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**H.B.M.C.**

And I can't help but quote the review from The A.V. Club:

Why is S.H.I.E.L.D. so wildly incompetent? Except for the plucky agents on The Bus, the rest of the spy organization has been portrayed as a group so obsessed with sticking to protocol that it rarely accomplishes whatever mission its engaged in, whether it’s obtaining the Overkill device or rescuing a captured Agent Coulson in “The Magical Place.” Victoria Hand (Saffron Burrows) has replaced Nick Fury and Maria Hill as the commanding S.H.I.E.L.D. officer on this series (until Cobie Smulders joins the cast after How I Met Your Mother ends), and her main role is to make sure everyone follows strict rules so that the core cast can succeed by breaking them. I understand the narrative purpose for why the writers have moved in that direction, but it also makes me wonder how the hell S.H.I.E.L.D. could become so powerful if its always fething up. Maybe there’s an unseen branch that is always making smart decisions off-screen; if that’s the case, can we follow them instead?

“The Magical Place” is an improvement over the last couple episodes, but it still falls flat in a lot of ways. If I had to pick one word to describe this series, it’s “bland,” which is most definitely not the description a spy series set in a superhero universe should garner. The relationships are bland. The dialogue is bland. The action sequences are bland. The special effects are bland. (However much it cost for that one scene of The Bus changing course, it could have been used better elsewhere.) S.H.I.E.L.D. is currently the Saltine of action adventure television, which is especially sad considering the show’s potential. It’s as if the writers are afraid of taking any chances whatsoever, which may very well be the case with a property as micromanaged as this one.

I thought Skye was great in this one. That's about it. This show needs to stop faffing about and start being good.

**LuciusAR**

Can't disagree with any of that. This show has so much potential that is going to waste. I'm going to tune into the new episodes as an act of faith but if it doesn't up it's game soon I'm bowing out.

**Do_I_Not_Like_That**

Can't disagree with any of that, either! This was meant to be the great white hope that would propel Channel 4 back to the forefront of British TV.

**Mr.Omega**

Agents of Shield was the most boring, bland, cheesy and cliché TV show I'd laid eyes on in a long while.

The clichés are so frequent you could make a drinking contest out of them that would hospitalize the average man.

**kronk**

It was on last night while I read Vulkan Lives. I counted only 2 "JUDO CHOP!" moments. I has a sad.

**Ahtman**

I read that AV Club review earlier to help decide if should continue to watch the show. I did not watch it. Unless something really changes with the series it is just to 'meh' to keep up with.

**reds8n**

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/01/08/could-marvels-agents-of-shield-be-heading-toward/

some spoilerage there so...

... hmm... sounds kind of plausible enough to me.

**easysauce**

bowed out of this a bit ago... dont know how they managed to make this show soooo bad... it had so much potential...

take out the sapppy crapppy stuff, pour some serious sauce and good action/meaning full mysterys/drama/adventure....

as it is its all centered around the emotions of the muggles instead of the adventures they should have....

lamesauce...

**reiner**

easysauce wrote:
bowed out of this a bit ago... dont know how they managed to make this show soooo bad... it had so much potential...

take out the sapppy crapppy stuff, pour some serious sauce and good action/meaning full mysterys/drama/adventure....

as it is its all centered around the emotions of the muggles instead of the adventures they should have....

lamesauce...

I think you finally summed up how I felt about trying to watch the first season. I don't think I would have been surprised if they pulled characters aside for a "Real World"-esque monologue.

**Soladrin**

Watched the first couple of episodes yesterday. My main problem with it is... the cast is terrible, the two sciency people and the " new chick" are just annoying whenever they show their faces. The badass stereotype guy is less interesting then a suffocating goldfish.

And well, you make a series about SHIELD and then don't really add anything that would otherwise suggest it's connected to marvel.... doesn't help much. You could replace the name of this series and pretend it's just another lame sci-fi series and none would be the wiser.

**Kanluwen**

The latest episode made me feel better about removing the show from my DVR.

Next Wednesday "Arrow" returns, hooray!

**Mr.Omega**

My main issue with the cast is how they're mostly absurdly and unfittingly young to appeal to younger audiences, presumably. The scientists are the absolute worst case.

Coulson also sucks in this to the point that I can't spare the seconds it would take me to find out the name of the actor. Maybe the low quality expectation of the director meant he wasn't putting in his full and best effort, he's nowhere near as good as in the movies.

