9.5
Wouter Drenthen gives Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Pilot a 9.5.
13 November 2013, 07:01 by Wouter Drenthen
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Pilot
Agent Maria Hill: What does SHIELD stand for, Agent Ward?
Grant: Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.
Agent Maria Hill: And what does that mean to you?
Grant: It means someone really wanted our initials to spell out SHIELD.
A nice introduction for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm so incredibly happy with this series! I've been a major fan of the Marvel Studios films, like Iron Man, Thor and The Avengers, and this series makes the list complete. I didn't really know what to expect of it, but I'm completely satisfied and it's a good way to kill some time while we're waiting for the new Thor film. If, by chance, you haven't seen the movies, you can still perfectly watch the series. Though there are some references to the films, they are only there for the fans. They don't make it harder to series without having seen the films. Personally, I would recommend it strongly to watch the films as soon as possible, since you don't know what you're missing. The humour is excellent, Coulsion is brilliant, the series has suspense, great characters and I would almost mention humour twice, since I have laughed my ass off during the episode. If I wanted to, I could mention a whole list of awesome quotes.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been adapted for televison by Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the director of the Avengers film. It takes place after the film and you might wonder how that is possible as Coulson (Clark Gregg) died in The Avengers, but I'm not going to reveal spoilers. Just watch the first episode and it will soon become clear after he confides to agent Ward: “Sorry--that corner was really dark and I couldn't help myself”. This leaves me kind of puzzled, however. Each episode will deal with a specific case, while there's also a bigger story arc spanning the season. This first episode deals with a case which serves as an introduction to the major story arc in this season. And of course it's about Coulson recruiting people for his new team. For those of you expecting them to be superheroes, I have to disappoint you; all are without superpowers.
The team constist of Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker, Coronation Street), Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge), Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen, ER) and Skye (Chloe Bennet, Nashville). There's a special guest role for Cobie Smulders, as agent Maria Hill. Pilot Melinda May is a bit of an underused character in this episode; we only know she has recently withdrawn herself to a desk job because of experiencing something that made her unwilling to perform field duties any longer. Coulson manages to get her in the "driver's seat" nonetheless. Fitz and Simmons are an incredibly amusing British duo that's usually called FitzSimmons. Though unrelated, they certainly seem like they are brother and sister. Fitz is an socially awkward engineer, who also provides some funny quotes. Simmons is an genius biochemist. Together they are an inseperable and intelligent team. By talking fast they might seem chaotic and hectic, and the characters will not understand when they are arguing, but they always deliver good solutions. Henstridge and De Caesteker are cast perfectly as this duo.
Grant Ward is extremely well-trained for combat and in espionage. He works best on his own, is a man of few words, who follows protocol, keeps his cool and is ready for action. It's therefore hilarious when he is administered a truth serum by Coulson. Despite being used to working alone, he's a good addition to the already diverse team. Finally, we have hacker Skye. We meet her while she is still working for The Rising Tide, a organisation trying to expose S.H.I.E.L.D. to the Average Joe. Soon Coulson and Ward convince her that S.H.I.E.L.D. is not the villain of the story. All characters seem to fit in well, since after just one episode I feel like I've seen them before in the films. Naturally Coulson stands out, but he already had a massive fanbase. I'm rating the series with a 9.5 since I expect the rest of the season to be even better.
Grant: Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.
Agent Maria Hill: And what does that mean to you?
Grant: It means someone really wanted our initials to spell out SHIELD.
A nice introduction for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm so incredibly happy with this series! I've been a major fan of the Marvel Studios films, like Iron Man, Thor and The Avengers, and this series makes the list complete. I didn't really know what to expect of it, but I'm completely satisfied and it's a good way to kill some time while we're waiting for the new Thor film. If, by chance, you haven't seen the movies, you can still perfectly watch the series. Though there are some references to the films, they are only there for the fans. They don't make it harder to series without having seen the films. Personally, I would recommend it strongly to watch the films as soon as possible, since you don't know what you're missing. The humour is excellent, Coulsion is brilliant, the series has suspense, great characters and I would almost mention humour twice, since I have laughed my ass off during the episode. If I wanted to, I could mention a whole list of awesome quotes.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been adapted for televison by Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the director of the Avengers film. It takes place after the film and you might wonder how that is possible as Coulson (Clark Gregg) died in The Avengers, but I'm not going to reveal spoilers. Just watch the first episode and it will soon become clear after he confides to agent Ward: “Sorry--that corner was really dark and I couldn't help myself”. This leaves me kind of puzzled, however. Each episode will deal with a specific case, while there's also a bigger story arc spanning the season. This first episode deals with a case which serves as an introduction to the major story arc in this season. And of course it's about Coulson recruiting people for his new team. For those of you expecting them to be superheroes, I have to disappoint you; all are without superpowers.
The team constist of Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker, Coronation Street), Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge), Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen, ER) and Skye (Chloe Bennet, Nashville). There's a special guest role for Cobie Smulders, as agent Maria Hill. Pilot Melinda May is a bit of an underused character in this episode; we only know she has recently withdrawn herself to a desk job because of experiencing something that made her unwilling to perform field duties any longer. Coulson manages to get her in the "driver's seat" nonetheless. Fitz and Simmons are an incredibly amusing British duo that's usually called FitzSimmons. Though unrelated, they certainly seem like they are brother and sister. Fitz is an socially awkward engineer, who also provides some funny quotes. Simmons is an genius biochemist. Together they are an inseperable and intelligent team. By talking fast they might seem chaotic and hectic, and the characters will not understand when they are arguing, but they always deliver good solutions. Henstridge and De Caesteker are cast perfectly as this duo.
Grant Ward is extremely well-trained for combat and in espionage. He works best on his own, is a man of few words, who follows protocol, keeps his cool and is ready for action. It's therefore hilarious when he is administered a truth serum by Coulson. Despite being used to working alone, he's a good addition to the already diverse team. Finally, we have hacker Skye. We meet her while she is still working for The Rising Tide, a organisation trying to expose S.H.I.E.L.D. to the Average Joe. Soon Coulson and Ward convince her that S.H.I.E.L.D. is not the villain of the story. All characters seem to fit in well, since after just one episode I feel like I've seen them before in the films. Naturally Coulson stands out, but he already had a massive fanbase. I'm rating the series with a 9.5 since I expect the rest of the season to be even better.
About the writer, Wouter Drenthen
Wouter is a big fan of TV series and films. He has been writing for MySeries.tv since the 25th of March 2013
View profile of Wouter Drenthen
