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

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

  1. Nick Ryder

    Nick Ryder Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Well I think we see in the trailer that they have a big plane so I think they're not going to just sit around NYC.
     
  2. Reverend

    Reverend Admiral Admiral

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    I think there's a line from the end of CA:TFA where Fury mentions that SHIELD was a successor organization to the SSR.

    The impression I was left with was that, while what we saw was primarily American, it was actually an initiative of the Allied forces as a whole. So it'd make sense (in a comic book logic kind of way) that after WWII SHIELD would become a sort of NATO for espionage, bleeding edge tech and super-humans.
     
  3. IcecreamLtDan

    IcecreamLtDan Captain Captain

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    I wouldn't mind this one at all. As a kid I read the Astonishing stories original version of Deathlok, Colonel Luther Manning, and loved it. Always wanted to see an onscreen version of the character, even if it differed from the comics.
     
  4. Turtletrekker

    Turtletrekker Admiral Admiral

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    That line was part of the extended/deleted scenes and wasn't actually in the movie.
     
  5. Ruaidhri

    Ruaidhri Commodore Commodore

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    Completely agreed. Deathlok in the 70's was a cool concept--I have a few old Astonishing issues from the Luther Manning version. When I met Rich Buckler Sr. at a comic con in the nineties, I got him to do a fast Deathlok sketch in my sketchbook. Very cool.

    And the Michael Collins version was better IMO. A pacifist scientist who discovers that the company he works for is making a cybernetic remote soldier, killed by the company to protect the secret, and they use his brain for their next test...a pacifist trapped in a killing machine. The miniseries in the mid nineties was so well done. I'd love to see a new adaptation.

    [​IMG]
     
  6. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    I remember the shot of the cybernetic tech on someone's arm, but do we know it was Richards's character's arm? I didn't think that was clear.
     
  7. Nick Ryder

    Nick Ryder Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Well they have used Deathlok quite a bit in the X-Men comics of late though - so I dunno where that puts the character with Fox - if they pick up an issue of Wolverine and the X-Men and see Deathlok - looking exactly like this guy above - and go "hey that's an X-Men character, OUR'S!"

    I'm thinking either Luke Cage or just a new character. As much as I'd like to see Luke Cage - I dunno, I think he'd need to be bigger and have more swagger. Honestly he's never been *that* deep a character - needs that Blaxploitation sorta edge to him. Personally just save him for an Iron Fist/Luke Cage/Misty Knight/Colleen Wing/Shang-Chi story - because that whole quartet is so heavily based on old 70s exploitation film.

    Although I'm thinking they could base him, I suppose, on the new kid that's taken the 'Power Man' moniker I guess.
     
  8. Venardhi

    Venardhi Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Character rights are usually tied up with whatever property the character originated in or is most associated with. Characters like Pietro and Wanda are on the borderline, but I dont think Deathlok comes anywhere close to being considered an X-Men character.
     
  9. Captain Craig

    Captain Craig Vice Admiral Admiral

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    ^^^
    Agreed. That's like saying cause Blade appeared consecutively during the X-Men vampire event a few years ago that Fox Studios could use him.
     
  10. Turtletrekker

    Turtletrekker Admiral Admiral

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  11. Captain Craig

    Captain Craig Vice Admiral Admiral

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    So this likely means some type of pickup, right?

    An order for 7-13 episodes at the minimum for now?
     
  12. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Yes, we got the pickup announcement nearly a month ago. I don't think it's been announced how many episodes there will be, but the standard for the main broadcast networks is to open with a 13-episode order and pick up a back 9 or more to fill out the season if the show does well, which this one probably will.
     
  13. judgeroy

    judgeroy Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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    Christopher, I wouldn't place any bets on it at all. As was mentioned earlier, NCIS is a ratings powerhouse across all age groups. They are currently in the middle of a major shakeup season cliffhanger and with all the rumors floating that this may be NCIS's last season with at least one major character not contracted yet, that will make things even harder for SHIELD. I am very excited to hear about the show, but I am wondering at ABC's wisdom putting it up against NCIS. I will DVR SHIELD and watch it later, but I will watch it and am excited about it.
     
  14. AvBaur

    AvBaur Captain Captain

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    ^ I don't know anyone who watches NCIS and I know a ton of people who are excited about a tv show set in the Avengers universe. I've seen news articles and excited comments about Shield all across the internet for months now, and I don't think I've seen anything about NCIS, like, ever. While that is of course anecdotal evidence at best and excitement on the internet doesn't always translate to solid ratings, I do think there's a pretty large potential audience for Shield and that it'll do fine opposite NCIS if it delivers quality-wise.
     
  15. Mr Light

    Mr Light Admiral Admiral

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    Isn't NCIS mostly watched by old people who aren't going to watch SHIELD, though?
     
  16. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Isn't everything on CBS?
     
  17. Venardhi

    Venardhi Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I actually know quite a few people who watch it that aren't old fuddies. The show has its own fandom even, complete with slash fics and all that madness.
     
  18. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    I'm sure there are plenty of people who don't watch NCIS and are very interested in Agents of SHIELD. I'm one of them.

    My understanding is that the whole reason they scheduled AoS opposite NCIS was because they saw an opportunity to draw in a demographic that NCIS wasn't dominating, and thus become competitive with CBS in that time slot. And really, why wouldn't it draw a big audience? Not only is it guaranteed to draw in the fiercely loyal Whedon fanbase, but it's a TV series that's canonical within the universe of one of the biggest ongoing film franchises of our time. So it's got two built-in audiences (although there's already a fair amount of overlap between them).
     
  19. Takeru

    Takeru Space Police Commodore

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    The loyal Whedon fanbase is pretty small, it will be a nice cherry on top of a hopefully big audience but if others don't watch and all ABC gets on their ratings plate is a damn cherry it's over.
     
  20. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    ^Yes, the Whedon fanbase isn't huge, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe fanbase is. And I doubt very many of the MCU fans are going to pass up watching a TV series created by the director of The Avengers and starring Agent Coulson because they'd rather watch NCIS. So even if you leave out the Whedon fanbase, the show still has a solid built-in audience.