(no subject)
Sep. 25th, 2013 08:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seekingferretI found the Agents of SHIELD pilot, in general, a bit bumpy. There were all of these one liners that seemed like they were intended to be laugh lines, but the timing and delivery was off. Coulson and Hill, not only played by actors who have already done the Whedon Marvel thing but also played by actors whose main experience has been working on sitcoms, did notably better at the comedy.
I predictably loved FitzSimmons, and I loved the tone of the technobabble. This wasn't bad, nonsensical technobabble like we saw in the Star Trek movie. This was deliberately ridiculous technobabble. They were taunting people like me, quite intentionally, with lines like "She cracked our RSA implementation. She's good." And I'm fine with that. I could totally have written that line.
I also found Project Centipede hilarious. They took super soldier serum, gamma radiation, Extremis, and they threw it in a blender!!!! Oh, Joss Whedon, you do know how to make me love you.
In general, the show's greatest flaw is its basic concept. It's trying to tell a story about life in the world of superheroes for people who aren't superheroes, without making much use of the superheroes themselves. As SHIELD did battle against a user of Project Centipede, I found myself wishing that the Avengers could have a crack at a guy who's basically custom made as their foil.
If I'm going to love this show, it's going to need to do two things to deal with that: 1)Work in cameos from the Avengers and other MCU characters when appropriate and 2)tell stories that don't involve superpowers but explore other ways the world has changed.
I do mostly trust that Whedon's smart enough to figure this out.
Other things I would like to see more use of: Melinda May, whoever she is. Agent Hill, in the field. Alas, not until season 2. SHIELD bureaucracy and ridiculousness. BASHFUL! Other of Fitz and Simmons's toys.
A final note: I've seen some conversation about how Agents of SHIELD plays in a post-Snowden world. In general, my position is that it played with the problems quite well. I was terrified that Whedon was going in a Dollhouse place with the truth serum, but the twist was great. It didn't telegraph 'we are the good guys'. It telegraphed 'We are people who do really terrible things. We want you to trust us anyway.' The whole narrative that Skye described to Michael, of the men in suits coming to get you and take you away from your family? That happened to Michael, and as it's happening he's screaming at her that it's happening, but the viewer and Skye are so emotionally compromised that they are rooting for it to happen. But at the same time, because we like Michael and we like his kid, there's a part of us that knows that rooting for the men in black suits to ruin this guy's life is wrong. Coulson reassuring Ward that Michael would eventually go home to his family is such a dirty moment. I love how the pilot suggests that what SHIELD does is necessary, but not always right. I think there's a lot of room to explore that problem.
I predictably loved FitzSimmons, and I loved the tone of the technobabble. This wasn't bad, nonsensical technobabble like we saw in the Star Trek movie. This was deliberately ridiculous technobabble. They were taunting people like me, quite intentionally, with lines like "She cracked our RSA implementation. She's good." And I'm fine with that. I could totally have written that line.
I also found Project Centipede hilarious. They took super soldier serum, gamma radiation, Extremis, and they threw it in a blender!!!! Oh, Joss Whedon, you do know how to make me love you.
In general, the show's greatest flaw is its basic concept. It's trying to tell a story about life in the world of superheroes for people who aren't superheroes, without making much use of the superheroes themselves. As SHIELD did battle against a user of Project Centipede, I found myself wishing that the Avengers could have a crack at a guy who's basically custom made as their foil.
If I'm going to love this show, it's going to need to do two things to deal with that: 1)Work in cameos from the Avengers and other MCU characters when appropriate and 2)tell stories that don't involve superpowers but explore other ways the world has changed.
I do mostly trust that Whedon's smart enough to figure this out.
Other things I would like to see more use of: Melinda May, whoever she is. Agent Hill, in the field. Alas, not until season 2. SHIELD bureaucracy and ridiculousness. BASHFUL! Other of Fitz and Simmons's toys.
A final note: I've seen some conversation about how Agents of SHIELD plays in a post-Snowden world. In general, my position is that it played with the problems quite well. I was terrified that Whedon was going in a Dollhouse place with the truth serum, but the twist was great. It didn't telegraph 'we are the good guys'. It telegraphed 'We are people who do really terrible things. We want you to trust us anyway.' The whole narrative that Skye described to Michael, of the men in suits coming to get you and take you away from your family? That happened to Michael, and as it's happening he's screaming at her that it's happening, but the viewer and Skye are so emotionally compromised that they are rooting for it to happen. But at the same time, because we like Michael and we like his kid, there's a part of us that knows that rooting for the men in black suits to ruin this guy's life is wrong. Coulson reassuring Ward that Michael would eventually go home to his family is such a dirty moment. I love how the pilot suggests that what SHIELD does is necessary, but not always right. I think there's a lot of room to explore that problem.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-25 07:18 pm (UTC)tell stories that don't involve superpowers but explore other ways the world has changed
That's my hope too.
I thought the twist in the truth serum and the focus on not killing Michael made it clear that if SHIELD are villains, at least they are villains who (unlike most comic book villains) understand the benefit of human resources, of having people who like and/or trust them enough to cooperate with and at times aid them. SHIELD's focus on neutralizing Michael in a non-destructive way even contrasts with your average TV hero, though it is motivated by something other than good will -- they're not rescuing him, they're acquiring him. They're at once better, worse, and exactly the same as the factory management that got rid of Michael.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-10-20 06:20 pm (UTC)-Noah