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

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

  1. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Not surprised, but still very happy.
     
  2. Dream

    Dream Admiral Admiral

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    So is SHIELD going to be the "Torchwood" to The Avengers' "Dr Who"? :)
     
  3. Enterprise is Great

    Enterprise is Great Vice Admiral Admiral

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    That may be true but the Thursday 8 pm slot for ABC is very bad. The last show to make it past a first season there was Ugly Betty 8 or 9 years ago.
     
  4. Gaith

    Gaith Vice Admiral Admiral

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    [​IMG]


    Pretty bland-looking group...
     
  5. Nerys Myk

    Nerys Myk A Spock and a smile Premium Member

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    Pretty sad when the most interesting looking character is a middle aged guy in a suit.
     
  6. LaxScrutiny

    LaxScrutiny Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I bet the asian girl knows martial arts. The girl in the sneakers is probably into computers.
     
  7. Takeru

    Takeru Space Police Commodore

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    I like Coulson and Ming-Na, the three people in the left are weird, I see an Eliza Dushku/Dichen Lachman hybrid, Selma Blair/Jennifer Garner and the agent who wears jeans which means he will be the dorky tech guy. All three of them are a little bit too pretty for my tastes, that's not how I imagine agents of Shield, not that they can't be good looking, but they look like they're fresh out of model school. The guy on the right looks fine, he's also very good looking but at least older than 22.

    I really hope they add Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill as soon as HIMYM is over, she doesn't have to be a regular but I want her as a recurring character. I'm not sure I'd want Samuel L. jackson to show up, maybe a cameo in the pilot and season finale but if this is a show about the small guys the big boss should be out of sight most of the time.
     
  8. AvBaur

    AvBaur Captain Captain

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    Yeah, from a visual standpoint, this team looks pretty damn boring. A bunch of generic, pretty-faced, vanilla tv people. But I remain confident that Whedon and his writing staff can make them interesting anyway.
     
  9. Nagisa Furukawa

    Nagisa Furukawa Commander Red Shirt

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  10. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Well, that's Clark Gregg's specialty -- making the ordinary guy the most interesting person in the room.


    Which "Asian girl?" There's the Macau-born Ming-Na Wen -- who's 49 years old, hardly a "girl" -- and the Chinese-American Chloe Bennet (nee Wang). Ms. Wen's character Melinda May has been described in some sources as knowing martial arts, but she's described elsewhere as an "ace pilot and weapons expert" (and let's face it, knowing martial arts is hardly unprecedented for Whedon heroines). Ms. Bennet's character Skye (the one on the far left, in boots) is the computer hacker. The woman in sneakers is Elizabeth Henstridge, whose character is Jemma Simmons, a "genius biochemist."
     
  11. LaxScrutiny

    LaxScrutiny Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I guess the black ex-cop who grew up in the hood and the misunderstood ex-con will become regulars in mid-season.
     
  12. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    ^You know, there's an inherent contradiction in trying to criticize stereotypes by assuming the worst about a show you haven't seen yet.
     
  13. Shazam!

    Shazam! Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    My thoughts as well.
     
  14. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Here's some more info on the characters, including their SHIELD ID cards. (Sadly, Coulson's card doesn't have slight foxing around the edges. Or bloodstains.)

    Melinda May is now being described as "a pilot, weapons expert, and soldier" with "crazy skills when it comes to weapons." Nothing specifically about martial arts, although of course a lot of martial arts involve weapons. However, her ID card says "Administrator," which suggests a desk job.

    Interestingly, Skye (last name unknown) is represented by a surveillance photo that calls her a "possible Rising Tide collaborator." Story-arc hint?

    A "first look" will be airing during Once Upon a Time tomorrow night, and will be on ABC's website afterward.
     
  15. Set Harth

    Set Harth Vice Admiral Admiral

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    "Pretty-faced" is kind of commonplace in the industry, isn't it? I mean, you just don't see a lot of ugly people in anything. Unless you need someone to play Wormtongue, of course, but I'm mainly thinking of protagonists here. They even made Velma hot.
     
  16. LaxScrutiny

    LaxScrutiny Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Sorry, is this thread about me or about SHIELD?
     
  17. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    It's also worth pointing out that one of the showrunners for this series, Maurissa Tancharoen, is herself Asian-American, which makes it unlikely that the show will traffic in Asian stereotypes. A little research might've alleviated any concerns on that point.
     
  18. Gaith

    Gaith Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Well now that's a giant case of begging the question. Unless you actually know anything about this writer, instead of wild speculation, let's wait and see, shall we? And that goes for all of us.

    Reaction to the cast photo seems to be a mix of hesitancy and gradations of negativity. Of course appearances can be deceiving, but first impressions do matter.
     
  19. Venardhi

    Venardhi Vice Admiral Admiral

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    You might be familiar with her from:

    [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNmzegQUtFA[/yt]

    I think it is safe to say she isn't in a hurry to propagate the stereotypes.
     
  20. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Which is exactly my point. Thank you for the backup.

    I don't do "wild speculation." I do research. It's not that hard.