They have the first promo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySsw-6aetys) out, now.
I know its not much to go on, but this show could turn out to be really good. It makes sense to make this series a prequel to the events of The Avengers, so as not to alienate a potential TV audience who haven't seen all of the Marvel movies, while also not alienating the people who only watch the Marvel movies by adding in plot points that would have to be heavily referenced in future films. Its also going to be great to get to know more about Phil Coulson as a character, being that he made such a memorable impression for a guy who got very little screen-time throughout a few of the movies leading up to The Avengers, as well as in The Avengers, itself.
I figure that actors like Samuel L. Jackson and the other characters of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the Marvel Movie Universe are too high-profile and expensive to make regular appearances on a televised TV series like this, but it'd be cool if they could make some guest appearances in an episode or 2, or even just a cameo appearance to acknowledge this show's tie to the rest of its respective Universe.
I want to like this show, I really do, but I just can't get psyched about this for some reason. Based on the footage I've seen, the production values seem pretty high, which is good given that it's on regular broadcast TV, but for all the bells and whistles this just looks like another generic special forces/police show, only set in the Marvel Universe. The producers have practically painted themselves into a corner by having this show come in the wake of The Avengers knowing full well that they won't be able to get any of the movie's actors to appear in it, and most of the cool Marvel super heroes who could appear on it are going to be blocked by ownership and licensing restrictions; they'll probably just end up going after a bunch of generic monsters and aliens with passing references to Marvel characters who don't appear on screen or lame knockoffs/imitations thereof. Not to mention bringing Phil Coulson back alive and well to run the show, while it will definitely please the fans and happily gets actor Clark Gregg back on the payroll, it basically renders Coulson's noble sacrifice in the movie pointless (unless this series is going to be a prequel to the movie), but I've gotten used to that since in the comic book world, death is about as scary as a Hawaiian vacation and is just as permanent.
I guess it's just that I've never given a crud about S.H.I.E.L.D. beyond their association with the capes, and if the super heroes won't appearing on this show, there's nothing for me to get excited about. It would be like giving all of those workers in the blue uniforms on the Watchtower on Justice League Unlimited their own show.
Actually, if you watch the promo, I'm pretty sure that it heavily implies that this series is a prequel to the events of The Avengers. So, that's why I wasn't surprised to see Phil Coulson alive and well in this show. Of course that does mean that we would all know that he's inevitably going to die in The Avengers, it still doesn't bother me as long as the character is portrayed well, here.
Just watched the promo again, and sure enough, this series is a prequel.
I just hope this doesn't mean that the writers are going to pull a Star Wars: The Clone Wars type of deal and start creating a bunch of made-up characters and events like creating never-before-seen-nor-heard-of fanfic relatives of established Marvel characters and massive story arcs that couldn't have possibly have went down before the events of the movie.
Either that or it could end up like Smallville and become another "team battles metahuman freak of the week" type of thing. We'll just have to wait and see.
Here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PerIAuv27SQ) is a full on trailer.
So now its....NOT a prequel?
Honestly, I'm kind of confused about this since the promo implied that this took place before The Avengers, but this trailer clearly references that the events of The Avengers have already happened, so that means that they basically just resurrected Agent Coulson, which really cheapens his "death scene" from The Avengers, IMO. At any rate, I still plan to check this series out when it rolls around this Fall. It may not be as interesting as the actual movies in its Universe, but I don't think I would make for a bad show, either, so I'm definitely interested in this.
The timeline on this one is... weird.
Apparently the plan for the show was for it to take place after Avengers, and to bring Coulson back to life. For a brief period, it seemed as if Joss and the crew realized that this would be in poor taste, and decided to make it a prequel instead. And now it seems like they have zero fucks and they're sticking with bringing him back to life.
There's speculation that a revived Coulson will eventually turn into the Vision. That's not a bad idea, honestly.
Quote from: Avaitor on May 16, 2013, 11:07:54 AM
The timeline on this one is... weird.
Apparently the plan for the show was for it to take place after Avengers, and to bring Coulson back to life. For a brief period, it seemed as if Joss and the crew realized that this would be in poor taste, and decided to make it a prequel instead. And now it seems like they have zero fucks and they're sticking with bringing him back to life.
So it's a Marvel comic, basically. :D
I don't see this turning out well.
The premiere is this Tuesday. My local theater is going to show it in one of their big screens, and I'm probably going to check that out, even if I end up alone.
Also, this may not be the only MCU show. (http://www.deadline.com/2013/09/marvel-developing-agent-carter-tv-series/) I hope this one at least turns out well though.
The first episode premiere's tomorrow night. So, who else is going to watch it? I honestly don't have high expectations for this show, but I think that it's at least worth a shot.
I can't check it out live, but I'll watch it on Hulu the next day if they put it up. I don't know what to expect, but I'm hopeful that it'll be a fun show to watch.
Turns out they're showing the entire season at the theater as it goes along each week. I'll try to go to the first couple, unless the show really does turn out to suck.
Reviews for the pilot have been solid, but there's been rumors that Joss had to personally rewrite a lot of episodes as their earlier drafts just came out that poorly. I'm not sure if that's true or not, but it doesn't bode well for the series.
I saw the pilot episode....it was just OK. I'll certainly give the next few episodes of this show a chance, but I think its biggest limitation and problem is that it seems to be heavily reliant on continuity from the Marvel Movie Universe, so anyone who hasn't seen all of the films can easily get lost in the mix of things. In the first episode alone we get references to all of The Avengers, and Extremis actually serves as a plot point here, but they don't do anything to explain what it is, so if you haven't seen Iron Man 3 yet, then you're pretty much boned.
That said, the show has some bright spots. The production values are amazing for a TV show, and Agent Coulson is just as likable of a character as ever. If this show has any chance of succeeding, I have a feeling that it will lie in the strength of its characters.
I think that was kind of intentional for the pilot, to get fans interested in the show and to give them a reference point. If they focus more on the characters and less on the going-ons of what happens in the movies, they'll make a good call, but I'd get a little annoyed if they become over-reliant.
I liked the pilot myself. It wasn't revelatory, but I don't have a problem with any of the characters yet, and there's a decent enough set-up for a show here. I'll definitely be going to the next few theatrical showings.
