Agents of Shield debuts tonight

[Mego Magyar]

I think the problem is that the show was hyped as a spinoff from the Avengers and other Marvel movies and it hasn't lived up to that. So far it isn't connecting itself to the Marvel movie universe and while it doesn't have to be a Marvel Hero of the week show, it need to bring in some heroes that are established Marvel heroes and not created just for the show - that's how it will look like a spinoff of the movie franchise. Also, I've said before, I don't think a NCIS/CSI Marvel Universe premise will work either. It also needs clear Marvel villain like A.I.M, Hydra or Zodiac - something that gives it direction and a connection to the Marvel universe. One thing I wouldn't change it that the episode are pretty much stand alone, you don't need to have seen the last show to watch and enjoy the episode you are watching tonight.

And yes, Skye in the red dress made for very enjoyable viewing.

SPOILER ALERT FOR ANYONE THAT HASN'T SEEN THE LAST EPISODES:


I thought that the gravity premise has going to introduce Ian Quinn as Graviton but I didn't know until I googled it that Franklin Hall ( the good kidnapped Doctors name ) is the real name of Graviton in the comics. Seeing how the show ended with a hand coming out of the "gravity stuff" males that a possibility - That could be a way of bringing in super heroes heroes - to fight a super villain.

[jwyblejr]

^Unless they move him over to the movies.

[sprytel]

I dunno, a lot of folks here are nostalgic about TV superheroes like The Incredible Hulk and Wonder Woman and so forth... and those featured about the same caliber of villain.

I suspect the show is going to be this generation's Knight Rider.

[Random Axe]

If the writing doesn't improve I'm out. To many cliches and way too much predictibility for me. So Skyy practices a few times disarming a pistol. It's convenient that scenario just happened to be played out twenty minutes later. Who didn't see that coming? I really want to like it, but I do fear like others here they WILL have to start having some comic characters on here for it to remain for a second season. They already hinted at Graviton. They could have some low-level characters that could be expanded upon like Constrictor, Guardsman, Paladin, Plantman and a host of others that won't ever make it into the cinematic universe. THe show has major potential but until it figures out what it wants to be, it will never reach it. It's still early so I give them a pass for now.

[sprytel]

I suspect the show is going to be this generation's Knight Rider.

If the writing doesn't improve I'm out. To many cliches and way too much predictibility for me.

I think we essentially just said the same thing. But you make it sound like a negative.

[Sideshow Spock]

If the writing doesn't improve I'm out.

Agreed. The show-runners (Whedon's brother and sister-in-law) wrote the last couple eps, and I'm not impressed. Hopefully there are sharper efforts upcoming from others on the writing team...

[boynightwing]

My thing is that it's not a bad show. It's still building up to something. When I put it in perspective, how many bad first season episodes of Star Trek TNG are there? Almost the whole first season is terrible and much of season 2 as well. If that show came out today as brand new showing those episodes we'd be calling for cancellation. If we just waited, season 3 turns things around in a big bad way. When I look at Buffy the Vampire Slayer it is the same thing. Season 1 and the first half of 2 are monster of the week. Then by the end of 2 and for the rest of the series (mostly) it's amazing.

[Earth 2 Chris]

^What he said.

Chris

[hedrap]

Name one show in the past ten years that got the slow build, year-upon-year allowance TNG or The X-Files got.

This network season has already had the two lowest rated shows in the history of Nielsen, Lucky 7 and We Are Men. Both are dead.

SHIELD has had the best number for a new show in four years, but that's not Lost, which was nearly a decade ago.

The gamble was the Marvel brand was big enough to overcome audience fracturing and would draw around a 20 million premiere, like Lost did. But they've come to realize that the show has to be bigger visually just to hold the 12-15 million. That should happen with the full season pickup.

[jwyblejr]

Are they not allowed to talk about Mutants on the show? They were saying tonight they don't believe in ESP or being able to read minds.

[madmarva]

The show's not really doing it for me. Kind of like a sillier version of NCIS. It's not bad, but it's not that compelling either.

I hope it picks up steam. I might check back in on it later or when it comes out on DVD, but for now I've lost interest.

[FETT1]

The show's not really doing it for me. Kind of like a sillier version of NCIS. It's not bad, but it's not that compelling either.

I hope it picks up steam. I might check back in on it later or when it comes out on DVD, but for now I've lost interest.

DITTO...borrrrring...was really hoping for a bam pow zap experience,but so far nuthin'!!!!

[jds1911a1]

I think last nights story was the weakest yet, for the first time I was unhappy with it but every show has it's clinkers. BUT it had a few moments - I did love the Safety/mag release gag. I am a little intriged to see them show how coulson was different "before" (as he has been this way since iron man so whatever changed him it was before then)

I think sprytel has hit a good point - having watched shows like Knight rider recently these are the 2 dimensional villians we saw in that show but I was a kid then (9-13) so I was far more accepting of a fomula villian.

[ctc]

>BUT it had a few moments

A freind of mine pointed out that each episode has one absolutely brilliant scene, then the rest is blah.

>They were saying tonight they don't believe in ESP or being able to read minds.

In some ways the show has the DC tv problem of feeling self-conscious about being a superhero show. They really should embrace either the out and out weird of the Marvel universe, or use the show to fill in some of the blanks that don't get shown in the more actiony comics and movies. Right now they've based a show around the noname guys in any other Marvel story who would charge - en masse - at the bad guy and get mowed down en masse by said bad guy. And to spice it up they've decided to fall back on the old tv investigator tropes. (Have we decided who's gonna be the plant for the secret conspiracy within the secret organization yet?)

They're squandering a great opportunity to either super-pander to the fans with all the stuff they love but won't see anywhere else, ever; (like Squirrel Girl, or maybe the whole GLA/GLX) OR they could use the more grounded, low power level of the show to make the whole idea of the Marvel universe more accessible to the non-fans.... which is what it KIND OF seems like they're trying for, but they're still half-assin' it by relying on a formula folks are getting tired of (Has Coulson dramatically pulled off his shades yet?) and shying away from the supers thing.

Don C.

[johnmiic]

I think a better comparison for Agents of SHIELD is HEROES. But since we've all seen how HEROES worked they have to kick it up a few notches and go one better. They have access to a vast array of MARVEL characters that HEROES had to re-invent. Agents... has to get cracking and start wowing audiences.