Agents of SHIELD. Season 1 Discussion Thread

[RJDiogenes]

Having May just turn around and decide that whatever happened wasn't all that bad after all. It is just lazy. I'm not asking for "grimdark", just drama.

I suspect this will be the focus of an episode now that she's back in the field. Coulson knew she was wasting her talent at a desk job and she must have known that accepting his offer was the first step in getting back into action. In this episode, she realized that she can't sit back and drive the bus and let Coulson do her job for her. Next she'll have to have that crucial moment where she gets past whatever's blocking her.

I think the "22 episodes is too much!" theory is garbage. Do shows need 22 episodes? Of course not, but there's also no reason 22 episodes can't be fun and used well.

I completely agree. With good writers, there can be any number of episodes. Back in the 50s and 60s, some shows had 30 or 40 episodes in a season. These short seasons can be very frustrating.

It's funny how different people perceive the same thing because "not-stop action" is not at all how I would characterize this show.

I agree with this, too. Non-stop action bores me. I actually fell asleep twice during the Avengers movie and had to rewind-- only to find that I didn't actually miss anything. But SHIELD doesn't bore me at all.

 

[trekkiebaggio]

I don't think the problem is so much "non-stop action", as it is a desire to move through the story as fast as possible. There's almost never any time to slow down and have a serious or thoughtful moment, which is something I think the show really needs more of.

Even when the show does try to slow down (to, say, delve into the backgrounds of Skye and Ward), it has to be through some kind of training sequence. Or the scene is so packed full of cute quips that it's hard to really take seriously.

Totally agree with this. I also agree with another poster who said there hasn't been a moment yet that's made me think, 'Oh wow, that's awesome!'

I did think the third episode was an improvement, although it still wasn't perfect. I liked Quinn, I thought he was quite a charismatic bad guy. The scenes where the gravity was messed up was pretty cool. I liked it when Skye took the gun and then when asked if she had what it took to pull the trigger so said 'nope' and jumped out of the window.

I also liked the little hints with Coulson's muscle memory, although I am wondering how long this mystery will last, and if they're going to continue to hint at it in every episode.

I think it's a shame that Fitz and Simmons weren't involved more, I thought given that Hall was their old professor there was a chance to learn more about them.

But it's still pretty generic and there's no spark to the show.

 

[DarKush]

Caught the third episode. It's my favorite so far. Finally they have a recurring villain, and one that appears formidable enough, and they finally get their first supervillain. Not sure if I'm buying the guy playing Dr. Hall as being threatening, but once he returns I might as Graviton I might. Granted I know next to nothing about Graviton so it shouldn't be a hard sell.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Well, a quick look at Graviton's wikipedia page suggests a reluctant villain, so it's kind of fitting. In his very first appearance, he attacks a laboratory and lifts it into the air. He's defeated when he's convinced that one of the scientists, who he cares about, has committed suicide (which causes him to panic and lose control of his powers).

 

[Lonemagpie]

Episode 3... That was a Leverage episode, really, but with less wit, rather than a Marvel show, IMO.

 

[Nine of Four]

***SPOILER***

Based on the easter egg at the end of episode 3, am I the only one who thinks Dr. Hall is going to come back super OP??

 

[Nerys Myk]

***SPOILER***

Based on the easter egg at the end of episode 3, am I the only one who thinks Dr. Hall is going to come back super OP??

It's just you. Such an idea is preposterous.

 

[sojourner]

***SPOILER***

Based on the easter egg at the end of episode 3, am I the only one who thinks Dr. Hall is going to come back super OP??

NOOO!!!!

 

[Trekker4747]

***SPOILER***

Based on the easter egg at the end of episode 3, am I the only one who thinks Dr. Hall is going to come back super OP??

I don't know what "super OP" is, but Dr. Hall, in the comics, is a super-villain called "Graviton" with complete mastery over gravity.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

OP: Over-Powered

 

[Ethros]

Apart from this Shield ep I'm only familiar with Graviton from the first few eps of Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes s1.

