Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. -- Marvel meets Joss Whedon meets...TV!

didn't know loeb was involved w/ this, put me right off

Generally a very wise decision, but he's some sort of VP for all Marvel television projects now so he's probably only involved in a tangential way.

Really don't get the hate, this was 1000x better than the Distinguished Competition's effort in Arrow.

Yeah it was fun
I have bad taste in TV tho

Wtf with that Steranko thing
Apparently it's PC to have a black character!

yeah i'm not reading that. felt it was an ok cross of whedon team (ie firefly i guess) and ncis (this merger reaches its zenith in fitz, simmons)(predictably already crushing on simmons). found the superhero aspect a little tedious but loved the goofy spy tech (person i was watching w/ rolled their eyes at flying car but i was like 'yeah fuckit - flying car!'). hoping it will get much better (it's just watchable as is) but also worried that this episode represent the max of whedon involvement. man gina torres would've been great for ming-na wen's part though kudos for having a fifty year old woman be yr bad-ass on a network tv show.

It might get better after the pilot but I forgot how much tv series really nudge and wink repeatedly to get tv viewers on track. I mean, I know they're distracted and have to remember what's going on after commercial breaks but oh boy does that get grating over the course of a one-hour pilot.

"HAH, he has an OLD car" "Oh don't worry it's a CLASSIC"
fifteen minutes later
"Your car is OLD."
30 minutes
"There is NO WAY we could get there that quickly in THIS CAR"
* car starts to hover and takes off flying *

the entire "Do you think he really knows?" and "TAHITI" shit was just about as bad. We get it, he's a robot.

I wonder if Whedon or someone else had a conversation about BOFFINS and the entire reason the science/lab team has accents is so that he can deploy that word at some point

There is no way on earth that Coulson is a robot.

he's a life model decoy

like, one of the main repeated plot points of every SHIELD comics series or Nick Fury plot since Steranko's era is the repeated use of life model decoys, so they're probably going to use it at some point

So either something mysterious happened that's a new plot device that explains why Coulson has false memories, he was replaced (LMD!) or resurrected somehow, or possibly even more likely, Coulson was ALWAYS a life model decoy and there was never a human one during the course of the Whedon movie/tv series

sorry for comics nerdery but it's an obvious plot thing in the SHIELD stories and there's no way they're not going to touch on it in some way

xp you're a life model decoy

if such a thing exists, I could be, I'd have no idea, you see

Life Model Decoys are controlled by the actual person that they represent, though. They aren't autonomous, unless something really changed in the comics, up with which I have not kept.

Life Model Decoys are controlled by the actual person that they represent, though.

I don't remember this being the case in the comics.

LMDs going autonomous is a major storyline in the comic actually. there was an evil nick fury and everything.

the more recent bendis comics have done some work with humans controlling LMDs, specifically hill

anyways the LMD deus ex machina bailout gotcha was always the lamest and it's lame here too

anyways this was bad but not dire and i'm willing to be patient for about four episodes to see if they get super nerdy with continuity, write better stories or find a long form arc that might hold my attention

In Marvel's The Avengers, when Agent Coulson tries to talk to Tony Stark via phone, Tony tells him he's really talking with a Life-Model Decoy of Tony Stark, stating the possible existence of these robots in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

some good stuff in here

http://tomewing.tumblr.com/post/62410078391/my-captain-america-thesis

not ewing, quoted there:

Sonya said after reading the current Hawkeye comic that it felt like Matt Fraction sat down and was like, What would someone who chose to use a bow and arrow on combat missions be like in his daily dealings with tech and people? Agents of SHIELD S1E1 plays out like Joss Whedon sat down and was like, if Coulson really was that guy who asked himself What Would Captain America Do the way some people ask themselves WWJD?, what kind of decisions would that drive?

Just started this, and ... hrm, this show isn't so good, but boy can it potentially get so, so, so much worse, very quickly. Minus the micromanaging and budget of Hollywood ... I mean, jeepers, this ep is what they manage with Whedon's direct involvement.

