- hour-long TV drama
- debuted 9/24/2013 - ongoing
- spin-off of Marvel's cinematic universe
- executive produced by Joss Whedon
- a Marvel Studios production for ABC
- characters portrayed from the comics: Nick Fury (cameo), Maria Hill (cameo), Victoria Hand, Dr. Franklin Hall a.k.a. Graviton
CAST (boldface denotes a character directly lifted from the comic or source material)
Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg)
Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen)
Grant Ward (Brett Dalton)
Skye (Chloe Bennet)
Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker)
Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge)
My impressions:
Sadly, this is the first weak effort (in my opinion) from Marvel Studios. I wish that were not the case.
Directly spinning out of the background of Marvel Studio's first spate of films (beginning with Samuel L. Jackson's cameo as S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury in 2008's Iron Man), this show brings Marvel Comics' premiere super-spy organization to the small screen. Or at least one tiny unit of it under the command of Special Agent Phil Coulson (played by the always great Clark Gregg), whom we saw killed during the events of 2012's The Avengers.
As a lifelong comics fan, I find the show very disappointing in comparison with the four-color version. A high-octane action series featuring crazy, hi-tech gear (Helicarrier! Life Model Decoys!) and great bad guys (Baron Von Strucker! Viper and HYDRA!) has been watered down into a listless TV show with what should be a foolproof pedigree (i.e. Whedon at the wheel).
And, yes, I understand that compromises must be made for a TV budget and the (slightly) more grounded superhero universe Marvel Studios has introduced in its films, but even those who come to the show without a fan's expectations are echoing my disappointment with a weak X-Files clone peopled by young and adorable, gratingly quippy, and seemingly incompetent special agents facing non-super non-threats.
So far, this series seems a waste of Marvel's wondrous real estate.
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