Create Your Own Super Villain

As TV critics gather at their convention in Pasadena, NBC is prepping for its big presentation day next week with a few well-timed press releases, geared to get us geeks and our creative juices all revved up.

With its newest big hope for a hit, The Cape, about to debut this Sunday at 9PM Eastern/Pacific, the network here announces a new contest, to create one of the show's villains. Check it out in the press release below -- or, fanboys, I'm sure you'd rather watch the below video, where Cape co-star and ex-Terminator Summer Glau explains it all for you.

‘SUBMIT YOUR VILLAIN’ CONTEST GIVES ONE LUCKY FAN THE CHANCE TO SEE THEIR CREATION DEPICTED ON NBC’S NEW DRAMA ‘THE CAPE’

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – January 6, 2011 – Starting January 6, fans of the new NBC drama “The Cape” (two-hour premiere Sunday, January 9, 9-11 p.m. ET; regular schedule Mondays 9-10 p.m. ET) can visit http://www.nbc.com/the-cape/ to submit original villain concepts that will give one lucky fan the chance to see their creation during an upcoming episode.

Tom Wheeler, the show’s creator and executive producer, said: “The world of ‘The Cape’ is a pulp-comic universe where no superpowers exist. While the physical cape itself has special abilities, it's loosely based on existing science. So while, your villain can't be a mutant, werewolf or galactic conqueror, you can create a cool enough reality-based source for a villain's special ability. So crack open that can of imagination and serve up Palm City's newest hell-raiser.”

To enter the contest, viewers need to submit the name of their villain, a brief description and a sketch. As indicated on the website, the judges -- a panel that includes Wheeler and producers from “The Cape” -- are looking for “Original and colorful villains that wield unique abilities, quirks and obsessions. This is your chance, be creative!”

The submission window closes on January 28.

"The Cape" is about a man who lost everything and is about to take it all back.

David Lyons ("ER") stars as Vince Faraday, a cop framed for crimes he did not commit, forcing him to team up with a group of carnival misfits to take a new identity, fight crime and win his family back. Fueled by a desire to reunite with his wife, Dana (Jennifer Ferrin, "Life on Mars") and son, Trip (Ryan Wynott, "Flash Forward"), Faraday becomes "The Cape" – his son’s favorite comic book superhero – taking the law into his own hands and battling the criminal forces that have overtaken Palm City.

The Cape" is a Universal Media Studios and BermanBraun production from executive producer/creator Tom Wheeler ("Empire"), along with executive producers Berman and Braun, John Wirth ("Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles"), and Gene Stein ("Accidentally On Purpose").

BREAKING NEWS: NBC announces mid-season schedule

In Breaking News, NBC just announced today its midseason schedule, beginning in January 2011. For those many callers who've asked me on Sirius OutQ's The Frank DeCaro Show whether Parks & Recreation would be returning, take note of the revised Thursday schedule below.

Thursday's moves represent a risky strategy for NBC; scheduling six back-to-back comedies to fill up prime time is a move no network has attempted (outside of Fox's animation domination on Sundays) since the early '90s. My prediction is that some of the shows, like Outsourced at 10:30, won't have enough ratings power to survive.

But I like that this schedule shows that NBC knows they need to make some moves to recover from a disastrous recent history -- and here, they're making quite a few of them. Who knows -- people wondered whether ABC would be able to launch 4 new comedies back-to-back on Wednesdays in the fall of 2009, and they ended up with 3 of the shows surviving, and a major hit in Modern Family. So, NBC, I guess time will tell... Here's the announcement and schedule:

11/15/2010 03:15 NBC ANNOUNCES NEW MID-SEASON SCHEDULE

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – November 15, 2010 – NBC today made several mid-season schedule announcements, including the premiere dates for four new series – the dramas “The Cape” and “Harry’s Law,” the comedy “Perfect Couples” and the alternative series “America’s Next Great Restaurant.” The lineup also includes series time period changes for “Law & Order: Los Angeles,” “Chase,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Parenthood.”

Additionally, returning series “Parks and Recreation,” “The Biggest Loser: Couples,” “Who Do You Think You Are?,” “Minute to Win It,” “The Marriage Ref” and “The Celebrity Apprentice” resume on the schedule while other moves maximize the amount of original, non-repeat programming on the network.

