S.H.I.E.L.D., Nov 12 - The Hub

Once again, “Agents” have delivered a very wonderful episode, one that is directly connected to last week’s episode, “F.Z.Z.T.”. To remind, in that episode Simmons was exposed to an alien virus, and though she was able to develop an antidote and to save herself in time, Ward also had to rescue her when she jumped out of the team’s airplane in a noble self-sacrificing attempt, and in “The Hub” he has to put Fitz through his paces...but see below.

“The Hub” is an episode that is based on a conflict of individual against the system. Skye does not fit into S.H.I.E.L.D.’s hierarchy – at best she is only a newbie and that without even a newbie agent’s wings. She has no official knowledge, no preliminary info (and honestly, Coulson could have went an extra mile and explained to Skye beforehand just how S.H.I.E.L.D.’s official system works, pardon the pun) and as a very independent character the hub just rubs her the wrong way. Furthermore...

On one hand, if Skye is to remain a member of the team, she has to learn to work with and trust her teammates, from Simmons to Coulson. On the other, Whedon himself seems to dislike this sort of an arrangement: “The Hub” has connotations to BtVS S4, when Buffy had to work with the Initiative, an organization not unlike S.H.I.E.L.D. in character in that everyone knew their place and asked no questions. You may or may not watch that particular season over to realize that this sort of arrangement went very bad for the Initiative; and as for S.H.I.E.L.D. in this episode it showed that the system was if not willing then ready to sacrifice individual agents in order to achieve the greater good...and agent Coulson, for one, is not. His interactions with agent Victoria in this episode show Coulson’s increasing difference from the other high-ranking agents, and that in turn may imply that either Coulson’s relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D., Coulson himself, or S.H.I.E.L.D. proper may end up changing (though not necessarily in this season or even the series).

The second main plot line is the deployment of Ward and Fitz overseas to seize a dangerous weapon by a group of separatists in a region between Russia and Georgia (an Asian country rather than the American state). Aside from the fact that this brings back the love-hate relationship between the States and Russia (you don’t like it? So ignore it!), which lasted from the Cold War onwards, “The Hub” created a strong feel of Americans deployed overseas in various missions, military, peacekeeping, etc. This created a strong patriotic feeling in “The Hub”, something that the States need ever since Obama administration’s involved in north African and Middle Eastern countries resulted not just in military disaster, but also in Obama’s humiliation by Putin of all people...never mind.

The thing is that “Agents” have delivered once more in “The Hub”. Not only there was a conflict of individual against system, but there was also a strong element of bildungroman, where a boy grows up to be a man. In this particular case it was agent Fitz (sorry, but he is more boyish when compared to Ward), who during the course of this episode grows up experience-wise to become on a more equal level with Ward. And Ward, of course, kicked ass as always, though he learned that he is not the only competent agent in the team and that he can trust others to watch his back...and he doesn't need to be alone to be competent or succeed on a mission.

Finally, if Skye learned to rely on her teammates, Simmons learned to be more self-sufficient: not unlike Coulson, she can follow the rules if she must...but Skye may have showed her that sometimes you can bend the rules if want to know the truth. What will amount out of this development...only time will tell.

So: Fitz & Simmons duo have continued to develop as characters; so did Skye, and Ward, and Coulson, and perhaps even May, though as a strong, silent type it is hard to tell. We also learned more about the mystery of Skye’s childhood, but only a small bit, so perhaps it is another story?

S.H.I.E.L.D., Nov 5 - F.Z.Z.T.

And in the beginning Josh Whedon was making the “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and the show was good. And on that show was the FitzSimmons duo, and that was good too. And then that duo began to fade into the background, and that was not as good, at least not for the duo – so Whedon decided to make an episode “F.Z.Z.T.” where the duo had all the attention and the rest of the cast took a backseat – and it worked.

At first “F.Z.Z.T.” seems a typical “Agents” episode when someone got their hands on alien technology, and go around killing people, only that is not the case. Instead, a group of volunteer firemen, cleaning up after the invasion of New York City took with them a souvenir – an alien helmet infested with a virus and it – the virus – began to spread from the helmet to the people, eventually killing them, until it reached the team’s own Dr. Simmons. Then, Dr. Simmons and her significant other, Dr. Fitz, had to race against the clock to save the humanity from the virus...starting with Dr. Simmons and the rest of the show’s team, of course. They succeeded, though “F.Z.Z.T.” did have a rather dramatic skydiving rescue of Simmons by Ward – a great piece of action in an otherwise mind-dominated episode. 

