Agents of SHIELD. Season 1 Discussion Thread

[Christopher]

Watching it again, I'm noticing a few things:

Simmons references "our journey into mystery." Ha-ha.

The "bus" (the plane) is called a Mobile Command Unit. Note the initials: MCU.

I'm sensing a thread about "third parties" competing with SHIELD to get their hands on alien tech, superpowered people, etc. That's probably going to be a recurring thread, that race to secure them for the side of good before evil gets its hands on them. I wonder if that blonde who discovered Ward ransacking the vault in Paris will recur. The camera paid attention to her retreat in a way that suggests she's significant.

And, okay, Coulson did say a bit more about Extremis: "It's new. Completely unstable."

I'm starting to improve my opinion of Chloe Bennet and Brett Dalton. They both give pretty good line readings, and Bennet in particular handles the Whedonesque dialogue and shifting tones/moods pretty well.

 

[theenglish]

I am coming to this thread a little late, but I saw this on Sony last night. Easily, I can see it becoming my new favorite show. This is because of Wheadon and not because it is a comic book show. I felt for moments the same joy and willingness to be absorbed in the universe as I used to with Buffy, Angel, and Firefly. There has been something missing from television these last ten years and that was a Wheadon series.

EDIT: And Dollhouse just didn't have that same feel.

 

[Mr Light]

<< Seems doubly odd since he was an original character, and they had a blank slate for casting him with no preconceptions from the comics.>>

He was a character from the comics, but an entirely obscure one who didn't have powers.

 

[The Old Mixer]

^Care to elaborate?

EDIT: Never mind, I looked it up. It was an unfounded stretch based on both characters having a very common-sounding name.

 

[Turtletrekker]

<< Seems doubly odd since he was an original character, and they had a blank slate for casting him with no preconceptions from the comics.>>

He was a character from the comics, but an entirely obscure one who didn't have powers.

I thought so at first as well, as it turns out, not so much.

Amongst other interesting tid-bits (Including Coulson's cellist and connecting the story to Iron Man 3), there is this...

J. August Richards' character "Mike Peterson" shares a name with a character that appeared in a Marvel comic book called Slapstick. Was the name an intentional homage?

No. We found that out later! There's a whole bunch of characters with other names... some we do intentionally but that was completely an accident.

ETA: Ah! Beaten to it! Oh, well...

 

[theenglish]

During the opening sequence, I thought that he was going to be Luke Cage.

 

[Captain Craig]

I missed it Tuesday night and have not read through the thread, sorry. I just caught the encore presentation tonight though and I'd grade it a solid B.

Likes:
Coulson & Hill: 'Nuff said
"The Bus": I see a number of potential sets and situations within
Melinda May: mysterious/conflicted past, ass kicker, pilot; I see lots of potential depth
Ron Glass: yes please! Great actor and this role as a physician with an inside track, yep more.
Tahiti
Lola: a reference to the 60's flying cars, nice!
quote by Simmons,"Are you ready for our Journey Into Mystery?"
Extremis mention, a sign the TV show clearly is involved in the MCU from a production standpoint. Episode filmed before IM3 released even.

Waiting to Impress Me:
Grant: He IS SHIELD but Coulson had him interrogated?
Skye: So wait, she really wasn't SHIELD?

While the implications of "can either be trusted and if not what is Coulson's end game with them" has me confused. Perhaps why I had trouble fully getting into either character.

Fitz & Simmons: the over talking one another will have to go. Be quirky, fine. Most of their screen time was a cacophony of noise and I was eager for a scene shift.

Didn't Go For:
Mike Petersen, J.August did his best with what really was a cog in a wheel to a larger scheming horde of evil men in red masks. I'm hoping he's rehabed, comes back and is an asset I enjoy. Potential I think now that he's done being used by the bad guys.
I get it though, the US release of IM3 on DVD/BR and the SHIELD show uses Extremis as part of it's premise. I get it.

So if Skye really wasn't SHIELD she goes from 'nobody' to Level 8 clearance?? Huh?

I look forward to watching it develop and think overall this was a solid premiere.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Waiting to Impress Me:
Grant: He IS SHIELD but Coulson had him interrogated?
Skye: So wait, she really wasn't SHIELD?

I think that that was an attempt to gain Skye's trust and knock Grants attitude down a bit.

As for Skye being SHIELD, obviously she will be joining the team. Hardly the first time MCU SHIELD has recruited a former threat/annoyance into the fold. Both Natasha Romanov and the couple from "Item 47" were recruited by agents sent to take them down.

ETA--

So if Skye really wasn't SHIELD she goes from 'nobody' to Level 8 clearance?? Huh?

"Nobody's nobody."--Phil Coulson

Actually, I think the fact that she's literally "nobody" is exactly why Coulson wants her on the team--

"We don't know anything about her. Do you appreciate how often that happens? It never happens." --Phil Coulson

Someone with that level of skill, as it was implied that she completely erased herself from the net, is someone Coulson can use. Also, she represents a mystery-- why would someone with that much skill, who could probably use those skills to make a mint, be living an anonymous life out of a van? I think, in the end, she is going to be revealed to be far from "nobody".

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Skye isn't SHIELD, she's a hacker who saw most of the stuff anyway, so that would explain both why they want to recruit her and why giving her clearance isn't as big a deal.

