Agent Carter: Good Idea or Not?

Agent Carter: Good Idea or Not?

My thoughts on the announcement of Agent Carter being picked up by ABC. Is this the best choice for Marvel's second TV series?

Editorial Opinion
By BIGBMH - May 14, 2014 06:05 PM EST
Filed Under: Agent Carter

ABC recently announced that they have picked up Marvel's Agent Carter for the Fall season, which is exciting news. It's great to see the Marvel Cinematic Universe expanding with the TV shows and the upcoming Netflix shows.

I am definitely going to watch this and I'm looking forward to it because I like Hayley Atwell in the role of Peggy Carter and I thought the Agent Carter One-shot was pretty good, so the show should be enjoyable.

However, I do question if this is the best idea Marvel could have gone for as a series to pair with Agents of SHIELD. Agents of SHIELD is a decent show that has gotten better, but it's not exactly a smash hit that everyone is watching. If they chose to do a second show that was set in modern times, they'd be able to do crossovers with Agents of SHIELD and use that to boost both shows up.



When I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Netflix, it was very cool getting to the point where Angel began because I got to see stories carried between the two shows. This really pulled me more into that world because it felt a lot deeper and richer.

Being set in the 40s, Agent Carter is completely on its own. It can't cross over with Agents of Shield or play off the events of the movies like Agents of Shield did with Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Plus, despite Hayley Atwell having good potential as the lead for a series, Peggy Carter isn't exactly a popular character with mainstream audiences. The first Captain America movie did decent box office numbers, but most people who saw it thought that it was just ok. Because of this, I don't think Agent Carter will generate the early hype that Agents of SHIELD did so it will have to fight even harder for its audience.

Because of all these factors, I feel like Agent Carter is a surprising choice for a series. I could see it as a cool mini-series event, but I'm uncertain about the show's potential to be a hit in the long run.

Once again, I don't want to sound like I'm shooting the idea down. It's a show I'm looking forward to watching, but networks these days are very quick to pull the plug on shows that aren't doing great numbers, so my concerns are about if this show will be attractive enough to the mainstream casual audience to be a success and get the opportunity to tell its whole story.

I don't mean to give the impression that I don't think it has potential to be good though. I recently started watching Alias on Netflix and I think Agent Carter could do very well if it was done like a 40s version of Alias.There's also potential to do a bit of fan service with appearances by Howard Stark and the Howling Commandos.



Thanks for reading! Please, share your thoughts about the show in the comments. Are you planning on watching? If not, is there another idea that you wish Marvel went with for their second TV series?

Please check out the video version of this article here!

 
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NovaCorpsFan
NovaCorpsFan - 5/14/2014, 6:47 PM
I hope we get to see more of the Howling Commandos maybe even make Falsworth Union Jack.
BawbScharf
BawbScharf - 5/14/2014, 7:15 PM
HUGE First Avenger fan so I think this is a fantastic idea and great for those of us who enjoy easter egg hunts. Also it is a fascinating period in marvel history as it is post Cap but pre-Ant Man. There are a whole lot of holes to fill in Shield's and Marvel's history and this should help build it and make it more actualized. Baby Nick fury (or his father), Howling Commandos action, perhaps some appearances by the Invaders, more pre-cursors to current Marvel tech, more on Howard Stark, and this is an era where the wonderful dough Boy will fit in perfectly. Also, a super hero show with a female lead? It is exactly what we need to push us towards the first great Female Hero movie. Plus, I think there is a lot of female appeal here with the Madman esque setting and strong female lead.

I think this will surprise a lot of people and will at least be critically acclaimed. And having it be the break inbetween Agents of Shield is straight up inspired and wise. Then if it works it could get a full season 2 order and go on at 8:00 on Tuesdays before Agents of Shield ...with Avengers 2 increasing interest for those seasons.
Humby
Humby - 5/14/2014, 8:06 PM
Despite my mixed feelings towards Captain America: The First Avenger, I think this show has strong potential, depending on how they approach it.

This particular show needs to be GROUNDED and it needs to be FOCUSED. As much as I enjoy Agents of Shield, it is still riding the coattails of the Marvel Studios films, which allows it to get away with being cheesy and over the top. Agent Carter on the other hand doesn't have that advantage. I don't think that general audiences will keep tuning in to a series set in the 40's with cheesy sci-fi elements and a wandering plot.

