Special Features – A Response to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Apologists

One of the pet peeves on the mile-long piece of parchment containing all the things that irritate me about geek culture are those fans who act like any piece of entertainment not tailored to their specific taste has no redeeming qualities. To use Iron Man 3 as an example, a constant complaint I heard (no doubt recycled from somebody else’s argument), was that Iron Man 3 was false advertisement. Now, unless you paid to see Iron Man 3 and were shown The Great Gatsby, that’s a false criticism. And this is the problem with having big expectations – as soon as you find out the movie you’re seeing isn’t what you expected, you should try your best to objectively watch the movie that was made.  And holding a trailer against a movie is also unnecessary because the marketing team are not the same people as the creative team.  However, that’s not what this article is about.

If the aforementioned list was organized by most annoying, at the very top would be the apologists. People on the opposite end of the spectrum, who go into something excited and come out the same, regardless of the actual quality of the movie they went to see.  And normally I’d let people have that, they’re not hurting anybody and I guess I’d love to never be disappointed by a movie ever too. But the ones that really make me frustrated are those who pretend what they’re watching is the best thing ever and you’re a jerk for even suggesting it has flaws that are acknowledged by everyone. I would never fault anybody for enjoying anything, but I think when you say something is great it’s subject to debate, especially when you’re dismissive of other people’s opinions. Man of Steel for example had mixed reception on a lot of different fronts.  It’s widely acknowledged to have some pretty universal flaws which people can agree on, regardless of whether they think they ruined the movie or not.  And yet still, there’s always that one fan who not only pretends like this universal complaint has no grounds, but that you also don’t know what you’re talking about for bringing it up. But Man of Steel isn’t the focus now – it’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Once again, I am not faulting anybody who likes the show, you are more than entitled to your opinion. And, anybody who says Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. sucks and has no redeeming qualities are wrong – there is stuff to like. But I can’t help but feel like those people are only responding to the overzealous praise from the fans proclaiming it to be a “great show”. Breaking Bad is a great show. This is not that… this is not even close.  Let’s level with each other – the only reason people care about this show is because it’s got Marvel and Joss Whedon’s names on it.  Whedon is basically just executive producer as opposed to showrunner, which explains almost all of the show’s shortcomings, and I love Marvel, but I’m not just going to take whatever they give me and pretend it’s golden.  So, I want to address the most common excuses fanboys have been making…

Any statement that begins with “every” is automatically dumb and should never be used again.  This is so vague that it means literally nothing.  Yes every show has its flaws, but how does that relate to the show we’re talking about? This is just a way for apologists to undercut criticism without acknowledging it.

Most Joss Whedon productions start off slow and then pick up. The Cabin in the Woods, The Avengers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dollhouse, Firefly, etc.  Now this argument probably has the most grounds, but it’s still a pretty flawed defense. This isn’t a Joss Whedon show in the traditional sense – his involvement seems to be minimal. And even then Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t as good as Buffy, Dollhouse and Firefly when they first started out. At it’s best, Agents is almost as good as the worst episode of one of those shows. The premise is pretty flimsy and the show still hasn’t found its identity. How long until I can fully judge this show? First it was the second episode, then it was a few episodes. What’s next – wait until the next season? The show is improving marginally, but failing in other areas. Hoping it matures into a good show is wishful thinking at this point.

This is a given for any show, but once again too vague to mean anything. These characters aren’t very interesting, and even worse they’re just cardboard cutouts from other shows. Skye is basically just any comic relief character we’ve seen before, May is the empowered female, Ward the handler from Dollhouse, etc. It’s not that the characters need development, they’re just bad. I hope Joss Whedon does a clean slate, wipes the cast out and starts with some new interesting characters to build on. 

I’ve been a big critic of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and it’s not because I expected Avengers, more superheroes, or anything else people are saying. I expected a good little genre show with fun characters and good dialogue. That’s not what I’m getting, hence my complaints.  The only reason people are asking for more superheroes, more cameos, more of anything is because what we’re being given isn’t satisfying. This show feels like it’s out of a time capsule from the 90s. And even then I can’t help but feel like it wouldn’t have been a particularly good show back then. If the show gets better tonight and delivers on its potential, the suggestions would stop and everybody would be happy. 

You must be on the writing staff. Funny how so many people are privy to the direction of the season. Must be a lot of leaks at Marvel.