Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 1 Episode 1 "Pilot" Discussion Thread

[marcvader]

I can't believe people were expecting this to be an HBO/Showtime/AMC caliber show. It's an ABC show petes sake and a pilot for that matter. Smh

 

[Rowsdower!]

Overall, I really enjoyed it. I guess there are moments that do look cheap, but... it's major network TV. Despite having more money than the cable networks (AMC, FX), they always manage to make their shows look cheaper. That doesn't really make sense, yet it is so. But I didn't expect the camera work or set designs to blow my mind, so it didn't really bother me.

Loved Clark Gregg, and I'm really intrigued to learn what happened to him. Why can he "never know" what it is? Is he a clone? Was alien technology used to bring him back from the dead? Is he an android? Guess we'll see.

I liked Sky and Ward. They're not fully formed characters yet but I see potential there in both of them. I also hope May gets a bit more fleshed out. Until her ass-kicking scene at the end, I was worried that the lovely and talented Ming Na was being wasted. The two nerds were a bit hard to understand (which I guess was intentional) but they were okay. I also liked the superhero character... not sure if we'll be seeing him again or if he's just a one-off, but I thought he was good.

I do think that this show might have trouble if it continues to rely so heavily on the Marvel films, though. References to the Battle of New York, the Super Soldier Serum and especially Extremis might confuse the more casual fans. Sure, a lot of people saw those movies but they don't obsess over them the way that we do. Guess we'll see how it goes. But overall, it was a solid pilot and I'm looking forward to next week.

 

[O_B_Juan]

I thought the show's debut was as good as the first epidode of NBC's Heroes.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

I also don't get the complaints about it looking cheap. The backlot look of Mike's rescue at the start? Sure. After that it's smoothe as silk production values wise.
Again, Skye, actress and character are the only real missteps here. Yeah, the actress is hot, but ABC CENTRAL CASTING, there is this new thing called porn availabe EVERYWHERE. If I wanted to see hot, attractive women doing bad acting I'd get a pass to BRAZZERS. Not to mention I actually get to see said bad actresses do more than badly deliver their lines.

Not giving up on the show but Skye had better shape up or I will ship out.

 

[BoredGuy]

I do think that this show might have trouble if it continues to rely so heavily on the Marvel films, though. References to the Battle of New York, the Super Soldier Serum and especially Extremis might confuse the more casual fans. Sure, a lot of people saw those movies but they don't obsess over them the way that we do. Guess we'll see how it goes. But overall, it was a solid pilot and I'm looking forward to next week.

I agree on this point
Thought they went a bit heavy on the references
I think the word Chitauri was used, what, twice in the film?
So any casual fans who haven't watched it 15 times on netflix like most of us have would probably feel a bit lost.
They could've cut most of the references except Coulson's death and the extremis stuff, and maybe one joke reference like the "Thor's arms" thing and it would've been perfectly sufficient.

Overall though, yes, I still thought the show was great.
I just hope the mainstream audience agrees

 

[Nathan]

"Yeah, well, you get shanked by the Asgardian Mussolini, you can tell it your way."

 

[The Question]

They made Asgardians aliens who use magic highly advanced tech. DC keeps it real and faithful.

1: So far. They haven't done any kind of magic stuff yet.

2: In practice, is there really any difference between magic and "Asgardian science? Is there really any difference between "pagan god" and "immortal humanoid extra-dimensional being that has control over an aspect of nature and was once worshiped as a god by pagans?"

 

[The Question]

Oh gosh - I did notice when he was falling in front of that mural of African-American figures and couldn't help but roll my eyes. Really?

You don't need to use us with symbolism in everything jeez - just treat us like normal people! We're not all down an out, poor, single dad shmucks.

1. They hardly used symbolism in "everything", that was really the only instance of it

2. If you're not struggling good for you, but a lot of us are. And I applaud them for not being scared to address it and not beating the bush or ignoring the issue by just treating the black character like any old guy.

More importantly, the mural doesn't depict African American leaders:

http://www.metro.net/about/art/artworks/city-dreamsriver-history/

"Acutely aware of the overlays of natural and cultural histories on the Union Station site (which was once the crossing of several Shoshonean trails), this artist team's multifaceted work seeks to create a sense of place resonant of the history and pre-history of the site. An eighty-foot long mural, executed by artist Richard Wyatt, contains images of Native Americans and settlers of the LA basin as well as contemporary Angelenos."

 

[Nathan]

The only issue I had with this Episode was, how can you have the resources to give someone super powers, but be too stingy to give them some cash, so they keep cool and don't freak out when they are in a tight spot?

 

[Doctor Jones]

Well I really enjoyed this more than I was expecting. I'll watch next week. Then again... I don't really have much going on at 8 pm Tuesday nights.

"I'm sorry... that corner was really dark and I couldn't help myself."

 

[Lord]

Wow, I honestly didnt expect to see Cobie in this bc of she's on How I met your Mother on CBS. I expected them to recast Maria Hill if she ever showed up

She still had time to be on The Avengers, i don't see how a 5 minutes cameo would be a big deal, she's not a main carrecter, she's just one who appeared in the Pilot and we may see again.