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on September 24, 2013, 09:25:41 PM
I saw the pilot episode....it was just OK. I'll certainly give the next few episodes of this show a chance, but I think its biggest limitation and problem is that it seems to be heavily reliant on continuity from the Marvel Movie Universe
Yeah, the writers definitely need to dial back the constant references to characters and events in the movies, especially since we know that none of the movie characters are going to appear on the show. We know that gradually a portion of viewers are going to stop watching once they realize that none of the Avengers are going to be showing up, so it's better that they don't keep dropping references to the far more interesting and colorful costumed heroes who we're never gonna get to see on this show. But like Aviator said it was most likely just to give the show a reference point and to ensure that the opener got a lot of curious viewers.
The premiere was OK, nothing mind-blowing, but I wasn't expecting mind-blowing on broadcast television. The production values are surprisingly high, it remains to be seen what sort of things they'll be able to accomplish on network TV with a network budget. None of the characters really left a lasting impression on me yet, though Clark Gregg is clearly having a ball as Coulson. I may give this one a few more weeks to see how it pans out.
That was definitely the most okay thing I've seen in a while.
While it's still too early to judge the series based only on one episode, it seems like it could potentially bee too convoluted for its own good. I got hints of an Angel season 4 vibe, here, and I did NOT really enjoy season 4 of that show, aside from a few great episodes. I kind of hope that this series can remain episodic-by-nature, but with some overarching elements that can connect a grander plot in the background that could be summed up in the season's finale. The best seasons of Buffy and Angel were able to do that. Ideally, it'd be great if this show were like Serenity and it was completely focused on really good stand-alone episodes, but being that it's based in a Universe that can get so up its own ass with continuity, I don't see that happening.
This week's episode was a step-up from the premiere, IMO, but only just by a little. It's pretty cliche and predictable stuff for the most part, but I do like how the team started coming into their own in this episode, and the characters are now starting to slowly show a bit more dynamics and chemistry between one another. I do feel that the character arcs that were set up in these episodes seem as though they might go down a predictable path, but since this is a Joss Whedon series, perhaps he's making it seem that way on purpose and will throw a curve ball at us later on in the season. That said, even if it does go down the predictable route, I have to make note that so did the first season of Buffy, so it may just be a thing where he wants to establish these characters first and then move onto bigger and better things.
I also like how they toned down the references to the Avengers in this episode. There were still a few obvious ones, but not to the point of potentially alienating a viewer who went into this show blind to the Marvel Movie Universe. Aside from that, the other positive is that I feel that the humor started to work in this episode. A couple of criticisms that I have mostly lies in how the writers handled the dialogue, here. A lot of it just feels too stilted and cliche, and I was able to predict so many lines and which characters would end up saying them by the beginning of the episode itself. It felt too much like "textbook" writing tropes to me, though there were a few clever quips thrown into the mix.
Other than that, we got a neat little cameo appearance from Nick Fury in this episode! I certainly didn't see that coming. :thumbup:
It definitely feels like a Whedon show, as the main characters are slowly but surely growing into a weird little family.
Not a bad thing, really.
My comment remains the same.
Oh, I forgot to mention, at my screenings of the show so far, the audience applauded in unison to not just Fury, Coulson and Hill's first appearances, but Ron Glass's character in the pilot as well. Not so much for J. August Richards.
I guess that should tell you who matters in Whedon canon. Book, absolutely. Gunn, not so much.
I never disliked Gunn as a character, but he was easily my least favorite member of Angel's team. Not counting Angel himself, as well as Spike (because he's a character that I associate more with Buffy), I would have to say that my favorite character on the show was probably Lorne, followed closely by Cordelia. I also have to give an honorable mention to Doyle, but obviously he didn't have quite as much screen-time on the show as the other main characters did. Wesley was also a great character, but he became a bit of an ass in the final season. And finally, Fred was just Fred. She was a fun character, but just not as stand-out as some of the others.
I'm just now up to Angel on my ever slow rewatch of it and Buffy, but from what I recall, I can mostly agree.
Fred in particular. She was cute, but honestly, I've always preferred Willow and Kaylee myself.
I had to watch the first two episodes On Demand due to baseball. Meh.
Ensatsu-Ken: Agents is a follow-up to Avengers, has been all along. The debate on another board has been surrounding Coulson's resurrection, and sources there have already dismissed
the use of the Life Model Decoy (LMD), a frequent, convienent plot device in the books. If Whedon's had to rewrite, that might be because Ear Loeb & Quesadilla are two of the executive producers. Loeb's got experience with live-action TV (Lost, Heroes), but he should be
kept far, far away from any Marvel TV project going forward. Same with Quesadilla.
So far, no Stan Lee cameos, which would've been too obvious. I'd expect them to do something to tie into Thor: The Dark World, which opens next month.
Quote from: hobbyfan on October 05, 2013, 03:48:36 PMEnsatsu-Ken: Agents is a follow-up to Avengers, has been all along.
Did I ever say anything to indicate that I'm not aware of that? My gripe was that having too much of the series try to find some way to connect to The Avengers is a bad thing. If I want to see The Avengers, then I'll just watch the movie, and if I want to see a follow-up, I'll just wait for the sequel. What this series should be focused on is showing us a completely different experience taking place in the same Universe, and by that I mean that it should be giving us a reason to care about S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first place, which it hasn't quite managed to do for me just yet.
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on October 05, 2013, 04:32:21 PM
Quote from: hobbyfan on October 05, 2013, 03:48:36 PMEnsatsu-Ken: Agents is a follow-up to Avengers, has been all along.
Did I ever say anything to indicate that I'm not aware of that? My gripe was that having too much of the series try to find some way to connect to The Avengers is a bad thing. If I want to see The Avengers, then I'll just watch the movie, and if I want to see a follow-up, I'll just wait for the sequel. What this series should be focused on is showing us a completely different experience taking place in the same Universe, and by that I mean that it should be giving us a reason to care about S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first place, which it hasn't quite managed to do for me just yet.
I referred to your starting post when you said you figured it would be a prequel, which it is anything but. Disney/Marvel want to tie as much together as possible for marketing purposes, which is something DC/WB isn't doing with Arrow---yet. I never said you weren't aware, but the statement I referenced made me think you were expecting something different.
