Life is full of little disappointments... (but no spoilers) Part 2
So... Agents of SHIELD.
I was really looking forward to this, but I don't wear any fannish goggles when watching the pilot of a TV show, so I have to say it was by no means totally bad or offensive, just very ordinary and with a lot of faults.
For the first thing, I had problems telling one character from t'other. I didn't even recognise Hill for a moment, with her change in hairstyle. All the men were buff brunets and all the women were beautiful brunettes, all Hollywood pretty (except Coulson), all dressed in the standard black (even, damn it, Skye) and all talking much the same 'witty' dialogue which, eventually, stopped being witty.
For the second thing, there were too many groan-making references to Marvel comics - "journey into mystery", "with great power comes great responsibilty", "say cheese" - the last being a bit obscure, but it is Coulson's nickname in the comics.
For the third thing, this is not the deadly, ruthless organisation of the films, but one with a much softer core, that will put innocents in terrible danger because they don't want to kill someone infected with extremis (and why the change in pronunciation from IM3? Of course, the pronunciation here is the one I have always used mentally, but all the same...) because he has a young son (and is black?) And how the hell did they cure him of extremis without involving Tony Stark? And this reminder of IM3 also reminds us of SHIELD's non-appearance in that movie when the country was under desperate terrorist threat. Not a good idea. Which is an example of the fourth thing: plot problems. And Skye's quick conversion is also ludicrous.
Yes, I like Coulson. I happen to think that reviving him under fan pressure devalues the Avengers movie (though there are hints that he is an LMD, or a clone, or imported from the past or another place in the multiverse) but I have always liked the character. (He seems to have been vaguely based on Jasper Sitwell, though there is also a Jasper Sitwell in the MCU, and I have always liked 616 Jasper.) However, the past record of characters/series brought back under fan pressure is not a good one.
Nice to see the flying car, though as these are SHIELD's main means of transport in the comics it was hardly a surprise.
It's a pilot. Pilots are rarely the best thing about a series. Let's hope it gets better.
I was really looking forward to this, but I don't wear any fannish goggles when watching the pilot of a TV show, so I have to say it was by no means totally bad or offensive, just very ordinary and with a lot of faults.
For the first thing, I had problems telling one character from t'other. I didn't even recognise Hill for a moment, with her change in hairstyle. All the men were buff brunets and all the women were beautiful brunettes, all Hollywood pretty (except Coulson), all dressed in the standard black (even, damn it, Skye) and all talking much the same 'witty' dialogue which, eventually, stopped being witty.
For the second thing, there were too many groan-making references to Marvel comics - "journey into mystery", "with great power comes great responsibilty", "say cheese" - the last being a bit obscure, but it is Coulson's nickname in the comics.
For the third thing, this is not the deadly, ruthless organisation of the films, but one with a much softer core, that will put innocents in terrible danger because they don't want to kill someone infected with extremis (and why the change in pronunciation from IM3? Of course, the pronunciation here is the one I have always used mentally, but all the same...) because he has a young son (and is black?) And how the hell did they cure him of extremis without involving Tony Stark? And this reminder of IM3 also reminds us of SHIELD's non-appearance in that movie when the country was under desperate terrorist threat. Not a good idea. Which is an example of the fourth thing: plot problems. And Skye's quick conversion is also ludicrous.
Yes, I like Coulson. I happen to think that reviving him under fan pressure devalues the Avengers movie (though there are hints that he is an LMD, or a clone, or imported from the past or another place in the multiverse) but I have always liked the character. (He seems to have been vaguely based on Jasper Sitwell, though there is also a Jasper Sitwell in the MCU, and I have always liked 616 Jasper.) However, the past record of characters/series brought back under fan pressure is not a good one.
Nice to see the flying car, though as these are SHIELD's main means of transport in the comics it was hardly a surprise.
It's a pilot. Pilots are rarely the best thing about a series. Let's hope it gets better.