Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Pilot – Positively Perfectly Prescient Portrayals!

Welcome back WormholeRiders dedicated to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.!

Last week I predicted (privately) to several people, including some on our Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. analysis team, that the program would need 8-10 MILLION premiere viewers to be considered a success.

The United States premiere on the ABC Network, September 24, 2013 did even better than that literally exploding on viewers screens who flocked to Twitter and Facebook to express their glee!

Therefore, congratulations are in order now that the ABC Network and their strategic partner Marvel post a very healthy 11.93 MILLION live United States viewers with a a 4.6 rating in the coveted 18-49 demographic during the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premiere!

To make the success even sweeter, some  3.1 MILLION live viewers watched in the United Kingdom last Friday night delivering a whopping 27% of the coveted 18-34 demographic in that country for a more than 15 MILLION viewer total!

Even a cloistered Agent Melinda May (Ming Na Wen) would not be able to cover those numbers in government Red Tape! A funny bit, an inside joke of levity for those who have seen the opening sequences when Coulson says she is working where ‘red tape’ is made).

Series creators Maurissa Tancharoen, Jed Whedon, Joss Whedon, Jeffrey Bell, and Jeph Loeb, as well as the outstanding ensemble main cast of Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson, MingNa Wen as Agent Melinda May, Brett Dalton as Agent Grant Ward, Chloe Bennet as the rebel computer hacker Skye, Iain De Caestecker as Agent Leo Fitz, Elizabeth Henstridge as Agent Jemma Simmons, Ron Glass as Dr. Streiten, and Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill, all must have gone to “Level 7” heaven with such wonderful ratings news and glowing reviews!

This includes my own grade of an A PLUS for the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premiere.

No doubt the international casting of actors in the main cast helped to made the superb ratings a reality.

And with more international casting choice surprises coming in the next episodes, the series more than looks like a “keeper” in the opinion of this editor.

However, the return of Phil Coulson from the dead is a great anchor for the new series. After all everyone thought he had perished in The Battle For New York” in The Avengers. The look on Agent Ward’s face was priceless as are the smooth interaction between Coulson, Ward and Skye!

Although we have known for many months Coulson would be appearing in “Level 7” with Agent Ward ,it goes without saying that Clark Gregg does a delightful job as Agent Coulson, playing the role to the hilt to the sheer glee of this reviewer and some 15 million fans around the world who saw the show live on premiere night.

Many other aspects of the pilot were quite enjoyable too including; believable supporting performances from Bob Stephenson as Gary, Aaron Behr as the exploding “Angry Man”, Nicole J. Butler as Aunt Mindy, Sarah Dumont as the Beautiful Woman (which she is), and a perfect performance by Ajani Wrighster as young Ace Peterson, son of Mike Peterson who we see in the opening moments and near the episodes conclusion after he and his father are saved by the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.!

In the meantime, we include courtesy of ABC Networks, and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. web site, some of the latest cool images released, promo trailers embedded here and or on the side bars, and select episodic images for your enjoyment.

Pilot:

Mike Peterson is observed with his son “Ace” at a toy store. He has been used by an unknown enemy provided with “therapy” that either injected him with a drug or had his DNA altered to become endowed with super human strength.

The problem is that the the first test subject, the “Angry Man” exploded as we see the the opening moments (above). Peterson, knowing he has super human or abnormal powers saves a victim by jumping several stories to the street and making a sizable dent in the pavement.

The fast moving episode invested most of the time in story arc introducing us to the main players of the series.

When first viewing the episode, I was reminded of similar classic science fiction series concepts that have been artfully blended into what we now know as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The series I was reminded of were Chuck, Stargate and Sanctuary.

While “Shield” is a unique, outstanding product, I thought of Chuck because of the secret agent aspect of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

As in Chuck, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will be fighting various evil villains, bad guys and gals, out to dominate the Earth and perhaps even the Universe!

I was reminded of Stargate because during the episode Agents Fitz, Simmons and Melinda May (the “bus driver”), found remnants of other worldly artifacts, oozing with unexplained technology, while utilizing cool laser scanning drones are observed being used at the crime scene where cooked human remains are found!

One is left to wonder; Is this Earthly tech, or could our Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. be getting a little help from aliens at Area 51?

The possibilities for alien interaction that are discussed in the pilot leaving open endless possibilities for the series!

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. reminded me of Sanctuary due to the “abnormal” humans encountered, specifically Mike Peterson (J. August Richards) and the “Angry Man” who exploded.

The mentions of “others” who are manipulating the human genome for their own nefarious illegal or malevolent purposes sets the stage for the introduction of many characters.

Near the beginning of the episode, I must say that seeing Ming Na Wen in a leading television series role as Agent Melinda May was all I could have hoped for since her outstanding performances as Camille Wray in Stargate Universe, Senator Michaela Wen in Eureka and a return to Phineas and Ferb as Doctor Hirano which aired a month ago.

Agent Ward portrayed by Brett Dalton is the perfect fall guy and straight man for Agent Coulson and the gorgeous Skye played by Chloe Bennet.

In a scene to gain her trust, after tracking Skye own, Agent Coulson injects Agent Ward with some sort of a super “Truth Serum” and leaves him to be interrogated by Skye, who relishes the prospect!

It is most effective from an entertainment story arc point of view, and fun to see Ward and Skye play the scene together to perfection!

Other equally awesome scenes are between Agents Fitz and Agent Simmons. Obviously their names were picked so Agent Ward could appear to be a dumb arse agent.

Perfect humor by the screenwriter is injected in the scene when Fitz and Simmons grabs Ward’s secret agent cell phone, smashes it to bits and then inserts a new higher tech version in his mouth. Poor Agent Ward struggles in vain as the two scientists manhandled him. This will undoubtedly be part of the magic chemistry!

The episode moves very quickly, with “bread crumbs” sprinkled throughout, leaving much to be explored in the future.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the pilot was that is was filmed on location in the Los Angeles area at Union Station. This is something else Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has in common with Chuck which was often filmed in the “Southland”.

At the end of the day, Mike Peterson and his son “Ace” are saved. “Ace” is taken to a farm with Aunt Mindy and Mike is taken to hopefully become a recurring character in the series.

Now that the cast has been introduced, the perfect chemistry and delivery of lines is what makes the program so enjoyable!

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns Tuesday October 01, 2013 at 8 PM with the second episode entitled “0-8-4” as was alluded to at the end of the pilot when Agent Coulson’s “Lola” is turned into a hover car not unlike the famous Delorean from Back to the Future films!

It is no wonder that Agent Coulson says “Don’t Touch Lola!” In fact, the series is going to utilize a time honored technique by revealing some thing new each week. Over and above the flying “Lola”, how cool is that?!

Please feel free to share this article with your friends, co-workers and or family. Feel free to leave your comments and we look forward to you visiting in the future.

Or as many of our readers and visitors often do, visit WHR on Twitter, WHR on Facebook or visit me on Twitter by clicking the text links or images avatars in this news story. I and the WHR team look forward to Seeing You on The Other Side!”

Thank you.

Best Regards,

Kenn