If you're curious, yes, Franklin Hall is a character in Marvel, and he does become a villain. So this is definitely not the last we'll see of him.
This was another pretty okay episode, but the show still isn't finding its voice. It feels like Jed and Maurissa want it to be part Firefly, part MCU, and part NCIS/CSI-like procedural all at once, and the influences clash. Hopefully this will change, but we are only a few episodes in, after all.
Yeah, the show really seems to be struggling with trying to find its own identity. I just hope that it finds it soon, because I don't want to have to wait a whole season just for this series to start getting interesting.
I actually watched an episode of Disappeared instead. The show is too average for me. If it picks up later, I'll pick it up again, but for now I'll spend my time elsewhere.
I'm going to stick with it until the end of season 1 to see if it picks up at all. If not, then I'll probably drop it.
I like how my local theater is having screenings of it each week. I'll keep on going until I feel like there's no hope for the show.
I'm not liking the show either, but I have hope for it. Which is more than I can way about "Legend of Korra" ... that show can't die fast enough.
Thought you said you didn't hate either show on your blog?
Quote from: Peanutbutter on October 09, 2013, 04:25:13 PM
Thought you said you didn't hate either show on your blog?
I believe I said "I want to like them." I don't hate AoS, I just don't like it yet. I do hate "Legend of Korra" though.
Quote from: GregX on October 09, 2013, 04:31:21 PM
I believe I said "I want to like them." I don't hate AoS, I just don't like it yet. I do hate "Legend of Korra" though.
http://gregxb.blogspot.com/2013/10/shows-i-want-to-like.html (http://gregxb.blogspot.com/2013/10/shows-i-want-to-like.html):
QuoteI don't hate these shows, but I don't like them either.
:humhumhum:
I don't hate Legend of Korra, myself, but it IS a considerably big step down in quality from The Last Airbender. Personally, though, I did enjoy Book 1, and I think that Book 2 has some positive points to it and generally gets a bit more flak than it deserves, but once again, I'm acknowledging that it has a ton of flaws. Then again, it takes a lot to get me to downright hate something. Stuff like Thundercats 2011 and Teen Titans are shows that I just personally really dislike, but at the same time I don't feel passionate enough about my negative opinions toward them to hate them, either. It takes something that's Ultimate Spider-Man levels of terrible to get me to downright hate a show.
As for Agents of Shield, my biggest problem with it so far is that it's completely unremarkable in every way possible. I know it's just the first season, but I would have expected a Joss Whedon show to be able to come off as a lot more interesting than these first few episodes have been. I mean, yeah, Buffy season 1 wasn't so hot and has aged pretty poorly for the most part, but I thought Angel season 1 was great, and Firefly only lasted 1 season and is arguably Joss Whedon's best show. So, I don't really think that being experimental in its first season is much of an excuse that AoS could have the luxury of using. Still, like I said, I'm going to stick with this series throughout the entire run of its first season. I'm invested enough in the Marvel Movie Universe in order to have faith that this production can step up its game.
He also did Dollhouse. I don't even think Whedonites think much of that one.
I really enjoyed his work on the movie and was hoping some of that would carry on to the show considering his pedigree. But so far it's just boring. Really, really boring.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on October 09, 2013, 05:53:29 PMHe also did Dollhouse. I don't even think Whedonites think much of that one.
I still haven't gotten around to watching that show, yet, which is why I did't mention it.
QuoteI really enjoyed his work on the movie and was hoping some of that would carry on to the show considering his pedigree. But so far it's just boring. Really, really boring.
I don't really agree that it's boring. I enjoy any moments with Agent Coulson on screen, and I do find that some of the humor comes through every now and then, but for the most part I just get a huge "been there, done that" feeling from the way that these characters, and consequently their development, are being handled. In truth, none of Joss Whedon's shows or movies that I've seen ever really had very sharp story-telling (many of them have a tendency to be all over the place in terms of plot, and feel kind of sloppy upon closer analysis), but they made up for it with great characterization, IMO. I mean, just look at The Avengers. If you look at the plot, it's just a bunch of superheroes teaming up to fight off an alien invasion. There's nothing remarkable about that in and of itself. The reason it was a great film was because it was all about the characters, their interactions, and their further development. Basically, that's what really made the movie memorable in the first place. With AoS, it doesn't matter that these characters don't have superpowers to rival the big heroes of the Marvel Movie Universe, but it also doesn't mean that they can't be just as interesting, if not even more so, as characters in and of themselves. So far, aside from Coulson, these are the most "meh" characters that I have ever seen out of a Joss Whedon production, but to be fair, that's only so far.
That's basically what I mean by it being boring. The story is nothing special so far and most of the characters are just dull. There's nothing pulling me into wanting more. Yes, Coulson is nice, but he's really about the only thing that stands out to me.
If it later builds to something good, then I'll be all up for it. But as of now I just don't find it worth spending my time.
What about the characters are so dull? Granted I have only seen the first episode, but from the first episode Hill, Coulson, Ward, and Skye I thought were all fun. I'll admit Ming-Na's character didn't grab my attention, and that British duo didn't do much for me either. But what's wrong with the others? :??:
Quote from: Peanutbutter on October 09, 2013, 06:30:46 PM
What about the characters are so dull? Granted I have only seen the first episode, but from the first episode Hill, Coulson, Ward, and Skye I thought were all fun. I'll admit Ming-Na's character didn't grab my attention, and that British duo didn't do much for me either. But what's wrong with the others? :??:
Well for my personal tastes, I don't hate Skye. She's easily the best at handing out Whedon-esq quips, besides the MCU regulars obviously. I do feel like her mystery angle is a bit ineffective though, and she almost borderlines on Moffat territory with it, which is where I can see her dislike coming from. Fitzsimmons also have their moments, but their material tends to be more dopey than likable. Fitz in particular bugs me when he says something inappropriate, like the reference to his "thing" in the pilot. That's got to be the most groan-worthy grab for humor I've seen Joss do, and even speaking as a big fan, I can say that is no easy feat.
