David Seaman | Echo
Thanks to blockbusters such as Christopher Nolan's Batman films and the recent Marvel movies, superheroes have never been bigger on the screen. Now "Avengers" director Joss Whedon has unveiled "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D," the first live-action TV show to take place in what is known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The show received much hype leading up to its premiere on Tuesday, Sept. 24, and it seems to have worked: 12.1 million viewers watched the pilot episode on ABC, making it the most-watched network debut in four years.
People will watch this show. Whedon has a strong and rabid fan base thanks to hits such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and cult favorite "Firefly," besides"The Avengers." But will the show's quality justify its popularity? Judging from the pilot, there's potential, but still much to work on.
The show takes place after the events of "The Avengers." S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division) is a top-secret government agency charged with handling superhuman activity. The events in New York have caused the organization to be busier than ever, which means the return of Agent Phil Coulson (since Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury was too expensive). Coulson (spoilers) apparently died in "Avengers," but here he is brought back with a questionable explanation.
Coulson assembles his own secret agent team, which consists of an ace pilot, a gruff blacks ops specialist, two technology experts and a bubbly computer hacker. Together they must investigate new superhumans while learning to function as a group.
There's a lot thrown at the audience in the first episode. Superhero drugs and alien technology are the focus of the plot, with secret agent talk and heroic monologues peppered throughout. There's unfortunately little mention of the Avengers, and since "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." is a network television show there is little chance Iron Man or Hulk will pop up in person anytime soon.
What we have, instead of the Avengers, are secret agents. They're not superheroes, but they're not supposed to be; the show is about ordinary people dealing with extraordinary events. Too bad the characters are either bland or annoying. Chloe Bennet is more irritating than charming as hacker Skye. Agents Fitz and Simmons spout technobabble in near-unintelligible British accents. Ming-Na Wen as pilot Melinda May and newcomer Brett Dalton as Agent Ward are not given much to work with in the pilot.
Coulson is the most interesting character here. It's nice seeing him back after his roles in the movies, and Clark Gregg enjoys playing the character. It seems like the creators have a secret backstory brewing for his reappearance, which will be interesting to see played out.
The action's good, the visuals seem fair and there are sly comic book references for Marvel fans. But the writing is pretty messy; Joss Whedon is known for quirky one-liners, and while there are funny moments, the dialogue doesn't work for adult secret agents. Much of the humor seems awkward and forced. That said, Whedon's monologues about ordinary people as heroes are good.
Although "S.H.I.E.L.D" is off to very strong ratings, it remains to be seen whether or not it can maintain a big audience. Since the show is mainly geared towards fans of the Marvel films and superheroes, a casual viewer can be left confused at the many references.
"With great power comes great responsibility." It's a classic Spider-Man quote, one riffed on in the premiere. Joss Whedon has great power over an excited audience (along with a big budget). He has the responsibility to give an audience a show that appeals to both superhero fans and the average TV watcher.
"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D" airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on ABC.