Let us be fair. The FitzSimmons duo is thinkers primarily, so any episode with them in the foreground simply has to be scientific – and “F.Z.Z.T.” delivered just that, including the duo’s almost telepathic communication (with each other), their interactions with the rest of their team and their experiments (mostly with lab rats). It was not as glamorous, but this episode set to show that what the duo did in the team was just as important as what the rest of the team are doing, and it worked. 

In the background, meanwhile, was Skye getting back into the team – sort of. The duo are willing to let bygones be bygones, Coulson is being reasonable, May – enigmatic, and Ward is a robot. Still, Simmons’ woes helped Skye and Ward grow closer once more so there is hope for that couple as well.

Coulson, though, had his own problems – with his own mortality, or rather – his brush with death. He got better, but he knows that he is different from who he was and has trouble accepting that. Still, May (whose own past so far is quite enigmatic) may help him get over those woes with some encouragement.

Finally, “F.Z.Z.T.” is also trying to tie-in with the main Avengers-universe by steady mentions of Captain America, Iron Man, etc. Considering that Marvel™ is releasing “Thor: The Dark World” movie later this week I am guessing that those mentions were deemed appropriate by Whedon: the creator of the worlds.

(Speaking of Whedon-worlds, Buffy had her own brush with a virus in BtVS S2, when she had to get sick in order to kill a child-slaying demon. Fancy that!)

So: A FitzSimmons-centered episode (something that really needed to be aired) that had all ads and disses of a FitzSimmons-centered episode. Skye is getting back into the team’s good graces, Coulson has overpowered his inner demons and S.H.I.E.L.D. superiors and the real world is about to see the greatness of Thor the thunder god (Marvel™ version) in recent future. Neat!

Of Cybersix and other shows

Let us talk about a past cartoon series, called Cybersix. In those series, a leather-clad, genetically enhanced, (cross-dressing) super heroine fought against various Frankenstein-like monsters of an evil Nazi scientist, von Richter. This went on for 13 very successful episodes, and then it stopped. I cannot help but wonder why.

Cybersix had all the elements that a show – even a cartoon show – needs to succeed. It had scripts that were decent at worst and impressive at best. It had very wonderful audio, including the actors who did the voices. The technical details were also solid – yes, it was mostly the colors, the drawings (background), but still, they worked well. 

The fanbase? Back in 1999 fanfiction and fanart sites were not as well developed as they are now, but they were already there, plus the show did reruns, at least for a while. Yes, for a single-season, 13-episode show it had reruns for few years indicating that it was successful, at least for a while. 

And yet there was no follow-up; the last episode ended with an open hook that implied that some sort of a sequel could be in the wings; but nothing followed. Cybersix just died – irrelevant whether a whimper or a bang – and so far it is not being resurrected. Why?

Hard to say. The original comics did not belong to the modern day entertainment giants – DC, Marvel, Disney: Cybersix hails from Argentina, not the US. It is possible that as an ‘alien’ it was treated as an unnecessary rival that had to be put down, not encouraged by the giants mentioned above: the series is very popular in Canada, Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe, but apparently not in the States – maybe that’s the problem.

Of course there is also the fact that Cybersix’s creators were involved in a lawsuit against a TV show called Dark Angel, which was American (i.e. the States) and which did have similarities with Cybersix; eventually the lawsuit was dropped by Cybersix’s team, but Dark Angel itself was also cancelled, just after two seasons; perhaps that is why Cybersix hasn’t returned yet – maybe there was some sort of a deal to put down both shows in order to settle the suit...

Still, Cybersix may still have its last hurrah in 2014, as Discotek Media apparently plans to release all 13 episodes on a DVD, so let us wait and see...and as we do that, let me also point out to other shows that will be returning onto the TV screens in a near future.

1) MLP: FIM. The 4^th season is coming, and it seems that Twilight Sparkle will be once again battling against the forces of chance and change: the rumors say that the elder princesses, Celestia and Luna, will be kidnapped and TS shall go to the Everfree Forest in order to save them. The Everfree Forest is a land where seasons change on their own and animals and plants are not dependent on ponies to live their lives – therefore it is evil (according to the show’s logic) and must be avoided. And people wonder what is wrong with America – if your own TV shows undermine your own politics, naturally at least some of the new generation will grow up with conflicting messages in their heads; yes conflict may be a part of democracy, but MLP: FIM has no democracy in it whatsoever – zing!

