TCA 2013: ABC's Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Strategy is "Genius" - Ed Martin

Beverly Hills CA The big deal during ABC39s day yesterday at the Summer 2013 Television Critics Association tour was the screening of the pilot for what is not only the network39s most talked about fall series but also one of the most exciting new series on all of broadcast television quotMarvel39s Agents of SHIELDquotCritics had been waiting since Upfront week in May to see this show which ABC had mysteriously kept under wraps until yesterday except for a special showing at ComicCon two weeks ago for approximately 4000 fanboys and girls who have been free to say whatever they like about it since that time After the screening which took place during the lunch break in ABC39s jampacked oneday TCA schedule they simply couldn39t understand why the network hadn39t let them see it before Sunday either on the network39s press site or via closedcircuit in the Beverly Hilton Hotel There was nothing about it that cried out for spoiler protection or secrecy of any kind No surprising cameos no shocking twists and turns no startling moments that nobody saw coming It was a very effective if straightforward hour of television entertainment that won39t in any way be compromised by people discussing any of its detailsTCA members overall liked what they saw but weren39t blown away by it I think many of them expected more from Whedon a longtime favorite with the group If the screening had been immediately followed by the actual panel for the show with Whedon and the cast rather than panels for four other new ABC series including two dramas that aren39t high on any critic39s list quotBetrayalquot and quotLucky 7quot with the quotSHIELDquot panel slotted at the end of a long day the general takeaway might have been a bit more positiveRegardless the pilot feels very much like the first chapter of an extended sequel of sorts to Whedon39s movie megahit quotThe Avengersquot and is brimming with references that will delight young and old fans of the Marvel Comics universe This isn39t the place for a full review but I39ll say this The idea of establishing a television series that exists in the same universe as several successful ongoing feature film franchises and will likely run parallel to them is genius Also genius is the fact that Whedon did not blow the roof off with the pilot but chose instead to deliver a solid hour of B entertainment I can39t count the number of pilots I have seen over the last 25 years that left me and many other critics breathless but set the bar so high that the episodes that followed just couldn39t keep up To put this in the language of the Twitterverse quotSHIELDquot wasn39t good enough to Jossturbate over but it was a heck of a lot better than most of the broadcasters39 201314 pilotsEarlier in the day ABC Entertainment president Paul Lee had a session largely devoid of news amp8230 but it did contain tidbits of information about several of the network39s highprofile returning series For example the quotDancing with the Starsquot results show which is not on ABC39s fall schedule could return as the season progresses Specifically Lee said quotWe haven39t made any decisions about whether we bring back a results show as it goes throughquot When quotDancingquot returns in the fall the weekly painful elimination that used to occur at the end of the Tuesday results show will occur during Monday39s twohour performance showOn the scripted front there will be changes made to the network39s signature prime time soap opera quotRevengequot which after a formidable freshman season became hopelessly gummed up with stories of extreme espionage during its sophomore year Expect a less complicated show when it returns quotI think we stumbled a little bit in the second seasonquot Lee admitted quotThe first episode of season three is a fantastic episode starting with a magnificent hook So I do think you39re going to see that one enjoying itself in its third seasonquotExpect changes also in quotNashvillequot which though wellproduced and somewhat popular never developed into a breakout hit Lee said the shocking events of the season finale will set the stage for a stronger show quotThe reality is when you watch that finale it has a completely different mood There is a sort of impending doom that leads you through to the car crash involving two primary characters that39s very special I think they certainly said to themselves let39s start to turn over cards more aggressively as we go through it But they39ve built their own voice and they39ve built a particularly interesting musical voice to that show that is extremely distinctive and very different from other shows that are out there And you39re starting to see Connie Britton39s character really drive plot which was something I know the showrunners wanted to do That particular rivalry that goes on between her and Hayden Panettiere is really coming to a head They really started to find their feet at the end of the season and we39re very excited about next seasonquotIf you 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TCA 2013: ABC's Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Strategy is "Genius" - Ed Martin

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