Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents of SHIELD TV series for ABC - General Discussion - Part 3

[DrDoom]

The muscle memory stuff is what made me lean even farther away from the LMD theory. With a LMD, you could just program them to know how to dismantle a gun. He wouldn't have "faulty muscle memory" because everything could be easily programmed.

I still think it's Coulson, but I do agree that they did something extreme to bring him back. Something he obviously wouldn't be happy with.

Maybe they didnt program an LMD but transfer Coulson's consciousness into an LMD so his mind isnt fully adapting to it

 

[DrDoom]

By the way, does Clark Gregg have some sort of walking problem? His left leg and arm look different when he walks.

It's the LMD malfunctioning!!!

 

[Pond]

I´ll be frank with you; i got the sense that both in the field and later in the BUS he might have been making himself look rusty and out of shape to see if Melinda had a change of heart about fieldwork.

I never ever thought of anything else till i came here...

 

[TheFBI]

I like this theory^^^. Coulson probably doesnt like being in the field after dying

 

[Crimson King]

Something to chew on:

http://io9.com/agents-of-shield-is-all-about-skyes-journey-and-tha-1443046238

TL;DR - They don't like Skye and the plots are kind of weak. They do mention that it would be cool if Coulson's team defected from SHIELD, which WOULD actually be cool.

 

[Mister J]

Their ending point is pretty much where I am.

To be fair, though, when you compare the first few episodes of this show with the teething troubles that Whedon's Dollhouse had in its opening five or six episodes, it's really not that bad.

I do have some gripes, but it's still relatively early in the process. I'm uncharacteristically optimistic that it'll continue to take a more palatable form as the writers get more comfortable with where they want to take things beyond stock character types. Truly, given the subject matter, I'm likely to continue watching even if it stays at the level it is, but there is room to establish something compelling beyond that which just pulls at my fanboy card.

edit: Of course, IIRC, Dollhouse's early unevenness had something to do with the network ****ing with things.

 

[TheHeatKitchen]

The muscle memory stuff is what made me lean even farther away from the LMD theory. With a LMD, you could just program them to know how to dismantle a gun. He wouldn't have "faulty muscle memory" because everything could be easily programmed.

I still think it's Coulson, but I do agree that they did something extreme to bring him back. Something he obviously wouldn't be happy with.

I can understand where you're coming from, and I think both options are possible.

I'm thinking that the human mind is powerful, and while the body can be programmed, his mind can't. His mind is telling him he's rusty, so he's rusty. It's like fear. You're only afraid if you tell yourself you are. You know?

Either way, as long as they explain it well, I'm happy

 

[THANOSRULES]

I think a lot of people had unreal expectations. It's in the MCU, so people expected Avengers or Iron Man caliber, but this isn't at that level. I had to step back after the pilot and think "its just a tv show and it won't be near as good as the films."

Very few shows are on THAT level. Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead are arguable.

Bottom line, its a tv show on ABC, which is owned by Disney, that is for families, that just happens to take place in the same universe as the MCU.

To me, its a solid B+ as a tv show at this point. It's entertaining, lighthearted and has action. Could be better, but could be MUCH worse.

Despite this somewhat promising episode it clearly doesnt have the complexity, intrigue, dangling plots and quality of MANY recent/current/past TV efforts...its nowhere near in the same league as the shows you mentioned..or even something like 24, Lost, Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, Vikings, Battlestar Gallactica...man or even a failed show like FLashforward.

Then we have Budget and the fact this show is so restrained. Its tough to see what is accomplished for effects in shows like Fallen Skies, Defiance, and Dr. Who on 3rd party cable networks and we get effects and unambitious plots that make this show seem cheap.

I could deal with reduced effects and budget if we were getting top notch characterization, acting and writing...but were clearly not.

The ante has been upped over the past few years in television and I dont think we were uncalled in expecting this show would be somewhere in the neighborhood of that level of quality.

This show clearly is taking a simplistic approach ala a NCIS / Hawaii 5 0 type standalone stories in terms of its plotting. We have a small cast, not a real sense of much in the form of multiple plotlines , and the dialogue and acting have been average to poor.

Its just not good enough...and frankly I'm surprised. It will however do OK..thanks to name recognition and the fact its not total crud..I thought Smallville was drivel and look how that turned out.

I really feel like people are settling and making excuses for this show on a level I've never seen before... (I mean your rating of B+ with your comments is kinda case in point)

TO me it's a C...

 

[The Question]

This show clearly is taking a simplistic approach ala a NCIS / Hawaii 5 0 type standalone stories in terms of its plotting. We have a small cast, not a real sense of much in the form of multiple plotlines , and the dialogue and acting have been average to poor.

Meh. Most of Joss Whedon's other projects started off being very episodic and developed richer storylines as they went on. I'm still in "wait and see" mode as far as saying what the show definitively is or is not.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

Every show needs a straight man. He is that man. People don't seem to get this. Everybody else has some oddball quirk, while he's like the audience surrogate.

Yup.

Ward and Skye remain my favorites. Fitz-Simmons are growing on me. Slowly.

 

[Chewy]

I kinda feel like it's really, really premature to say that the show won't have multiple overarching plotlines three episodes in but hey, what do I know

 

[R_Hythlodeus]

I kinda feel like it's really, really premature to say that the show won't have multiple overarching plotlines three episodes in but hey, what do I know

How dare you using logic!

