Agents of SHIELD [UK Pace. At least initially SPOILERS at some point as well]

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Fri Sep 27, 2013 9:27 pm

Non spoilery thoughts on the first episode lazily copied from my Facebook:

Non spoiler thoughts on Agents of Shield (or... sigh... Marvel's Agents of Shield. It was one of the most successful films of all time, does it need the Marvel name stuck on it in case people get confused?):

Christ, J August Richards hasn't aged in the decade since Angel finished.

The hacker woman seemed to be played by "Eliza Dushku wasn't available".

Joss Whedon continues his strange, J Michael Staczynski style, obsession with British characters despite seeming to have never met a British person. "I'm not Hermione!" Oh **** off. Hopefully the English woman and Scottish man will manage what Tony Head, Alexis Denisof and (eventually, it took him about three years to stop sounding like Dick Van Dyke) James Masters achieved by overcoming the terribly clichéd writing to eventually become more realistic Brits (sexy bad asses basically. I am not biased). Rather than those Potentials. Or the Watchers Council. Or the Watchers Council's execution squad. Or Doyle (not technically British but I don't think the writers knew the difference. Lets not forget he was played by an Irish actor but the writing made everyone at the time think it was an American faking it badly. Whedon spent most of the promotion for the first 8 episodes going "No, really, he is Irish" before episode 9 gave the "So why did you kill him off?" question to replace it). Why do they let Whedon keep writing Brits?

Ahem.

the straight-laced agent was the Riley Finn of the show.

Niggles aside, a nice fun pilot. Nothing heavyweight but a good bit of fun fluff, decent family watching with a beer. The main worry for the future is the villains behind the villains weren't even vaguely defined. As my mother said, "So what do SHIELD actually fight? Angry black people?".

Summerhayes · Post by **Summerhayes** » Fri Sep 27, 2013 10:38 pm

I worked this evening, so I'll be watching the repeat tomorrow evening. Making this a redundant post...

Summerhayes · Post by **Summerhayes** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:03 pm

Okay, so watched it now. I'm not really sure what it was trying to be but I did enjoy it and I'm looking forward to seeing more.
Seeing Phil again was nice, but it means Avengers now had literally no character deaths. Where's the tension when even the non-super characters are immortal?
There was also an odd feeling that SHIELD as a whole aren't really even goodies- they really are faceless government stooges.

Rack 'n Ruin · Post by **Rack 'n Ruin** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:37 pm

Sorry, watched Strictly instead. Was Agent Phil dressed in sequins? Thought not. No contest.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 9:01 pm

He did have an immense comb-over though. Worthy of Brucie.

@Luke: Assuming there were no deaths in the film is based on the premise that this is the real Coulson. Based on What bloke from Firefly said, it may not be.

A lot of people online seem to be assuming he's Vision, but my Marvel knowledge isn't at the level of knowing how likely that is.

Summerhayes · Post by **Summerhayes** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 10:17 pm

Hmm, I don't see it being a "he's really a Skrull" thing as much as a "something brought him back in a roundabout way that did involve some sacrifice and drama but still basically cops out" thing.
Vision would be very cool though. He's the sort of character I don't see getting his own film.

inflatable dalek wrote: As my mother said, "So what do SHIELD actually fight? Angry black people?".

Huh.b I'm pretty sure he was the only black guy in it as well. I mean, SHIELD does have Fury but I don't see a tv show ponying up for a Sam LJ cameo. Hell, it felt like they could barely afford Robin Scherbotsky.

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Sun Sep 29, 2013 6:48 am

I did watch this last night thanks to the magical recording box. I found it very fast paced - unusually so for a US TV series where everything is normally veeeeerrry slow and everyone talks in muffled whispers, so it was very refreshing to be able to hear what everyone was saying.

The show zipping along at such a rate did mean it got away with a lot. The vague threat of some unnamed bad guys watching was weak, but I am secretly hoping for AIM or Hydra shenanigans down the line. Rather than, er angry black people (although given the US government's response to all the folk made homeless by Katrina, this did seem realistic - SATIRE). I did like that SHIELD wasn't made out to be quite such a cuddly force for good, although all those wacky characters did make it feel otherwise. Especially with the flying car. Oh dear. (yes, yes, there's the silly Hellicarrier in the films, but that was a bit cheesy too)

I was kind of hoping Mike Peterson would be Luke Cage (maybe later..?) and it will be interesting to see what , if any, Marvel Supers will make it into the show. I think some of the lower tier guys like Cloak And Dagger, Iron Fist and some of the Marvel Knights - Foolkiller, The Hood - would work well.

