Marvel: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

[Annihilus]

2nd episode wasn't bad. I'll keep watching. Hopefully the cast will mesh together well, though I'm not all that sure about that. I do hope they start using some of the Marvel universe as plot points rather than creating all new stuff each week unique to the TV show.

 

[Annihilus]

Additionally, am I the only one that thinks that agent Coulson is not actually agent Coulson?

I think he actually WAS killed in the Avengers and either cloned, revived as an android, or some other explanation other than 'he died for a few seconds and they brought him back'.

Also, 'Tahiti' has to be code for something/somewhere else. Asgard, perhaps? Virtual reality in a cloning lab?

Originally I was thinking they would be bringing him back as 'The Vision', but I'm not so sure that is going to happen now.

 

[Whaler53]

Additionally, am I the only one that thinks that agent Coulson is not actually agent Coulson?

I think he actually WAS killed in the Avengers and either cloned, revived as an android, or some other explanation other than 'he died for a few seconds and they brought him back'.

Also, 'Tahiti' has to be code for something/somewhere else. Asgard, perhaps? Virtual reality in a cloning lab?

Originally I was thinking they would be bringing him back as 'The Vision', but I'm not so sure that is going to happen now.

No, not at all. I've thought clone, Life Model Decoy...

Tahiti may be a magical place, but not that magical....

 

[Annihilus]

No, not at all. I've thought clone, Life Model Decoy...

Tahiti may be a magical place, but not that magical....

Plus, there was something he said to Sofia when she accused him of having a mid-life crisis...he responded by muttering 'actually, it's more of an after-life crisis'.

 

[O_P_T]

Additionally, am I the only one that thinks that agent Coulson is not actually agent Coulson?

I think he actually WAS killed in the Avengers and either cloned, revived as an android, or some other explanation other than 'he died for a few seconds and they brought him back'.

Also, 'Tahiti' has to be code for something/somewhere else. Asgard, perhaps? Virtual reality in a cloning lab?

Originally I was thinking they would be bringing him back as 'The Vision', but I'm not so sure that is going to happen now.

There was also a scene in the pilot between Ron Glass and the actress who was in the Avengers, where they something like the following after he mentioned Tahiti.

"he doesn't know?"

"he can never know"

 

[Captain Morgan]

Tahiti may be a magical place, but not that magical....

Maybe Dr.Strange has set up a nice family practice down there...

That's a cameo id love to see.
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[SWatson_Coltfan]

Nearly done with it

Was very bored with the predictable and cliche' episode 2. If it doesn't pick up in the next episode, I think I'm done. Part of the problem is that I'm comparing it to Firefly. I never knew what was going to happen in that show. In this one, I don't really care.

 

[anderson]

Annoying that Verizon charges me to watch the back episodes of this thing. Or would. I'm not paying 3 bucks per episode.

 

[O_P_T]

Was very bored with the predictable and cliche' episode 2. If it doesn't pick up in the next episode, I think I'm done. Part of the problem is that I'm comparing it to Firefly. I never knew what was going to happen in that show. In this one, I don't really care.

If you watched it when it was on Fox, some of that had to do with their decision to air episodes out of order.

They broadcast the actual 2 hr pilot episode as episodes 11 and 12. Much of those episodes serve as an introductory to the characters. Who they are, what are their motivations, etc.

The first two episodes here have done essentially the same thing.

If you watched any of Joss's other series, he follows a similar format.

 

[SWatson_Coltfan]

Not what I was saying

If you watched it when it was on Fox, some of that had to do with their decision to air episodes out of order.

They broadcast the actual 2 hr pilot episode as episodes 11 and 12. Much of those episodes serve as an introductory to the characters. Who they are, what are their motivations, etc.

The first two episodes here have done essentially the same thing.

If you watched any of Joss's other series, he follows a similar format.

That was not meant to be a criticism of Firefly, but a compliment. Firefly could be unpredictable. I watched that series on the edge of my seat. Agent of Shield has been utterly cliche' so far. It was clear midway through the last episode that the writer was clumsily following Whedon's theme for the Avengers: a bunch of individuals need to learn to work together as a team. But unlike the Avengers, I was not made to care about the characters first. None of them are memorable, nor would I miss them if they died in episode three. So whether they bond as a team or not is irrelevant. In Firefly, I cared about EVERY character.

 

[anderson]

Firefly sucked.

 

[Annihilus]

That was not meant to be a criticism of Firefly, but a compliment. Firefly could be unpredictable. I watched that series on the edge of my seat. Agent of Shield has been utterly cliche' so far. It was clear midway through the last episode that the writer was clumsily following Whedon's theme for the Avengers: a bunch of individuals need to learn to work together as a team. But unlike the Avengers, I was not made to care about the characters first. None of them are memorable, nor would I miss them if they died in episode three. So whether they bond as a team or not is irrelevant. In Firefly, I cared about EVERY character.

The problem with that comparison is that we had 5 entire MOVIES to get to know the Avengers (IM 1-2, Hulk, Cap, Thor). We haven't had that with S.H.I.E.L.D. With the Avengers, we already knew and cared about the characters, so it was easy to make the Avengers. This show, not so much.

