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Disney’s acquisition of Marvel has had some noticeable effects. Not only do Marvel’s superheroes continue to dominate the box office, cranking out a couple of eye-popping, budget-busting new adventures each year, but they also pop up in other places—like Disney Channel’s Phineas and Ferb or ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., one of the most eagerly-anticipated new series of the 2013-2014 TV season.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. revolves around lovable Marvel regular Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), who is assigned to put together a team of young agents to travel the globe and handle tricky cases. Throughout the season, they’re faced with everything from unregistered superheroes, strange scientific discoveries, unexplained deaths, and plenty of dangerous enemies. They also spend a lot of time trying to work together to become a team, in spite of their different backgrounds, abilities, and beliefs and their complicated relationships.
The first season of the series certainly has its share of highs and lows as it struggles to get its bearings and figure out what it wants to be. At times, it seems like a straightforward military-esque drama. At other times, it’s a fascinating blend of The X-Files and Fringe, with its scientific and supernatural cases. At times, it’s action-packed and fun. At other times, it gets a little too caught up in the characters’ personal dramas, turning the show into some kind of scientific superhero soap opera, as strong and stony Agent May (Ming-Na Wen), rebellious newcomer Skye (Chloe Bennet), and Agent Coulson all deal with issues in their own back stories.
Meanwhile, the show isn’t what you might expect from a series that plays out behind the scenes of your favorite Marvel superhero movies. Coulson and his team focus more on the scientific and political aspects of S.H.I.E.L.D. than on the over-the-top action. And the show it does still have its share of fight sequences and TV-level special effects, it tends to focus more on the science of superheroes than on the grand, world-saving adventures.
Toward the end of the season, though, the show finally hits its stride, blending action, science, and suspense—and tying itself into the theatrical release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier—to end the season on a high note.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a weekly treat for Marvel fans. It’s filled with references to Marvel’s characters and movies, along with cameos and tie-ins. Though its first season is far from flawless, its frequent references and its behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of S.H.I.E.L.D. make it a fun way to give fans their weekly Marvel fix between big-screen releases.
DVD Review:
The five-disc DVD release of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. provides an interesting behind-the-scenes look at this behind-the-scenes S.H.I.E.L.D. adventure. Special features include deleted scenes, commentary tracks, and five Field Reports, which offer a closer look at some of the stunts, choreography, plot twists, cameos and more. For a glimpse of some of the effects, there are two VFX progressions, which show side-by-side examples of the original and final footage. There’s also Journey Into SDCC, a feature that follows the cast on their action-packed bus trip to introduce the show to screaming fans at 2013’s Comic-Con.
While Journey is definitely an interesting feature, though, the most entertaining extra could very well be the blooper reel. Though there’s nothing particularly special about it, it’s still fun to see the cast laugh and dance a little bit—to show that it’s not all business on the set of this otherwise serious series. So if you have a few minutes to spare between re-watching the first season and the start of the second, be sure to check out a few of the extras.
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