I have no love for Ward though. David Sims and I (http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-asset,103568/) agree that he's basically the show's equivalent of Riley, and lord knows we don't need another one of him on a Whedon show. I also don't feel anything for Melinda yet, and they really seem to be building her up to be the show's breakaway character.
Quote from: Cartoon X on October 09, 2013, 05:22:19 PM
Quote from: GregX on October 09, 2013, 04:31:21 PM
I believe I said "I want to like them." I don't hate AoS, I just don't like it yet. I do hate "Legend of Korra" though.
http://gregxb.blogspot.com/2013/10/shows-i-want-to-like.html (http://gregxb.blogspot.com/2013/10/shows-i-want-to-like.html):QuoteI don't hate these shows, but I don't like them either.
:humhumhum:
So, I didn't remember what I said and you found it, congratulations on finding that... I suppose I'll be charged with perjury any minute now.
Times change, things evolve... so do opinions. And in my opinion "Legend of Korra" is a piece of hack shit. The more thought I give it, the more I despise it.
Someone's being fussy.
Quote from: GregX on October 09, 2013, 08:37:26 PM
Times change, things evolve... so do opinions. And in my opinion "Legend of Korra" is a piece of hack shit. The more thought I give it, the more I despise it.
Well of course opinions change. I'm no stranger to that myself.
The reason I pointed that out was because I found it humorous that you went from not hating
Legend of Korra to thinking it's utter shit in only 4 days. I mean, not even an hour ago you've just called it a "piece of hack shit;" was that something you thought you would have said, or would be saying, a week ago? Opinions sure do evolve quick, don't they? :il_hahaha:
Quote from: Cartoon X on October 09, 2013, 09:29:56 PM
Quote from: GregX on October 09, 2013, 08:37:26 PM
Times change, things evolve... so do opinions. And in my opinion "Legend of Korra" is a piece of hack shit. The more thought I give it, the more I despise it.
Well of course opinions change. I'm no stranger to that myself.
The reason I pointed that out was because I found it humorous that you went from not hating Legend of Korra to thinking it's utter shit in only 4 days. I mean, not even an hour ago you've just called it a "piece of hack shit;" was that something you thought you would have said, or would be saying, a week ago? Opinions sure do evolve quick, don't they? :il_hahaha:
Your point?
My point was that I found that notion humorous. That's it.
You take things a little too seriously sometimes. :sweat:
Quote from: Cartoon X on October 09, 2013, 09:50:06 PM
My point was that I found that notion humorous. That's it.
You take things a little too seriously sometimes. :sweat:
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.
More time to finally watch that boxset of the Wire and maybe check out Breaking Bad and Mad Men, perhaps?
Quote from: Avaitor on October 09, 2013, 10:14:44 PM
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.
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?
Quote from: Avaitor on October 15, 2013, 02:50:25 PM
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.
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.
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.
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".
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.
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.
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.
Quote from: Avaitor on October 22, 2013, 08:12:49 PMI 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.
QuoteAs 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?
Uh-oh.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-marvels-agents-of-shield-ratings-20131023,0,5391694.story#axzz2igP3kfrz
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.
Hopefully it'll get better and do better. It'd be a shame for a show with potential like this be cancelled due to it's own meandering and unsatisfactory ratings.
Finally got around to watching the second episode. I still don't have a problem with Ward or Skye, I think they have potential that could be tapped into later. It's Fitz and Simmons I just can't care about. They don't really contribute anything other than show some sort of pseudo-diversity just because they're both British. And there doesn't need to be two of them at all. In the planning stages, they should have been merged into one character. I also have to say that while I still enjoy Agent Coulson (and he's the main reason why I'm sticking with this show), I also don't really feel anything about Ming-Na's character. The quiet brooding loner doesn't do anything for her.
I'll come back when I've seen more episodes.
I do feel like May becomes more likable as the show goes along, as she gets more stuff to do and grows a sense of humor.
I still don't mind Fitzsimmons that much though, even if it's true that they're not very important. Granted, I just find Simmons really cute.
A Thor 2 crossover episode has been confirmed. (http://www.movieweb.com//news/marvels-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-announces-thor-the-dark-world-crossover-episode)
I was 99% sure that this would happen, and I'm right. I'd even say that Captain America 2 was pushed up to this coming April so there can be a similar crossover for it on the show without cutting into a potential season finale.
Quote from: Avaitor on November 02, 2013, 02:24:06 PM
A Thor 2 crossover episode has been confirmed. (http://www.movieweb.com//news/marvels-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-announces-thor-the-dark-world-crossover-episode)
I was 99% sure that this would happen, and I'm right. I'd even say that Captain America 2 was pushed up to this coming April so there can be a similar crossover for it on the show without cutting into a potential season finale.
Did Cap originally have a later release date? If so, the production team is being given less time on post-production so it can tie-in with this shitty show? If this is true, fuck everything....
Quote from: GregX on November 02, 2013, 03:15:56 PM
Quote from: Avaitor on November 02, 2013, 02:24:06 PM
A Thor 2 crossover episode has been confirmed. (http://www.movieweb.com//news/marvels-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-announces-thor-the-dark-world-crossover-episode)
I was 99% sure that this would happen, and I'm right. I'd even say that Captain America 2 was pushed up to this coming April so there can be a similar crossover for it on the show without cutting into a potential season finale.
Did Cap originally have a later release date? If so, the production team is being given less time on post-production so it can tie-in with this shitty show? If this is true, fuck everything....
I actually can't find any proof of there being a later release date, but I've always been under the assumption that the plans for Phase 2 were supposed to be a movie in May, followed by another in November, until we hit Avengers 2. That's what made me assume this.
Well that was basically devoid of emotion. This is getting into Walking Dead territory, where I just can't seem to care for the majority of the characters.
I think I'm going to stick around to the Thor crossover episode. After that, I'll probably just drop the show. It's not turning out that well at all.
Yeah, it's like Marvel just hired a bunch of C-list writers for this show and used most of their best resources and most talented writers and directors for the movies....which makes sense! But then that begs the question of why they even made this series in the first place if it was going to be so half-assed. It looks like Marvel took on more projects than they could handle, juggling an entire TV show with a big movie series, and it certainly shows with the lack of quality for this series.
It was about time for the MCU to make a total misfire (yes, I know that Iron Man 2 wasn't very good, but it wasn't irredeemable, and it sure made a profit).
