ABC is set to announce their fall schedule on May 14th so we figured it was about time to round up all the news we could find on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and put it in one handy dandy place.
First, let’s look at confirmed cast members. Of course we all know about Carl Gregg and his Agent Coulson returning from the dead (or was he ever dead?) but there have been quite a few other cast members added, not the least of which is Angel alum and most recently, Arrow assassin, J. August Richards. It hasn’t yet been announced who Richards will play, but I think we can all agree, it doesn’t really matter because he is that good. Maybe it’ll just be the return of Charles Gunn…
In addition to the three cast members we’ve already discussed here, those being Ming-Na Wen, Iain De Caestecker, and Elizabeth Henstridge, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. also includes Chloe Bennett from Nashville and Brett Dalton. Bennett is Skye and Dalton is the up and coming Agent Grant.
While it is nice to hear about these new characters and who will be playing them, we all are asking the same thing… what about Nick Fury and Maria Hill? Well as for Nick Fury, Samuel L. Jackson was asked about it during an interview with MTV and here’s what he had to say.
So Nick Fury as S.H.I.E.L.D.’s version of Charlie? I could live with that. Of course it would be even better if Jackson were to make cameos occasionally, but that might be asking a bit much. As for Maria Hill? Well Joss Whendon told TV Line that we shouldn’t “expect” her because obviously Smulders has a busy schedule with not only How I Met Your Mother, but also various other projects, but that she could make an appearance. In my dream world, Smulders would wrap up HIMYM and immediately take off her Robin Sparkles costume and put on her S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform. Throw in a stop at SNL (how has this not happened yet?) and, well that would just be great.
Of course everyone is looking for more news and insight to the show and who better to go to than Agent Coulson himself, Clark Gregg. Screenrant caught up with Gregg at the Tribeca Film Festival.
It’s always nice to see when an actor has such a fondness for the character they play and Gregg certainly does for Coulson.
So that gets us all caught up and ready for the upfront next Tuesday where it’s pretty much a sure thing that Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will be announced. Could ABC finally making a run at beating CBS? They certainly have that potential so we’ll have to wait and see.
What we’ll also have to wait and see? If Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark/Iron Man makes an appearance on the small screen. When asked by EW about it he said, “You know what? There’s no telling. I am open to everything.” which doesn’t mean no. That’s pretty much all fans need to get their hopes up so here’s to Iron Man on S.H.I.E.L.D.!
It looks like S.H.I.E.L.D. is no more. Well at least the title is no more. According to EW.com, apparently there comes news that the title is being changed to (or at least referred to for the time being as) Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. While we can all debate why, they also included a show summary that everyone can read up on before we debate this title:
[quote]
Joss Whedon (MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) shows us not all heroes are super with MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.
Fresh from his role in the summer’s box office smash, MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS, Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) returns to the worldwide law enforcement organization S.H.I.E.L.D. He puts together a small, highly trained, team of Agents to tackle the cases that haven’t been classified yet, the new, the strange and the unknown. That team consists of straight arrow Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), an expert in combat and espionage; pilot and martial artist Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen); and brilliant if socially awkward scientists Agent Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Agent Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge). They’ll be joined by civilian new recruit and computer hacker Skye (Chloe Bennet).
Prepare for an epic adventure that showcases the hope and wonder of the human spirit. This is a world of Super Heroes, aliens and the unusual – of action, spectacle and world spanning stories. The show will speak to the human condition through the lens of our very human, non-powered S.H.I.E.L.D agents – that together we are greater than we are apart, and that we can make a difference in the world.
Executive Produced and co-written by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen (Dollhouse, Dr.Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog), Jeffrey Bell (Angel, Alias) and Jeph Loeb (Smallville, Lost, Heroes) comes Marvel’s first live-action TV series, MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.