A better move would have been to keep it a limited series - say, the occasional 10 eps - to air as a stopgap between feature films: answering questions, bridging/expanding the narrative, etc.

Maybe, but there's no way would they leave that cash cow so unmilked.

Well, that's a different matter, and indicator that this will get even dumber and cheaper faster.

Roads? Where we're going we don't need ... roads.

Man, you only get one chance to make a first impression, and the impression this show left was not good. I never saw "Heroes," but I bet it was better than this at first.

The general crapness of this show has real potential to devalue the Cinematic Marvel U. enormously.

In its defense, I think the opposite is true: it's crappy enough that people will recognize it as something else.

In its defense, most pilots are bad.

Ain't that the truth. But most pilots written/directed by a guy who understands the medium, respects the genre, and whose last movie and the impetus for this show made $1billion, plus who's generally regarded as one of the best TV guys of his generation, aren't usually this bad.

I dunno, I thought the Dollhouse pilot sucked too

it's stupid to judge a show by the pilot, esp when it's biggest crime was a monochromatic, smug tone - something that can easily evolve - rather than an intrinsic quality of the show (i.e. trophy wife is not actually about a trophy wife, and will likely never explain why this nice guy has two grumpy ex-wives AND a perfectly nice young one). but this is whedon's first project since becoming King Of Hollywood, so there is the possibility it will remain this stiffly cutesy.

That's sort of what I was getting at: this was a "sure thing" product from a guy at the peak of his commercial/creative powers, with a proven track record across mediums, with a built-in audience and a massive amount of good will engendered by the property that spans decades ... and this is what they came up with for the first episode? This is no mere "golly, I hope this gets picked up" gambit. This was a "wow, The Avengers made billions, we better strike while the iron is hot" thing. But this was ... not so hot. All it had to be was solid, but it was shakey.

family friendly + inclusive of people who hadn't seen movie + catering for television audience with no attention span = hot garbage

I was just thinking that as ridiculous as it got (and it should have ended much earlier), the closest in scale we've gotten to a Steranko-era SHIELD is the tv show Alias. One main character, covert spy stuff, unbelievable getaways and circumstances, mystical gadgets

keep in mind that while it's Big Names working Big Property, there's not a lot of precedent for a spin-off TV show that's supposed to work as a stand-alone and keep the irons hot for the next sequel. so there are going to be some kinks to work out - Whedon may be the god of superhero movies at the moment, but his tv shows were quirky cult things full of feels on off nights, not Big 3 procedurals. plus it sure sounds to me like they're implying agent coulson is a robot - he seems more stiff than i recalled from the movies, that whole "he can never know" bit - while it's possible the show will stay "Marvel Presents NCIS" things may get quirkier once "Marvel Presents NCIS" has been established.

keep in mind that while it's Big Names working Big Property, there's not a lot of precedent for a spin-off TV show that's supposed to work as a stand-alone and keep the irons hot for the next sequel

there is, it's just that it's often in animated form (Star Wars, Tron)

in prime time?

i'm not talking about toy selling spin-offs for kids

What do you think this show is?

it's on abc at 8pm, not disney xd

do you need me to explain how that's a different audience

true, but at the same time Law & Order doesn't usually begin with the characters looking at a toy store with actions figures of Law & Order universe characters

metaphors are real, do you see

fwiw Star Wars: Clone Wars ran in primetime, probably the reason why it scooped up primetime emmys:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Clone_Wars_(TV_series)

if anything it's the model for a tv show that exists in-continuity between movies, majority of movie tie-in shows have been just continuations of the premise of a film

I'm sorry that I didn't recognize that the Marvel comics movies are ADULT MOVIES for ADULT PEOPLE

ANT MOVIES for ANT PEOPLE

http://digboston.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Adam-Ant300.jpg

I'm gonna keep watching. Just dying for a decent sci-fi-ish show right now. I dug Contiuum (and will probably still watch it), but it's pretty goofy, with all of TEH CORPORATIONS! hand-wringing...

