Today sees the return of Agents of SHIELD to television for the latter half of its season, and after an uneven first half, it’s fair to say that fans are actively divided on the show’s quality. We, for example, praised the show’s character growth but then lamented the mid-season finale for essentially throwing away all the good stuff in favor of a dull and ostensibly forced storyline.
With that in mind, Jed Whedon, assumedly no stranger to fans with extremely polar opposite reactions to his work with his brother, took to CBR with executive producer Maurissa Tancharoen to talk with the fans about their reactions to the SHIELD show. The interview is pretty stereotypical in terms of answers, such as:
Let’s get right into it then with the first fan question, from Tonya J., who requests, “Please address the criticism swirling around if you would, as to “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. “not being or looking like a ‘Marvel’ show – perhaps discuss your vision and direction for the rest of Season 1.”
Whedon: We are definitely a Marvel show. We double-checked with them just now and they told us so. But as to looking like a Marvel show — there is always room to improve on every front, but I think some of the negativity toward our TV show comes with the fact that it is just that — a TV show. Being held up against the Marvel films, which are the biggest, most exciting movies around. We’re generating more content with a fraction of the budget in a fraction of the time, but each episode still has that Marvel flipbook at the top, and the expectation that comes with it, which is very high. And well-earned.
Tancharoen: We’re all proud of what our entire team — from writers to cast to crew — puts on screen. And Marvel is heavily involved in the creative process. Our collective goal is to make a series that people enjoy watching every week. In one season we have the opportunity to tell 22 hours worth of story in the MCU. We’ve spent a lot of time in the early part of the season setting things up, laying foundation. As we approach the back half, some of this set up will pay off. This has been the plan from the start. A plan that consists of a respect for and synergy with the films.
But this answer is also pretty good in terms of what they have planned for the future of SHIELD:
An even longer-term question comes from R. Smith: “Has any of the criticism the show has received made an impact on how you intend to proceed with you two year plan?”
Tancharoen: As writers, we only aim to please. Or we aimed to please as children, which is why we became writers.
Whedon: When you’re in a band and you play a song and the crowd goes to the bar to get a drink during that number, you don’t play it again. So we won’t keep doing things if people don’t respond to them, and we take fan reaction into consideration, of course. However, we’ve always had a plan in place that all involved parties feel is both rewarding to those who already love the show, and to those who feel they are not getting everything they want out of it yet. But you can’t please everyone, and when you don’t, they seem to tweet at you.
It’s an interesting read overall, certainly if you’ve been sticking by the show. And while the generic platitudes of “we have a plan” will probably not appease you anymore than that phrase has ever appeased anyone, it’ll be interesting to see how (or “if” or “what”) changes come to the show in light of fan criticism.
SHIELD returns tonight. We’ll be watching.