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Credit: nerdlunch.net – Also not a photo from set…
So let’s break it down quickly: I think it’s an odd move. I mean, it shouldn’t be surprising because Marvel wants to tag their branding on everything now (Marvel’s The Avengers ring a bell?) but it’s just too much at this point. Plus just saying S.H.I.E.L.D. would have just made enough waves as a short and efficient attention grabbing title. EW speculates because ABC might want to separate its title from FX’s The Shield but I can’t buy that because the series isn’t running anymore and enough time should have passed so confusion would not be made. Even the ‘Agents of’ part comes off as redundant because who else would we be following in S.H.I.E.L.D.? The Janitors of S.H.I.E.L.D.? The Real Housewives of S.H.I.E.L.D.? (Crap, call Bravo now and tell them to stop that idea from getting on the air.) Regardless, this is all done for the advertisers as Joss & ABC prepare the pilot to show off in May to generate some ad sales so who knows, we might get the title change back or perhaps something more ridiculous might be in hand. Although does it matter? We could probably just stop and declare this the best pilot of the fall season and they could name it whatever they want because even an appearance from Hasselhoff as a Nick Fury doppelganger couldn’t stop the me from watching.
While there is no question NBC is in the shittier, ABC is a bit of a mystery. Their shows are good, and they have a loyal audience but somehow they have been trailing in network ratings. It becomes a little clearer when you take a look at their lineup. They have some very good dramas, Castle, Once Upon a Time, Scandal, Revenge, and even though Grey’s Anatomy should have ended years ago, people are still tuning in. Of course their reality shows are popular – Dancing with the Stars, and The Bachelor, but I ignore that those exist so there are neither here nor there. ABC’s problem area? Clearly their comedies. Don’t Trust the B sadly has been cancelled, Happy Endings is being moved, The Neighbors is in the basement, and if you can name any other ABC comedy besides Modern Family, congrats.
One has to imagine that ABC is wondering what they can do to get to the top. Luckily for them, some of their pilots looks to have great potential, one from a certain Joss Whedon most especially. Without further adieu, some of the best looking prospects for ABC this pilot season.
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Is there an upcoming show that has more geeks all atwitter than this one? I don’t think so. Of course the show itself is exciting but when they announced that Agent Coulson was actually not dead and Clark Gregg would be bringing his character to the ABC pilot? Well that just put a cherry on this fantastic sundae.
There’s been quite a few people added to the cast of this show since that announcement, including Ming-Na Wen from ER and Iain De Caestecker from the long running British soap, Coronation Street.
There is very little doubt that this will make it to series. ABC would be making a mistake of epic proportions if they let this one go.
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Another British import, Spy is about a somewhat unsuccessful man who in the hopes to impress his son, goes out to get a good job and somehow finds himself a secret agent. The British show was fantastic, thanks in part to the cast. I’d like to say the American version looks as promising but I can’t. Now I’m perfectly willing to admit this is just me, but I can not stand Rob Corddry and have a hard time seeing him as Tim.
The most interesting casting news on this show though, would be that of Ken Jeong. Granted he hasn’t been seen much on Community here lately so perhaps they are trying to write him out completely, or even sadder, he’s preparing for the end of Community all together.
If this version has one thing going for it, it would be that Simeon Goulden who created and wrote the British version of Spy is writing this as well. All that said, I’d probably watch this, well at the very least I’d give it a shot because I enjoyed the original that much.
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My love of the ‘Gone Too Soon’ Kings is no secret so you can only imagine how excited I was to see that Christopher Egan was in another pilot. Even better, it looks like a pilot that has potential.
[quote]Modern day show that weaves together a mythology that incorporates the legends of Dracula, Jekyll and Hyde, Frankenstein and Dorian Gray among others.[/quote]
Egan will play Dorian Gray and he has a fantastic cast around him including Tom Ellis (from the incredibly funny Miranda) as Victor Frankenstein, Janet Montgomery (this year’s short lived Made in Jersey) as Grace Van Helsing, and Fringe star, Seth Gabel. As if the actors weren’t enough, the writers just might be. After signing an overall deal with ABC, the creators of Reaper, Tara Butters and Michele Fazakas have been tapped to run Gothica. These two ladies also had a hand in Dollhouse which was another show canceled way before it’s time. Let’s just hope that Gothica turns the tide for them.
