Sorry not sorry

[stoney321]

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is really bad. Not "Sharknado" bad (because that's so bad it's good) but commits the worse crime of being boring. Of being unimaginative. There is nothing new to say, nothing new to do, nothing new they're going to explore. I said last night on Twitter that it would have been an amazing show in 1986. It would have felt like Indiana Jones on TV.

But in 2013? No. And I'm SAD about that. (And I seriously do not get what has errbody fanning themselves over Coulson. He looks like a tax adjuster.)

ION, I needed a break from writing OMH (because I'm stuck on bad parts of my life and how to tell that without it sucking) so I switched over to writing fanfic (Sterek). And I wanted it to be short but I don't know how it's going to be shorter than 25K. WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE.

Someone make Sally Derg stop being an idiot when the bus pulls up with the kids, please. OMG SHUT UP DOGGIE STAHP.

Comments

[flaming-muse.livejournal.com]

THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR BORING OMG.

ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE JOSS WHEDON.

Coulson is awesome in the movies. I adore him. I haven't watched this week's SHIELD, but I'm betting Coulson as a character might be more exciting in small, awesome doses.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

He didn't stand out to me in the movies. Maybe it was because I watched the movies after seeing the fandom explode and knew he was so beloved and had a reaction to that? IDK. And I enjoy a snarky, self confident guy, but I don't get the lust I see for him. TO EACH HIS OWN.

I'm sad that I'm not excited about a Joss Show, Muse. :(

[kita0610.livejournal.com]

I'm right there with you about Coulson. He could be ANYBODY. He kind of IS anybody. Only- less exciting than ACTUAL PEOPLE I KNOW.

The show sucks and it makes me fucking sad. Esp bc it has huge ratings and will therefore continue on and on and on.

I'll be over here with Sleepy Hollow, I guess, which doesn't even pretend to be anything other than what it is. CRACK WRAPPED IN SPEARMINT DRIZZLED WITH CRACK SAUCE.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I AGREE WITH ALL OF THIS, BTW. (Hey - we're recapping Sleepy Hollow on HDJM! Well, Entrenous is!)

[kita0610.livejournal.com]

She just told me that! \0/

Why do you think SHIELD is so bad? I mean, it's got Whedon, money, Marvel- HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED??

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Because it is Joss' brother and another person trying to write LIKE Whedon? This is my working theory.

[kita0610.livejournal.com]

Oh, the other person is Mo, his wife. And this is true. They have the name but not the skills I guess. I heard he was flown in to make "adjustments". They were not successful, apparently. But like everyone says, this is the shit that sells. It'll probably be on as long as oh say, Bones. BLARGH.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

What's odd is the pilot and this episode have three writers - Mo, Jed, and Jeff Bell and in the pilot Joss, Jed, and Mo. Usually you see two writers, but three? Is there some hand-holding going on?

Also, I'm willing to bet Marvel big-wigs are heavily involved - which is a change of pace from previous Whedon efforts. Usually he's left to his own devices. Marvel isn't known for doing that.

I don't know if it will be on that long...the pilot got the curiousity factor.
If the next four episodes aren't good...it'll start losing viewers.

[kita0610.livejournal.com]

It will have to lose A LOT of viewers. I think I read it was the biggest opener for ABC pretty much ever.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

True. One never knows. Last week they said 16Million, this week 21Million.

Wonder if it keeps it's audience after 5 episodes? They all tend to drop off a bit around mid-season. Holding an audience is hard to do these days.

[kita0610.livejournal.com]

Is it? Plenty of shitty shows get renewed year after year. CYNICAL OLD FAN IS CYNICAL.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

True there are a lot of sitcoms, procedural and reality shows that I have to admit I've never understood the appeal of. ;-)

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Oh, good point about Marvel Big Wigs sticking their noses in. I just don't think this is anything I'll spend more time on. I'll give it one more ep, and then I'm out. (If it doesn't hook me, that is.)

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Right there with you. I fear I'm not its intended audience.
(ie. I'm not 12, not a boy, not into video games and nifty gadgets, not into the Avengers/SHIELD (I was an X-Men fan and in the X-Men - the Avengers and SHIELD are portrayed as fascists.) and have grown somewhat bored of this type of series - there have been one too many.)

[flaming-muse.livejournal.com]

Oh, to clarify, I don't feel LUST for him at all. I just enjoy him a lot in the 'verse, and I enjoy the actor who plays him.

In episode one of AoS? DID NOT CARE.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, I picked up on this. I didn't think you had Kurt/Stiles level of I WANT TO PUT MY FACE ON YOUR FACE happening with Coulson. :D

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

(And I seriously do not get what has errbody fanning themselves over Coulson. He looks like a tax adjuster.)

If this were on the WB, he would be a sexy tax adjuster with rock hard abs, who could never remember to pick up his drycleaning...

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

...I don't see the problem? (Hahahaha)

[ladycyndra.livejournal.com]

I can't get at all excited about SHIELD. My brother was really looking forward to it but I haven't asked him what he thinks. The preview leaves me going eh. It sucks that its not living up to the hype. =/

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

It is not doing one thing for me at all. Taking it off the DVR schedule, in fact.

[tapati.livejournal.com]

I was more impressed with Sleepy Hollow than the first episode of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I didn't expect to be excited about Sleepy Hollow since I didn't like the movie.

Maybe if we hadn't already had Heroes and Alphas it would have seemed fresher but it's just revisiting old, tired territory without the excitement of the movie version.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Sleepy Hollow is a fun ride - it doesn't take itself too seriously, it's connected with the fans, too.

