Hot Off The Press - Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode 1

After much talk and debate, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has finally hit our screens, with what hopes to be a successful spin-off that follows the agency that featured throughout Marvel's recent films, taking place after the events of Joss Whedon's The Avengers.

Many were concerned about whether this will be any good for a number of reasons, with the biggest being that it's on TV and whether the budget will hold it back. That said, Heroes was a surprise hit which was made for the screen and featured a number of characters with different powers. Visually it looked great, and storywise, it was pretty good, introducing us to future Spock, Zachary Quinto. But the show soon started to decline more and more until eventually being cancelled after season four. And with there being very few other superhero styled TV programmes, with others getting cancelled, not lasting more than a single season (The Cape), there's some reason for being sceptical about this.

However, and I'm really pleased to say, Joss Whedon, the man behind the cult-hit Firefly, has worked his magic and produced a really enjoyable first episode to a promising series. With word about how he went to the set of Thor: The Dark World and helped rewrite scenes, which the director was very pleased about, it's clear that this guy isn't about to let the standards drop on the Marvel franchise (lets not talk about Iron Man 2, he hadn't really joined at the time).

While this can't be as dark or as bloody as Heroes, that doesn't hold the show back from being any less entertaining. Opening with an exciting mini fight scene in Paris, the pace is quick without feeling rushed (take note BBC's Atlantis) and the main characters are all really good. My fear was that the show would look its budget, dull characterisation and have moments that try too hard to be funny. But the show looks far from cheap, and while some of the minor supporting characters are a little thinly drawn, there is a great sense of humour and charisma to the show which really helps to keep things alive.

*Minor Spoiler but you probably knew it already*
An example of this is Clark Gregg's great little introduction. It's sharp, amusing and the plot is quick to move on without ever becoming jarring. Unlike the films, here he gets a larger role and is great as the team leader.
*End Spoiler*

Newcomer, Brett Dalton as Agent Grant Ward is good as the cocky, slightly brawn-over-brains agent. The script smartly turns what could have been a rather dull, musclebound agent in a suit into a far more entertaining character, providing small details about his backstory, and using comical moments that play on his macho appearance. So far his chemistry with *see spoiler* is also really good and I look forward to seeing how it develops over the course of the series. Another character worth mentioning is Skye played by Chloe Bennet as the feisty hacker who looks like a great addition to the set of main characters, playing off Ward's sternness.

But this is a superhero film, not a thought provoking drama! What about the action and the superheroes? With most of the time spent setting up the action, and it does a nice job of that, we only really get to see one character who has a superpower. While this might sound disappointing to some, it's handled well and the special effects are impressive, never showing signs of a tight budget. Now the characters are established, I'm sure more will follow soon.

While this does air towards potentially having the superhero-of-the-week the week formula (a formula I keep managing to find) and somewhat cliched supporting techy characters (they'll probably fall for each other at some point), the humour manages to keep things light, while allowing room for darker moments, creating a healthy balance.


Overall, this is a great charismatic start to the show. It has the visuals, a surprisingly solid script and a good if somewhat unknown cast, hopefully this series will grow and not become the next Heroes. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (episode 1) gets my full recommendation to fans of the films, and is worth checking out for those still undecided.