Tuesday, September 24, 2013

TV Review: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Pilot & Person of Interest Premier

This was by far my most anticipated show of the fall.  I’m a big fan of the Marvel movies, have been since the original Iron Man, and like any good fan, I just could not wait to watch this one.  It didn’t disappoint.  Unfortunately, it didn’t exceed expectations, either.  This is mostly likely because I have the show so built up in my head and I’ve been obsessing over it since the moment it was announced.  I’ll definitely tune in every Tuesday to check it out, since I LOVE it, but I wasn’t blown away.

The characters are all good, Fitz and Skye are my favorite (after Coulson, of course), but they aren’t more than good.  This is understandable, in fact it’s acceptable, because this is the first episode and there are so many characters to get to know.  Everyone has a backstory, and if the episode had focused on one way more than the others it might have seemed like a lesser show (see Alpha’s, a similar show that just COULD NOT juggle its characters).  I can imagine that by episode three or four we’ll have a pretty good grasp on who’s who and why we like them.  Another point on the characters- they’re unique.  They don’t blend together like is often the case with pilots.  Everyone stands out, we know their names (something inconceivable in the first episode of Lost), and we have a general idea of their personalities and hints at their backgrounds.  This isn’t just delightfully helpful, but wonderfully endearing.  I love knowing exactly who I’ll be spending my time with for the Fall TV season (because I totally view these “people” as my friends… hehe).

The plot was good.  Very straightforward and built to introduce all the central characters.  Skye and Ward take center stage as the ones who will be introducing us into this world, with Coulson as the commanding officer of the gang.  The villain/hero is also pretty straight forward, and while the episode wraps up with his story, a bigger one has been planted.  It also leads right into the next episode in the last minute.  There won’t be much time lost between episodes, I assume, and that makes me very happy.  While there will be a case a week it looks like it will also have more of a drama you’ll want to tune into every week.

All in all, I really, really liked it.  It had me squealing like a fan-girl (“I don’t think Thor’s technically a god.”  “Then you haven’t seen his arms.”) and laughing out loud so hard my stomach hurt.  It gets a 4 out of 5 stars and I can’t wait to see more.

 

(Some mild spoilers if you haven’t seen seasons one and two, so be careful if you’re trying to catch up)

OK, so I wasn’t completely paying attention to the episode because my puppy was falling asleep in my arms.  It was really nice, though.

This was a good start to the season.  I’m looking forward to see where it goes now that Root is a season regular and Shaw will be around to help them out.  I feel like Fusco didn’t get enough air time (and neither did Bear) but that Carter, John and Finch also felt pressed for time.  Maybe it’s the newly extended cast, we’ve got Elias who’s still around, a machine that’s off its rocker, Root in the asylum communicating with said machine, and Shaw doing her own thing as well.  Everyone seems to be playing angles this season, although I’m glad that we’ve taken this route.  The show needed new blood and I just hope it lasts.

My predictions for the new season:

·         A Carter/John hookup by the end

·         Carter gets her detective status back (or maybe this happens next season)

·         Someone big dies (best guess: Fusco)

We’ll see if I’m right at all, however, you never know when a major game changer will just break everything you knew down (season one finale, for example).

The episode was good.  The show is still young enough that all the mysteries are fresh and the twist isn’t old yet, so I can imagine this show can make it at least five seasons.  I hope this year they have more several episode arcs because at this point all the fans want something a little more substantial than case-a-week.  I also hope Fusco gets more screen time because he really is a great character.

My rating is 3 ½ out of 5 stars because the episode, while flashy and wonderfully written/acted/depicted wasn’t something new from them.  I was hoping for a little more bang to start the season.  As always, this is one of my favorite shows and I’ll be tuning in every week to visit everyone’s favorite closet-billionaire and the man in the suit.

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