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DVD REVIEW: Marvel's Agents of SHIELD Season 1
Colson And Crew Set Up An Exciting Future For Marvel On TV...
There's no doubt in my mind that some fans, like me, stopped watching Marvel's Agents of SHIELD half way through the first season. Let's be honest - the first few episodes, while well made, well acted and exciting, did little to tie fandom to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). In fact, while there were a number of hints and teasers throughout those first few episodes, there was nothing that made anyone really consider a bigger, bolder and more exciting picture that would not only tie into the MCU, but actually influence it.
Now, after having re-watched those first few episodes along with binge watching the last 16 or so episodes, I have no problem admitting I was wrong. Dead wrong. In fact, I have to admit I misjudged Marvel's Agents of SHIELD from the get-go. Few times have I been so impressed with how a series can hint at things that seem so far off only to revisit the idea, theme or character some 10 or so episodes later.
With the MCU's mastermind - Joss Whedon - as a show runner and everyone's favorite SHIELD Agent, Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), at the lead, Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, airing on ABC, picked up where Avengers left off; the world turned upside down and inside out by Asgard's most hated son Loki and his army of alien invaders. Now, with the Avengers off having dealt with the major fallout, it's up to SHIELD agents to deal with the day-to-day investigation, policing and safekeeping of the world. And man, oh man is there a lot of that to do...even with a defeated alien army and no Loki to deal with.
Similar in scope to procedural TV series like NCIS or CSI, but with a Marvel Comics' twist and a flair for the impractical, the first season of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD does a lot of world building and character development in only 22 episodes. The show introduces viewers to a new SHIELD Task Force specifically chosen by Coulson tasked with doing anything and everything that needs doing in order to keep the world safe. The team has its leadership firmly grounded in Agent Phil Coulson, its muscle in Specialist Ward (Brett Dalton) and the reclusive Agent May (Ming-Na Wen), the brainy technicians and science-types in Agent Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Agent Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge), the rebellious type in the renegade hacker-turned-SHIELD Agent Skye (Chloe Bennet) and the mysterious loving parent-turned-SHIELD Agent-turned merciless cyborg Deathlok killer in Mike Petersen (J. August Richards). Throw in a season-wide plot to discover the source of a new type of super-powered baddies along with the week-to-week excitement of protecting the earth from super-smart terrorists or even an Asgardian war cult or witch, and you've got yourself a great dynamic that's exciting and fun.
Throughout the first season, the team deals with everything from the Red Sun, a rebel group of hackers, and Project Centipede, a new terrorist organization providing short-term super powers to mercenaries, to escaped super-powered villains and an Asguardian sorceresses...not to mention the somewhat strange resurrection of Agent in Charge Phil Coulson, who - in Avengers - took Loki's battle lance through the heart. So what exactly happened and how is Coulson back in action? How long have Asgardians been visiting Earth? What's next for the team when SHIELD is dissolved, Director Fury (Samuel Jackson) is MIA and their enemies - and friends - are hunting them?
As seemingly convoluted and discombobulated as the show could have been in introducing so many supporting characters, so many dangling plot threads and so much drama and action, the first season writers do an outstanding job of keeping everything wound about the main SHIELD Task Force members and their very personal lives, which vary and reveal a dynamic and emotionally charged cadre of devoted men and women seeking to make the world a better place...or - in the case of those who are members of HYDRA, throw the current system into chaos and disorder.
Maybe most impressive is how each and every character develops throughout the first season and how every loose thread, by season's end, does one of two things: it either ties up nice and neatly - case closed and solved - or it provides a springboard into Marvel's Agents of SHIELD Season 2, which has now been on the air for a number of weeks and continues to add to the questions and loose threads from last season. (I'll personally withhold my verdict on Season 2 until later in the season.)
As far as special features on the DVD set, the discs include a number worth checking out. There are five “Behind-the-Scenes Field Reports” which provide viewers with a closer look at scenes and set pieces, including Chloe Bennet’s jump in “The Asset,” Sif and Lorelei’s battles from “Yes Men,” and a deeper look at the shocking events of “Turn, Turn, Turn.” Other special features include an excellent blooper reel, visual effects breakdowns, and a featurette on the MCU titled “Assembling a Universe.” The set also includes a number of deleted scenes. Lastly, a “Journey to SDCC” featurette includes a look at the cast and crew's experience at the world's biggest pop culture event.
Marvel's Agents of SHIELD Season 1 has set the bar pretty high - especially having tied into this last year's Thor 2: The Dark Ages and the events and fallout of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Now, with the MCU expanding like never before with this summer's Guardians of the Galaxy and the forthcoming Avengers 2: Age of Ultron next spring, fandom is primed to make Marvel's Agents of SHIELD Season 2 one of the most-watched shows on TV. And if the show can do what it did in Season 1 and not only tie itself to the larger MCU, but also tell an action-packed, emotionally-charged and exciting story, Season 2 could be just the type of TV comic book and Marvel fans continue to watch, enjoy and love.
Be sure to pick up Marvel's Agents of SHIELD Season 1 on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy now and check out Season 2 on ABC Tuesday evenings.
- Jess C. Horsley
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