OK, you knew that as a Joss Whedon fanboy I couldn't not comment on this series. I have to or they'll take away my browncoat. :-)
I *am* a committed Joss fanboy, but that said I'm far more a fan of him developing his *own* ideas than those of others. Joss' ideas are The Bomb, man. Testimonies to that creative side of Joss include "Buffy" (what is not to like about a normal teenage girl who suddenly discovers that she's the Slayer, and all that stands between earth and a universe of evil monsters?) and "Firefly/Serenity" (similarly, what is not to like about outlaws in space?). It also includes "Dollhouse," which I personally believe is one of the best and most intelligent scifi TV series ever created, *far* superior to many that most people would place at the top of their lists. But then there's the fanboy side of Joss Whedon. He has been a life- long comics fan. He reads them, he collects them, he knows the classics by heart, and he even writes and draws them himself. *Of course* he loves "The Avengers," and *of course* he did the best job in history of bringing a big Marvel epic to the screen. I suspect that he'll do the same thing with "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." But it's an uphill battle to drag me -- Joss fanboy that I am -- into his comic book fetish. I liked "The Avengers," but it just didn't float my boat because as I said before I prefer Joss' original ideas to his render- ing of other people's ideas. I feel the same about "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." I will watch it, and applaud the good parts and laugh at the funny parts, but a part of me will always be longing for characters created by Joss himself. That said, I think that we have to cut this first episode of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." a bit of a break, because it's an "origin tale." It has to try to create a storyline and introduce characters we've never met before (with one exception), and *get us interested in them*, interested enough to tune in every week, all within one hour (or less, given commercials). It's a formidable task, and judging from the positive reviews from both critics and viewers, Joss seems to have pulled it off. But the characters didn't really hook *me*. Despite Joss' tendency to reuse actors he's worked with before, I saw only one, Ron Glass. Most of the others are too young and pretty for me to identify with, but a few of them have the potential to develop into true <genuflect> Joss Whedon Characters. I like Fitzsimmons, for example -- the two lab nerds, one named Fitz and the other Simmons, who finish each others' sentences and work well together while exchanging witty quips. They have potential. And certainly Chloe Bennet as Skye has potential. She's supposed to be our favorite character, and she pulled that off for me. I like the way her character was introduced, and the way the actress pulled it off. The loner nerd who single-handedly tracks down a potential superhero who S.H.I.E.L.D. had never heard about (nerd genius), and then tries to recruit him, revealing her other side (homeless nerd genius): Skye: Come to my office... Mike: You have an office? Skye: Yes, I have an office...a mobile office...it's a van...I live in it...by choice... She's also great when Coulson tries to recruit *her* for S.H.I.E.L.D. She doesn't trust them, so he walks into the interrogation room with his biggest, baddest macho male agent, holds up a big-ass hypodermic and says it contains a fast-acting truth serum that cannot be blocked. Then, as she's expecting to be the one given the drug, he shoots up the uptight macho agent Brett instead of Skye, and then leaves the room, letting her ask *him* questions, which leads to a couple of funny moments like: Brett: I'll just call upon my training. There is no way I'm going to reveal classified secrets to a girl who's hell-bent on taking us down... Skye: Have you ever killed anyone? Brett: (immediately, no pause) Yes, a few...high-risk targets, but they were terrible people who were trying to murder nice people...and I didn't feel good afterwards. Skye: I understand. Does your grandmother know about these things? Brett: (almost crying) Grammy? So I *like* Skye, and I'll be interested to see how she develops. I'll give the series a chance, even though part of me will always be wishing he'd done a third season of "Dollhouse" instead. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu wrote: > > Highest rated drama debut in 4 years with 12 million viewers. > Funny thing is Whedon seems to be holding the cards close > because IMDB so far only lists 3 episodes and elsewhere I see 4. > > On 09/27/2013 09:09 AM, Michael Jackson wrote: > > I have enjoyed most of the Marvel Comic movies, but Agents of Shield > > was rather stale > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > *From:* Bhairitu noozguru@... > > > > Nah, Walt's going to take a job at a nearby logging camp working along > > side a guy from Miami. ;-) > > > > I hope you haven't been too busy fussing over Neo and FFL to have > > missed the best new fall broadcast TV show I've seen thus far. And you > > should really be ashamed of yourself if you did since it is Joss > > Whedon's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D". However given Whedon's luck and > > ABC's ratings it's likely to get canceled after 4 episodes.
