Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Review - Episode 1: Pilot
- Thread starter MovieBob
- Start date
I enjoyed it. It wasn't great, but it was good enough. I'm hoping that the budget for the first episode wasn't much bigger then the rest of the series, because it looked pretty pricey and the quality of gadgets, set peices and CG might go down. Which would be a shame. I'm hoping for cameos now and again, as well.
Cobie Smulders(?) will probably be in the series more next year if it gets renewed as How I Met Your Mother is done this year, so that may help the show a bit. Here's hoping there are a few cameos now and then as well.
I figure with the 6 or so months between the movie schedule now, the show should be good for a couple seasons or more, as long as they keep in interesting and don't just rely on things like the Chitari(sp?) devices from the Avengers and everyone going all nferno-y ala Iron Man 3. If they bring in some minor, real Marvel characters it should really bump up the show's oomph.
Cobie Smulders(?) will probably be in the series more next year if it gets renewed as How I Met Your Mother is done this year, so that may help the show a bit. Here's hoping there are a few cameos now and then as well.
I figure with the 6 or so months between the movie schedule now, the show should be good for a couple seasons or more, as long as they keep in interesting and don't just rely on things like the Chitari(sp?) devices from the Avengers and everyone going all nferno-y ala Iron Man 3. If they bring in some minor, real Marvel characters it should really bump up the show's oomph.
Thought it was a little slow, and i hate the lab techs and the crime scene stuff, they seemed like they were stolen out of ncis were they "are" a character but have none, although i hate ncis.
Was also hoping that August Richards was going to be luke cage so that we could finally get a black superhero from comic book continuity. His powers would be easy to do on a tv budget so i just feel they missed out on that to make up more of their own bland characters. (To my knowledge)
Was also hoping that August Richards was going to be luke cage so that we could finally get a black superhero from comic book continuity. His powers would be easy to do on a tv budget so i just feel they missed out on that to make up more of their own bland characters. (To my knowledge)
There is no saying that Richards couldn't become the Avengers Movie Universe version of Luke Cage. His origin story isn't that far off, and treatments might be able to stabilize his powers, or the removal of the Extremis formula making him unstable. I don't think there is really space for him full time on the team, but it would be interesting to hear about him a few episodes in, and how he's now found a job as a 'hero for hire'.
I have been kind of thinking that Coulson is actually a LMD now for a while. SHIELD has been using them for a long time after all. But the idea of him being upgraded to the AMU's version of Vision I hadn't thought of, and is interesting. The superhero fanboy getting upgraded to a superhero in his own right. A human mind in an android body... It has potential and still fits in with Avengers comic continuity enough.
I knew the flying car had to happen. If Lola didn't fly at some point in the show, I was going to be upset. Fury's flying car was a staple of SHIELD in the 80s...
I have been kind of thinking that Coulson is actually a LMD now for a while. SHIELD has been using them for a long time after all. But the idea of him being upgraded to the AMU's version of Vision I hadn't thought of, and is interesting. The superhero fanboy getting upgraded to a superhero in his own right. A human mind in an android body... It has potential and still fits in with Avengers comic continuity enough.
I knew the flying car had to happen. If Lola didn't fly at some point in the show, I was going to be upset. Fury's flying car was a staple of SHIELD in the 80s...
I had fun with it, but my favourite bit of the whole show was when Brett (is that his name? The big fighter guy) burst into that penthouse to steal the alien technology.
The woman who comes in from the kitchen who just stands there and stares, then walks away, and then a few minutes later when Brett is fighting she has her coat and shoes in hand and just leaves like "Nope!".
I really enjoyed that. I dunno why, I just did.
The woman who comes in from the kitchen who just stands there and stares, then walks away, and then a few minutes later when Brett is fighting she has her coat and shoes in hand and just leaves like "Nope!".
I really enjoyed that. I dunno why, I just did.
Only a few more days until it comes out on British TV, glad to hear it sounds like a fun old romp.
Though the mention of a Commissioner Gordon series does have me raising an eyebrow. Not because I think it will be bad, but because we already have something like that in the comics. It was called Gotham Central. And it was awesome. And I want to know why in the name of all the burning hells they aren't just adapting that...
Though the mention of a Commissioner Gordon series does have me raising an eyebrow. Not because I think it will be bad, but because we already have something like that in the comics. It was called Gotham Central. And it was awesome. And I want to know why in the name of all the burning hells they aren't just adapting that...
I liked the pilot. However pilot episodes frequently do not accurately reflect the quality of the series. Hopefully the many great shows with terrible pilots don't find a counterpoint in Agents of Shield.
One of the best things the pilot does, and Bob mentions it in his review, is that it only teases the origins of its many characters. Many pilots make the mistake of trying to explain everyone's character too quickly, often in the form of really clunky expository dialogue. In the worst cases characters practically look into the camera and say "this is who I am and here are my motivations and key background info." Characters need to be given time to develop over multiple episodes in order to feel real. Unfortunately most shows don't really have the guarantee of many episodes to work with
One worry I have about the series is that it could potentially ruin what makes Agent Coulson one of my personal favorite characters in the current incarnation of the whole Marvel universe thing. I don't mean him potentially not really being Agent Coulson as is implied. What made him a great character was that he was is just normal guy and acts as an amazing counter balance to the fantastical heroes he deals with on a daily basis. He brings to light some of the background relatively normal boring things that would have to happen in a universe where superheroes exist. One of my favorite scenes of his is in Thor when he confuses the Viking Killer Robot thing as one of Stark's suits and complains "He never tells me anything." He sounds like an office worker annoyed that his coworkers aren't getting their paperwork in on time.