 

[Set Harth]

And, okay, Coulson did say a bit more about Extremis: "It's new. Completely unstable."

Which might seem a little strange, if we assume that the implication of the end of IM3 holds and Stark has actually figured out Extremis to the point where it's kind of stable. He even seems to think he could have figured it out in 1999 if he had applied himself then.

 

[theenglish]

And, okay, Coulson did say a bit more about Extremis: "It's new. Completely unstable."

Which might seem a little strange, if we assume that the implication of the end of IM3 holds and Stark has actually figured out Extremis to the point where it's kind of stable. He even seems to think he could have figured it out in 1999 if he had applied himself then.

Is it clear that the pilot takes place after IM3?

 

[Turtletrekker]

Did Stark stabilize it or just figure out how to cure Pepper of it?

 

[Turtletrekker]

And, okay, Coulson did say a bit more about Extremis: "It's new. Completely unstable."

Which might seem a little strange, if we assume that the implication of the end of IM3 holds and Stark has actually figured out Extremis to the point where it's kind of stable. He even seems to think he could have figured it out in 1999 if he had applied himself then.

Is it clear that the pilot takes place after IM3?

Would SHIELD have known of Extremis' unstable nature before Iron Man 3? Doubtful. For that reason, I'd guess it takes place after.

 

[Owain Taggart]

The movies have all been more about amped up fun with a bit of humour, so I don't see the series as out of place. If anything felt out of place, it was the dark tones in Ironman 3.

Actually in my mind the movies (and SHIELD itself, thanks to Jackson's presence and gravitas) were all a lot more grounded and serious than this TV series was. They all had their light and jokey moments of course, but not to the degree we see here, where the characters are all joking and making wisecracks every 5 seconds, and the tone is light and cutesy as hell-- almost to the point of being a cartoon.

I'm not asking for this to be another dark and gritty 24 or anything, but it would be nice if the show at least took itself a little more seriously.

I can see what you're saying and where you're coming from, but I disagree. I like it because it's light and fun and I think the light tone suits it quite well, though it's still too early to really know the feel of the show. For all we know, it could be light one episode, more serious in another, etc. Being an intro episode, they couldn't exactly jump into the deep end yet. I expect it become more serious as threats develop further on in the season.

 

[intrinsical]

The movies have all been more about amped up fun with a bit of humour, so I don't see the series as out of place. If anything felt out of place, it was the dark tones in Ironman 3.

Actually in my mind the movies (and SHIELD itself, thanks to Jackson's presence and gravitas) were all a lot more grounded and serious than this TV series was. They all had their light and jokey moments of course, but not to the degree we see here, where the characters are all joking and making wisecracks every 5 seconds, and the tone is light and cutesy as hell-- almost to the point of being a cartoon.

I'm not asking for this to be another dark and gritty 24 or anything, but it would be nice if the show at least took itself a little more seriously.

I can see what you're saying and where you're coming from, but I disagree. I like it because it's light and fun and I think the light tone suits it quite well, though it's still too early to really know the feel of the show. For all we know, it could be light one episode, more serious in another, etc. Being an intro episode, they couldn't exactly jump into the deep end yet. I expect it become more serious as threats develop further on in the season.

And besides, a tv show is not like a movie. Just because the pilot is cartoony doesn't imply every other episode is going to be the same. I'm sure the show can get dark and gritty when there's a need for it.

 

[Dream]

I thought the first episode was VERY average.

Chloe Bennet as Skye was hot though. My weakness for attractive women will mean I will be watching the next couple of episodes. Hopefully it will improve massively in terms of writing in the upcoming weeks!

 

[Owain Taggart]

Actually in my mind the movies (and SHIELD itself, thanks to Jackson's presence and gravitas) were all a lot more grounded and serious than this TV series was. They all had their light and jokey moments of course, but not to the degree we see here, where the characters are all joking and making wisecracks every 5 seconds, and the tone is light and cutesy as hell-- almost to the point of being a cartoon.

I'm not asking for this to be another dark and gritty 24 or anything, but it would be nice if the show at least took itself a little more seriously.

I can see what you're saying and where you're coming from, but I disagree. I like it because it's light and fun and I think the light tone suits it quite well, though it's still too early to really know the feel of the show. For all we know, it could be light one episode, more serious in another, etc. Being an intro episode, they couldn't exactly jump into the deep end yet. I expect it become more serious as threats develop further on in the season.

And besides, a tv show is not like a movie. Just because the pilot is cartoony doesn't imply every other episode is going to be the same. I'm sure the show can get dark and gritty when there's a need for it.

Yeah, there you go. I attribute the pilot to be like the first 20 minutes of the Avengers where they're all getting acquainted, before things got serious. And if they do go with a story arc, it would most likely be framed similarly to the movies. I have a feeling that Extremis will be part of that. They were most likely just planting the seeds.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Simmons references "our journey into mystery." Ha-ha.

I noticed that, too. It was funny, but seemed a bit random since it was actually Strange Tales where SHIELD appeared. Or were there other similar references that I didn't hear?

 

[Reverend]

You it just occurred to me, in Whedon's last two shows he made much more ambitious pilots which the network didn't get and monkeyed around with. Perhaps this time he's starting simple on purpose so he can pull a bait & switch down the road?

 

[Guy Gardener]

Nah.

This is the second pilot.

His first pilot made 1 and a half billion dollars.