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

[Ultimatehero]

Agents of Shield is it's title. I think the article just typed it the full way... like this:

Marvel's Iron Man 3. People wouldn't say Marvel's Iron Man 3, they'd just say Iron Man 3.

 

[Marvolo]

Agents of SHIELD is hardly better.

SHIELD says all it needs to say. If they needed brand recognition then Marvel's SHIELD works fine. The "Agents of" is entirely superfluous.

 

[Sawyer]

"Agents of" is only necessary when it's: _________, Agent of SHIELD. On it's own, it just doesn't cut it. Leave it at SHIELD.

 

[flickchick85]

We're dealing with man who named his first show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

 

[Sawyer]

And that was a wonderful title!

 

[flickchick85]

Agreed, but I don't think anyone thought so when they first heard it, lol.

 

[Marvolo]

And that was a wonderful title!

Agreed. That title said all it needed to say. Angel said it all. As did dollhouse. This says more than is necessary. Its clunky and just seems so boring.

 

[Sawyer]

Agreed. Just the name of the organization is enough. But like someone else said, maybe the "Agents Of" is to distinguish it from The Shield. Just like how the Jessica Jones series would've not been titled Alias for obvious reasons.

 

[Dark Raven]

Damn Michael Chiklis and his series now for causing all these problems.

Of course, there have been other series with similar or the same names. Before ER there was a sitcom with Elliot Gould called ER.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

I don't find anything wrong with it meself.

 

[Ultimatehero]

/\ That is definitely it. (not being sarcastic here either, I strongly think that that's the reason)

Dude 1: Hey bro, have you seen Shield?

Dude 2: Yeah man, it's a kick ass cop show.

Dude 1: No man, the marvel show.

Dude 2: Oh yeah.

 

[Marvolo]

Agreed. Just the name of the organization is enough. But like someone else said, maybe the "Agents Of" is to distinguish it from The Shield. Just like how the Jessica Jones series would've not been titled Alias for obvious reasons.

That must be why. It doesn't seem like Whedon to come up with a title like this. Marvel, disney, or someone else must have pushed it.

 

[Dark Raven]

I don't think people would've been confused once it established itself. Songs often have the same name as an earlier one but if it becomes populat enough it overtakes the earlier one as the thing most associated with that name.

And does that mean if they had a movie they would've also called it Agents of SHIELD instead of just SHIELD?

 

[flickchick85]

Agreed. Just the name of the organization is enough. But like someone else said, maybe the "Agents Of" is to distinguish it from The Shield. Just like how the Jessica Jones series would've not been titled Alias for obvious reasons.

Honestly, considering Joss' very specific justifications for all of the words in BTVS' title, it wouldn't surprise me if he was the one who wanted the "Agents of" title because he wanted the title of the show to declare upfront that it was all about about the human element - the agents themselves - less than the organization...or some such reasoning. I mean, he even had a specific reason for the "The" in the BTVS title, aside from the need to connect words, lol.

 

[Dark Raven]

Honestly, considering Joss' very specific justifications for all of the words in BTVS' title, it wouldn't surprise me if he was the one who wanted the "Agents of" title because he wanted the title of the show to declare upfront that it was all about about the human element - the agents themselves - less than the organization...or some such reasoning. I mean, he even had a specific reason for the "The" in the BTVS title, aside from the need to connect words, lol.

What were the reasons he gave for each word?

 

[flickchick85]

What were the reasons he gave for each word?

He said that the execs really wanted him to change all or part of the title, and he insisted that the sum of the parts of the title = the mission statement for the show and refused to change it. It goes...

"Buffy"=Teen Comedy, "The"=Epic/Iconic, "Vampire"=Gothic Horror, "Slayer"=Action. Together, they declared this was an Epic Teen Comedy Action Gothic Horror show, lol. He was determined that every single word was indispensable and unchangeable.

 

[Scarecrow_King]

Even though I feel like I should find that ridiculous, it actually makes sense.

 

[flickchick85]

Even though I feel like I should find that ridiculous, it actually makes sense.

That was my exact reaction when I first heard it.

 

[mr. peasant]

Well, I suppose adding the "Agents of" gives the connotation that the show will be more cheesy, fun and optimistic rather than being all serious grimdark.

 

[Dark Raven]

He said that the execs really wanted him to change all or part of the title, and he insisted that the sum of the parts of the title = the mission statement for the show and refused to change it. It goes...

"Buffy"=Teen Comedy, "The"=Epic/Iconic, "Vampire"=Gothic Horror, "Slayer"=Action. Together, they declared this was an Epic Teen Comedy Action Gothic Horror show, lol. He was determined that every single word was indispensable and unchangeable.

I guess that does make sense, although I also agree it sounds a bit ridiculous too. If I wanted my title exactly as I wrote it originally, I would also argue for every word being in there as essential.

I was kind of hoping that one season might end with a cliffhanger of Buffy actually becoming an undead and the rest of the team trying to find a way to bring her back without killing her. They could've then temporarily called it "Buffy The Vampire" (and dropped the "Slayer"). Of course, they did kill her off one season, so I guess even if they did do that to save her, it wouldn't matter since they brought her back anyway.

If it is Whedon who added the "Agents of", maybe he also wanted to distinguish it from every other agency/ military/ procedural show out there (many of which have acronyms), among which it could easily get lost - eg Homeland, CSI, NCIS (although that used to be Navy NCIS in the first season until it dropped the redundant "Navy" - which could happen too with SHIELD).

 

[Scarecrow_King]

"Agents of" makes me think the show will focus more on the people and how their lives are affecting by being a part of SHIELD, instead of being what I normally imagine a superhero cop show would be.

 

[mr. peasant]

"Agents of" makes me think the show will focus more on the people and how their lives are affecting by being a part of SHIELD, instead of being what I normally imagine a superhero cop show would be.

In other words, it's less about the agency but the people in it? Yup. Definitely sounds like a Whedon work.

 

[Wyrminarrd]

Nah, the real reason for this is that Whedon saw the new Hulk show "Agents of S.M.A.S.H" and loved and decided to copy it's name and style

 

[Sawyer]

Nah, the real reason for this is that Whedon saw the new Hulk show "Agents of S.M.A.S.H" and loved and decided to copy it's name and style

That would imply that someone actually loves that show.

And that would be wrong.

 

[PyroChamber]

If they wanted to, could they take the characters from this show and put them in a movie?