Agents Of Yield

...coming as probably no surprise to anyone, I have currently given up on Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. The simplest reason for this was that amongst some tweaking with the cable service, the newest episodes weren't recorded. It is almost a given that it will appear on Netflix by end of summer so I can always get caught up that way. The real reason? Having gone through about five episodes, I had to finally admit that though the premise was great, the show itself is just not matching the content wrapped around it.

This morning, I watched the episode The Girl In The Flower Dress. Like the episodes prior, it exists mainly as a one-and-done story about a street magician turned potential villain threat. In and of itself, the episode was entirely watchable and the effects were good. But my main issue with the show is some of the casting. Some of the acting is so wooden that the only saving grace at times is knowing that Agent Phil Coulson still exists in the Marvel cinematic universe. In the films, he is easily one of my favorite supporting cast members of all time. On the series, his straight man act is often the only magnet pulling me towards the story.

On paper, Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. should have be a smash. What I think holds the show back from really excelling is what I feel about basically all network dramas. Any more than 13 episodes a season is just simply overkill for me. In a 13-episode season, the compacted time frame allows for less filler and more depth of character and universe. Stretch that out over 24 episodes on a network that allows for little actual adult content and now, you spend minutes wasted on events that have no bearing on any plot whatsoever. It is rare to have an exception.

By comparison, I am halfway through season one of Arrow on Netflix. Meet the rare exception. I started Arrow when it debuted but quickly let it fall through the cracks. In general, I felt as if it was going to delve too deeply into the mundane secondary arcs that keep me from bothering with network drama. Though I initially enjoyed the first two episodes of the series, I lost focus amongst shows such as Sons Of Anarchy and others. Over the course of the first season, a friend of mine continued to prod me about how great Arrow was turning out to be. So, I gave it a second spin online.

Turns out, my friend was definitely onto something. The veneer of the series can be deceiving. When I look at it just for a moment, it looks very similar to other young adult drama on the CW. Similar sets, similar mold of actor, similar music and so on. Do not be fooled though because once you let the story unfold and the characters take shape, Arrow is handily the best action/comic book-related show on television. Yes, better than The Walking Dead.

The overall tale of this version of Oliver Queen is a half-notch above realistic in certain ways, but the writing and development of his persona alongside flashbacks of his transformation are paced pitch perfect. His mission is clear in the pilot, but the motivations reveal themselves slowly and methodically. It turns into a near genius balancing act of watching a series that is grounded and always intriguing while being faithful to the comic book and the character by way of. In short, Arrow is the foundation for future adaptations of this type on television.

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