Joss Whedon's S.H.I.E.L.D to ABC!

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Admiral_Young, Aug 29, 2012.

  1. Turtletrekker

    Turtletrekker Admiral Admiral

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    A deleted line from Nick Fury in Captain America: The First Avenger stated that the division that Philips, Stark, Erskine, Carter, ect; all worked for, the SSR, became SHIELD after the war. This contradicts the first Iron Man movie in which SHIELD is said to be a new department, but is consistent with Iron Man 2, which states that Howard Stark was a founding member of SHIELD. YMMV.

    As for stuff relating to the other movies, I would love to see some resolution to the dangling Samuel Sterns thread from TIH.
     
  2. Blip

    Blip Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Perhaps the name of S.H.I.E.L.D. designated a new official description for a department that had already been in existence, with a different title but similar form and function. (there are plenty of real-world examples)
     
  3. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    Ooh...Yvonne Strahovski as Ms. Marvel!
     
  4. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    ^ I've long suggested this. This must happen :)
     
  5. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    It doesn't make much sense to me. The movie universe is the only reason this series is made in the first place. Without it, a SHIELD series is just a series about regular spies, isn't it? It's a bit like doing a Gotham Central series without any reference to Batman or Commissioner Gordon.
     
  6. Captaindemotion

    Captaindemotion Admiral Admiral

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    I think 'stand apart from' means that it won't necessarily just be used to set up Avengers 2 or 3 or will have to feature the movie characters every week. I have no doubt that it will be set in the same continuity as the movie.
     
  7. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    There was a critically acclaimed comic for a while called Gotham Central, which was about the officers of the Gotham PD, trying to do their jobs in a world where Batman and supervillains existed. Certainly Batman and Gordon were referenced, but the series was about what happened when Batman wasn't around, or after he'd done his thing and swung off into the shadows. There's also a long-running comic called Powers based on the same idea, exploring how ordinary cops cope with doing their jobs in a world where superhumans exist and constantly battle each other; there's already been one effort to bring Powers to television, and I believe a second attempt is in development. The TrekBBS's own Keith R. A. DeCandido has written a book called SCPD: The Case of the Claw, which is the first in a series of novels dealing with that same idea. There's also Marvel's Damage Control, a series about a company that cleans up the messes left by superpowered battles.

    Heck, you could even count My Super Ex-Girlfriend as part of the genre of stories about superhero universes told from normal people's perspective. We've seen countless stories about the heroes themselves; surely it's also worth exploring the stories of everybody else, the people who have to cope with being normal in a world of superbeings. Whedon has said as much about this show:
     
  8. Captaindemotion

    Captaindemotion Admiral Admiral

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    ^I apologise for repeating myself (I'm sure i mentioned this earlier in the thread) but over the years on the BBS, I've seen a lot of people say that they'd like to see a Gotham PD-type show, featuring the cops in that city, but with Batman and various villains being referred to without actually appearing. Indeed, the original premise for Lois and Clark did not feature Superman, who would have been referred to but not mentioned.

    So this looks to be in the same vein.
     
  9. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I know. And the whole point of Gotham Central was that it took place in Gotham City and elements of the Batman mythos were constantly used and referenced. Now Whedon saying that he wants the SHIELD series to "stand apart from the Marvel movie universe" sounds to me like a Gotham Central show which would never mention the Batman.
     
  10. Dream

    Dream Admiral Admiral

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    A Batman show without Batman will fail just like Birds of Prey tv show did.
     
  11. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    I think that's a surprising way to interpret that particular phrase. He never said it wouldn't mention anything from the movies. He just meant that it needs to be its own thing -- part of the same universe, but with its own stories to tell rather than just being an appendage of the movies. Which, really, is the only way to do it. Look at any other spinoff series. Look at Deep Space Nine or Voyager -- they weren't constantly tying into The Next Generation, but went off and told their own stories set in the same universe. They sometimes connected to some of the same continuity elements, like the Klingons or the Ferengi or the Maquis or Q or whatever, but they established themselves as their own independent entities with their own characters and story arcs. Conversely, when TNG went to movies, it avoided overt tie-ins to the Dominion War arc that was occurring on DS9 at the same time. After all, it was a separate entity with a target audience that might not watch the other productions set in the same universe -- and with a different set of creators who couldn't do their jobs if they were constantly having to follow someone else's lead.

    For a Whedonverse example, look at Angel. Although it did spin off two characters from Buffy and did a fair number of crossovers while they were on the same network, it nonetheless set its own largely separate course, building its stories around new ideas rather than just continuing arcs from Buffy. And once Buffy moved to a different network, the two shows became even more independent of each other.

    So really, Whedon isn't saying anything new here. His approach is the same that the approach to any spinoff would be. Whatever its connections, a spinoff is still a separate work, still its own production with its own staff, and it needs to strike its own course because that's the only practical way to do it. That doesn't mean it will never reference its source material, but it does mean that, on the whole, it has to define its own independent direction.
     
  12. Turtletrekker

    Turtletrekker Admiral Admiral

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    Joss Whedon and Clark Gregg talk about S.H.I.E.L.D.

     
  13. Turtletrekker

    Turtletrekker Admiral Admiral

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    First character details!

     
  14. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    I assume they mean "The Cavalry."
     
  15. Turtletrekker

    Turtletrekker Admiral Admiral

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    Why am I already picturing Gina Torres in the Althea Rice role? :lol:
     
  16. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    So do all casting call sheets typically sound so dull at first blush?
     
  17. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Most cases yes. They're just usually a small snippet of the characters (like the ones posted is a perfect example). At least the ones that I've had experience reading.


    Interesting sounding characters. Casting is going to be fascinating to keep track off.
     
  18. Turtletrekker

    Turtletrekker Admiral Admiral

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    Sure. If they get too specific with ethnicity, age or even gender, they might cheat themselves out of the best actor for the job. Recall that the legend is that Gene Rodenberry was initially against casting Patrick Stewart as Picard because Stewart wasn't French! Better for casting directors to be vague and non-specific about a characters description, and see who gets the part right.
     
    Last edited: Oct 2, 2012
  19. PsychoPere

    PsychoPere Vice Admiral Premium Member

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    To add a couple specific examples to what Turtletrekker said:

    The character of Claudette Wyms in The Shield was originally supposed to be male, but the role ultimately went to CCH Pounder. Hell, for that matter, she was originally up for C.J. Cregg in The West Wing, but I can't imagine anyone other than Allison Janney in that role.
     
  20. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Also the security chief was called "Macha" Hernandez until they decided to cast a pale blond woman in the role and changed her name to Tasha Yar -- and Data was supposed to be Asian or Pacific Islander in appearance. In DS9, the doctor was going to be Julian Amoros until they cast Siddig el Fadil (as he was then known) in the role and changed the character's surname to the Arabic "Bashir."

    And of course Ripley in Alien was written as male -- or rather, all the roles were written as gender-neutral and the producers cast accordingly.