Ghost Rider cancelled - Sep 26

Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks. With it out of the way, let’s go forth into the alternate universe of media, and-

Yeah, things are not much better there: Marvel’s ‘Ghost Rider’ TV series got cancelled. This is not too different from Marvel’s ‘Most Wanted’ TV series, which also got cancelled, and ditto for Marvel’s ‘InHumans’, (though the latter did get to feature a single 8-episode season), but still – it sucks. Gabriel Luna did a very good job as the Ghost Rider back in AoS, though yes, given that it was AoS, odds are that the Ghost Rider’s plot line got tangled, rebooted, restructured and so on several times before the character appeared on TV. It was not a bad plot line, Robbie and Daisy (Chloe Bennett, in case anyone has forgotten), had a moment together at the end of S4, and this was it. In the second half of AoS’ S5 the titular characters had to deal with a ‘fear dimension’ – Ghost Rider no show, we got Deathlok instead. (Just what kind of a contract Disney/MCU/AoS has had with its actor? Deathlok was very important in S1, but from S2 onwards he appeared more and more rarely on the show; he had not appeared in AoS’ S6 at all, and there is no indication that he will appear in S7). AoS’ S6 had some distinct references to Ghost Rider regarding the entire Izel storyline, but no Ghost Rider per se. True, I have not figured out the references back in S6, this one’s on me, but still – no ‘true’ Ghost Rider, and this brings us to the cancelled show.

Sadly, we do not know much about it; it was supposed to be a separate TV show from AoS, with Robbie (and his brother Gabe, maybe?) living their life alongside the U.S.-Mexican border, doing their thing, whatever it is, and – that’s it. That is all the information that has become known, really. It is not enough to make speculations about, but apparently it was enough for the show to break-up in the preliminary stage over creative differences, the end. Sad.

And on the other hand, this has made someone in the Marvel comics feel rather stupid, I reckon. Lately, the current ‘Avengers’ incarnation, it has become increasingly ‘all about Robbie’, as he gets to race the other main Ghost Rider of Marvel, Johnny Blaze, in Hell, (while the rest of the Avengers are dealing Frank Castle, the Cosmic Rider). The first 12 issues of ‘Avengers’ or so were mostly about the Avengers, with Robbie being the new kid on the block, (and being in early stages of a relationship with Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel, yay). However, from the ‘vampire civil war’ arc this series became increasingly about Robbie, until we currently have him racing Johnny Blaze in Hell on one hand, and on the other, we got the beginnings of a ‘Strikeforce’ comic arc, which is centered around Blade instead. Not that I got anything against Blade – the man is going to return to the movie screens…but this is not fully the point.

What is the point? It unfolds as follows. To wit, Marvel Comics do not really know what to do with the Avengers as a cohesive unit of comic characters anymore. They were initially going for some sort of a Stone Age Avengers’ adventures, but that got replaced first by the Ghost Rider, as Robbie Reyes’ TV series were going to be his big moment in the spotlight, but now that that isn’t happening, the focus is shifting instead to Blade and the Hellstrom siblings, who are still on to being parts in the new MCU. More powers to them, I suppose, but still, poor Robbie. He is out of the AoS, (even though the upcoming S7 is the end for them as well, but still), and now he is not going to get his own TV show either. Ah well, I guess now that Lance Hunter and Bobbi Morse from Marvel’s ‘Most Wanted’ are going to get some company…

…This is it for now – see you all soon!

S.H.I.E.L.D., Inside Man - March 15

And so, the adventure continues in "The Inside Man". AoS continues in the same vein as it did with the previous episode, but-

But the episode 'Bouncing Back' was something of a portmanteau, dealing with a 'regular day' in the life of S.H.I.E.L.D. on one hand, and introducing Yolanda Rodriguez on the other. Since she's also Slingshot of the Secret Warriors, she deserves another mention, this time because she may be Mack's love interest, now that May seems to be back with Coulson, sort of. However, one of the last scenes back in 'Bouncing Back' seemed to be pairing Yolanda with Joey instead, on one hand, and on the other, NCB is still largely a guest star, who seems to come and go as a recurring character...and they tend to vanish on AoS leaving plot holes behind: Ian Quinn, the (remaining) Koenig brothers, agent Weaver, etc. There's no indication as to what has happened to them...and in this episode, agent Mackenzie is noticeably absent, as is Joey...but Joey was a recurring character with a spotty appearance record from the start; Mack is different: he is a part of the regular cast, so what gives?

It all probably comes down to the budget and the fact that the show seems to have peculiar relations with its cast - it tends to re-use them, as it did with Creel; in this particular episode, not only he had returned, but he had been redeemed by the military, in the character of general Talbot. When the latter starts to talk about redemption, there's some stabbing and unwitting criticism of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s tactics, I suspect. Hive is a man-eating monster, but Grant...well, he should've been either shot from the start, or offered something along the lines of Creel - also from the start, not when it was too little too late.

Talbot himself is not so much redeemed as developed further, depicted as a more well-rounded and likable character rather than the sherrif of Nottingham type of character he appeared in S2. Of course, his previous informal alliance with Coulson didn't go so well, so one cannot blame him for not trusting or liking Coulson, especially at first, and to putting his faith in Creel too.


Creel is going to be important as himself as well, since apparently his blood can counter the effects of the Terrigen, which - a minor or not so minor plot point - is the part of an argument between Daisy and Lincoln about him settling into S.H.I.E.L.D. Meh, he cannot go anywhere, he's still something of a wanted man, so he'll stay there, alongside Daisy, May and Coulson, and the FitzSimmons (who barely got any screen time at all during this episode - ouch!).

This, of course, brings us to the potential spinoff of Hunter and Morse - the 'Most Wanted'. It still hasn't gone through, and it just may never do, because by now, AoS doesn't have a very big fan base as it did in S1, and let's be honest - there are some people who are watching the show primarily for Hunter and Morse, as opposed for the FitzSimmons, for example, so if they're off the AoS and onto MW, then this part of AoS viewers will most likely go with them, which means another drop in the audience numbers. Yes, AoS has been passed on for S4 in the future, but things happen. In fall of 2015, for example, a series called 'Blood & Oil' was aired. It was supposed to consist of 13 episodes (and possibly passed on for S2), but S2 doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon, and the number of episodes was cut down to 10. So yeah, things happen, even in TV land, and AoS seems to have problems as a franchise too - there were several comic runs of 'Agents' (none of which have anything to do with the show, unlike some 'Agent Carter' comics), plus Daisy/Quake comics, Howling Commandos comics, InHuman and Mockingbird comics, all of which diversify attention and make it very hard to figure out where the 'Agents' stay in the greater Marvel world. Go AoS. Not.

But the TV series have seemed to gotten it together at last, one way or another. The only question is whether or not this will be enough to enable the show's - and the franchise's - audience to flourish and grow once more.