[mander3-swish.livejournal.com]

oh good. i'm not the only one. I tried watching shield, but yeah. boring.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Nope, you're not alone!

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

I have not seen this week's ep yet, but I am not hearing good things in general.

Of course, same old, same old seems to sell so likely this will be a huge hit.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I'm just boooooooored by it. Meh.

[ggjunkie33.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've watched the first few episodes of SHIELD and so far I find it somewhat entertaining but overall very generic, and full of elements I've seen on shows already airing. They need more depth and something new.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

"full of elements I've seen on shows already airing." This! Precisely this. Meh.

[demonqueen666.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear you're not enjoying the show. Me, I am, but then all I really wanted was "Oh yay, I get to spend an hour more each week in the MCU watching those related characters snark and derp at each other".

As for Coulson, I was under the impression the mass fandom love for him was out of affection for his character, not...the actual lust you seem to be describing it as. (Unless he's being paired with Hawkeye. For some reason they're really big into that.)

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Joss has trained me to expect groundbreaking, I guess. I can totally see how this show could be a comfort for those super into the Avengers/superhero fandoms, but it just isn't for me.

I'm seeing a lot of "fans self" and "unf" on my Tumblr feed re: Coulson, so I didn't get it. But to each his own, I know.

[ladypeyton.livejournal.com]

As groundbreaking as Buffy was, though, it's first season kinda sucked. Same thing with Angel. Same with Firefly, albeit that was partly Fox's fault. Dollhouse, again kinda sucked in the beginning. It always takes Whedon a little while to find his groove.

[chrryblssmninja.livejournal.com]

I'm seeing a lot of "fans self" and "unf" on my Tumblr feed re: Coulson, so I didn't get it. But to each his own, I know.

Yeah, I was like...what? But aside from those whose tastes run that way, I think a lot of tumblr expresses itself via lust terms even when what they're expressing is more affection or other appeals than attractiveness. I can't cite any specific examples but it's something I've noticed over the years when people get really hyped over something but an individual's overall reactions aren't really attraction but excitement. My theory is that lust terms are used as another form of exaggeration.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

I agree with you SHIELD. Tonight watched it while doing something else and could easily follow it and was deeply bored.

So many problems...

1. Don't get the Coulson love - he looks like an accountant. I didn't find him interesting in the Avengers or Iron Man films.

2. Someone is CGI - ing the actors faces or photoshopping or hairbrushing them. They all look like they've had a lot of botox or a facelift. Expressionless and very plastic and too clean.

3. Bland cast that looks too much alike and has no personality. (Which is odd, usually Whedon series have wonderfully diverse casts with lots of personality.)

4. The plot and dialogue is repetitive and sort of bland. Where's the quippy snark? It's flatter for some reason.

5. Too much focus on special effects, gadgets and dangerous alien devices and not enough on the characters.
(Basically what was wrong with the last Indian Jones movie and the Star Wars prequels)

6. The show feels like it was made and marketed to 12 year old boys. Has a very juvenile comic book/video game feel to it. (Not graphic novel, more comic book/video game.)

7. It feels too much like a franchise. Also it's not a good sign that we have three people writing episodes. They can't trust Jed and Maurissa to write one by themselves?

I may give it two more episodes...but that's iffy. Like you, I was bored.

So far the best pilots this season have been The Back List and Sleepy Hollow.

[zyrya]

Oh, that's sad. Not entirely surprising, because I think Whedon has had a good innings but has probably shown us everything he has, but still sad.

For me, Coulson is interesting because there's a twinkle in his eye that suggests he's more than an accountant, but I suspect that featuring him in more than little scenes of other characters' stories will show him to be a cardboard cutout with nothing behind the twinkle.

[entrenous88.livejournal.com]

Though I'm sad it's not good and something that you love (because who doesn't want more awesome stuff to love?), it's at least helpful to hear you're not enjoying it. I felt really turned off by all the promos and teasers, even while everyone else was squeeing, so I wasn't keen on watching in the first place. But hearing you and other folks don't think much of it is at least confirming it doesn't sound like my cup of tea.

You know what's my cup of tea? TEA! *goes to make some* (and you, of course! <3)

[ladypeyton.livejournal.com]

My favorite show in the universe, The Vampire Diaries, totally sucked for the first 9 episodes. Then the writers did this amazing 180 and starting throwing in twists like they worked for Snyder's Pretzels. So I give every show I start at least half a season.

[chrryblssmninja.livejournal.com]

Exactly! The show is unimaginative and looks like something from TV decades ago. I think ABC Studios also made Alias, which started 2002, and that looked so much better! Then again, Bad Robot might have had something to do with that.

I'm willing to give the show a few more episodes, since 1) shows can start out bad, 2) I'm trapped into watching it with my family, and 3) one of my favorite current actresses, Ruth Negga, is making her US TV debut in episode 4.

Then again, I liked Iain de Caestecker (the male part of the overtalking science duo) on BBC's The Fades, because he surprised me in making a lead character that would usually annoy me into someone I actually liked watching. But his and other characters in SHIELD are just given banter and message!of!the!week! so I'm just shaking my head at lost potential. My favorite may be Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen), not just for the cool factor, but because she has no time for much of the wannabe quirk. The lead guy is so boring and my judgment is hanging over the hacker character and whether its the writing or her actress who's weaker.

more random speculation:
hey, Zack Whedon also worked on Dr. Horrible! He did some decent episodes for Fringe as well, and wrote two of my favorite episodes of Southland season 5. If they're going the nepotism route, I wonder if SHIELD would have turned out differently with Zack instead of Jed and Mo, or if there are other factors involved. or if Zack wanted to stay far away...