Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Review - Episode 1: Pilot

[faefrost]

I enjoyed the pilot, except for the 3,000 lbs of flying, red cheese at the end. ;P

Oh no no no. The flying car is a staple of classic SHIELD. It's actually something that many old school fans were sad was missing from SHIELD's appearances in the movies. It shifts them to being a little more James Bond than Homeland Security.

As far as Coulson? Pure speculation on my part, but I don't think he has been put in an Android body. I think he has always been one is how it will play out. (Well ok probably not as written in IM1) . Coulson has always seemed less an "everyday normal man", so much as someone who seems slightly strange or quirky. Someone who seems a little out of place or out of time. In the scene in Captain America where we see Starks first flying car, we also see the first Android. With Coulson's affinity for older things and ideas it is not outside the realm of possibilities that he too is a relic from SHIELD's earlier Cold War era days. Phineas Horton's Mark II.

As far as Phil Coulson being a normal Everyman, if you haven't seen it, pull up the 10 minute teaser short that takes place during his drive to New Mexico between IM2 and Thor, to see just how inhumanly badass he is.

 

[sleeky01]

Just one nit-pick. Why the different style of shield logos?

Spoiler

<img src=http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/comicsalliance.com/files/2010/05/marvel-films-shield-logo.jpg>

[/QUOTE]

Well, read what S.H.I.E.L.D. stands for on each logo, and I think you'll find your answer.[/quote]

A) I'm not sure what the difference would be and

B) neither of the logos in the pilot had any wording on them. Just the logos themselves.

For example. The symbol on Hills shoulder and the one on the door are different.

<img src=http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/51eeed17ecad04a05f000004-480/marvels-agents-of-shield-shield.jpg>

 

[Safaia]

I worry that him being head Cool Badass Superspy Agent of Team Cool Badass Superspy Agents might ruin the "ordinary" quality that Agent Coulson has that makes him, ironically, extraordinary in this universe.

If there's one thing that is apparent in the pilot, it's that he's not a badass (at least not in the vein of Fury). He's more in the mold of the bureaucrat with a sense of humor and purpose. The badass is covered in the pair of the combat specialists May and Ward, sufficiently diluted with their lack of interpersonal skills.

Also, my money is on Colson being a clone with memory imprints.

On a side note: the episode plot struck me as something more suited for a 4th or 5th episode rather than a pilot (obvious longer-term antagonist, clear concern about the true nature of the organization, a "John Q. Public" antagonist, kids, etc.). Pilots for sci-fi/action shows tend to be more focused on building the individual characters of the team, which this does, and explain how they got mushed together. The plot for the pilot is pretty much "here's the case," and didn't require the building of the team for it.

But not every launch can be perfect, and this one was serviceable. I'll totally-not-pirate the show and watch as soon as it's uploaded.

Coulson is a badass. Did you watch the short of him heading down to New Mexico where he stops a robbery?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAMgkpQYOSQ <-- I can't remember how to embed video.

 

[JSF01]

A) I'm not sure what the difference would be and

B) neither of the logos in the pilot had any wording on them. Just the logos themselves.

For example. The symbol on Hills shoulder and the one on the door are different.

<img src=http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/51eeed17ecad04a05f000004-480/marvels-agents-of-shield-shield.jpg>

In the comics Shield has changed names a couple of times though the acronym always spelled out shield, as well as I believe their logos.

As to why they are using different logos on the show, well in reality my guess is the prop people were not on the same page, when getting stuff made or for the show they are using one logo, but they are also using props from the avenger movie to cut down on costs which used a different logo. It could have been done on purpose though too.

In story (whether they meant to use different logos or not) it will/is probably written off as the agency changed their logo. For example inside the office they use almost exclusively use the spread wings logo except for on the at least some of the uniforms and computer screens while on the "old" mobile command aircraft they use almost exclusively the wings down logo. (which one is the old vs. new can be debated, Maybe the offices had the new logo but some people were still wearing their uniforms with the old patch and the old mobile command aircraft had yet to be updated or maybe the change had happened a while ago and the office building was never updated which explains why the uniforms have a different logo since changing a uniform is much cheaper, easier, and faster, while swapping out perfectly good windows costs a lot of money takes a while, and much harder especially when you are still trying to continue operating.)

It could also be written of as different divisions within shield use different logos. for example in the Avengers they where using the wings down logo(I don't remember if the spread wings logo showed up in the movie) on the helicarrier and the mobile command aircraft is a military style plane so maybe combat type units use the wings down while espionage type units use the spread wings logo.

As a side note assuming this was done on purpose, a common theme when dealing with things like superpowers is there is almost always some type of government conspiracy plot that come up. So the two different logos may end up being used to differentiate the "evil" and "good" sides of shield.

Hmm... now that I am thinking about it, I have some speculation though I'll put it in spoiler tags just in case some one would prefer not to know any possible future plot points even though this is all just a guess.

Spoiler

The evil(?) shadowy figures from The Avengers being pissed off at Furry for disobeying orders/not running shield they way they want it ran have been reorganizing shield in order to get them to run exactly the way they want shield to run. The logo changed as part of this reorganization to the new wings spread logo. This "new" shield starts doing more and more questionable things. People with loyalty to Furry our pushed more and more to the out skirts of the organization, and have to contend with using the "older" shield equipment which still has the old wings down logo. Eventually they are forced to go rouge, and continue using the old logo since that was the logo being used when Furry was in charge and the Shield was good. So which logo a person is associated with may give the viewer a hint on which side of the divide they will end up on.