The cute references to Marvel comics 'Journey Into Mystery' etc etc i didn't find too annoying, but I hope this is kept to a minimum and it was a big assumption that everyone has seen Iron Man 3 to know what Extremis is. Mind you, with the box office receipts that film had, that's probably not too far from the truth.

And count me out for Coulson being Vision. That would be poo. Plus, no silly red face. And Vision is , I find, a really dull character. And he looks awful in his silly costume in the funny books.

Cyberstrike nTo · Post by **Cyberstrike nTo** » Sun Sep 29, 2013 2:57 pm

I think Phil is a Life Model Decoy with the dead Phil's memories.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sun Sep 29, 2013 7:58 pm

Summerhayes wrote: Huh.b I'm pretty sure he was the only black guy in it as well. I mean, SHIELD does have Fury but I don't see a tv show ponying up for a Sam LJ cameo. Hell, it felt like they could barely afford Robin Scherbotsky.

The odd thing about Buffy and Angel (Firefly wasn't so bad for it, don't know about Dollhouse) was how white they were, especially for Angel, a show set in LA. It can't have been deliberate (considering Whedon looks like a giant ginger baby* he's not going to pre-judge people by their looks). The black recurring characters basically boiled down to Mr. Trick (a cool jive talking villain who actually pointed out how everyone was very white and lasted about three episodes before being killed to make way for a middle class white villain) Gunn (a homeless man) and that potential who was from da hood. Leaving Principle Wood as the only one who wasn't a bit of a cliché, and he was only black because of his previously established Shaft reject mother.

Skyquake87 wrote:I did watch this last night thanks to the magical recording box. I found it very fast paced - unusually so for a US TV series where everything is normally veeeeerrry slow and everyone talks in muffled whispers, so it was very refreshing to be able to hear what everyone was saying.

Yeah, I think that was the advantage of having a hugely successful film series to use as the pilot, it can just hit the ground running.

(although given the US government's response to all the folk made homeless by Katrina, this did seem realistic - SATIRE).

Lucky it wasn't a British set series, they wouldn't have bothered talking, they'd have just shot him in the head. Five times. Just to make sure. [/satire]

I did like that SHIELD wasn't made out to be quite such a cuddly force for good, although all those wacky characters did make it feel otherwise. Especially with the flying car. Oh dear. (yes, yes, there's the silly Hellicarrier in the films, but that was a bit cheesy too)

It did help there was a bit of a dodgy edge to them. As for characters, my main worry is other than Phil and Not Elisha I'm not sure what the other three leads are actually called, they didn't really sink in.

I did like the 80's throwback vibe, the backlot Paris was pure A-Team.

I was kind of hoping Mike Peterson would be Luke Cage (maybe later..?)

I did assume that was where it was going when he wiped out his identity (all the effort Selena Kyle had to go to in order to manage that in the last Bats film and it turns out all it takes is a busty hacker and a van), when he comes out of it I could see him going into witness protection as Cage.

*Which is presumably why he has a beard these days. So he now looks like a giant ginger baby with a beard.

Summerhayes · Post by **Summerhayes** » Sun Sep 29, 2013 8:37 pm

I thought you were calling luke cage a ginger baby with beard then.

I would rather they brought cage in independently of that dude. Otherwise, seriously, there would only be two black guys in the entire world.

Sorry to harp on the black thing, it just seems weird because Whedon is so progressive otherwise.

Post by **Sades** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 7:23 am

We watched it. It was okay. Not being/not having been a Marvel comics fan of any real sort I wasn't expecting anything beyond a standard TV show... going to wait and see to decide if it's something I want to continue watching or not.

angloconvoy · Post by **angloconvoy** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 9:36 am

Haven't seen it yet, but silly flying cars was established as a Shield thing a good while ago. Remember that it started out as high camp cold-war era super-spy espionage. Like James Bond but Americaned up and with any grounding in reality removed.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Fri Oct 04, 2013 8:04 pm

Episode 2:

Even more so that last week it felt pure A-Team with the depths of Peru being created on a road in LA. There were some dull bits (mostly when they were trying too hard with the quiet character moments), but generally remained undemanding family fun, could do with being on a Saturday lunchtime though.

It is mildly worrying Sammy L showed more personality in his 30 second cameo than than at least two of the regulars have in both episodes to date.