 

[mr. peasant]

Despite this somewhat promising episode it clearly doesnt have the complexity, intrigue, dangling plots and quality of MANY recent/current/past TV efforts...its nowhere near in the same league as the shows you mentioned..or even something like 24, Lost, Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, Vikings, Battlestar Gallactica...man or even a failed show like FLashforward.

Perhaps. But how many of those are on subscription-based channels? Or in the case of Flash Forward, a failed series? Compare the numbers between those shows and SHIELD and you will see the latter is a magnitude larger than the former. And with shows like SHIELD, audience number is everything as this is their main source of revenue for the show. In contrast, channels like HBO get their money from subscriptions and it matters little whether people are tuning in to that particular show at that particular time as they earn the same regardless (i.e. audience size is less of a factor).

Meh. Most of Joss Whedon's other projects started off being very episodic and developed richer storylines as they went on. I'm still in "wait and see" mode as far as saying what the show definitively is or is not.

Indeed. This, I feel, is generally a smart decision on the his and his crew's part. In fact, it's a pretty common technique used. By making the first few episodes episodic, it makes things easier for new viewers to tune into the show - which is EXTREMELY vital for a new property in order to establish an audience base. If the plots are too convoluted, it creates a high barrier of entry for new viewers; leading the show to be unable to get new viewers and to ultimately fail. Especially if the viewers aren't tuning in week after week, causing to get locked out on the show's continuity and storyline. This is resolved by having at least the first few episodes more self-contained to buy time for viewers to get more devoted to the show.

 

[darthcoolness3]

They probably used some of Iron Man's technology and Asgard's technology to bring Coulson back.

 

[rashad]

Agents Of Shield: 5 Ways To Improve The Show
http://whatculture.com/tv/agents-of...n=agents-of-shield-5-ways-to-improve-the-show

Thoughts?

 

[Xeno]

Perhaps. But how many of those are on subscription-based channels? Or in the case of Flash Forward, a failed series? Compare the numbers between those shows and SHIELD and you will see the latter is a magnitude larger than the former. And with shows like SHIELD, audience number is everything as this is their main source of revenue for the show. In contrast, channels like HBO get their money from subscriptions and it matters little whether people are tuning in to that particular show at that particular time as they earn the same regardless (i.e. audience size is less of a factor).




Indeed. This, I feel, is generally a smart decision on the his and his crew's part. In fact, it's a pretty common technique used. By making the first few episodes episodic, it makes things easier for new viewers to tune into the show - which is EXTREMELY vital for a new property in order to establish an audience base. If the plots are too convoluted, it creates a high barrier of entry for new viewers; leading the show to be unable to get new viewers and to ultimately fail. Especially if the viewers aren't tuning in week after week, causing to get locked out on the show's continuity and storyline. This is resolved by having at least the first few episodes more self-contained to buy time for viewers to get more devoted to the show.

This is absolutely correct. A show like this has to build up a head of steam before diving into the "mythology" that is going to be at the heart of it. Whedon said he was concerned that viewers can start watching and not feel as if they can't get a handle on the show because of convoluted plotlines. Shows like Fringe and The X-Files started off just as AOS has, with relatively contained episodes that had threads which would be picked up later in the series.


AOS already has a few plotlines laid out: Coulson's resurrection, Rising Tide, the origin of Graviton. The writers have also introduced some intriguing new concepts, like the Slingshot and the Fridge. More surely be will be added as time goes on. The trick will be to spool those threads out slowly through the season while also making the show accessible to all viewers.

 

[Crimson King]

Agents Of Shield: 5 Ways To Improve The Show
http://whatculture.com/tv/agents-of...n=agents-of-shield-5-ways-to-improve-the-show

Thoughts?

Those are all pretty standard responses repeated from other blogs.

The biggest way to improve the show: admit it has faults that need to be addressed.

Too many around here don't want to acknowledge this.

 

[terry78]

Did people love the A-Team right out the gate? Settle down.

 

[Crimson King]

It's not a crime to want the show to be better. Criticism is not a bad thing. The real worry is when people don't care enough to comment or make suggestions.

 

[spideyboy_1111]

best episode for me so far... finally some real "spy" activity... and the characters are slowly, but surely showing their footing.

the birth of gravitron is pretty awesome as well... im sure he will be back

 

[Vartha]

mark my words: SHIELD spent 6 million dollars to make him the Bionic Coulson

...he's not in an Orange jumpsuit tho. lol
They never told that about the 6 million dollar man. it was the jump suit that cost alot of money. Hell, they paid 100 bucks for a hammer hahahaha

 

[Vartha]

How dare you using logic!

....shouldn't that be how dare over critical people on only 3 episodes?

 

[Pond]

Those are all pretty standard responses repeated from other blogs.

The biggest way to improve the show: admit it has faults that need to be addressed.

Too many around here don't want to acknowledge this.

Because there is nothing to aknowledge. There is nothing to know. You think, you believe, you judge... but you dont know.

 

[Crimson King]

Because there is nothing to aknowledge. There is nothing to know. You think, you believe, you judge... but you dont know.

 

[Pond]

Thats actually funny for a rather private reason. But i do hope it wont come true... I have enough on my plate as it is.