And speaking of MLP: FIM, some people were giving Andy Price a hard time because he was going to be drawing a winged Twilight in the show’s comic-verse. People! Grow up! Andy does only what he is paid to do – if he is paid to draw a winged Twilight he will do it, a wingless Twilight – he will do it too. This fact only points-out that the show’s 4^th TV season is indeed at hand and the people at Hasbro have finally began to try to combine their multiple ‘verses together, make them more coherent and compatible with each other, nothing more.

2) And secondly, the Canadian TV series, Lost Girl, is also returning – on November 10^th. It has also dealt with a changing main heroine, but whereas MLP: FIM is saying loud and clear to everybody – winged TS is here to stay at least for a while - Lost Girl has had Bo ascend (dawn?) and then largely forgot about it – Bo before and after dawning is the same Bo, only perhaps with some newer powers. That said, the show-verse itself appears to be changing: now there are humans that are aware of the Fae and are not cowed by their powers; they may actually seeking to exploit them, as Isaac Taft tried to do. However, the show’s slot has also changed, from 9 to 10 pm, making me wonder if the show is slowly losing popularity – or has acquired some enemies that try to push it out of the earlier time slot to make it harder to watch – or it will contain even more mature and dark elements than before; either way, I will certainly watch it; hopefully, you will to.

So: one good show from the past that may be coming back on DVD, and two other shows that are still coming to the TV screen with new seasons and episodes.

S.H.I.E.L.D., Oct 22 - Girl...

In this episode we get to revisit the pilot episode of “Agents” on several levels. First, it is the obvious parallels between Skye & Hooded Hero in the pilot and Reina & Scorch in “Girl”...to a point. Skye, whatever associations she had with Rising Tide, was nowhere as deep as Reina is, who is high enough in the command chain to actually command other people, except (or not) the doctor but more on that below.

Secondly, the episode once again refocuses on Skye and her associations with Rising Tide. In this episode her loyalties become divided when her ex-boyfriend, Milton, gets involved. Skye chooses initially Milton over her teammates, and karma (well, the script, if you will) punishes her – she loses all of her initial privileges with the S.H.I.E.L.D. crew and may actually be arrested. Or not, but she certainly loses their trust and it hurts.

Let us speak honestly. In this episode Skye not only has to make a choice and live with its consequences (as does Milton, I suppose), but she also gets to show the audience (well, Chloe Bennet does, anyways) how much she has changed since the pilot episode as compared to Milton, who has not. Skye has grown more responsible and less greedy...but truth to tell, she probably was like that initially, Coulson and crew just brought it out...except for the secret.

What is the secret? Coulson now knows that Skye got involved against S.H.I.E.L.D. in search of her natural parents who are gone and S.H.I.E.L.D. got something to do with it. What exactly will be revealed in the next episodes, but what he does not know is that Skye got involved on Rising Tide’s orders with S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first place. Not that it matters – Skye now knows the stakes she is playing at and knows her choice as well.

Agent Coulson...no offense, but he had certainly turned onto Skye very quickly. Sure, that is what this episode’s script demanded, but still... What, he expected her to change her philosophy as soon as she joined? Well, maybe if his gut told him so...but his gut is wrong – see above.

The same can be said for Fitz – Skye has betrayed them after all they had been through? Perhaps, (she certainly did), but they have not been through that much...maybe he is talking about quality rather than quantity of their adventures, but still...

Speaking of Fitz and other agents – sadly, they did not get much character development beyond the usual, though agent May did let her hair down, or up, in the beginning of the episode when she offered Coulson to spar with him, and she was not dressed in her usual training leathers; also, the way she took Scourge out in the end – epic!

Speaking of Scourge – if he only waited for 5 to 9 days until the platelets taken out from his blood stream by the doctor, he would have been back to normal: his body would have recovered the drained blood platelets by then, so no fiery explosive death. Of course, if S.H.I.E.L.D. had not gotten overconfident and passed this particular mutant over to Professor X. and his school none of the above would’ve happened to begin with, but what’s done is done.