And the two British characters can still **** off.

Post by **Sades** » Fri Oct 04, 2013 8:12 pm

SPOILERS.

WELL, MAYBE.

RAFT.

NO, RAFT. NO.

That's pretty much when I went... "Aaaand I'm done for tonight."

Summerhayes · Post by **Summerhayes** » Sat Oct 05, 2013 11:26 pm

It was a fun watch, just like last time, but I still don't know what this show is about.

I loved the little 616 reference and the way Phil keeps saying "magical" makes me hopeful we might get a bit of Doctor Strange.

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Sun Oct 06, 2013 8:22 am

As above, bright and breezy, but definitely Saturday teatime fodder. I suppose with Strictly and X-Factor dominating the ratings at that time, C4 thought better of it (see also BBC's Atlantis being doomed to failure as its up against X-Factor).

I too very much got an A-Team vibe from this weeks episode. I hope the show turns into more than a cosmic bauble treasure hunt and starts mapping out some of its own mythos, rather than relying on stuff from the films. Nick Fury showing up surprised me, but I did like that it was to give Coulson a bollocking for wrecking the jet. and quite right too - it always bothers me in films that when expensive stuff gets destroyed, no one seems to care.

Fitz & Simmons feel like two pre-school telly presenters that have stumbled onto a Hollywood lot by accident. Thats the best thing i can say about them.

Ooh and hacker girl (why are none of their names registering?) is still a baddie whom wants to be a goodie but is in thrall to the baddies and all that.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 8:08 pm

The bit with the raft was indeed right up there with the silver tea-tray thwarting the Cybermen's plans to de-pressurise the Moonbase in, well, The Moonbase in the silly examples of explosive decompression stakes.

Skyquake87 wrote: Fitz & Simmons feel like two pre-school telly presenters that have stumbled onto a Hollywood lot by accident. Thats the best thing i can say about them.

I'm a bit baffled as to why they even have two people playing Q when most shows and films get by with just the one. If the 800 year old Morgan Freeman can manage to do it by himself for Batman why do we need both these idiots?

Ooh and hacker girl (why are none of their names registering?) is still a baddie whom wants to be a goodie but is in thrall to the baddies and all that.[/QUOTE]

Not Elisha is called Skye isn't she? That's about the only name that has stuck. The bit with her on the phone was slightly daft, does she really not think any calls and messages going in and out of a top secret government base aren't being monitored, even if you're not a new recruit who Sammy L thinks is a bit dodgy? And if her phone isn't being monitored... why not?

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Fri Oct 11, 2013 8:20 pm

EPISODE 3

Better than last week's, but it really, really, really, felt even more A-Team. Especially when it started with a big car crash that resulted in no injuries whatsoever.

I think the fact Caulson wears the same suit no matter the situation is supposed to be suggestive as well. Loved his bull shitting about having seen action with the Avengers as well. It's worrying he's still by far the best character though.

Was crushed by gravity guy supposed to be a comic character? Between him and Gunn they're getting quite the Arkham going on down in their basement.

Cyberstrike nTo · Post by **Cyberstrike nTo** » Fri Oct 11, 2013 10:50 pm

inflatable dalek wrote:Was crushed by gravity guy supposed to be a comic character? Between him and Gunn they're getting quite the Arkham going on down in their basement.

I know there is a villian in comics called Gavitron (or something like that) who is "the master of gravity" but IIRC he's really a just lovesick pussy with god-like powers who wants to screw a girl that wanted nothing to him before he got powers and she rejects him with superpowers because he's still a loser. So he gets mad and becomes a supervillain IIRC one time he threaten to drop a mountain on NYC (or another major city) and the Avengers or the Thunderbolts (I forget which team maybe it was both teams) stop him and he then gets the snot beaten out of him. That is who Dr. Hall (was that his name in the show) he reminded me of anyway without the whining for a girl, but since I read any of 50 zillion Avengers comics since Bendis took over the books to give a shit about it.

Overall I think the show is just plain old stupid fun, it's a great park-your-brains for an hour thrill ride.

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Sun Oct 13, 2013 4:11 pm

I quite liked this episode, in that is wasn't a silly treasure hunt. Definitely one of those set - up for future repercussions episodes. Skye's is-she-isn't-she thing wasn't very convincing though. I had no doubt that she come down on the side of the SHIELD. This ep was more what I was hoping for.

Fitz and Simmons are still awful though. I can't bear them.