Decent-ish: Continuum (lol), Orphan Black, uhhh maybe some other stuff

I keep expecting Broadchurch to go all sci-fi because of Tennant and Darvill

I'm sorry that I didn't recognize that the Marvel comics movies are ADULT MOVIES for ADULT PEOPLE

the point was that there's not a lot of precedent for a prime-time network show that's supposed to tie in between previous and next parts of the one of the biggest movie franchises ever. that there have been animated spin-offs on kids networks is beside the point (also tron: uprising and clone wars are both prequels to films already released).

The two-shot with her and Fitz in the containment cell in the last episode is the highlight of the season.

her "wait... what?" reaction to Fitz saying he only can love Jemma was great

Also, since you brought up the DC shows earlier...I'm so much more invested in this show and the characters and their relationships than I am in any of the stuff happening on the CW. I cannot think of a DC character they could kill off that I'd be at all affected by, but moments like the Fitz and Simmons reconciliation this week...man, that got to me. And I'm all 'they've got to run the Trip avatar through Ada's body-making machine!' and 'we can't lose Mack!' As opposed to 'oh, did [REDACTED DC CHARACTER] just get killed? (yaaaaaawn)'.

kudos to the actress playing Aida having done two distinctly different characters and three versions of the same android/simulation/human character

― mh, Friday, May 12, 2017 11:15 AM (four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I was seriously going to follow up with this exact comment. I don't mean to overshoot or anything, but her performance has been some Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive, 'wait, is that the same actress?!'-level stuff.

For me the whole ADA storyline has been a kinda boring cul-de-sac of a story

The ada character felt like pure fanservice from the off with her sexy corporate chic attire & quiet smolder oh she might love me oh she might kill me ... the IDEA of this story is a huge eyeroll for me

there have been entertaining parts & i dont hate it completely but it feels like a placeholder story while they figure out a new arc, it just does not interest me

I know it makes me a 5 year old but I dont caaaaaaaare about lady robots & fuckin virtual reality worlds & i just want to see them fight bad guys in a normal marvel way instead of whatever this endlessness is

I think you mean "normal marvel movie / netflix show way"

half of the comics just churn crap in a much worse way than this!

but yeah, the "two guys secretly build a HOT ROBOT in their garage" bit was kind of a red herring for the much creepier reality that a scientist built a robot that looks like his dying friend (?!?) and ends up being the key, along with supernatural shenanigans, to letting the real one keep on living virtually

imo they dropped the ball on showing Agnes living her life -- she was literally kept on an island in the virtual world so she wouldn't find out her permanent home was a fascist wonderland!

i think you know i meant that since i usually dont talk about comic books much

hey lady I don't share all my interests on this board, I'm not going to make any assumptions

i aint reading any of the last posts, but ...
i am glad others are watching it.
they have totally raised their game with this season.
so many LOL moments and !!!! moments.
it's a massive weekly highlight for me and my 13 year old kid.

xpost fair enough lol

I know it makes me a 5 year old but I dont caaaaaaaare about lady robots & fuckin virtual reality worlds & i just want to see them fight bad guys in a normal marvel way instead of whatever this endlessness is

― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, May 12, 2017 12:40 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I was gonna say but mh beat me to it. Every fourth Marvel comic you pull out of a random stack is likely to be about lady robots and/or fuckin virtual reality worlds (particularly if it's a stack of Marvel's popular '80s title Lady Robots & Fuckin Virtual Reality Worlds).

good book

The most recent episode with the "it's all too much!" Aida breaking down was the first where I appreciated the actor's ability. Nicely done. And I do appreciate how it may take a lot of LMDzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz episodes, but there's a payoff with the tv MCU gaining a Madame Hydra. Reminded me a lot of the Cap movies working the Purge actor into Crossbones.

sidebar (spoilery?)
I'm not that sad that Mac stayed behind tbh, they've not given him a whole lot to do for a while now.
he just kinda frowns and stands around now.