Television review Marvels Agents of SHIELD on the case

Oh right because there are no Avengers in it.

Which is precisely the point. Joss Whedon has constructed not so much a sequel to the Avengers movie as a parallel track to it by using some of the film's superheroes as support staff. Just as J.R.R. Tolkien eventually split his fellowship into various adventures in The Lord of the Rings Whedon and Marvel are attempting to broaden the story's already multi platform universe by giving it concurrent plotlines.

Also 'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' ready for prime time action TCA press tour Joss Whedon talks 'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Comic Con Joss Whedon shows 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' pilot 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Joss Whedon Clark Gregg on Coulson return ABC picks up Joss Whedon's 'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'

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This is the new world says Avengers alum Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) referring to the post Battle of New York clean up and generally bolstering continuity.

Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) who has been miraculously resurrected is back to keep things running in this gods and monsters age with the help of Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division. The name which was a running gag in Iron Man continues as joke fodder. But seriously ABC if you can bring Coulson back from the dead it is not too late to rethink the punctuation.

Though unaltered by radiation chemical injection nuclear hardware Norse divinity or just old fashioned abusive assassin training it is a crack team whose members take their jobs seriously. As recruit Grant Ward (Brett Dalton) quickly discovers when he is shipped home from Paris to aid Coulson in an investigation into unregistered gifted.

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As Whedon walks us through his version of the Bat Cave we meet FitzSimmons i.e. engineer Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and biochemist Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) an adorably British accented couple who in between performing miracles with computer screens get to say things like I'm not Hermione I can't create instant paralysis with that.

But then this being Whedon everyone gets their fair share of witty asides. That includes cantankerous ace pilot Melinda May (Ming Na Wen) and pesky S.H.I.E.L.D hacker eventually turned brilliant new team member Skye (Chloe Bennet). Who is it will surprise no one to learn also beautiful.

Fringe Division having been shut down earlier this year it falls to S.H.I.E.L.D. to investigate those out of the ordinary crimes and occurrences that so often indicate an angry alien supervillain or government conspiracy. In the pilot these events include ordinary people suddenly displaying super powers.

Not as it turns out good Captain America like super powers but bad kill you and those around you super powers. The action peaks with what seems like a standard bit of monologuing but which really sets up the whole series how do ordinary people cope with a world run amok

Hit films have spawned many television adaptations some of which are successful ( MASH ) some less so ( Terminator The Sarah Connor Chronicles ). But there's never been a live action series running not just concurrently with its franchise but also in narrative sync. S.H.I.E.L.D. exists to keep things from getting to the point that the Avengers must be called in. A brand expanding gambit yes but also a very clever concept.

Especially in the hands of someone who really understands TV. Though there's CG aplenty the pilot is nowhere near as in your face as one might expect. Whedon understands that though television can do many things it cannot out blockbuster a blockbuster.

Instead he is choosing a lower key but still intriguing way. Which is why he resurrected Coulson. Not only is Gregg a beloved actor playing a beloved character Coulson is the perfect guide for Whedon's vision.

He's a super power adjacent Everyman who may be able to make the television series just as good in its own way as the film franchise.

mary.mcnamara latimes.com

'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'

Where ABC

When 8 p.m. Tuesday

Rating TV PG V (may be unsuitable for young children with an advisory for violence)

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