Finally, what it is with the “Agents” and Putin? President Putin isn’t a likeable fellow or even a decent one or anything, but why mention him at least for the second time in the season? As far as he will be concerned, that is just free PR, nothing more, but that is real life. As this episode with its combustible villain and the mysterious Clairvoyant (hopefully, this is not a synonym for the Trousers Titan, cough) shows, “Agents” are at the strongest when they are not involved with real life.

So: “Agents” are no longer redundant or realistic and a very important plot development has taken place. Let us see what will come out of this instead.

S.H.I.E.L.D., Oct 15 - Eye-Spy

In this week’s episode of “Agents”, the agents have to deal with a rogue agent, who has apparently defaulted and joined the dark side, robbing banks, and armored cars, and safes in order to get to some bizarre formula that not even S.H.I.E.L.D. can figure out. 

However, because this is Marvel™, and Whedon, things are not as they seem – the ex-agent, Akeela, has a cyborgnetic eye that will kill her if she tries to go back to the light side. It is up to the show’s heroes to make things right again, and they deliver!

Agent May livens up somewhat and becomes more human in this episode and less of an emotionless “cyborg” that she was in “0-8-4”, for comparison. She does not kill Akeela and actually appears to be warming up to Coulson even though their personalities still clash as they did in the previous episodes.

The FitzSimmons duo are still comically reliving despite themselves, or their intentions, perhaps. Yes, they successfully operate on Akeela, but somehow their babbling... it is still funny, perhaps intentionally so.

This brings me to my first two comments. Firstly, the dendrotoxins used on Akeela are neurotoxins made from the venom of mamba snakes, a group of 4 species of highly venomous – and agile – cousins of cobras. Secondly, the comic relief bit – it is not so much annoying as over-the-top and established: practically from the pilot episode the FitzSimmons duo have been alleviating the tension, the audience knows much less about their back story than about anyone else’s: they are seemingly secondary characters without much personality behind them. I say personality, because their characters are largely the same without much difference between them. Considering that the “Agents” are built around teamwork...see below.

There is chemistry between Grant and Skye, which is not surprising. “Agents” may be about teamwork, but it is also about couples – the FitzSimmons duo, May and Coulson, Grant and Skye. Coulson, true, tries to bond with everyone...but the FitzSimmons duo is on the bottom: they are important to the plot, they provide the scientific knowhow, but to the scriptwriters, at least, they are the least important characters, period. “Agents”, or rather the main cast of the show, is fieldwork oriented, and the FitzSimmons duo is situated mostly in the background. Possibly, they will have an episode or two to themselves, but that is anyone’s bet, really.

As for Grant and Skye their relationship continues to evolve even as they work together to imitate Akeela infiltrate a Belorussian scientific facility to acquire the formula, as mentioned previously. When Grant had to seduce, cough, a security guard - that was quite funny. Then again, so were the glasses – Clark Kent references probably abounded. That is sweet, but also...predictable.

Let us be fair. There is nothing wrong with being predictable; it is just that in Whedon’s earlier works – BtVS, Firefly™ - there was nothing particularly predictable about them. It is as if Whedon is taking the easy way out: they want a show about the States being great? (Never mind that the shutdown is still going on, ha-ha.) I will do that and nothing more. The passion, the raw energy that was so noticeable in the pilot episode is gone, and what we have is a solid, but rather stogy, Cold-War-reminiscent, spy thriller, down to the Victory Square. While there are several Victory Squares in the world, my money is on it being the Belorussian one, as opposed to one in British Columbia, Canada. Belarus seems to have become a stand-in for Russia and yes, why not, it is just that the Cold War is done and gone; there is no need to revive on both sides.

Of course it may be that JW is just tired, just as Jon Taffer from “Bar Rescue” is. In the episode “Crappy Cantina” you can see that he had enough with bar rescuing and as a result the cantina in question had to close even though he had supposedly rescued it. Maybe JW is suffering from the same fatigue, who knows?

In any case, the “Eye-Spy” episode was good, solid, impressive, but – uninspiring. It was a typical action flick without any of the charisma that BtVS was famous for, and for many people that would be fine, but for a screenwriter, author, producer, etc, of Whedon’s caliber that is disappointing. I just hope that the next episodes will show the “Agents” – and the agents – get out of this funk, because even with the lack of inspiration it is a good show and has the potential of being a great one.