Agents of S.H.R.U.G.

I won't spend too much time on this, but let's talk about S.H.I.E.L.D. For being born from a medium that's thrived on serialization for close to a century, I've probably only seen one superhero television show that's ever worked, and that was Smallville (but only the first handful of seasons; talk about outstaying your welcome). S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't Smallville. I tried to keep my expectations low, and I wasn't even planning on watching it last night at all, but you know, people get bored. I was bored, and S.H.I.E.L.D. bored me further. These fragmented sentences should probably mean something, but they don't. Let's also blame that on S.H.I.E.L.D.

The bullet points (without actual bullet points): I thought it was predictable, unoriginal, and had that incessantly quippy Joss Whedon dialog that makes normal conversation sound overly dramatic and insufferable. I wouldn't want to spend ten minutes with any of these people, let alone 43 of them for 24 weeks. You shouldn't, either, because you probably watched all of this go down before on the first season of Heroes.

To be fair, I think it hits a good time slot, though. Kids will eat this stuff up, and at 8pm. it's positioned to do very well with the 8-14 set. Does that mean I should be fairer to it because it might be aimed more for a younger crowd? Nope, I still thought it was a weak TV pilot. Broad appeal is one thing, but it sure didn't appeal to me.

Can it get better, though? Probably. I have a feeling that enough dough will be tossed at it that Disney will at least try to buy it into quality (for better or worse). I'm sure ratings were through the roof, too, and unless the show turned off more people than just me, the old maxim that quality doesn't matter if people are buying it will hold true. It's a good premise for a TV series, though, so part of me is pulling for it in some deep recess that's a sentimental sap for my Marvel reading days. Let's hope that they turn things around over the next few episodes, but I'm just not that psyched for b-list Avengers characters.

But a Gotham Central/ Commissioner Gordon TV show? Yes, sir. YES, SIR.