I wonder if Marvel is reconsidering their big boost in making shows. I don't think they could handle 5 more at once, let alone this one
Speaking of Marvel's plans for more TV shows... (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/marvel-netflix-agree-create-original-654171)
Actually, I'm interested in all of these. They're all good characters and have potential in their own series. They just need to pick the right staff for each of them.
Iron Fist deserves justice after USM.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on November 08, 2013, 03:58:33 PM
Iron Fist deserves justice after USM.
Damn right!
For now, just rewatch his and Power Man's EMH though. ;)
I give the show credit for trying to build onto Fitzsimmons by giving them more to do beyond doing stuff in a lab, but the show is still failing to make the characters feel exciting or particularly likable. Even May, who's been growing on me, is losing out as a result.
I think I'm done with this show, unless it pulls a massive 180. I was going to stick around for next week's, since it was supposed to be an expansion of the new Thor, but it doesn't seem like they're going to do anything special with that based on the preview.
Yeah, this show has unfortunately just been an exercise in boredom so far. I don't see the quality changing at all this season, and I'm not so sure if this season will be successful enough to warrant a second season, so this season may be the show's one and only chance, and if that's the case, then Marvel just blew it, big time.
I think Marvel just bit off more than they could chew with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. When Joe Average TV Viewer heard there was going to be a new series set in the MCU, they were expecting something like The Avengers, Iron Man or Thor every week, which simply isn't possible. It's not enough to just have a bunch of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents constantly reference the events of the movies while doing generic special agent stuff you can see on any network special forces show. They should've known better than to try to make a TV show set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with no big name MCU actors (except for Clark Gregg), no superheroes and none of the big name characters.
Plus, I've mentioned this before, but Phil Coulson just doesn't have a leading man's aura. He doesn't work as the guy giving the orders, he's better suited as the guy who reports to the guy giving the orders. Also, and I don't want to be that person, but another thing I'm not that cool with is how little diversity there is in the cast. Except for May, all of the principle agents are attractive Caucasians who look like they've stepped out of an Abercrombie & Fitch catalog. And it's clear that Joss Whedon has a thing for Eliza Dushku and/or he really wants her to be a star; she dominates most of the scenes and Whedon keeps putting her in all of his shows. I keep wanting to say to Joss, "Geez, just ask her out already!". And why do they have a flying car if they never use it??
I gave this show a chance, but if it turns out there's no second season, I can't say I'll be too surprised or disappointed.
Quote from: Silverstar on November 15, 2013, 10:32:10 AM
And it's clear that Joss Whedon has a thing for Eliza Dushku and/or he really wants her to be a star; she dominates most of the scenes and Whedon keeps putting her in all of his shows. I keep wanting to say to Joss, "Geez, just ask her out already!".
That's not Eliza though- Skye is played by Chloe Bennett.
But you can totally tell that Joss totally wanted Eliza for the role.
Quote from: Silverstar on November 15, 2013, 10:32:10 AM
They should've known better than to try to make a TV show set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with no big name MCU actors (except for Clark Gregg), no superheroes and none of the big name characters.
It's not even that. This show could have been good without any of those things. But the writing sucks, the acting sucks, the SFX sucks (and it has a much higher budget than other shows which use their limitations wisely).
They should have known better than to try to make a TV show set in the MCU without quality writing and acting, which the movies mostly have.
Agreed. If all these movies really needed was powerful heroes and spectacle to be good, then on that end, something like Captatin America should not have worked as well as it did (given how much less of that stuff it has relative to the other MCU films). That film still managed to make a hero without any real superpowers or special gadgets just as interesting as any of the best heroes out there, mostly through good writing and acting.
The cast on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. may have no super powers, but I never gave a crap about that to begin with. If anything, the lack of super powers could have worked as a strength to the show, letting us see how more ordinary people operated in the MCU, and the smaller-scale problems brought up as consequences and after-effects of the big events that the "suits" had to tackle in the movies. The problem is that these characters are so god-awfully boring. Their personalities feel completely artificial, and I have yet to see any interesting layers to a single character on this show. They are very much characters who are defined by their respective roles on the team, and nothing more.
I'll probably watch the Thor: The Dark World tie-in episode this week (though I expect that to be just as boring as the rest), and after that I'll probably call it quits as well.
Yeah, tell me how that goes, and if anyone shows up. I'm only expecting Selvig to appear, but still.
I'm basically done unless it makes a 180.
I don't see a 180 happening anytime in this season. I'm pretty sure that it'll just stay as consistently bland as it has been so far. The only chance this series has for a complete 180 is if it gets renewed for a 2nd season and the writers actually manage to take all of the feedback and criticism that this series has got in order to make it better. If this series did somehow manage to get a 2nd season, I'd only be willing to check out the first episode of that season, and if that didn't manage to do a thing to change my mind, then I'd be done with this series for good.
As things are going right now, though, the ratings are pretty sub-par from what I hear, and considering how expensive it must be to fund a TV show, I'm not sure if it'd be wise for Marvel to keep pursuing this.
Wow, looks like just about everyone has soured on this show. At least now I don't feel bad about bailing on the series after the second episode. :awesome:
So EK, was this episode any good?
It was as good as every other episode in this show so far....
....Which, in other words, means that it was piss-awfully boring. How you take a plot involving an actual Asgardian living on Earth and make it into something so mundane and uninteresting is beyond me. Fuck this show.
Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on November 20, 2013, 04:57:42 PM
It was as good as every other episode in this show so far....
....Which, in other words, means that it was piss-awfully boring. How you take a plot involving an actual Asgardian living on Earth and make it into something so mundane and uninteresting is beyond me. Fuck this show.
You want some good fantasy, come watch "Game of Thrones" ;)
I'm seriously wondering just how much involvement Joss Whedon even really had with this show. I mean, I'm not one of the people who considers the guy to be a writing/directing genius by any means (at least as far as TV shows go; I've never read any of his comic book material), but I have always thought of him to at least have standards much higher than this show. I'm really starting to wonder if Marvel just made it look as though he had more of an attachment to this show's development and production than he really did. Outside of the first episode which he co-wrote and directed, I don't think I've seen any single episode this season (so far that directly has his name attached to it in the credits (other than being a producer).
