Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD Recap: Pilot – 1×1 (Series Premiere)

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD

How fun was the series premiere of “Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD” (I think my period button is disabled only for that sequence of letters)?

The premiere proved to be a ratings bonanza for ABC, pulling in almost 12 million viewers on Tuesday night. So much so that ABC is already going to rerun it again tonight. I imagine the show will be the first to be picked up for season two as well.

If you saw “The Avengers” (and who didn’t) then you saw Agent Coulson (played by Clark Gregg) die. His reincarnation is explained in the pilot episode. Turns out his death was staged, though he was injured and sent to Tahiti to recuperate.

But all is not as it seems. Agent Hill (Cobie Smulders, reprising her role from “The Avengers”) tells Dr. Streiten (Look! It’s Preacher from “Firefly”! Ron Glass!) that Agent Coulson can never know. Cue dramatic sound effect – Bum Bum Bummm! What can’t he know? Was Tahiti really just the holodeck on the Starship Enterprise? Oh no, am I mixing my sci-fi references?!

Agents of ShieldWe are introduced to the slapdash crew Coulson has put together for his secret special ops team.  There’s Agent Ward (Brett Dalton), the loner agent; Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen), the veteran SHIELD agent who is pulled back into the fold just as she is trying to stay out; there’s Fitz and Simmons (Iain de Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge, respectively), two separate agents, male and female, with enough nerdy tech between them that fanboys around the world will be replicating the weapons they create for cosplay and debating the accuracy of the scientific mumbo jumbo they will sputter in each episode.

Then there’s Skye, a rogue hacker that Coulson recruits that Ward is secretly attracted to. Unfortunately for Ward, Coulson pops him with a truth serum Ward thinks is meant for Skye, and his secret is spilled when he talks like the hashtag #nofilter. You might remember Chloe Bennet, the actress who plays Skye, from “Nashville.” She played Hailey, Gunnar’s love interest before he and Scarlett finally got together.

Great, witty, writing from Joss Whedon and family. It made me realize how much I missed “Firefly” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and all that sharp dialogue. I’m glad something of that caliber is back on television again. I just hope they’re able to maintain that quality once Whedon steps away from the show.

Pilot episode revolved around putting the team together and investigating Mike Petersen (Look! It’s Charles Gunn from “Angel”! J. August Richards!), an “unregistered gifted” who got his superpowers from some fly-by-night scientist, not knowing how lethal the effects of the injections would be. Hey, I was in the gifted program growing up, does that mean I’m registered? Oh, it’s a different gifted program? Darn. :::sigh:::

How much do I love Clark Gregg?! He’s that Everyman kind of guy with a Mona Lisa smile that hints at secrets he knows and we don’t. He’s the heart of this show.

Seems like they have already paired everyone off nicely. Fitz and Simmons as the geek squad couple. We now know Ward has got the hots for Skye, so they’re the teen soap couple. And finally, Melinda May and Agent Coulson, the cougar and the mysterious father figure to the crew. Yeah, I’m down with that.

I did have a problem with the introduction of Agent Ward. Perhaps it was alien technology he was using, but can you really get a clean, full handprint from a wine glass? Oddly, I can suspend all disbelief, but that was bothering me for awhile.

Show was a little reminiscent of “Heroes,” season one, before it went downhill. All the various origin stories and whatnot. I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us in the weeks to come!  Is it next Tuesday yet?

What did you think of the premiere of “Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD”? Anything you didn’t like? Speak up, let’s discuss!


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2 responses to “Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD Recap: Pilot – 1×1 (Series Premiere)”

  1. Jane Boursaw Avatar

    LOVE this show so far! It’s so cool that Whedon has all these favorites he’s worked with over the years, and they keep showing up in his movies and TV shows.

  2. K.L. Connie Wang Avatar

    Yep, it’s good (and lucrative) to be an FOJ (Friend of Joss)!

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