This also gives them an excuse why these agents probably won't be using a lot of the very high tech equipment (due to budget limitations for the show) that shield should have, and that being a higher level clearance should grant them access to.

 

[AgentNein]

"Fitzsimmons" made me think of the Luteces from Bioshock Infinite. I wonder if maybe they tried some sort of biotech experiment on themselves.

You know it's funny, I've been getting a weird vibe from them, that maybe they're more/less than human or something even stranger. I now think that may be because in the back of my head they seem a bit reminiscent of the Lutecs. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[AgentNein]

The twin tech geeks (I know they aren't related, but they have the same skin and hair and accents they might as well be) at least were entertaining enough to hold them up for a whole scene

Not the same accents. The guy's is Scottish, the girl's is English. Similar, but not the same.

I think you're being too forgiving. Those two accents are pretty different, to me at least!

 

[Scarim Coral]

I finally watch it and I think it's alright. Honestly I am wondering how long the show can keep up before running out of the movies references althought that is probably when they used more comicbook reference (AIM and Hydra anyone?). As of right now I'm not sure wheater I sould watch more of it or not.

Spoiler: Also I got my own theory on the whole Coulson must not found out

He is actually an LMD, Life Model Decoey. In another word an android decoy for the human counterpart. Yes it is a real thing in the Marvel comic, look it up!

 

[Rednog]

It was just ok for me, I'm a bit concerned as to whether or not it will gain any momentum. The whole hunt down/find super heroes things played out extremely fast in Heroes and that show just tanked incredibly fast. And this show seems like it's going to go the episodic adventure route rather than a continuous story route and the episodic thing can burn out interest quite quickly. Interested to see where it goes but it's not going to be one of those shows I have to watch when it airs; I probably catch more of it when the full season comes out.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Just one nit-pick. Why the different style of shield logos?

It's not unusual for agencies to use multiple stylized emblems. I did quick searches for Navy Emblem [https://www.google.com/search?q=navy+emblem&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=1CZJUsSqCIGGyAGJ5YHwBA&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1173&bih=553&dpr=1.09] and Seals Emblem [https://www.google.com/search?q=seals+emblem&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=DilJUu7-DOS82wXIvIHgCw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1173&bih=553&dpr=1.09]... You can see a similarity where the primary emblem uses a spread winged eagle with embellishment and the Seals emblem is both somewhat simplified as well as depicting an eagle in an aggressive "wings down" pose.

 

[Furbyz]

I finally watch it and I think it's alright. Honestly I am wondering how long the show can keep up before running out of the movies references althought that is probably when they used more comicbook reference (AIM and Hydra anyone?). As of right now I'm not sure wheater I sould watch more of it or not.

Spoiler: Also I got my own theory on the whole Coulson must not found out

He is actually an LMD, Life Model Decoey. In another word an android decoy for the human counterpart. Yes it is a real thing in the Marvel comic, look it up!

I that's what I'd thought at first too, but then something started bugging me. They kept saying, over and over, that Tahiti was such a "magical" place. I'm thinking that was foreshadowing for a twist since most comic savvy individuals would expect an LMD. This is Whedon after all, the same guy that killed off a popular minor character in the same episode she made it into the Theme Song.

So far I'll keep watching, but I'm not all that impressed with the cast themselves yet. I get they haven't had much time to grow on me, but I just felt like J. August Richards stole every scene he was in.

Also, did someone clone Eliza Dushku? Maybe it's the hair, I don't know, but to me the similarity is striking.

 

[Lightknight]

I like the idea of the series. I'm a bit concerned that the budget may crush the series like they've done to some great titles lately. I'm happy to have a series to replace my much enjoyed Alphas' absence.

We'll have to see, as a pilot you can't take much away.

 

[walsfeo]

I worry that him being head Cool Badass Superspy Agent of Team Cool Badass Superspy Agents might ruin the "ordinary" quality that Agent Coulson has that makes him, ironically, extraordinary in this universe.

Yeah, this.

Coulson was great because he was a pillar of calm certainty when everything else was wacky. He felt like an agent who had been around awhile, one who was as used to manning a desk as being in the field. It's his tolerance (or fan-boy) nature that helped him cope. By giving him punch lines instead of an appreciation of punch lines, they are changing his character. He may survive that, and I may still like it, but it's going to take time to rewrite him in my brain.

And the effect for the hovercar was pretty lame.

 

[Silverspetz]

The twin tech geeks (I know they aren't related, but they have the same skin and hair and accents they might as well be) at least were entertaining enough to hold them up for a whole scene

Not the same accents. The guy's is Scottish, the girl's is English. Similar, but not the same.

Ah, my mistake. I was too busy wondering why they aren't the main characters instead of boring lone wolf guy with lone wolf pains.



Anyways, yeah it does remind me of torchwood. And Warehouse 13, and Alphas, and Eureka, and Sanctuary, and Fringe and..I guess the new show "The Tomorrow People" that's coming out soon.



damn theres a lot of shows about teams of undercover people dealing with weird tech/magic stuff.

I really hope it finds a way to stand out from the crowd outside of "HEY WERE CONNECTED TO SOME MOVIES", because if it didn't have that connection it wouldn't have been any good.

Really? Because taken on its own it still has major production-value, scenes that are funny as hell and good characters.