 

[Saitou Hajime]

It was probably just a coincidence that the climax had SHIELD take down a self-destructive superhuman endangering civilians in a train station without a single loss of life

 

[The Question]

It was probably just a coincidence that the climax had SHIELD take down a self-destructive superhuman endangering civilians in a train station without a single loss of life

Well, certainly, because this was written and filmed months before Man of Steel came out.

 

[ctsketch]

The only issue I had with this Episode was, how can you have the resources to give someone super powers, but be too stingy to give them some cash, so they keep cool and don't freak out when they are in a tight spot?

Well it seems they were experimenting on people who are down and out. desperate people. So I think they want to keep them dependent.

 

[Nathan]

Well it seems they were experimenting on people who are down and out. desperate people. So I think they want to keep them dependent.

And you do that by promising cash for getting to experiment on them.

 

[Xeno]

Only character I didn't like in this episode was Skye,I already know she'll be annoying me so bad in every episode,I want BW to show up and kick her ass!

I definitely agree with this. Skye was the one off-note in an otherwise on-key pilot. Her first scene with Mike Peterson was beyond awful. While I thought that Whedon nailed Peterson's characterization as an ordinary guy being driven to the edge by extraordinary forces, Skye was simply too over-the-top to work. She was supposed to be approaching Peterson in secrecy, but practically shouted everything to the entire diner they were in. It was a little ridiculous.

Although by the end of the episode I felt that she had been reined in enough to be tolerable, Skye is still an ill-conceived character. The "brilliant computer hacker" is a stock character from 90s thrillers, not entirely suitable for an organization as advanced as SHIELD supposedly is. But Skye is a Whedon stock character, so she was shoehorned into the show. One can only hope she turns into something better and less grating as time goes on.

 

[ctsketch]

Maybe they were promised cash...and never got it?

 

[Xeno]

And you do that by promising cash for getting to experiment on them.

Well, we saw the other "patient" explode in the lab, killing at least one of the scientists. Perhaps they thought that their lab rats were doomed to die, like many of the Extremis subjects in Iron Man 3, so they weren't prepared or willing to give them money. Also, Dr. Feelbad obviously had soem trained assassins at her beck and call since she went after Peterson with one of them. It was either explode and die, be silent or be killed for the unfortunate "volunteers."

 

[ctsketch]

What if it turns out the good Doctor is an AIM employee ?

 

[Brainiac 8]

I just hope the instant that other horrible show ends, they immediately grab Cobie and make her a regular from season 2 onward.

 

[Nathan]

Btw, do you think Skye's Hooded Hero comment was a jab at Arrow? "Please tell me you're not staying with that name."

 

[ctsketch]

I think it was

 

[Docker2.0]

I definitely agree with this. Skye was the one off-note in an otherwise on-key pilot. Her first scene with Mike Peterson was beyond awful. While I thought that Whedon nailed Peterson's characterization as an ordinary guy being driven to the edge by extraordinary forces, Skye was simply too over-the-top to work. She was supposed to be approaching Peterson in secrecy, but practically shouted everything to the entire diner they were in. It was a little ridiculous.

Although by the end of the episode I felt that she had been reined in enough to be tolerable, Skye is still an ill-conceived character. The "brilliant computer hacker" is a stock character from 90s thrillers, not entirely suitable for an organization as advanced as SHIELD supposedly is. But Skye is a Whedon stock character, so she was shoehorned into the show. One can only hope she turns into something better and less grating as time goes on.

Yes Skye is freaking annoying. I'm hoping that she gets better. I'm also hoping Marvel uses more of its C and D level characters. Let's be real, its something that we are all hoping for. A little easter eggs goes pretty far.

 

[Docker2.0]

Btw, do you think Skye's Hooded Hero comment was a jab at Arrow? "Please tell me you're not staying with that name."

Knowing Marvel, I'm sure it was. I remember watching the Avengers cartoon and they were fighting Hyperion who we know is a Superman ripoff. His response to Thor, "love the red cape!"

 

[Xeno]

I agree on this point
Thought they went a bit heavy on the references
I think the word Chitauri was used, what, twice in the film?
So any casual fans who haven't watched it 15 times on netflix like most of us have would probably feel a bit lost.
They could've cut most of the references except Coulson's death and the extremis stuff, and maybe one joke reference like the "Thor's arms" thing and it would've been perfectly sufficient.

Overall though, yes, I still thought the show was great.
I just hope the mainstream audience agrees

The references to the wider Marvel universe were no more confusing than the weird inside baseball stuff I've seen in pilots for other genre shows. The Fringe pilot, for instance, introduced an entirely new fictitious government agency without so much as a pause in the action to explain what it was and what the agents were supposed to be doing. It worked, as far as I was concerned, but you had to be willing to roll with it and figure that you'd get a clearer picture as time went on. (Eventually Fringe lost me and almost everyone else, but that's another story.)

With Agents of SHIELD, the majority of the audience has at least some acquaintance with the world the characters inhabit. And if they don't they can easily find out more it they want to. Whedon didn't have to do any world building because SHIELD's world was already built through a series of extremely popular films. The Avengers sold an estimated 78 million ticket in North America alone, so it's not a stretch to imagine that most of the viewers already knew at least something about all the things referenced in the pilot.