Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC)

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » September 25, 2013, 3:14 am

My fiancée and I watched the pilot tonight. Good stuff despite being on a network. Not gritty and dark like the awesome Hannibal, but quite damn good! Not sure if it is a freak of the week sort of show, but the writing and acting both are tight. It takes place after The Avengers. Hell, it is Whedon all the way. Just need Mac, River and Wash!

OK, and Book, since he is...well, you'll see.

And also a certain agent named....

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » September 25, 2013, 7:18 am

My wife and I loved it. It has Joss written all over it. I like that it's bringing all the Marvel Universe movies together in one spot and grounding it a bit.

It had a bit more "whitty Whedon" momments in it than usual, but I enjoy the hell out of those exchanges. I don't think every episode going forward will be as full of them though.

I look forward to seeing the characters fleshed out. There is a good sized team and no one really got the spotlight treatment in the first episode.

Production values and special effects were great for a TV show. Of course, pilots usually have larger budgets than each episode, but I hope everything holds up going into the future.

Zamtuk · Post by **Zamtuk** » September 25, 2013, 1:44 pm

I haven't seen it yet, but plan to. But, if it's after the Avengers, then why is Coulsen still alive? Is it explained? Is he a ZOMBIE?

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » September 25, 2013, 3:08 pm

Zamtuk wrote:I haven't seen it yet, but plan to. But, if it's after the Avengers, then why is Coulsen still alive? Is it explained? Is he a ZOMBIE?

It's hinted that there is something else going on that they will continue to expand upon during the course of the series.

It might not even be the "real" Coulson for all we know at this point.

Several of the characters got a similar treatment as well with a tiny hint of bigger things to come. Quite the balancing act really.

Keverian FireCry · Post by **Keverian FireCry** » October 2, 2013, 11:16 pm

Fun first episode. I'll be watching it from now on.

Coulson theory:

[Show]: My guess is that the real Coulson is dead and that the current one is a Life Decoy Model, which have been used by S.H.I.E.L.D. a ton in the comics. The whole time in Tahiti is implanted memory. The way he repeats how Tahiti is 'magic' seems scripted if you know what I mean. Also note how he dodges the van door when Michael knocks it at the agents? Seemed outside of human capabilities.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » October 17, 2013, 5:23 pm

The latest episode shows much script-tightening and gives most of the characters something meaningful to do. Best of the bunch so far (few there are to measure against)! My only complaint so far is that awful CGI when they show the "Bus" against a sky background. Truly awful art direction/CGI there!

Hopefully, the show continues to improve as the producers get a feel for what the viewers like/dislike.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 17, 2013, 6:21 pm

Pretty bland stories. I don't know how involved Joss Whedon is with the show but it's been a disappointment so far.

You get the obligatory "Avengers" name drop each show but otherwise this could be a show that has nothing at all to do with Marvel which is ok but nothing stands out about it so far.

The pilot/fighter lady has been pretty boring as well as a character up to this point.

I'll keep watching but the stories have been uninspired so far IMO.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » October 17, 2013, 7:01 pm

Correct, but it is incrementally getting better imo. And Coulson is awesome!

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 23, 2013, 11:07 pm

I actually cringed at some of the dialog in episode 5. Really bad.

Only positive in the show, while really not necessary, was Skye in her underwear.

Bonus: first episode Coulson didn't name drop The Avengers although he did mention his death again during a really cheesy exchange about getting speared through the chest, followed up by boring pilot lady's,"you sure it wasn't your brain?".

Somehow I have the feeling that Joss Whedon has had almost no input in this show after the pilot as he works on Avengers 2. Watching his 2 hour talk with fans at San Diego Comicon left me thinking he was tired of Marvel comics and mentioned several times how he was "stuck" at the moment making Marvel movies and couldn't do anything else. While I think he'll do a good job on Avengers 2, SHIELD has been borderline really bad with some hit and miss witty lines thrown in. This isn't even remotely close to the incredibly deep character development and acting in Firefly or even Buffy.

It's missing that "stay tuned" addiction other quality shows have that make you want to know what happens next or give a shit about the characters. At this point, all I know is they'll be going after another possible hero/villain (probably previously taught everything they know by Coulson that he trusted but was wrong about them and now needs to kill them after saying a witty line) in their HQ plane and that Skye has been annoying more than interesting up to this point.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » October 24, 2013, 1:00 am

I disagree. The show continues to build an identity and seems to be diverging from the Avengers storyline, which is a good thing. This week saw the introduction to "mutants" or "gifted" or whatever they are calling them. Apparently, there is a small list that SHIELD is keeping tabs on. Granted, the Scorch character didn't get a chance to flesh out, but played a significant role nonetheless, as this Centipede (Hydra?) organization begins to materialize.

Meanwhile, sexy young porn-starlet-miscast-as-hacker Skye is easily exposed (haha), and adds a bit of distrust and tension to the team that is just starting to warm to her. I like that Coulson is putting her under house arrest, per se.