Quote from: GregX on November 20, 2013, 05:15:15 PMYou want some good fantasy, come watch "Game of Thrones" ;)
Looks like I'll need to start collecting the DVD sets for Christmas.
Meanwhile, I still have the DVDs for Bordwalk Empire lying around and I haven't gotten back to it in a while. I'll need to fix that when I free up some time next month during my break from rotations.
Yeah, I know with Dollhouse and this show, he let his brother and sister-in-law do some writing because he was busy with Avengers stuff. And no Tim Minear to even stuff out.
Also, The Wire. (http://www.amazon.com/The-Wire-Complete-First-Season/dp/B0002ERXC2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1385002558&sr=8-3&keywords=the+wire) Only $18 a season.
Yeah, it's more their fault than his, it seems. I've heard mixed things about Spartacus, on the other hand.
It's funny; everyone at Toon Zone thinks Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is great. If you read their posts, the show is awesome and keeps getting better. I guess TZ exists to be the polar opposite doppleganger to Animation Revelation.
I don't think it's just a tz-AR thing. From what I've seen elsewhere, including in person at an even at my local comic book shop last night, the opinions on the show seem to be pretty divided. A fair amount of people think that the show is improving, while there's plenty who agree with those that just don't give a damn about it.
I'm not watching the show, but apparently the ratings have been up in the past couple of weeks. Not by a whole lot, but any gain matters.
Which means it might get a second season, which potentially means it can improve. We'll see though.
Quote from: Avaitor on November 27, 2013, 04:37:14 PM
I'm not watching the show, but apparently the ratings have been up in the past couple of weeks. Not by a whole lot, but any gain matters.
Which means it might get a second season, which potentially means it can improve. We'll see though.
(https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1452385_10152088771703615_795057872_n.jpg)
Finally caught up with a few more episodes. The Thor 2 sequel episode was pretty good. I don't see how it was boring. There was a lot of good development with Ward, and Peter MacNichol was awesome. May fighting with that Berserker staff was a lot better than her martial art scenes. Overall, this episode was an improvement.
I will say the episode before was boring though. All that happened was Fitz and Ward getting into a bar fight and then they wandered off to diffuse a bomb in the middle of nowhere. Very mediocre episode. I think that's biggest problem. Half the plots of the episodes are okay, the others are generic and bland. I still like Ward and Skye, Coulson is as good as always, plus May and Simmons have been growing on me. I don't agree with the couple of blogs saying they need to kill the characters off ( ::)), though I wouldn't be broken up if something happened to Fitz. But really, they just need some better plots and show the backstories onscreen like Ward's brother in that well.
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.screwattack.com%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fimages%2FNews%2F2014%2FJanuary%2Foriginal.jpg&hash=3fb09cc6618237895d26b0339e3edfe71010e9ca)
Oops? (http://www.screwattack.com/news/bioware-concept-art-ripped-use-episode-marvels-agents-shield)
Well it looks like I'll be giving the show another chance come this episode. (http://marvel.com/news/tv/2014/1/17/21783/the_lady_sif_set_to_drop_in_on_marvels_agents_of_shield.)
Yup, Clark Gregg says that if you quit watching AoS, you're a loser - http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/s227/agents-of-shield/news/a548207/clark-gregg-on-agents-of-shield-ratings-slide-losers-quit-watching.html
If you don't have the stamina to sit through "Agents of SHIELD", you won't go far in life.
Yeah, I've been seeing this make the rounds online.
Say what you will about the show, but that's just not cool on his part.
I don't know if Gregg is a producer or writer, but as someone who likes Agents of Shield and loves him as Coulson, SHUT UP!!!! :bleh:
How disappointingly arrogant of him.
Even Jim Steranko hates Agents of SHIELD. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/jim-steranko-agents-shield-plots-669187)
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F25.media.tumblr.com%2F70b7298da40bff4fa811ad8fe00dcd94%2Ftumblr_n147ngPR6O1rhuguao1_1280.jpg&hash=aaa9883b4c3c022e7e606915ae704202b64e4e41)
Next, we should give Chloe a rainbow coat and let her strangle the other characters for no reason whatsoever.
I get it now. Skye's mother is Nebula.
Now send her back to home planet and maybe let her die on the way.
Either Skye is going to die or at least suffer to some extent. (https://twitter.com/josswhedon/status/440936172546965504) Good.
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on March 04, 2014, 01:50:06 PM
Either Skye is going to die or at least suffer to some extent. (https://twitter.com/josswhedon/status/440936172546965504) Good.
She won't die. She's the Mary Sue, the Scrappy, the Creator's Pet. She won't die.
Quote from: GregX on March 04, 2014, 04:48:25 PM
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on March 04, 2014, 01:50:06 PM
Either Skye is going to die or at least suffer to some extent. (https://twitter.com/josswhedon/status/440936172546965504) Good.
She won't die. She's the Mary Sue, the Scrappy, the Creator's Pet. She won't die.
A man can dream.
Joss usually knows what's up with his following, but here, he's playing. There's no way he or his brother would sign off on Skye dying.
Yet.
http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/s227/agents-of-shield/news/a555730/tuesday-ratings-marvels-agents-of-shield-sinks-to-series-low.html
I don't hate Skye. :??:
That being said, one look at Jed Whedon's wife and it becomes very obvious who Skye is based on.
Quote from: Peanutbutter on March 06, 2014, 05:04:18 PM
That being said, one look at Jed Whedon's wife and it becomes very obvious who Skye is based on.
Every Joss Whedon character Eliza Dushku plays?
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on March 06, 2014, 05:06:15 PM
Quote from: Peanutbutter on March 06, 2014, 05:04:18 PM
That being said, one look at Jed Whedon's wife and it becomes very obvious who Skye is based on.
Every Joss Whedon character Eliza Dushku plays?
I didn't watch it, but I heard she didn't die. Like I said, she's the Creator's Pet. Someone on the corporate level must be full on stalker in love with the Chloe Bennet and stealing her panties and framing them on his wall. It is the ONLY explanation for why they keep trying to force her on the audience over and over and trying to make it the "SKYE (Isn't She So Amazing?) And Also I Guess Some Agents or Something Show" even though she's overwhelmingly the least popular character and the show could be greatly and cheaply improved by killing her off.