**Morathi's Darkest Sin**

I just feel Extremis was the worst way to go, should have gone down the Hydra/Aim route... have the Agents revealing the forces have been rebuilding since WW2, and go from there. Hydra and Shield have a pretty good supporting cast.. I mean how are they ten or so episodes in and we've not had a Agent 13 cameo yet.

edit - its certainly not enough make mine Marvel for my tastes though.

**Soladrin**

To be fair, everything about how they handled extremis on the big screen is terrible.

**Morathi's Darkest Sin**

Aye, I would agree with that.

**Do_I_Not_Like_That**

The saddest part of this is because of weak viewing figures, Channel 4 may not take a chance on potentially good American shows in the future. So if something half decent comes along, we might miss out because channel 4 got their fingers burnt with SHIELD.

**Compel**

Channel 4 can't even be bothered showing the rest of it until March.

Sadly, Arrow isn't on until February in the UK either. :(

Arrow seems to be better connected to the larger DC Universe than SHIELD does, yet SHIELD's the one that is officially connected (at the moment).

All Arrow basically needs is having an episode based around Zod's power outage thing in Man of Steel and, job done.

**carlos13th**

I started watching the first season and didnt finish it. I will probably catch up with it but honestly wouldn't if it didn't have the licence. If it was a generic sci fi show (Which it is) but without the marvel/shield licence I dont think people would have stuck with it for so long.

Arrow is considerably better.

**Platuan4th**

reds8n wrote:
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/01/08/could-marvels-agents-of-shield-be-heading-toward/

some spoilerage there so...

... hmm... sounds kind of plausible enough to me.

That'd be neat. Raina's line about them doing what SHIELD has been doing for decades makes me think they're also going to go the Ultimates route of

Spoiler:

**LordofHats**

carlos13th wrote:

Arrow is considerably better.

Seconded.

Marvel may rule the big screen, but DC has their number for live action television at the moment.

**Asherian Command**

I agreed.

Characters need fleshing out and need to show off their qualities. By being actual people. Acting and doing what normal people do. The missions should be more dangerous and the baddies should be more numerous.

**LordofHats**

Most of SHIELD's problem is just that the writing is plain lazy. Like the people making the show don't give a gak and are just going through the motions.

**Corpsesarefun**

Strangely the limit of agents of shield's interaction with the greater marvel universe (ignoring that one episode with an asgardian) seems to be awkwardly referencing the avengers.

"My iron levels are a little high but don't start calling me Iron Man"

"A little Hulk-rage is forgivable"

**LordofHats**

Mr.Omega wrote:
he's nowhere near as good as in the movies.

Frankly he's good in the movies because you don't get too much of him. Coulsen is like salt. You have to speckle him or you spoil the meal. Building a show around him was a bad idea. He's not that charming to begin with and they honestly seem like they expected Coulsen alone could carry this show.

Given that his death was one with meaning to it, bringing him back for this fiasco is a slap in the face.

**H.B.M.C.**

And then there was that time Agents of SHIELD took something from Mass Effect.

H.B.M.C. says, W.T.F. S.H.I.E.L.D.?.

Corpsesarefun wrote:
Strangely the limit of agents of shield's interaction with the greater marvel universe (ignoring that one episode with an asgardian) seems to be awkwardly referencing the avengers.

That's its problem (well, one of them at least). It's only making references whilst skirting around the edges of the MCU rather than being part of the MCU. It's maddening.

**LordofHats**

Especially since they already know (presumably) the plots of the films being released in the next year or so. Would it kill them to use AoShield as a tie in? You're already spending who knows what on the show. Might as well factor it into your advertising campaign.

**Kanluwen**

LordofHats wrote:
Most of SHIELD's problem is just that the writing is plain lazy. Like the people making the show don't give a gak and are just going through the motions.

Honestly the writing is just Whedon by the numbers.

Seriously. You can figure out what the episode will have as a plot within the first five minutes, complete with twist and turns.

**LordofHats**

Kanluwen wrote:

Honestly the writing is just Whedon by the numbers.

Joss Whedon by the numbers still manages to carry dramatic tension and charm, both of which are wholly lacking from AoShield so lets not pin this on Whedon. He has enough crap piled at his feet already he doesn't need to take the blame for something he talked about making while most of the show is cooked up in the back room.

EDIT: If we want to blame the show on a Whedon, its probably Jed Whedon who deserves the blame cause he's the one actually writing most of the series and unlike his brother is completely talentless. You'd think that after he managed to take something as interesting as Dollhouse and bury it into the crapper his brother would have realized that.

**Big Mac**

I stopped after 3 episodes, what a waste of my time!

**Breotan**

Big Mac wrote:
I stopped after 3 episodes, what a waste of my time!

It's true. They really haven't done much at all, have they?