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Unlike NBC that has a penchant for hyping crappy sitcoms (whilst ignoring their good ones) and CBS that just makes all crappy sitcoms, ABC has done pretty well. Okay, they’ve done well from a critical standpoint, obviously they haven’t done well on the viewers front because these great shows are getting canceled or just ignored. It really is a crime. However if Super Fun Night makes it to series and is then canceled or ignored, I will be crushed. Crushed!
First off, this pilot is being directed by John Riggi of 30 Rock. That right there should be enough but no, it stars Rebel Wilson and if that wasn’t enough, Keegan Michael Key of Key and Peele has signed on! Seriously, this show has so much going for it. Even it’s premise, while simple, sounds entertaining – Three nerdy female friends decide to have super fun every Friday night. That’s it, that’s all we know about it so far. Is it going to be like Big Bang Theory but with chicks? Who knows. One could hope the writing is better and that the audience will be there but we’ll have to wait and see.
I’m losing a lot of shows this year and if this one is picked up, rest assured, I will be watching. I’d be lying if part of me doesn’t hope it get’s picked up for the sole reason that it would give better odds to seeing Rebel Wilson on SNL.
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If you don’t know, I’m a huge fan of sibling relationships on shows. Of course if you’ve had the pleasure of reading previous Grizzly Bomb contributions of mine you are probably saying “we know! You like siblings! Stop telling us!” but I just thought it bore repeating. Anyways – I like watching sibling relationships.
I also like Steve Zahn. I also like Christian Slater. I also liked Kyle Killen’s shows Awake and Lone Star.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that a show by Kyle Killen starring Steve Zahn and Christian Slater as brothers just might be a show I’d watch.
[quote]Centers on the complicated relationship between two brothers, Clark, a bipolar genius in human psychology, and Ross, a slick ex-con, who solve their clients’ problems using the real science of human motivation and manipulation.[/quote]
Just on the surface, it seems a bit like Lie to Me but switch out facial tics for psychology. Best part of this casting is who is who. Because I always associate Steve Zahn as the Neil Diamond restraining order recipient/raccoon wrestler from Saving Silverman, I was pretty certain he would be the “slick ex-con” but I would be wrong. Zahn is actually Clark the bipolar genius (yea I can see that) and Christian Slater will be playing Ross.
One can hope that this won’t be a predictable crime procedural, and that it will last longer than both Awake and Lone Star.
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I want everyone that has a screenplay sitting in a desk drawer (or documents folder) to go ahead and dust it off because apparently the world is in desperate need of new ideas. I’m just going to float this logline out there and see what grabs you.
[quote]A late 19th century New York doctor and his family relocate to a frontier mining town run by a powerful, but mysterious tycoon. Unfortunately, they quickly realize that not everything in the titular city is as it seems. (Inspired by the Disney Parks ride Thunder Mountain Railroad.)[/quote]
In case you missed it… Inspired by the Disney Parks ride Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Every single time I’ve seen this show mentioned, my head explodes. I know I mentioned back in the NBC Dramas discussion that I appreciate the idea of a Western coming back to network television but this is not at all what I had in mind. If the fact that it’s “inspired” by an amusement park ride isn’t baffling enough, get this – it’s a drama. A drama, based on a railroad ride at Disney World/Land/whatever.
My “cyborg looks for love in the most unlikely of places, a retirement facility for astronauts” pilot isn’t looking so crappy all of a sudden.
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So there you have it! There’s some that are sure hits (S.H.I.E.L.D.) and some that have real potential, but it very easily could turn out that I have no idea what I’m talking about and Big Thunder will end up being a huge success and having a ten year run. You’ll find me in the corner, rocking and muttering to myself if that happens.
