Marvel TV: 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' - The Thread

[BathTub]

Alright. Watched the first half of season 2, things were alright, we all knew that Skye was going to be gifted sooner or later, enjoyed the new cast. Then Agent Carter, which was pretty decent , felt it relied on stereotypes a lot, and despite the sexism theme they certainly got Agent Carter into her underwear as often as possible.

It just occurred to me that I should have grabbed all the Marvel One Shots before doing this.

[Pak-Man]

The only one-shot that applies is the Agent Carter one, and it actually works better as a sequel to the series.

[BathTub]

Yeah you weren't kidding, it doesn't really fit into sequence at all. It more like they remade it rather than trying to wedge it into the show.

Finished Agents. Wow they really went over the top with the 'kill the abominations motif' didn't they. And then followed it up pretty heavy handed with 'we much put them all on lists!'. I wonder how much will actually end up being relevant for the Inhumans movie.

[Rainbow Dash]

Yeah you weren't kidding, it doesn't really fit into sequence at all. It more like they remade it rather than trying to wedge it into the show.

Finished Agents. Wow they really went over the top with the 'kill the abominations motif' didn't they. And then followed it up pretty heavy handed with 'we much put them all on lists!'. I wonder how much will actually end up being relevant for the Inhumans movie.

Skye forms a group of gifted characters played by much cheaper actors.

[Darth Geek]

Yeah you weren't kidding, it doesn't really fit into sequence at all. It more like they remade it rather than trying to wedge it into the show.

Finished Agents. Wow they really went over the top with the 'kill the abominations motif' didn't they. And then followed it up pretty heavy handed with 'we much put them all on lists!'. I wonder how much will actually end up being relevant for the Inhumans movie.

Skye forms a group of gifted characters played by much cheaper actors.

Well you couldn't get much more cheap than Sky's dad and his "supervillain team" from he episode 'One Of Us'. Jesus that was lame.

[BathTub]

Yeah you weren't kidding, it doesn't really fit into sequence at all. It more like they remade it rather than trying to wedge it into the show.

Finished Agents. Wow they really went over the top with the 'kill the abominations motif' didn't they. And then followed it up pretty heavy handed with 'we much put them all on lists!'. I wonder how much will actually end up being relevant for the Inhumans movie.

Skye forms a group of gifted characters played by much cheaper actors.

Well you couldn't get much more cheap than Sky's dad and his "supervillain team" from he episode 'One Of Us'. Jesus that was lame.

Hah, you weren't impressed with the tech genius, the mob wife with razor blades screwed onto her fingers, and the guy with the voice?

[Johnny Unusual]

Yeah you weren't kidding, it doesn't really fit into sequence at all. It more like they remade it rather than trying to wedge it into the show.

Finished Agents. Wow they really went over the top with the 'kill the abominations motif' didn't they. And then followed it up pretty heavy handed with 'we much put them all on lists!'. I wonder how much will actually end up being relevant for the Inhumans movie.

Skye forms a group of gifted characters played by much cheaper actors.

Well you couldn't get much more cheap than Sky's dad and his "supervillain team" from he episode 'One Of Us'. Jesus that was lame.

I actually like that episode, but yeah, it certainly wasn't for the villains, who were pretty silly.  Except, of course, Kyle McLaughlin (but he plays it in a wonderfully campy way.  "The Screaming... Talons?").  I could see his silly character being a turn off for some but when he isn't spending too much time whining about Skye, he's a fun villain, the kind the show needs to have more of.  I think that's why I liked it: the team was pretty lame, but at least it had some traditional superhero action that I feel the show could use more of (they did have it in the finale, in a good way).

BTW, without spoiling too much about the finale, it looks like the Secret Warriors are going to be a big part of the next season.  Actually it took me far too long to realize that.  Hopefully, that means more superhero action and fewer internal squabbles that I'm getting a bit tired of.

Spoiler

I'm just hoping the recruiting process next season allows them to do some one off episodes to introduce some more obscure characters and have fun building the TV side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe a bit more.  I have a soft spot for Sleepwalker, so a strange, dream-like episode where they meet him in their dreams would be fun and would allow them to do some cool stuff, like in the Buffy episode "Restles".

[Darth Geek]

I do like Kyle McLaughlin's character. But I got sick of waiting and waiting for him to transform, even before the halfway point in this season. And when he did in the finale, it was very underwhelming.
The biggest thing that keeps this series down is budget. It's already got a big budget for a TV show (and otherwise does look very nice and cinematic). But you just can't do the special effects of big blockbuster movies on a TV show. The closest we got was the excellent Absorbing Man at the beginning of Season 2. But unless Marvel is going to quadruple the budget for Season 3, I don't think this series will give us the really cool characters we all want from the comics.
That being said, I give them a lot of credit that they do put budget and effort behind their fight sequences, which are always really good.
It does have (mostly) good characters. The main cast are all really likable, especially Agent Caulson. And I hope we see a lot more of Patton Oswalt's twin characters.

[Johnny Unusual]

Agreed.  It's not just that Patton is great on the show, though he is.  I feel like the writing gets better when he's around, like the writers spring to life when they get the chance to write him.  So yes, more Patton, please.

About the budget: yes, it can't look like the Marvel films, but it should learn to look better (or at least more interesting) in it's own right.  Visually, it's kind of bland.  I think of what a lot of sci-fi shows did with budgets that were as much or less: while there were some definitely some embarrassing moments, largely shows like Buffy and Angel could have some great special effects and cool monster designs.  And I know that Hyde aside it isn't the most monster filled show, but I think they need to be more visually striking.  With some creativity, you can wow people while still on a budget.

And yeah, Hyde's transformation was a bit lame.  I didn't even realize he was supposed to do that for much of the series: I just thought he was going to be strong and lethal, rather than foreheady.

[Darth Geek]

Agreed.  It's not just that Patton is great on the show, though he is.  I feel like the writing gets better when he's around, like the writers spring to life when they get the chance to write him.  So yes, more Patton, please.

How awesome would it have been if instead of going to Hawkeye's boring farmhouse, the Avengers holed up in a SHIELD bunker with a bunch of Patton Oswalt twin agents?

[BathTub]

Oh yeah the show is definitely hurt by the budget, I think Deathlok in particular.

[LucasM]

If anyone is interested, after remaining at about $45 for the last year and a half, the first season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is currently on sale at Best Buy for $24.99.  I just went and got one.

Edit: sorry, it is the Blu-ray set that is on sale for $24.99.

[Pak-Man]

Blu-ray or DVD?

[Edward J Grug III]

Blu Ray, it appears: http://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php?topic=12532.msg926639#msg926639

[Edward J Grug III]

Not loving this season so far.

I feel like we were promised exciting Secret Warriors stuff, and it's been pretty boring recruitment so far. Why did they wait until now to attempt to recruit the pre-existing inhumans they already knew about?

The Ward stuff is boring. He needs to go away for a few seasons and then come back. It just feels like treading the same ground.

The most interesting thing is the story line they tease for a few seconds at the end of each episode. Hopefully that pays off soon.