Word is coming out that October 3 will see the release of a special 13 disc DVD set for The Greatest American Hero, the 80s superhero spoof that starred William Katt, Connie Sellecca, and Robert Culp. Besides all 43 episodes, the set will include a cape (!), instructions on how to use the suit (with lights), and an iron on.

13 discs for only 43 episodes? What kind of extras are going to be on the set?