Following are night-by-night details:

Mondays
The new action-filled drama “The Cape” will premiere with a two-hour episode on Sunday, January 9 (9-11 p.m. ET). An encore broadcast of the two-hour episode airs Monday, January 10 (9-11 p.m. ET) with new episodes starting in its regular time period on January 17 (9-10 p.m. ET). The highly buzzed-about drama “The Event” returns with a two-hour edition on Monday, February 28 (9-11 p.m. ET) and begins airing in its regular 9-10 p.m. (ET) time slot on March 7. The new drama “Harry’s Law” debuts at 10-11 p.m. (ET) starting on January 17. “Parenthood” will return on January 4 with new episodes in its current time period (Tuesdays, 10-11 p.m. ET) and will move to Mondays on March 7 at 10-11 p.m. (ET) with original episodes to complete its second season. “Chuck” continues at 8-9 p.m. (ET) on January 17.

Tuesdays
The new season of “The Biggest Loser: Couples” premieres on Tuesday, January 4 at 8-10 p.m. (ET). “Law & Order: Los Angeles” will move to Tuesdays at 10-11 p.m. (ET) on February 8.

Wednesdays
Beginning January 5, “Minute to Win It” returns at 8-9 p.m. (ET). The freshman drama “Chase” relocates to a new night and time at 9-10 p.m. (ET) beginning January 12. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” moves to a new time beginning with a two-hour episode from 9-11 p.m. (ET) on January 5 before resuming in its regular time of 10-11 p.m. (ET) the next week. The new alternative series “America’s Next Great Restaurant” premieres from 9-10 p.m. (ET) on March 16.

Thursdays
The new Thursday-night lineup features wall-to-wall comedy beginning January 20 with “Community” at 8-8:30 p.m. (ET) followed at the new comedy “Perfect Couples” at 8:30-9 p.m. (ET). “The Office” continues at 9-9:30 p.m. (ET) and “Parks and Recreation” returns from 9:30-10 p.m. (ET). NBC opens a new hour of humor with “30 Rock” moving to 10-10:30 p.m. (ET) and the freshman series “Outsourced” concludes the night at 10:30-11 p.m. (ET).

Fridays
The alternative genealogy series “Who Do You Think You Are?” returns on January 21 (8-9 p.m. ET). “Dateline NBC” will return on January 7 (9-11 p.m. ET).

Sundays
“The Marriage Ref” returns for its second season on March 6 (8-9 p.m. ET) followed by the return of “The Celebrity Apprentice” (9-11 p.m. ET), also on March 6.

For more detailed information and photography on these and other NBC series, please log on to www.nbcumv.com.

The premieres of the new January-March program schedule follow in a grid (all times ET); new series are capitalized.

MONDAYS
8-9 p.m. – “Chuck”
9-10 p.m. – “THE CAPE” will premiere with a two-hour episode on Sunday, January 9 (9-11 p.m.). New episodes start in its regular time period on January 17 (9-10 p.m.)
10-11 p.m. – “HARRY’S LAW’ (beginning January 17)
9-10 p.m. – “The Event” (returns on February 28, 9-11 p.m.; resumes in its regular time slot March 7)
10-11 p.m. -- “Parenthood” (debuts in this slot March 7 with all originals)

TUESDAYS
8-10 p.m. -- “The Biggest Loser: Couples” (beginning January 4)
10-11 p.m. – “Parenthood” (beginning January 4 for four episodes)
10-11 p.m. -- “Law & Order: Los Angeles” (beginning February 8)

WEDNESDAYS
8-9 p.m. -- “Minute to Win It” (beginning January 5)
9-10 p.m. –“Chase” (beginning January 12)
10-11 p.m. – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (originals beginning January 5 with two-hour episode, 9-11 p.m. ET)
9-10 p.m. – “AMERICA’S NEXT GREAT RESTAURANT” (beginning March 16)

THURSDAYS (all beginning January 20)
8-8:30 p.m. – “Community”
8:30-9 p.m. – “PERFECT COUPLES”
9-9:30 p.m. – “The Office”
9:30-10 p.m. – “Parks and Recreation”
10-10:30 p.m. – “30 Rock”
10:30-11 p.m. – “Outsourced”

FRIDAYS
8-9 p.m. -- “Who Do You Think You Are?” (beginning January 21)
9-11 p.m. – “Dateline NBC” (beginning January 7)

SUNDAYS
7-8 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
8-9 p.m. – “The Marriage Ref” (beginning March 6)
9-11 p.m. – “The Celebrity Apprentice” (beginning March 6)