Each week, this show is getting better, aside from the lighting and squibbly CGI. I am interested to see how things pan out, despite not being a comic reader. Maybe that makes it easy since I do not have decades of canon to sort through!

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 24, 2013, 11:03 am

We'll see! I've watched much worse shows for multiple seasons.

Both Terra Nova and even Defiance improved over time. The SHIELD characters need a lot more fleshing out for this to happen. Hopefully one of them will start cooking meth.

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » October 24, 2013, 5:37 pm

These are all valid complaints/concerns, but I honestly think people expect too much too soon from this show. Most of the greatest shows in the history of television were not spectacular 5 episodes in. Some actually took several seasons before they really found their groove, like Seinfeld or Buffy. The ones that start the strongest are usually the ones to peter out ASAP, like Lost or Heroes.

The first few episodes of SHIELD seemed like everyone was finding their footing, but that is to be expected. As far as modern serialized television shows go, I think it's moving along at a steady pace. The past couple of episodes have really started to lay out the foundation a great deal more. It's pretty light TV and my wife and I are really enjoying it so far.

As an observation, it's hilarious how much the SHIELD plane is set up almost exactly like Serenity was in Firefly.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » October 26, 2013, 7:59 am

I caught up with the show last night and frankly it's a good show that keeps getting better imo. He's making his usual mistake of teasing his plot points out over too many episodes and dragging out his early character development over a few shows but it's getting interesting.

[Show]: There's no reason that Skype's motivation about her parents couldn't have been addresses in the pilot episode, even if it was just a shot of her looking through her files.
As an aside, it is really that hard to use an SD card or a Micro SD card or, hell, even a Sony Pro Duo over using a Phone SIM card as a prop?

Keverian FireCry · Post by **Keverian FireCry** » October 28, 2013, 4:00 am

dbl dip

Keverian FireCry · Post by **Keverian FireCry** » October 28, 2013, 4:12 am

Continuing to enjoy the show. My biggest gripe though is that they do not draw enough from Marvel comics. They have 50+ years of great stories and characters to draw from. I would love to see them bring in characters that fans may be familiar with, but that the vast majority of viewers would get to know for the first time. Think of all the low tier villains, vigilantes, heroes and organizations they could bring into the TV/movie-verse for old and new fans alike.

They could even introduce A, B, C, D, Z-list characters through the TV show that could gain popularity if done well and end up with their own spin-off or cameo on the big screen. Echo(Ronin), Daisy Johnson(Quake), Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Moonknight, Ghost, Cloak and Dagger, MI-13 (British SHIELD), etc...

List goes on and on, but some of those 'street level' or SHIELD agent types would be great.

Lynks · Post by **Lynks** » October 28, 2013, 11:05 am

Cage and Iron Fist would have been 2 great characters to be put in. I'll just settle for Ultimate Spiderman to get my IF fix.

masteen · Post by **masteen** » November 4, 2013, 2:54 pm

This would also be a great place to test out completely new heroes. I think this show has tons of potential, and I also think it won't get a second season.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » November 4, 2013, 3:11 pm

If it were a FOX show I'd probably agree with you. While the ratings have been going down with each episode I don't think ABC/Disney will kill it off after only one season. However it's still early as the show got 22 episodes for it's first season. Place your bets!

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » November 4, 2013, 3:15 pm

I saw an article somewhere that some upcoming episodes will be a tie-in to the aftermath of the latest Thor movie. Will see how that goes.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » November 4, 2013, 4:00 pm

Unless I missed something, last week was a re-air of the pilot, but no new episode.

Looking forward to the new one! If improvements continue like they have each episode, this should really take off.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » November 6, 2013, 2:16 am

Strong episode tonight! They do need a new FX team, however!

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » November 13, 2013, 5:32 pm

Ratings have dropped every week for 7 weeks straight with last night's episode having the worst viewership numbers yet. It's not looking good at all for this show. I still really like it, but it certainly is reinforcing why I don't watch procedural shows like this. They always get cancelled.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » November 13, 2013, 8:19 pm

Last night's episode was the best one yet but it's still a sub par show. The pilot lady really sucks. That was a poor casting decision.

Post by **Sylvus** » November 18, 2013, 3:59 pm

Fairweather Pure wrote:[procedural shows like this] always get cancelled.

Wait, what? Procedurals are like all that are on TV, outside of reality television. How many collective seasons of the various flavors of CSI, Law & Order, NCIS have there been, 100?

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » November 18, 2013, 5:32 pm

What's Wrong with Agents of SHIELD?

I'm not sure they ever answer the question!

I can't remember the last episode I watched. Maybe 3 or 4. It just got boring. I have been retrieving them so I'm sure I'll catch up on it eventually.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » January 13, 2014, 6:37 pm

I've caught up to the most recent episodes of this show last week and it's getting a lot better, really fast.

Enjoyed the last 4-5 episodes tremendously.