Now I'm not saying that that is an excuse for the first two episodes of S.H.I.E.L.D. being 'meh', but I think that has a bit to do with it. That being said, there is a whole lot they can improve upon.

 

[O_P_T]

That was not meant to be a criticism of Firefly, but a compliment. Firefly could be unpredictable. I watched that series on the edge of my seat. Agent of Shield has been utterly cliche' so far. It was clear midway through the last episode that the writer was clumsily following Whedon's theme for the Avengers: a bunch of individuals need to learn to work together as a team. But unlike the Avengers, I was not made to care about the characters first. None of them are memorable, nor would I miss them if they died in episode three. So whether they bond as a team or not is irrelevant. In Firefly, I cared about EVERY character.

Have you ever watched Firefly on DVD, in the proper order?

I have, and the two hour pilot is comparable to what we've seen so far. One can just as easily claim that it was full of cliches and that their learning to work together as a team was the key plot element.

Simon treating Kaylee after she's shot by the "lawman", is but the most obvious part of that.

Yes, there was a bit more edge and unpredictability, Mal shooting said lawman comes to mind.

But you have to remember one key thing. Joss was working with a blank canvas in Firefly. Nothing about that universe existed before he wrote it.

The Marvel universe is already well defined, not only in movies, but in 60 odd years of comics.

So he has far less freedom to be unpredictable. He is constrained by those limits, to some extent.

Again, I repeat, the first few episodes of any show must introduce the characters, their universe and their relationships to the other characters. That's simply fundamental story telling.

Now that we know that the pilot agent doesn't want to fight anymore, we can explore that backstory more. To do that you had to establish two things: her skills and her reluctance to use them.

Now that we know the hacker chick is still spying for the other side, we can take that in two obvious directions. She can stay loyal to the other side or she can realize she shouldn't.

There is the whole question of agent Coleston's death and resurrection.

I don't claim to know the details of SHIELD in the Marvel universe, but there are plenty of opportunities to explore how much power they have and if anyone is taking it a bit too far with regards to civil liberties and sacrificing some to save others.

I have faith in Joss.

The first season of Angel was mostly forgettable, the middle few quite good, and the last season or two were epic. I still have the last four episodes on my DVR.

"Dibs on the dragon"

 

[Grumpy_Bottom]

This one very likely lost me already. Weak sauce characters, formulaic and poopy plot lines, and mediocre (at best) acting from 99% of cast led me to a decision that I'd rather be sleeping than watching that episode last night. The first 1-3 episodes of: The Walking Dead, Hell on Wheels, Justified, etc had me 100% roped in. This is the opposite, can barely hold my attention.

 

[Annihilus]

I didn't think last night's was too bad. Better than the first two.

It is pretty predictable, though.

 

[Grumpy_Bottom]

I didn't think last night's was too bad. Better than the first two.

It is pretty predictable, though.

I'll give it another try when I get back next week, but I lasted about 15 minutes and said "hell, I'd rather be sleeping"...granted, it was back to back with episode #2 which was probably Stockade and Stoning worthy, so maybe my patience was already iffy.

 

[Bob R]

Firefly sucked.

Wrong, Firefly rocks.

oke:

 

[Annihilus]

Wrong, Firefly rocks.

oke:

Yeah, I'm not so sure of Anderson now. He's the first person I've ever heard of that disliked Firefly.

We'll have to keep an eye on him now to make sure he's not a spy

 

[Annihilus]

I'll give it another try when I get back next week, but I lasted about 15 minutes and said "hell, I'd rather be sleeping"...granted, it was back to back with episode #2 which was probably Stockade and Stoning worthy, so maybe my patience was already iffy.

I can see several (fixable) problems with this show...but perhaps the most problematic part of it is that it's geared towards younger viewers. To be what most of us were hoping for, they are going to have to either change that or lose their older audience. I think they might've mis-calculated their target audience, honestly.

To be successful, they are going to have to Fringe it up with solid standalone episodes while hopefully developing a longer story arc at the same time and they are kind of failing on both counts at the moment. We'll see.

Fringe did it perfectly, as did the X-Files. This show is no way even approaching that level of quality as of yet. It seems a bit sloppy on execution thus far.

 

[Grumpy_Bottom]

I can see several (fixable) problems with this show...but perhaps the most problematic part of it is that it's geared towards younger viewers. To be what most of us were hoping for, they are going to have to either change that or lose their older audience. I think they might've mis-calculated their target audience, honestly.

To be successful, they are going to have to Fringe it up with solid standalone episodes while hopefully developing a longer story arc at the same time and they are kind of failing on both counts at the moment. We'll see.

Fringe did it perfectly, as did the X-Files. This show is no way even approaching that level of quality as of yet. It seems a bit sloppy on execution thus far.

I never caught Fringe, but if they could get halfway to X-files they'd be doing great. What's amazing is that in the humongous world of Marvel, with the tremendous resources of Disney at their backs, they've managed to completely blow it and leave us without character, plot, or actors.