Is Graviton a recurring villain in the Marvel universe? Seems to me Magneto is often seen as a definite A-list bad guy (sometimes good guy) who's a huge threat in the MU... yet he can just control metal. Whereas Graviton could pretty much just do anything, control anything. I just kinda wondered why I'd never heard of him before. Someone that powerful shouldn't just be a minor villain

 

[intrinsical]

Episode 3... That was a Leverage episode, really, but with less wit, rather than a Marvel show, IMO.

I'm not getting the connection to Leverage. They didn't steal anything or con anyone.

 

[sojourner]

Apart from this Shield ep I'm only familiar with Graviton from the first few eps of Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes s1.

Is Graviton a recurring villain in the Marvel universe? Seems to me Magneto is often seen as a definite A-list bad guy (sometimes good guy) who's a huge threat in the MU... yet he can just control metal. Whereas Graviton could pretty much just do anything, control anything. I just kinda wondered why I'd never heard of him before. Someone that powerful shouldn't just be a minor villain

sometimes it's more about the character than the powers. Also, if none of the writers at marvel do anything with the guy, well than he won't ever make the A-list.

 

[DEWLine]

Graviton's been at the high end of the "B-list" despite the nature of his powers for a long time, and a recurrent foe of first the Avengers and later the Busiek/Nicieza-era Thunderbolts.

 

[Morpheus 02]

22 episodes, really? Its not 1995 anymore. All that says to me is "lots of filler crap coming your way."

13 standard, 16 or so max, we don't need more than that, not nowadays. The only show left I watch with 22 is Supernatural, and god the last two seasons have had soooo much filler.


With the way a lot of people watch TV shows now (after the season/s are done, via dvd, netflix, illegal internet, whatever) I'd say 22 actually puts people off. I know a friend of mine was put off BSG for a while because of its 20 episode seasons (2, 3, and sort of 4 anyway)

Breaking Bad
The Wire
The Sopranos
True Blood
The Walking Dead
American Horror Story
Dexter
Boardwalk Empire
Homeland
Mad Men

22 episode season? Fuck that.

It depends pm the quality of the show and the story that needs to be told.

Korean Historical Dramas usually START at 50,and have gone to 100 to 200 episodes, and been just as intriguing.

But since they are based on history, they don't have to pad it as much as elaborate on actual events.

 

[theenglish]

Shorter seasons work well for seriels or shows that are strongly arc based. I don't consider well-written stand alone episodes to be filler at all. Many shows have used season arcs but also included outstanding individual episodes.

 

[JD]

I don't understand the reaction to the show having 22 episodes. Almost every show on the networks have at least 20 episodes. A lot of the popular cable shows are even starting to have close to 20 episodes a lot of the time now.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Episode 3... That was a Leverage episode, really, but with less wit, rather than a Marvel show, IMO.

I'm not getting the connection to Leverage. They didn't steal anything or con anyone.

I'm just thinking a general vibe- Skye with the earbud infiltrating the guy's office, pretend (or is it) double-cross... Not a specific plotline

 

[Skellington]

Shorter seasons work well for seriels or shows that are strongly arc based. I don't consider well-written stand alone episodes to be filler at all. Many shows have used season arcs but also included outstanding individual episodes.

Season three of Buffy is the gold standard for this kind of thing, IMHO, with the main season arc existing mainly as a slow burn in the background of some early episodes, interspersed with the occasional pivotal episode and undergoing a gain in momentum as the season progressed. As such it made a virtue of the season length (22 episodes). I'll be surprised if this approach isn't taken in Agents Of SHIELD.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Yeah, Buffy set the standard that has been followed with others in a quasi-serialized setting (notably with the new Doctor Who, but also with shows like Burn Notice that usually had a more overt ongoing plot at the beginning and end of episodes before a stand alone episode in the middle).

That being said, while there's certainly two ongoing character plots (with Skye and Coulson), there doesn't really seem to be an ongoing bad guy or threat just yet that's been hinted at in more than one episode.