One central plot element must drive each season. For example, season one could follow Carter helping to establish SHIELD while she takes on a grounded version of Zodiac. None of that "enemy of the week" mentality. Make this show primarily 40's espionage, while sprinkling in adapted and grounded elements of comic book stories.
Ignition
Ignition - 5/14/2014, 8:38 PM
Really don't want to see anything more from SHIELD.
case
case - 5/15/2014, 12:09 AM
Completely on it's own?

Sorry bud, I don't agree with you on this one. First Avenger, Winter soldier, the rise of Hydra, current AoS plot threads (things don't have to be in the exact same timeline to enrich and have repercussions on each show). Age of Ultron rumoured flashbacks...

Ant-Man.

I reckon it's got quite a lot that can tie it to the MCU and make it so it contributes to and draws from the mythology very well.

Also - I was under the impression it was going to only be a limited series?
Wolf38
Wolf38 - 5/15/2014, 1:46 AM
I agree that this show seems like an unlikely choice at this point. That being said, I'm excited to see it and think that it has potential to be very good (whether it will reach that potential on ABC...). But in the grand scheme of things? Interesting choice.

Personally, I don't watch Agents of SHIELD, and anyone resembling me in audience demographic is going to be checking out Agent Carter on its own. I hope that it starts stronger than AOS did.
CherryBomb
CherryBomb - 5/15/2014, 2:47 AM
This show is a period drama mixed with action.
Both are popular right now so even audiences that don't know Peggy will probably want to watch it if they set it up in the right way.

But yeah I'm excited, as long as it separates itself in some respect, like, we don't need every single plot element to link directly to Avengers or SHIELD as we know it. Have her missions be stand-alone mostly.

Also, I feel it's a good idea because Agent Carter won't have the pressure to add a comic character every week (since it's set so far in the past) sure some golden age characters would be nice to see now and again, but all on all they can focus on made up characters and villains.
CherryBomb
CherryBomb - 5/15/2014, 4:24 AM
I'm definitely interested as to why HYDRA was able to remain so hidden from a bunch of great spies.
QuestiontheAnswer
QuestiontheAnswer - 5/15/2014, 6:52 AM
I'll watch this if I hear good reviews. Otherwise I'm uninterested.
Vortigar
Vortigar - 5/15/2014, 7:24 AM
@Humby:
Yeah, makes me want to see the exact pitch they went with. Is this going to be mainly standalone because Haley and the guy who played Howard had fun and they want to see what they can wring out of it? Or are they going to introduce a sort of pre-Avengers Marvel Universe with the original Ant-Man and the like.

Personally I'd prefer the former, even though the latter would allow Dr Strange to show up (born in 1930 in official lore, earlier if you want the timeline to really fit). But that's going to depend on how they're going to do his history in the movie.

They could go really meta and model it after the English Avengers. You know, Emma Peel and John Steed?
LEOSTRATOR
LEOSTRATOR - 5/15/2014, 8:34 AM
Bad move on Marvel, they take the least interesting character and give her a show. This will suck worst than Gotham.
silverpaladin
silverpaladin - 5/15/2014, 11:11 AM
On the plus side this is a way of giving us glimpses of characters that can appear later. Some like Black Panther, Red Wolf, Union Jack ... appear at varios inarnations in the comics. What if Stark had stolen the Vibranium and the Black Panther came to get it back only to learn it had been lost.
One could see an Asgardian guest star being introduced only to lead into Thor 3. What about an episode where they almost find/save Bucky! We the viewers would know how close the team came but the characters would not. What about the slow assimaltion of SHELID to HYDRA.
BIGBMH
BIGBMH - 5/15/2014, 2:10 PM
NovaCorpsFan, GliderMan, Objectivelybiased, Scorpion8125, Humby, Ignition, case, Wolf38, CherryBomb, QuestiontheAnswer, Vortigar, GURILLAPUD, and silverpaladin, Thank you all for readinng and commenting!

@CherryBomb, You make an interesting point about it not having the pressure to include comic book characters. I think a lot of fans had that expectation for Agents of SHIELD, so even if it was really good early on, people still would have been complaining that it's not including enough super heroes.

I'm hoping to see the show just take off and do pretty contained stories. With Hydra staying hidden so long, there's not too much they can do with that story arc since we know Hydra is never exposed until Winter Soldier.

