Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. renewed for 5th season Update: season 5 in January, no midseason interuptions

[Zontar]

http://deadline.com/2017/05/marvels-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-renewed-for-season-5-by-abc-1202090641/

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So Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., 21 episodes into its 22 episode 4th season, has been renewed for a 5th season. I have to say that I'm kind of mixed about if I was expecting this or not. On the one hand, 4 seasons would have been a good run and with the ratings could be justified if it had the plug pulled. On the other hand, the show isn't to unpopular outside of the US, which is relevant since being a Disney series on a Disney channel there's more then just US broadcasting advertisement dollars to think about. We do live in an age where thanks to Netflix a series that barely gets 700,000 views on a 4 million dollar episode budget can get three seasons and counting after all.

In any event I can't say I'm disappointed. The show has been progressively getting better since the second half of season one, and now that it has full on arcs it's basically the closest we've ever come to a true comic book in television form. Here's hoping things keep on getting better, since both the storytelling and the effects sure have.

Update:

http://mcuexchange.com/agents-s-h-e-l-d-season-5-will-premiere-january-2018-no-season-breaks/

Season 5 will be 22 episodes like the others, will begin in January and will have no interuptions during its airing. Only problem is it's in the Friday night death slot, which is bad enough given it only just managed to survive this season in a death slot.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

The show only got really good recently...

...isn't 'Oh, it's really good now' more or less a meme at this point? I'm very surprised it's still going, as I got the impression everyone was simply hearing someone else say 'It's good now' and then wondering whether to go back to it, before realising there are about three and half billion better things they could be doing with their time which wasn't watching Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. on the off chance it wasn't as boring and aimless at they remember...

I love the MCU, I'm a huge Whedon fan, and last I remembered, Agents shared some of the key showrunners from [the excellent] Dollhouse. How Agents ended up as aimlessly bland I'll never know. Although being in the MCU and yet not doing anything worthwhile with that connection, and focusing on the bloody These Aren't The X-Men But We Want You To Pretend They Are/Inhumans are two major factors...

Maybe - this time - 'It's good now' is actually true, but S1 and 2 (I've no recollection of where I stopped caring) were just dreary aimless bullshit with no identity, punctuated by the odd good scene and--- well, Chloe Bennet being Chloe Bennet, frankly, and sporadic quality and one actor doth not a show make.

Oh, and the show also kinda ruined and wasted Agent Coulson/Clark Gregg, who was a fun means to help tie the pre-Avengers MCU together, but who became dragged down by Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.-ness.

It also feels off that this show lingers on, yet Firefly and Dollhouse died cruel and unusual deaths...

 

[TheVampwizimp_v1legacy]

That's good news to me. I've been watching from the beginning, and enjoyed it from the start. People have such high standards for tv now, AoS was never bad, it just wasn't actually great until season 4. I was worried it would get cancelled after being moved to a death slot by the network, and right when it was hitting it's best stride, so I'm happy to be surprised.

 

[American Fox]

This show is still on? I saw 20 minutes of the first episode and it was just super cheesy.

My eyes actually hurt from rolling.

Never again.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

This show is still on? I saw 20 minutes of the first episode and it was just super cheesy.

My eyes actually hurt from rolling.

Never again.

True, the show had a rocky start, the first half of the first season in particular was just plain bad. Characters and storylines were meh, production values were meh (even taking its budget into account), and being a pretty bog-standard procedural at the outset didn't help either.

But over time it found its voice, probably around the time they started introducing the Inhumans, using them basically as an expy for mutants (since Fox owns the rights to the X-Men). Storylines became more engaging and complex with actual arcs and more interesting characters. Similar to the MCU movies, they also started embracing some of the more 'out-there' aspects of Marvel comic books, so now you have the aforementioned Inhuman, complete with terragenesis, eldritch abominations trapped on faraway planets, ancient tomes of forbidden knowledge, Matrix-style virtual worlds where Hydra won, and even friggin Ghost Rider.

Is it the best comic book show? No, it can still be a bit cheesy at times and some of the drama can be cringy, but to its credit, there were rarely times I watched and thought to myself "ok, this is kinda getting boring", something I did have with Luke Cage and Iron Fist. I would rate it 'Most Improved' compared to other comic book series with 2 or more seasons (Arrow, Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, even Daredevil).

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

I was hoping for it.

The first 70% of Season 1 aside, they've been going from strength to strength as the bloody covert war against Hydra wore on, to the point where the recent 'Hydra-ruled alternate reality' arc, while nightmarishly effective, makes me wonder just how much of the show's identity is bound up in that conflict. The Watchdogs don't really cut it as a new archenemy and their Superior is cliched as hell.

Still, it's nice to have the time to give everyone some proper closure instead of barrelling into the finale without any time for a resolution, even if it's not the kind of resolution they wanted... I doubt that even an entire season of therapy is going to help Fitz at this point.

It's proof of the show's maturing that they no longer require any connection to the Marvel films at all to be interesting, and even Ghost Rider felt tacked on to the main event. It's certainly my favourite comics-based TV show now, surpassing any of the Netflix offerings.

 

[Trunkage]

AoS was what got me watching MCU in cinemas. Before CA2, I'd never seen one on the big screen. I almost gave up on AoS after about 13 eps but kept going. The big twist at the end of the first season finally endeared the MCU to me. I actually watched CA2 in its first week.

Which is even stranger considering I think CA1 is worse than Howard the Duck, Superman Returns, Superman 4 or The Phantom. Like WAY worse. Sharknado or Snakes on a Plane are better than the first Captain America.

