Joss Whedon is back on television. As Adrian Monk might chime in, “it’s a gift… and a curse.” It’s kind of like getting into relationship you know will be amazing, but also wouldn’t be surprising if it was short-lived. Well, long-time fans want a long-term relationship with this man’s stories, and “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” is the chance that we have received from ABC.
For those unfamiliar, he is the mind behind recent hits such as “The Avengers” (as the screenwriter and director) and “The Cabin in the Woods” (as a co-screenwriter). For those who are more familiar and have been heartbroken by the cancelling of his shows, he is the mind behind such shows as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Firefly.” He was also responsible for an interesting interpretation of “Much Ado About Nothing” and the cult-hit made-for-internet supervillain-romance-musical “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog” featuring Neil Patrick Harris.
So, what exactly will the show be about? The story follows Agent Phil Coulson and the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division), a law enforcement and espionage agency in the Marvel universe and deeply connected with the Avengers film (Samuel L. Jackson with an eyepatch was Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the movie). Phil Coulson recruits a team of agents to investigate strange happenings in the world post-Avengers. The pilot tested well at San Diego Comic-Con both to the audience and to critics, but also drew some comparisons to “The X-Files.” Still, I want to believe.
Several things are working in Joss Whedon and the show’s favor. First of all, the show is continuity from an already popular film, with the Avengers having grossed over 1.5 billion dollars worldwide. More importantly, the continuity includes a fan-favorite character from the film in Phil Coulson (played by Clark Gregg) and even an appearance by Agent Maria Hill (played by Cobie Smulders, also known as Robin from “How I Met Your Mother”). The music will undoubtedly be epic for a show set in the Marvel universe enough even on the small screen, with the show having employed Bear McCreary who’s done the soundtracks for shows such as “The Walking Dead” and “Battlestar Galactica.”
However, superhero shows have historically done poorly on network television with shows such as “The Cape” or “Heroes” (after season 1, of course). Perhaps we have another “Smallville” on our hands, though. In one of the only tweets ever, I joked that I don’t believe that Joss Whedon really has a Twitter because all 140 characters are still alive. Oddly enough, the show is following a character that (SPOILER ALERT) died in “The Avengers.” With a network like ABC, there’s a question of how much freedom Joss Whedon will have to tell stories his way and if we’re going to see the level of sci-fi genius that was in “Firefly” or the mediocrity of “Dollhouse.” Hopefully the viewership is there long enough for us to find out.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will air on ABC on Tuesdays at 8 p.m.