There are a few other shows filming pilots right now like a “Romeo and Juliet-esque” drama called Westside starring Jennifer Beals and Dennis Duffy Dean Winters and a comedy starring MadTV’s Will Sasso but outside of those actors I don’t find much appeal in the shows at all. Hopefully one of the above pilots will find their way to a series order and we can all sit back and laugh at those days when ABC finished behind NBC back in the spring of 2013.
We reported on the announcement that nerd king Joss Whedon would be crafting a new Marvel TV series based off of the super spy organization S.H.I.E.L.D. which you can check out here. ABC ordered the pilot, and there has been a bit of news dropped since then that it’s time for us to take a look at. Because right now as we wait for Marvel’s Phase 2 to come out I need to fill my head with anything Marvel related that I can. Which means you are coming along for the ride as I wildly speculate on where this show could be going.
In today’s world of ever-changing internet trends, it is easy to miss even “big” sites. Don’t believe me? Go ask all those people still hanging out on MySpace. One you might not have heard of is Pinterest– especially if you are male. As opposed to in the U.K. where the majority of Pinterest users are professional males, here in the U.S. it’s mainly women, women who are into house decorating and cooking and home tending and you get the picture.
Because that is the majority of users and their pins, does not mean that Pinterest does not have something to offer for those not the least bit interested in the Martha Stewart arts. Au contraire! A little run down of how Pinterest works. It is basically “visual bookmarks”- instead of saving sites to your browser, you can “pin” them to your Pinterest board instead. When you pin something, you pin it to a certain board. For example, when you look at either the Grizzly Bomb Pinterest page, or my own personal Pinterest page (first you can tell that I’ve been on Pinterest much longer than Grizzly Bomb!), you can see that there are separate boards for various categories. Everyone can make their own boards, you aren’t forced into having a “home” board if you don’t want one. But what if you want to see what other people are pinning to their boards? Well you have two options: First you can choose to follow people (I think following Grizzly Bomb would be a great board to follow, just saying) and then whatever they pin will show up on the Pinterest equivalent of your Facebook wall. The second option is what brings us together here today, categories.There are various categories ranging in topics from fashion and humor to art and photography. The best category however, and the category that even people who could not give a rat’s ass about home decor or the latest in fall fashion could find something for them, is the Geek category.
Because I know that not everyone has the disposable free time that I do, and because I would hate for anyone to miss any geeky goodness, and frankly, because I’m such a wonderful and giving person, I have taken it upon myself to compile a weekly “Best finds in the Pinterest Geek Category this Week!!!!!!!” for your perusal. There is no need to send gifts, or money, or songs you have written in my honor (although they certainly won’t be turned away)- no, your gratitude is enough to keep me going.
So with all that out-of-the-way… I bring you this week’s “Best Finds in the Pinterest Geek Category this Week!!!!!!!”
Because I’m the one running this particular show, we are going to start with a pin that combines two of my favorite things in this world, LEGO and Batman. Those men right there are holding perhaps one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen- a Batcave built out of LEGOs. Let me repeat that. This is a Batcave built entirely out of LEGO bricks. When I scrolled past this the other day I did a double take and then one of my dogs had to revive me when I passed out from too much awesome.
Ask pretty much any woman who seriously plays video games to name some pet peeves and more than likely the sentiment behind this pin will be listed. It drives me nuts when people (oddly enough, not always just men) assume that if you are a girl who games you are one of these three types:
a.) a supermodel who doesn’t know her a,x,y, and b from her x, square, triangle and circle
b.) a girl who uses her husband/boyfriend’s XBox to play bejeweled on the big screen
c.) an idiot who thinks the Playstation is just a really fancy dvd player
Believe it or not, there are quite of a few of us who look forward to the release of Halo 4 just as much as any guy.
As I say all that, I must caveat, I love playing video games and am rather good at campaigns and questing. When it comes to multi-player however? I am just awful. Unless I have a war hammer. Given a war hammer, I am unstoppable. Okay, maybe not unstoppable, but I do actually kill other people so that’s a plus.