@case, When I say that it is on completely on it's own, I don't mean to imply that it doesn't connect to other stories. Of course there will be things that happen in this story that influence that state of affairs in the present day MCU. However, within the timeline it is on its own.

With Agent Carter, there can't really be an experience like watching Winter Soldier then watching Agents of SHIELD and seeing the storyline directly continued. There also can't be any Buffy/Angel moments where a character in one show says "I have to go to this place" then you watch the other show right afterward and that character makes a guest appearance carrying the story over. So yes, the show and its world will still be enriched by the other stories of the MCU but not to the same degree as a show set in modern times could be. Not saying that's the most important thing, but it does severely limit the show's ability to help AoS and be helped by AoS, the Netflix shows, and the movies.

(Michael Douglas was born in 1944, so if we assume Hanky Pym is about the same age, it's highly unlikely we'll see him play a role here.)
brodie999
brodie999 - 6/6/2018, 3:49 PM
@BIGBMH - Yeah, now fans want an revival of Agent Carter to replace Roseanne on ABC. Hey, Big. I've updated the article about Millar's Ultimates 3 and Ultimatum to have a updated plot of Ultimates 3. What do you think of it?https://screenrant.com/agent-carter-revival-rosenne-abc/
https://www.comicbookmovie.com/comics/marvel_comics/mark-millar-could-have-done-the-ultimates-3-and-ultimatum-better-a160252
BIGBMH
BIGBMH - 6/6/2018, 11:45 PM
@brodie999 - Nice work! I'm glad you pushed yourself to expand it. Maybe break up that middle paragraph, but on the whole it's a definite improvement.
brodie999
brodie999 - 6/7/2018, 12:18 AM
@BIGBMH -Thanks, Big!! My friend and I are definitely trying to expand on the paragraphs. But it's incredibly hard to do. It's hard to undo a plot already written. But I'm glad you're interested in the end of Millar's Ultimates 3, the Ultimates begin calling themselves the Avengers from then on.
brodie999
brodie999 - 6/9/2018, 5:59 PM
@BIGBMH -Hey, BIG. How do you break up the middle paragraph? I'm still waiting on my friend to give my plot breakdowns on what else happens in Millar's version of Ultimates 3. What other ideas do you think should have been in the miniseries?
NoRemainder
NoRemainder - 5/15/2014, 4:41 PM
There's nothing we could have done about it really. They set it up in The Winter Soldier. I'm not sure how I feel about this because I don't really care for Agents of Shield anyway, but she's clearly a character and actress that the studio likes. I like her a lot. She's a strong female character, and honestly by the end of TFA, I was more interested in her that Captain America.

I'm waaaaaaaaaaay more interested in Daredevil, however. That shit should be sick.
case
case - 5/16/2014, 12:31 AM
Yeah dude I imagine Ant-Man being a 60s thing (fingers crossed), but there's a lot of rich history in the universe to delve into if they want to and a lot of fertile playing ground.

Not many of my favourite series have cross overs to other series. Buffy and Angel being a good exception - but I find that even when it's done a lot of the time it feels like fan service or something. Like when someone gets a mystery unresolved phone call that then gets explained on the second show kind of unnecessarily. Buffy and Angel worked well at first because they were so intrinsically linked and as fans thats all we wanted to see.

But yeah that stuff's not necessary and won't make or break a brilliant series, and Agent Carter's got a good mythology to draw from if needed. I hope Hayley kicks some ass on it.
Trickwil
Trickwil - 5/16/2014, 10:15 AM
Ok So I think you guys are super missing the point. Agent carter is written as a fillin Mid season 13 episode replacement for Agents of Shield. And there will be tie ins. Specifically to the big movies coming out that summer, Age of Ultron and Ant Man. The other thing is there are tons of characters that can make cameos. Every asgardian because their lifespans or Millennia. Drax the Destroyer's origin story can be explained in peggy Carter, and you can have the Kree in the tank in AOS that is rumored to be Captain Mar'Vell. Not to mention the seeds of what was revealed in the winter soldier. I think they can do a lot with this show. Especially since right now it's a 13 episode commitment on a show that will be there to sate our Marvel appetites in a year where we have to wait nearly a year for another Marvel movie.
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