Keverian FireCry · Post by **Keverian FireCry** » January 13, 2014, 8:30 pm

Rather than villain-of-the-week it should focus more on season/series-long arcs that build up better characters and stronger villains. If they continue with the small story arcs I'd also much rather have them take multiple episodes to develop rather than them always wrapping up tidily in a single episode.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 9, 2014, 11:34 pm

This show finally got good with episode 17.

You can skip 1-15, maybe start with episode 16 if you want to jump in.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » April 10, 2014, 3:42 am

While my interest began to wane with all the breaks and a couple boring storylines, the show seems to have finally found an identity in the last few episodes. Now I need to see Captain America 2 apparently.

And Winnow, even at the slow points, this show is not nearly as pinnocchio-wooden as Arrow!

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 10, 2014, 1:42 pm

Canelek wrote:While my interest began to wane with all the breaks and a couple boring storylines, the show seems to have finally found an identity in the last few episodes. Now I need to see Captain America 2 apparently.

And Winnow, even at the slow points, this show is not nearly as pinnocchio-wooden as Arrow!

"My name is Oliver Stone..."

The S.H.I.E.L.D. (ep 17)/Captain America 2 crossover seems to be working in generating interest. I've talked to people that have seen the movie and not watched S.H.I.E.L.D. and vice-versa and both, including me are interested in seeing the other due to the links.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » April 10, 2014, 2:28 pm

Fantastic idea to do that! I mean really, it may be the saving grace of the show.

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » April 11, 2014, 12:09 pm

I love the tie in with the movie. Now we can see the aftermath from other's eyes.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 16, 2014, 1:30 am

This show has gotten way better. Less hokey one-liners (although the one-liners in the latest show are good) and lots more shit happening.

[Show]: HYDRA definitely has the upper hand at the moment!

Hope enough people kept watching it to grant it a season two. Too many single crap episodes early on before they started rolling with the main story. If if they did eventually tie into the main story, it wasn't planned well for audience retention.

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » April 16, 2014, 8:12 am

Winnow wrote:This show has gotten way better. Less hokey one-liners (although the one-liners in the latest show are good) and lots more shit happening.

[Show]
HYDRA definitely has the upper hand at the moment!
Hope enough people kept watching it to grant it a season two. Too many single crap episodes early on before they started rolling with the main story. If if they did eventually tie into the main story, it wasn't planned well for audience retention.

Season 2 is a go.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » April 16, 2014, 9:44 am

Unless the ratings were like negative numbers... I'd say (and did say!) there was no chance it was going to get cancelled anyway. If anything it would have gotten another half season where they'd wrap things up. It was just too high of a profile show to get unceremoniously canned.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » May 9, 2014, 5:59 pm

Renewed for Season 2! I still need to see the new Captain Muurica movie to fill in the plot connections.

Also looks like the new show based on the chick from Captain Muurica 1 got greenlit as well. Agent Carter? Or something.

Keverian FireCry · Post by **Keverian FireCry** » May 10, 2014, 3:59 pm

The show has only gotten better as all the smaller arcs started coming together into the seasons conclusion. Very excited for season 2!

Canelek you gotta go see Captain America 2 while it's still in theaters. It's one of the best of the Marvel films to date!

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » May 11, 2014, 5:26 pm

Canelek wrote:Renewed for Season 2! I still need to see the new Captain Muurica movie to fill in the plot connections.

Also looks like the new show based on the chick from Captain Muurica 1 got greenlit as well. Agent Carter? Or something.

You seriously need to see that movie. It's fucking fantastic!

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 15, 2014, 1:43 am

Solid season finale.

Looking forward to season 2!

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » May 26, 2014, 12:22 am

I had to suspend reality (quite a bit) a few times but I guess it was ok. The last thing with Garrett was rather annoying to me and I was like "Are you serious? I'm done with this show if so" and then Coulson put the kibosh on that was I was like.. "Good. Balance has been restored."

I'm not used to seeing Samuel L. Jackson on the small screen. I wasn't sure if he was phoning it in or not though.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » June 9, 2014, 5:40 pm

The last 4-5 episodes were all pretty fantastic. They set up what will probably be a really interesting second season. Looking forward to it.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 13, 2015, 11:15 pm

Just finished season 2. Some crazy twists and turns made most of season 2 and especially the last few episodes great viewing. The extended season finale was a great ending tying up a lot of the strings, leaving for a fresh new start in season 3.

More unpredictable than predictable makes this show a winner.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » May 31, 2015, 9:42 pm

I am really tired of the Grant Ward character and I wish that would have been tied up with Season 2. Unfortunately it looks like that won't be the case.

Overall a decent season and I'm glad the Fitz character wasn't as helpless at the end of the season as he was at the start of it.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » June 1, 2015, 11:15 am

Yeah, I thought the show definitely picked up the second half of the season. All I have to say is

[Show]: Simmons better not be dead!

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » November 1, 2016, 7:56 pm

necro!

I am liking most of what they've done with the Ghost Rider character this season. I am not liking the change from cycle to rod though. I've tried to stop watching this series multiple times, but they do something new to bring me back in eventually...