Hiatus be damned! We are back, baby! In week two of WWFC we’re checking out the premiere of Marvel Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. and letting you know if the comic giants first foray into network television demands a return visit.
First, the bad:
-The score is over”Bear”ing (Yep, I went there). I know this shouldn’t be an issue but as a film music nerd (and major) it’s really in your face during the pilot. Bear Mccreary (Eureka, BS:G, The Walking Dead) is an old pro at TV scores so hopefully this will change over time.
-It might be Mrs Jesse speaking here but the comment about “sweaty cosplay girls” really rubbed me the wrong way. As a “man of the people”, the misogyny that subtly runs through Joss Whedon productions at times tends to put a bad taste in my mouth.
That said, here’s the good:
-Everything else!
Seriously, this pilot was Iron Man levels of origin awesomeness. There was enough mystery to keep viewers coming back for more and enough nerdgasm moments to satisfy die-hards.
Clark Gregg returns (With Cobie Smulders’ Maria Hill!) to a post-Avengers world where S.H.I.E.L.D. is known along with super soldiers, gamma irradiated monsters, gods, and aliens.
The pilot sees a seemingly back from the dead Agent Coulson (Gregg) putting together a totally autonomous S.H.I.E.L.D. unit to deal with the new world order. Think of it as the super hero version of The X-Files. Along for the ride is Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen), Skye (Chloe Bennet), Ward (Brett Dalton), and Fitz-Simmons (Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge)…all of whom have their own skeletons.
Whedon leads the charge having written and directed the pilot and with JW comes some familiar faces like the main protagonist/antagonist J. August Richards (Angel’s “Gunn”) and, most importantly Ron Glass as a S.H.I.E.L.D. doctor (Firefly’s “Shepherd Book”!) who knows more than he’s letting on about Coulson’s reappearance.
All in all, the pilot had enough depth, action, and mystery to not only launch it into into the upper echelon of Marvel’s continued continuity dominance but also had the stuff to guarantee that viewers will be coming back for more.
Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Tuesdays on ABC.
Grade: A+