BIGBMH Reviews AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Pilot

Is Marvel's debut television series shaping up to be the show we've all been waiting for or a major disappointment?

Review Opinion
By BIGBMH - Sep 29, 2013 08:09 PM EST
Filed Under: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

After much anticipation, Marvel's Agents of SHIELD debuted this past week. Being the latest television series of the beloved Joss Whedon and having a connection to Marvel's cinematic universe (following up from the super successful Avengers), Agents of SHIELD had a rare level of hype going into its first episode. Does this series live up to that hype?Well, it's off to an ok start but it will need to step its game up in the next few episodes to prove it's a worthwhile story in its own right and not just a compliment to the movies.

Being a part of the MCU has its obvious benefits, but it also had a drawback that I didn't really think about before. Usually when you're watching a pilot for a show with science fiction or fantasy elements, you're being introduced to a world and there's this great curiosity to see what's out there. After 7 MCU movies, we're well aware of what's out there and right now it feels like the most interesting things in this world are things we won't see on this show. The show can't deliver the spectacle of the movies, so it'll need great character writing and a story that really pulls the audience in so that we don't care that we're not seeing Iron Man.

Without a definite lead, it was a little bit difficult to connect to any of the characters in the time given. It did help to have the familiar faces of Agent Coulson and Maria Hill to ease us into things, but we're introduced to 5 characters of the main ensemble as well as the character of Michael Peterson. At this point there's not much of a hook to these characters' stories. We're given teases of about 4 things to be curious about regarding the character's backgrounds:

1. Grant Ward's family history is mentioned by Coulson as a reason his people skills are less than stellar.
2. SHIELD is hiding something from Coulson about the circumstances of his absence from duty after his reportedly faked death in The Avengers.
3. Melinda May is apparently a very highly regarded SHIELD agent, a living legend maybe, who no longer goes out into the field, because of some mysterious, probably traumatic event in her past.
4. Skye seems to have erased records of her past and has something to hide.

So, there are things that will hopefully make these characters interesting as we get to know them. However, the way these things were presented kind of felt like a heavy handed way of saying to the audience "There's more to this character than meets the eye, but you're going to have to stay tuned as we slowly reveal the truth over the course of this season!" For me, these teases of layers to the stories of these characters didn't really help to make them very interesting or appealing in the pilot.

Like the characters, the story presented in the pilot didn't really manage to grab me. I did think that Extremis was a good movie plot to follow up on in the show. However, I think it might have been better to use that as a mid season story after the series had established itself. As it is, connecting the story of the pilot so closely to Iron Man 3 sort of put the series in that franchise's shadow.

I must say that I hope the tone gets a little more serious. There are tons of great comedies on TV. That's not what's going to pull people into AoS. There were some decent comedic moments in the pilot, but overall I didn't think the comedy was very strong and it seemed like they were trying too hard. I'm not saying that the show should be very serious. Given the mixed reactions to the comedy in the last few Marvel Studios movies, I might eventually write an entire article on the subject of comic relief in these types of stories. For now, I'll say that I think they should let the comic relief be a welcome break that lightens things up, not a focal point that holds the story back from being taken seriously and having a sense of real danger.

This review may have come off as a bit harsh, but I didn't dislike the show. Despite its problems, the pilot for Agents of SHIELD was somewhat entertaining. It's important to keep in mind that this is just a pilot, so I don't want my criticisms of this episode to be taken as me writing this show off. Thinking about other Joss Whedon shows, I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I really wasn't sold on that show until about halfway into its second season. I do believe AoS has potential and I hope the next few episodes will show that this series is worth watching based on its own merits. Right now, Agents of SHIELD just feels like something extra for fans of the Marvel cinematic universe, the way that sitcoms like Parks and Recreation do webisodes that compliment the main story.

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KingMarvel
KingMarvel - 9/30/2013, 1:35 AM
Agreed. But im gonna post something i think should be said again ;)

"Just watched Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the one thing I have to say is…STOP MAKING SUPERHERO BASED SHOWS WITHOUT SUPERHEROES!!!"

The Big Kahuna wrote this on the website Metal machine.
Lets be real first episode wont say much the show got to grow. But you can say that the pilot sets a president. And that is to me that if marvel is conna have a tv show and not show case theyr rooster of more than 15000 characters in it than this show wont last 1 season. why have a Marvel show if you are not gonna show Marvel characters!!

"Marvel is known to have a vast library of characters in the Marvel Universe. B level, C level and even D level characters that would be great for this show. Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Cloak and Dagger, Carol Danvers, Wonder Man…on and on and on."
BIGBMH
BIGBMH - 9/30/2013, 5:30 AM
I understand the desire to see superheroes, but the idea of this show is more about ordinary people in a superhero world. Michael Peterson's monologue toward the end hit on the theme that being ordinary no longer felt like enough. I think they may be looking to explore how some of these people feel marginalized knowing that there are "superior" beings out there.

That said, we did have Maria Hill who is a Marvel character and Franklin Hall (aka Graviton) will be making an appearance soon.
Sturmpionier
Sturmpionier - 9/30/2013, 6:57 AM
Always good to hear BIGB's thoughts.

I can't really disagree with your points, but I definitely liked the show more than most of the internet. In fact, all of my irl friends I talked to really liked it. Only the internet was really critical.

For me, I'm pumped to have some fun Marvel adventures every week that I can watch with my kids. I'm sure they will iron out characterization, tone, etc. as they go since I think I saw enough promise in those areas in the pilot. It is in Disney's best interest to work on the show and keep it as long as possible since cancelling it would be leaving piles of Marvel $$$ on the table.

Fun prediction: Another reason to keep chugging out episodes is that right now, TV is the most likely arena to see a Spider-Man/Wolverine/Avengers cross over.
KingMarvel
KingMarvel - 9/30/2013, 11:57 AM
@BIGBMH i understand what your saying, but the thing is we allready have a CSI or or CSI NY man even Fring! Focussing to much on the "normal" people seems like a waist of film to me if your core business is SUPER POWERD HUMENS!

I got no problems with this show being something like Fring or X files but lets get some of those 15000 charachters marvel got on the small screen. :)

BIGBMH
BIGBMH - 9/30/2013, 2:13 PM
@Sturmpionier, Thanks for the comment! I'm glad you and your friends enjoyed the pilot. I did think it was decent, but I was measuring it against amazing pilots that really hooked me (Heroes, Lost, etc.) I wanted to focus my review on why I didn't think it was in the same league as pilots that have knocked it out of the park for me.

@ManofReal and KingMarvel, I think we just need to be patient. The premise of this show is perfect for introducing characters and building on/setting up for movie story lines. However, for the show to work we need to focus on this group of characters and get attached to their stories. We can't really connect to them as well if the show frequently features exciting Marvel guest stars right from the get go that steal the spotlight. Give it time.
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