Aw well, in my headcanon... Coulson died at Loki's hands, is currently in Hell and Skye is Mephisto.
As long as Marvel doesn't try to do any crossovers with AOS within any of the actual movies themselves, we can all just pretend that it doesn't exist. It's already hard enough for me to accept that awesome movies like Iron Man, Captain America, and The Avenger take place in the same Universe as this POS TV show. I certainly don't need more reminders of that.
I don't think the show is THAT bad. Some of the plots are boring, but things have finally started to line up these last few episodes.
Okay, so I've read up on the past couple of episodes, and got to see them, starting with Sif's. Jaimie Alexander is great in the role, but it's pretty much the same bullshit that you'd expect from the show. The next two, however, which are dealing with the ramifications of The Winter Soldier, have had potential. Not so much in the characters, although I give credit to the show for severely cutting Skye's screentime in the latest. This episode pulled out a twist that has the potential for something awesome- Ward being a double agent.
If they don't try to cheat and let him off the hook again, this can can turn into something good. I still don't think it's a particularly good show, but for the first time since the series started, I'm kind of looking forward to the next episode.
Skye's real name is Mary Sue. Seriously.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIgfiSzCy1o
That was easily the best line she ever had on the show.
And I don't think it was meant to be a joke.
This got renewed?
This got renewed!?!?
The most repulsive television show I've ever seen got renewed??!!??!!
"The Adventures of Mary Sue Poots: The Most Wonderful Specialest Snowflake Ever & We're All Just So Blessed To Be In Her Presence That We Totally Love Her" got renewed!?!
/grinds teeth
I kinda hate humanity right now.
Eh, whatever. It's just another mediocre tv show. It'll die eventually.
I don't know that I'd go so far as to call it one of the most repulsive TV series ever (I've seen far worse, at least), but it's definitely surprising that this got a second season given how shitty the first season was. Part of me wants to hope that they learned their lesson from season 1 and decided to higher better writers, but I won't be expecting anything good from this series.
Eh, I've been trying the later episodes, and while they are getting somewhat better with plotting, it's hard to get invested in the show when the characters are so universally banal, or have writers who are afraid to take bigger risks.
But I'm not really too surprised that it got renewed. The show is doing bette in the core demo than what ABC has recently tried at the same timeslot, even if it was losing viewers each week. I don't see it getting a third, though.
Reaf absolutely nails it: http://reafdebrief.wordpress.com/2014/05/17/the-problems-with-agents-of-shield/
So, this show is finally on Netflix. As much as I want to avoid going back to it like the plague, part of me feels compelled to force my way through it just to say that I did. It's not too dissimilar to how I forced myself to finish reading Naruto just a couple of weeks back to see it through to the bitter end, even though that was literally some of the worst shit that I've ever had to read.
I'll just pick up from where I left off, which was episode 10, push forward, and then never look back.
Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on November 24, 2014, 10:29:00 PM
So, this show is finally on Netflix. As much as I want to avoid going back to it like the plague, part of me feels compelled to force my way through it just to say that I did. It's not too dissimilar to how I forced myself to finish reading Naruto just a couple of weeks back to see it through to the bitter end, even though that was literally some of the worst shit that I've ever had to read.
I'll just pick up from where I left off, which was episode 10, push forward, and then never look back.
I'd rather teabag a table saw.
I'm up to episode 21, and I have to ask....why did people tell me that Ward's character gets more interesting after he turns heel and is revealed as an agent of Hydra? He's literally the same, stoic, boring-ass, monotone character that he always was, except slightly angrier and just "technically" a bad guy now. I say technically because there is nothing to his actual character or personality to insinuate that he's bad. It's imply just through the fact that the writers decided to make him a bad guy, so he kills some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and tries to kidnap Skye. I mean, I know that a character's actions are supposed to say a lot about them, but it doesn't work if there is no internal development to go along with it. If he was doing most of the same stuff that he's doing now to Hydra, and you kept his current personality in-tact, then he's a good guy again. How do I know this? Because that's exactly what he was doing through the entire first half of the season.
So, the short version is that he's basically the same character, just with the "evil" label now slapped on him. It's disappointing too, because knowing about this twist beforehand, I thought that the writers would at least put in some subtle hints at his character turn throughout the series, but instead they just haphazardly (and far too obviously) cram all of those hints into just a single episode before he turns, which I find to be incredibly lazy on their part, unless I'm just missing something, which I don't think that I am.
Anyways, I'm almost done with the season, but as far as I'm concerned, the show didn't really get better. Rather, it went from being a boring show to a boring and fairly stupid/convoluted show. I don't really care to get into specifics, but am I the only person who feels that certain main characters consistently make downright stupid decisions that aren't befitting of an operative of a high-level organization like this? It's just that, I've noticed more than a few times where things will go the way the characters need it to via the convenience of plot devices rather than them actually earning it through being clever, granted that it doesn't happen all of the time, but it's enough to be noticeable, IMO. In other cases, when characters find themselves in a trap or on the bad end of an already desperate situation, it usually seems to be because they just made really bad decisions that anyone with half a brain should have known would be dumb.
Take Ward for example. After he kidnaps Skye, he gives her a computer and basically lets her rat him out and doesn't figure her out until literally a dozen or so cops show up. You'd think a specialist like him would be certain of when he was being so obviously scouted out, but no, he takes Skye's word that it's just in his head until it's too late.
Then take May. After her private unauthorized communication line is found out by Fitz, her response is to take a stun gun and go after him....because that won't look the least bit suspicious. I mean, couldn't she just subdue him with basic marial arts considering that he can't fight for shit? Or, a better idea would be to not stupidly overreact and explain the situation to him since the more important thing would be to keep Coulson from finding out about it, not Fitz. And after going through all of that, she ends up telling him anyways, rendering all of that nonsense entirely pointless.
