David Griffin Loves Joss Whedon
October 4, 2013 4:08 am | Leave your thoughts
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I was waiting to share my thoughts about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for two simple reasons. Reason one: you cannot judge a television series based on the pilot alone. Reason two: I hate typing acronyms. Having been consistently entertained through two episodes, I am giving Joss Whedon’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. a strong taste it. Notice how I’m getting all the acronyms out of the way at the start of this thing.
So close to being a Tupperware but there are elements to every aspect of the series that keep it just out of going into the fridge. I would love to say that this is a TV show first and foremost. It is not a major summer blockbuster no matter how much it would like to pretend that it is. S.H.I.—-See what happened there. I almost had to write it again. Let’s just say our team of somewhat bland Disney cast members are weak as a whole, but individual members shine. Clark Greg’s Coulson and Ming-Na Wen’s Melinda May are likeable and badass all at once. We could stand to let the other characters fade into the background a bit. Keep in mind, this is all seen through my rose colored glasses of an intense love of comic books; and, as a fan of classic Doctor Who, I tend to be overly forgiving of a meager special effects budget.
Also, the show needs to decide what it is. Is it Avengers Lite or is it a spy drama? My theory is that the master plan is to bridge the worlds between Avengers 1 and 2 without making anything happen that is absolutely necessary to be seen before viewing of the second blockbuster. My theory is that there will be a growing divide established between super humans and the main characters as the series progresses. Coulson is likely a Life Model Decoy, which will hopefully end up in him being upgraded to become the Vision. There seems to be a magical element to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s (thank you cut and paste) development of artificial intelligence. Remember how Coulson kept talking about how “magical” Tahiti was? What if the A.I.’s are coming from a combination of a mystical artifact such as the Soul Infinity Gem and converted alien tech. Yes, that’s what was in Loki’s staff in Avengers. It didn’t work on Tony because he is a Tin Man without a heart. This line of reasoning could apply to the emerging Civil Warish tone of unregistered superpowers. If Nick Fury had to come up with a contingency plan to neutralize the Avengers team, he could make an artificial intelligence to overpower Jarvis that would be corrupted by someone manipulating the mystical aspect of the technology. Enter Ultron. These are all just theories that Joss Whedon infects my mind with, making it collapse in on itself when talking with my buddies about the latest episode. Most shows on television do not inspire me. I love that this one does.
In defense of Joss Whedon’s previous work, Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Once More With Feeling was my favorite single episode in the history of all television. Firefly is my favorite science fiction series of all time, and I watch a LOT of sci-fi. I truly hope that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D does not overstay its welcome like Buffy and doesn’t get shafted by the realities of the business of television like Firefly. Keep up the good work, Professor Whedon. You are teaching us all how it is done.
Tags: agent coulson, Joss Whedon, Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., melinda may, ultron
Categorised in: Random Reviews & News, Television Reviews
This post was written by David Griffin
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