Its not a brilliant show, but its probably my NCIS or CSI. Good enough.

 

[TheVampwizimp_v1legacy]

Which is even stranger considering I think CA1 is worse than Howard the Duck, Superman Returns, Superman 4 or The Phantom. Like WAY worse. Sharknado or Snakes on a Plane are better than the first Captain America.

That's...uh, confusing. I know I can't argue preferences, but damn. Are you sure you mean that? Because that one's a head scratcher. You know how they say to never ask the internet "Am I the only one who [blank]?" because there's always someone else who feels the same way? Well, we may have an actual unique opinion here. I am truly baffled, sir, truly baffled.

 

[Trunkage]

Which is even stranger considering I think CA1 is worse than Howard the Duck, Superman Returns, Superman 4 or The Phantom. Like WAY worse. Sharknado or Snakes on a Plane are better than the first Captain America.

That's...uh, confusing. I know I can't argue preferences, but damn. Are you sure you mean that? Because that one's a head scratcher. You know how they say to never ask the internet "Am I the only one who [blank]?" because there's always someone else who feels the same way? Well, we may have an actual unique opinion here. I am truly baffled, sir, truly baffled.

Just to make it weirder for you - I also don't like any of the older Superman movies. Even the apparent good ones. I watched them once as a kid and never like any of them. Checked Superman 1 out as an adult - still didn't like it. Never went back to the other ones.

Sharknado is a movie that tries to be stupid and you can glean some fun out of it. Captain America made Hydra less interesting, Captain America too patriotic, I couldn't care less about Bucky or anyone dying because no one endeared themselves to me. I felt like there was no character develop for Cap other than receiving a serum.

Anyway, I still don't know how Cap in the first movie is related to the second one. The latter Cap was questioning things and I don't know how this well developed scepticism came about.

If Sharknado came on to my TV, I'd probably sit through it again. I actively avoid Captain America.

 

[hermes]

Ok, good to know.

For all their shortcomings, mostly because of budget, I actually enjoy that show. It has managed to stay interesting season after season despite being forbidden from playing with the big guys (I mean, sure, it is not like Coulson could appear in the MCU, but would it be too hard to have some of the other agents make cameos? Just let Skye and May appear on the bridge of the hellicarrier at the end of Avengers 2).

Because of that restriction, they are using a lot of references so obscure they make Guardians of the Galaxy feel mainstream. I mean: LMD, the Darkhold, Patriot, Viper, AIDA, Robbie Reyes... and those are only in the latest season. With them given a new season, and Inhumans being moved into a TV show by ABC (casting completed), I am guessing the next season they are going to have some fun with some *real* Inhumans.

EDIT: Ok, I just saw the season finale and wasn't expecting that. Only going to say the next season promises to be interesting...

 

[Zontar]

Anyway, I still don't know how Cap in the first movie is related to the second one. The latter Cap was questioning things and I don't know how this well developed scepticism came about.

That would be The Avengers, since it takes place between the two and he learned that S.H.I.E.L.D., which was born out of the S.S.R. he idolised, was using the Infinity Stone to create weapons that where based on Hydra's designs. It didn't leave a good impression.

 

[KissingSunlight]

That is great news. Considering how Season Four has ended.

Spoiler

Next season could be called Agents of SWORD

I understood what they were going for in Season One. So, I wasn't as upset about it as most people were. I think they are hitting their stride. The only disappointment I have is that they haven't included any heroes or villains from the movies. Even though, they are in the same universe.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I thought this had been cancelled long ago.
I didn't expect it to last this long. Figured most people would fuck off by the second season, once it became clear(er) the show had little to nothing to do with the movies.

 

[Trunkage]

I thought this had been cancelled long ago.
I didn't expect it to last this long. Figured most people would fuck off by the second season, once it became clear(er) the show had little to nothing to do with the movies.

That's a big reason why I think it has become better - its not tied down to the movies. It can just be its own thing

 

[KoudelkaMorgan]

I've been watching since episode 1. I guess I just had a higher tolerance for the show starting out, that has been rewarded by it steadily getting better season after season. Ophelia was probably the most interesting character they've had, and they could have easily had her become a series regular, but decided to make her into a generic villain. She could have been a 2nd Illyria.

I'm glad it and Supernatural have been renewed, even if the finale of Supernatural sucked this year.

Plenty of other shows I watch got cancelled though. Sleepy Hollow, 2 Broke Girls, and The Great Indoors all died. I get Sleepy Hollow, its ratings sucked and not enough people bothered to watch it after Abby left even though it got way better imo. 2BG really depended on how much you like Kat Dennings, which is quite a bit in my case. TGI had Steven Fry, and Joel McHale. Unfortunately it also had terrible writing, so its cast was wasted.

 

[Remus]

Figured Sleepy Hollow would bite it. The show ended in a kinda okay place, no "to be continued" stinger like so many other shows I've enjoyed. Looking forward to the next season of AoS and whatever bleedover might happen into The Inhumans. I hope to see big things from these shows as we approach the infinity war. The Strain and AHS are still kicking around, with The Strain showing ads featuring characters in government quarantine and AHS possibly doing a season of "The Purge". Never watched 2 Broke Girls, don't really watch sitcoms in general, not when there's such good scifi / horror / medieval fantasy to fill my free time. FOX network might never regain viewer trust for what they did to Firefly, and nearly did to B5, but their movie dept is winning gangbusters with X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Alien Prequilogy, Bladerunner, and Deadpool. Such a great time to be a geek.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

One day, I'll get into it. Maybe when they do a Ghostrider thing again except with a character I like.