Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

[LumRanmaYasha]

My point was that I found that notion humorous. That's it.

You take things a little too seriously sometimes. 

[GregX]

My point was that I found that notion humorous. That's it.

You take things a little too seriously sometimes. 

That's another reason I'm dropping the show, it angers me to a point where it does bring out the worst in me. So, dropping it to spend more time with shows I enjoy.

[Avaitor]

More time to finally watch that boxset of the Wire and maybe check out Breaking Bad and Mad Men, perhaps?

[GregX]

More time to finally watch that boxset of the Wire and maybe check out Breaking Bad and Mad Men, perhaps?

Breaking Bad is a definite, Mad Men is highly possible. So is The Wire. I'm already watching Downton Abbey.

[Avaitor]

My local theater may drop the show if attendance doesn't raise by the end of the month. It's free regardless, and it's been averaging 60 people or so thus far, but only a fraction of the Walking Dead's audience has been showing up. The comic book shop which has been sponsoring both shows mentioned their S.H.I.E.L.D. showings at the Walking Dead's premiere last night, and quite a few people were surprised to find out they were doing it, so hopefully attendance will boost.

Also, apparently this week's episode was show nat the show's panel at NYCC. I haven't really heard anything about it at all though. Greg, did you go to the panel?

[GregX]

My local theater may drop the show if attendance doesn't raise by the end of the month. It's free regardless, and it's been averaging 60 people or so thus far, but only a fraction of the Walking Dead's audience has been showing up. The comic book shop which has been sponsoring both shows mentioned their S.H.I.E.L.D. showings at the Walking Dead's premiere last night, and quite a few people were surprised to find out they were doing it, so hopefully attendance will boost.

Also, apparently this week's episode was show nat the show's panel at NYCC. I haven't really heard anything about it at all though. Greg, did you go to the panel?

I don't like the show enough to stand in a line for its panel.

[Avaitor]

Well I do feel like tonight's episode showed promise, especially with the post-credit scenes. It's silly, but there's hints at more of a bond being built between the group, which is what the show needs to get off of its rocky path.

I can also see why they chose who they did for Ward. He's still wooden, but fairly competent for action scenes. Coach him a little more and try to let him catch a good punchline here or there, and I think he can become more likable in due time.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I actually enjoyed this episode quite a bit. It's still not up to par with what I've come to expect from a Joss Whedon series, but it's a marked improvement over the first 3 episodes, IMO. Also, Ward actually had some really entertaining scenes in this episode for the first time in the series, and didn't just feel like talking cardboard as he did in previous episodes. I especially enjoyed the "seduce him" scene. It's the type of awkward yet still somewhat tense moment that feels like it just belongs in a Joss Whedon show. The twist at the end was also pretty clever. It's nothing original, but I can also say that I didn't see it coming, either, so it still caught me off guard.

I'm just hoping that the quality of this series manages to keep stepping up from this point, as I don't think I could take it if we went back to the mediocre quality of the last 3 episodes. This week's episode was far from great, but it's enough of a step up to possibly be a sign that future episodes could be great.

[Silverstar]

I'll say it; I'm starting to get a little bored with this show now. Some of the effects are pretty good, but it's mostly just typical special agent/spy stuff lightly sprinkled with passing references to the characters and events of the movie(s), all of which are 10 times cooler than anything or anyone we'll ever see on this show. And while it's good to see him again, Phil Coulson just doesn't possess a leading man's aura; he's a great supporting character, but he's not the sort of guy you build an entire series around. It's OK for what it's worth, but it's just as I suspected: S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't that interesting to me outside of their connection to superheroes, and the fact that we can never see any capes on this show is a HUGE drawback for me.

I'll try to stick with this show for the remainder of the season, but I can't guarantee I'll keep watching beyond that.

Also, it's pretty obvious that the line "ESP, telepathy and psychic powers don't exist" basically translates to "We can't reference the X-Men due to the Fox contract".

[Avaitor]

The only reference I remember from last night's episode was one to Coulson dying in the Avengers. And that's supposed to be a plot point on the show.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, I'm actually glad that they cut down on the superhero references. And for me you don't need powers or fancy costumes to be more interesting. You need good characters and writing above all else. In that regard, this show is still nowhere close to the level of quality of the films, but it has nothing to do with the lack of big names. I will say that I'd still take this show over Iron Man 2, at least.

[Avaitor]

I don't know about you guys, but this episode gets another thumbs up from me, and I'm really starting to like Mai's character.

As for Skye's storyarc, it isn't anything special, but there are worse ways to give her a purpose in the series. And knowing the people behind the show, it should turn into something big.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I don't know about you guys, but this episode gets another thumbs up from me, and I'm really starting to like Mai's character.

The episode was pretty entertaining, but I can't stand how this show does that thing of introducing a potentially interesting character only to have them become one-dimensional morons at the end of the episode that get killed off. It would have been interesting to see "Scorch" get saved and become a recurring character on the show from time to time, but it's one of those TV tropes where everything has to return to status quo at the end. Personally, I think it would be great to see this show bring up some small-scale heroes in the MCU.

As for Skye's storyarc, it isn't anything special, but there are worse ways to give her a purpose in the series. And knowing the people behind the show, it should turn into something big.

Speaking of which, I was a little unclear on the ending. Did her parents actually work for S.H.I.E.L.D. before going MIA and having their files redacted, or did S.H.I.E.L.D. just happen to be monitoring them until something happened that forced their files to be covered up?

[Silverstar]

Uh-oh.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-marvels-agents-of-shield-ratings-20131023,0,5391694.story#axzz2igP3kfrz

[Avaitor]

This is what happens when you put a new show on at the same time as the highest-rated show on TV.

Although to be fair, NCIS's ratings in the core demo have always been a little slacking in comparison to its total viewers, and IIRC, S.H.I.E.L.D. did out-do it in that section when it started. It probably still would be if it was a better show.