Another big thing on Pinterest is outfits. I am so not an outfit kind of gal, my everyday attire is either jeans or pajama pants and whatever t-shirt I happen to grab, so when I came across this one I was sort of surprised that I’d finally seen an outfit I would wear. There’s no chance I’d carry that purse, but the rest of it? Love it.
Random quirk about Pinterest- when you go to “re-pin” something, most of the time people do not change the description. Whoever pinned this at one point described it as “ridiculous”. I think we can all agree that what they meant to type was “awesome”. There is absolutely no way that this could ever be described as ridiculous. It has all the components of epic-ness.
Office products used in a new and exciting way… check
Beloved video game character… check
Old school version of beloved video game character… check
Incredible representation of the above… check
Just awesome in general… check, check, check
Yea sorry original pinner, I’m going to have to wholeheartedly disagree with your “ridiculous” description.
The sad part about Pinterest, just like the internet, is the lack of a built-in fact checker. I think we can all agree the creator of this meme pin had a good idea but just failed, horribly, in its execution. However, I happen to adore Cobie Smulders and love How I Met Your Mother so I’m able to look past the error.
Now that Halloween has arrived, we are fully into the “holiday season” so it’s about time everyone start thinking about their gingerbread houses. I would like to put forth the argument that this particular gingerbread creation would kick every other gingerbread creation’s ass.
There we have it, the inaugural run of “Best Finds in the Pinterest Geek Category this Week!!!!!”.
Until next week! For now, I’m off to think of a better name.
Last night, if you weren’t distracted by baseball or football, you might have heard something from the northeastern part of this great country that sounded a little bit like the shriek of a schoolgirl.
Actually, it was a shriek, from not schoolgirls, but rather fangirls. And fanboys. And just fans in general. Why would millions of fans squeal in communal delight? The answer is simple:
That’s right friends and neighbors, the fan favorite, Agent Phil Coulson has become the first confirmed member of Joss Whedon’s upcoming ABC pilot, S.H.I.E.L.D.
The reaction to Agent Coulson’s death in The Avengers was one of heartbreak. All around the world people huddled together in comfort for the loss of a character who was beloved from his first appearance in 2008’s Iron Man. He was probably most loved by the man who portrayed him, Clark Gregg. Gregg is a self-professed geek and lover of comics and of course, Agent Coulson. So you can only imagine how it felt to sit at the Marvel panel during the New York Comic-Con and watch an “In Memoriam” tribute video to the character. Reports are that Gregg was actually moved to tears. Can’t say that I blame him.
A video of Joss Whedon started playing, saying that they had always wanted Gregg as “part of the Marvel Universe… even after his death,” and as if sent by the angels himself, Kevin Feige entered, wearing a shirt that read “Coulson Lives” and announced that Gregg would indeed be reprising the role of Agent Coulson in S.H.I.E.L.D.
Why is this such big news? Well it’s always fun to hear about our favorite characters that we all believe have died, only for them to come back to life, or find out they never died in the first place. But I think with Coulson it’s a little bit more than that. I think it’s because he is one of us. He’s a fan. Watching him meet Captain America and having that awestruck look on his face, I don’t think there’s many people who, when meeting their heroes, wouldn’t have the same reaction. Then to watch him “die” trying to protect his hero and company, I mean come on, who wouldn’t want to go out like that?
On top of that, after the massive success of The Avengers with Joss Whedon at the helm, it is exciting just to hear any news about the new show. Geeks have experienced both the highs and the lows of Whedon television shows. On one hand you’ve got the success of Buffy the Vampire Slayerand Angel, on the other hand you’ve got the great losses of Dollhouse and of course, Firefly. So when news comes out like this, a major character in a wildly successful movie blockbuster is part of the cast of the TV show, we just hold our breaths and hope that it’s enough to convince the network to stick with it.
So there you have it- Agent Coulson lives to see another day. Are you excited as I am?
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