And then there was the guy who literally caught Ward blatantly lying to him through a fucking top of the line lie detector, and despite everything he said highlighting the fact that he was in fact lying his ass off, and giving vague as fuck answers to any essential questions, the guy ends up believing him just because he admits that he's got a thing for Skye and that one single thing turns out to be true. And would it really have killed him to alter or reword some of his questions upon his raised suspicion? Like, when Ward gives him a vague answer that they are all associated with Hydra, and he's not satisfied with it, but then just drops it and moves on. Could he not think to ask as a follow-up question to an answer that quite literally gave him a red alert, like: "Are you a member of Hydra?" But no, instead he asks the vague question of: "Why are you here?" And then he dies just a few scenes later. And this is a guy that Nick Fury apparently put a lot of trust in. Good riddance.
I could list plenty of other examples, but you get the idea. Basically, the characters are just idiots.
Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on November 29, 2014, 04:49:58 PM
I'm up to episode 21, and I have to ask....why did people tell me that Ward's character gets more interesting after he turns heel and is revealed as an agent of Hydra? He's literally the same, stoic, boring-ass, monotone character that he always was, except slightly angrier and just "technically" a bad guy now. I say technically because there is nothing to his actual character or personality to insinuate that he's bad. It's imply just through the fact that the writers decided to make him a bad guy, so he kills some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and tries to kidnap Skye. I mean, I know that a character's actions are supposed to say a lot about them, but it doesn't work if there is no internal development to go along with it. If he was doing most of the same stuff that he's doing now to Hydra, and you kept his current personality in-tact, then he's a good guy again. How do I know this? Because that's exactly what he was doing through the entire first half of the season.
So, the short version is that he's basically the same character, just with the "evil" label now slapped on him. It's disappointing to, because knowing about this twist beforehand, I thought that the writers would at least put in some subtle hints at his character turn throughout the series, but instead they just haphazardly (and far too obviously) cram all of those hints into just a single episode before he turns, which I find to be incredibly lazy on their part, unless I'm just missing something, which I don't think that I am.
Anyways, I'm almost done with the season, but as far as I'm concerned, the show didn't really get better. Rather, it went from being a boring show to a boring and fairly stupid /convoluted show. I don't really care to get into specifics, but am I the only person who feels that certain main characters consistently make downright stupid decisions that aren't befitting of an operative of a high-level organization like this? It's just that, I've noticed more than a few times where things will go the way the characters need it to via the convenience of plot devices rather than them actually earning it through being clever, granted that it doesn't happen all of the time, but it's enough to be noticeable, IMO. In other cases, when characters find themselves in a trap or on the bad end of an already desperate situation, it usually seems to be because they just made really bad decisions that anyone with half a brain should have known would be dumb.
Take Ward for example. After he kidnaps Skye, he gives her a computer and basically lets her rat him out and doesn't figure her out until literally a dozen or so cops show up. You'd think a specialist like him would be certain of when he was being so obviously scouted out, but no, he takes Skye's word that it's just in his head until it's too late.
Then take May. After her private unauthorized communication line is found out by Fitz, her response is to take a stun gun and go after him....because that won't look the least bit suspicious. I mean, couldn't she just subdue him with basic marial arts considering that he can't fight for shit? Or, a better idea would be to not stupidly overreact and explain the situation to him since the more important thing would be to keep Coulson from finding out about it, not Fitz. And after going through all of that, she ends up telling him anyways, rendering all of that nonsense entirely pointless.
And then there was the guy who literally caught Ward blatantly lying to him through a fucking top of the line lie detector, and despite everything he said highlighting the fact that he was in fact lying his ass off, and giving vague as fuck answers to any essential questions, the guy ends up believing him just because he admits that he's got a thing for Skye and that one single thing turns out to be true. And would it really have killed him to alter or reword some of his questions upon his raised suspicion? Like, when Ward gives him a vague answer that they are all associated with Hydra, and he's not satisfied with it, but then just drops it and moves on. Could he not think to ask as a follow-up question to an answer that quite literally gave him a red alert, like: "Are you a member of Hydra?" But no, instead he asks the vague question of: "Why are you here?" And then he dies just a few scenes later. And this is a guy that Nick Fury apparently put a lot of trust in. Good riddance.
I could list plenty of other examples, but you get the idea. Basically, the characters are just idiots.
I love you.
I'll just talk about it here for now, but I watched the Agent Carter premiere, and it was pretty decent. I'm not in love yet, but so far it's better than Agents of SHIELD, at least thanks to mainly focusing on Carter and Howard Stark, while still being able to maintain their charm, which AOS couldn't do with Coulson.
My favorite part so far, though, has got to be the Captain America radio broadcasts. They're such fun, uncomfortable callbacks. :awesome:
I was okay with the show until the Hydra stuff kicked in, it just went ball-to-the-wall stupid and over the top at that point. One good reason this show is a trainwreck is because of Loeb's backward thinking.
I'll check out Agent Carter later.
Agent Carter really is a good show, almost an apology for AOS' mediocrity. Then again, I hear that Jeph Loeb had limited involvement with it, while Kevin Feige and the Russos are more involved.
I recommend it to fans of the Captain America movies, for sure.
I want to watch it, but I have no cable here and I need to get the login for our cable provider back home in order to watch ABC videos online.
I heard good things, but I had to hear it from someone who actually disliked AOS first. Now, I'm actively interested.
Greg likes it.
No joke.
I'm currently watching an episode of Agent Carter.
Far and away better than Agents of Shield.
Quote from: Avaitor on January 20, 2015, 05:41:13 PM
Greg likes it.
No joke.
Yes I do. I am loving "Agent Carter"... and remember that I think that "Special Snowflake and the S.H.I.T. Squad" is the worst television show I have ever seen.
I gave up on this show myself when they linked up with The Winter Soldier. The acting as a whole just dropped off a cliff, and the show's editing/camera work was really bothering me at that point.
Thankfully, what I've seen of Agent Carter is much better. It needs its own thread.
Quote from: Peanutbutter on February 05, 2015, 05:20:42 PMThankfully, what I've seen of Agent Carter is much better. It needs its own thread.
*Ahem....http://animationrevelation.com/forum/index.php?topic=1335.0
I uploaded that a few days ago. ;)
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F41.media.tumblr.com%2Fe8a45b62b9edddd5d73f368183d0f3d5%2Ftumblr_njgwcwB3VK1rhuguao1_1280.jpg&hash=5a5992007728b907272ed9267bf742e8e140531d)