I worry that him being head Cool Badass Superspy Agent of Team Cool Badass Superspy Agents might ruin the "ordinary" quality that Agent Coulson has that makes him, ironically, extraordinary in this universe.
One of the best things the pilot does, and Bob mentions it in his review, is that it only teases the origins of its many characters. Many pilots make the mistake of trying to explain everyone's character too quickly, often in the form of really clunky expository dialogue. In the worst cases characters practically look into the camera and say "this is who I am and here are my motivations and key background info." Characters need to be given time to develop over multiple episodes in order to feel real. Unfortunately most shows don't really have the guarantee of many episodes to work with
One worry I have about the series is that it could potentially ruin what makes Agent Coulson one of my personal favorite characters in the current incarnation of the whole Marvel universe thing. I don't mean him potentially not really being Agent Coulson as is implied. What made him a great character was that he was is just normal guy and acts as an amazing counter balance to the fantastical heroes he deals with on a daily basis. He brings to light some of the background relatively normal boring things that would have to happen in a universe where superheroes exist. One of my favorite scenes of his is in Thor when he confuses the Viking Killer Robot thing as one of Stark's suits and complains "He never tells me anything." He sounds like an office worker annoyed that his coworkers aren't getting their paperwork in on time.
I worry that him being head Cool Badass Superspy Agent of Team Cool Badass Superspy Agents might ruin the "ordinary" quality that Agent Coulson has that makes him, ironically, extraordinary in this universe.
I enjoyed the show, but...
At first I figured "He can't ever know" was a toss off explanation that Coulson was an LMD--Life Model Decoy--but now I'm wondering if the "magical" reference to Coulson's stay in Tahiti (with a therapist who "didn't need to be described") involved...Coulson having become some kind of zombie?!?
This being the Marvel universe and the plan to bring the Rocket Raccoon to a major movie proves they're ready to go hog wild AND considering their plans to have Dr. Strange emerge--possibly with his own movie--it isn't too far fetched to think they'll introduce Marvel magic and the undead this way.
Seriously...this IS Marvel, after all. ^_^
Also I recall how Maria Hill commented that Coulson kept saying he was dead longer and longer. Perhaps that, too, is a clue to his ZOMBIE status? O.O
At first I figured "He can't ever know" was a toss off explanation that Coulson was an LMD--Life Model Decoy--but now I'm wondering if the "magical" reference to Coulson's stay in Tahiti (with a therapist who "didn't need to be described") involved...Coulson having become some kind of zombie?!?
This being the Marvel universe and the plan to bring the Rocket Raccoon to a major movie proves they're ready to go hog wild AND considering their plans to have Dr. Strange emerge--possibly with his own movie--it isn't too far fetched to think they'll introduce Marvel magic and the undead this way.
Seriously...this IS Marvel, after all. ^_^
Also I recall how Maria Hill commented that Coulson kept saying he was dead longer and longer. Perhaps that, too, is a clue to his ZOMBIE status? O.O
Hey anyone else remember how the Genndy Tartakovsky movie explained how Anakin finally became a Jedi Knight and where General Grievous came from, and Revenge of the Sith picked up where that show left off, leaving a lot of people who didn't see that show cut off from valuable information? Well... here's hoping Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't turn out like that.
...But yeah, the first episode was awesome IMO. I ended up watching the beginning 3 times became my parents kept walking in late and I had to restart for them.
...But yeah, the first episode was awesome IMO. I ended up watching the beginning 3 times became my parents kept walking in late and I had to restart for them.
I am not completely sold that Agent Coulson will turn out to be a LMD robot. It makes sense, but I felt the repeated use of term "magical" hinted at less of sci-fi twist but a magic/fantasy one. However even that seems unlikely because this version of the Marvel universe has largely ditched magic, converting most of the magic things to super advanced technology. Another potential clue was the "It felt like a lot more than 8 minutes" when called out for exaggerating his "near" death story
The ideas that come to mind are that Tahiti was some sort of "heaven" afterlife from which he was resurrected, a computer simulation storage for his mind while a LMD body was made for him, or the more boring false planted memory to cover up either a nasty road to recovery or the robot thing. Or it could be something completely different. Speculation is fun
The ideas that come to mind are that Tahiti was some sort of "heaven" afterlife from which he was resurrected, a computer simulation storage for his mind while a LMD body was made for him, or the more boring false planted memory to cover up either a nasty road to recovery or the robot thing. Or it could be something completely different. Speculation is fun
I liked the pilot. It's kind of a kids show, though. But I'll watch it. It looks like it will be fun.
If there's one thing that is apparent in the pilot, it's that he's not a badass (at least not in the vein of Fury). He's more in the mold of the bureaucrat with a sense of humor and purpose. The badass is covered in the pair of the combat specialists May and Ward, sufficiently diluted with their lack of interpersonal skills.Silent Protagonist said:
Also, my money is on Colson being a clone with memory imprints.
On a side note: the episode plot struck me as something more suited for a 4th or 5th episode rather than a pilot (obvious longer-term antagonist, clear concern about the true nature of the organization, a "John Q. Public" antagonist, kids, etc.). Pilots for sci-fi/action shows tend to be more focused on building the individual characters of the team, which this does, and explain how they got mushed together. The plot for the pilot is pretty much "here's the case," and didn't require the building of the team for it.
But not every launch can be perfect, and this one was serviceable. I'll totally-not-pirate the show and watch as soon as it's uploaded.
This really sounds a lot like Torchwood, where minor characters from the bigger stories do things with new people in a super-secret goverment agency that deals with inhuman threats. I liked Torchwood, although I think it took a while before I could really get into it. Hopefully, Agents of SHIELD will be just as good, and maybe even fill in my craving for more Firefly.
