Agent Carter

[Worf]

^^^^^^

Well a week long hiatus doesn't help... just when you're building up steam. As for ratings... I'm not sure where ABC is right now in the race but compared to their other fare this is doing "alright".

Worf

 

[tecolote]

Here's a photo of the typwriter/talc/safetyrazor- transmitter:

and another cool jacket worn by Stark:

and(spoiler alert-Peggy reunites with the Howling Commandos:

to which I believe one of the above linked articles refers .

Regards,

Tecolote

 

[Frunobulax]

The ratings dropped again and is roughly 67% of the original pilot. This doesn't bode well for a full on show for next year if it keeps dropping. However, another miniseries might be in the cards if it holds on.

One of the theories out there is Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (and Agent Carter) are effectively commercials for the big Marvel movies. S.H.I.E.L.D. dropped off quite a bit from the initial pilot last year, as well, but since Marvel/Disney is making bank on the movies, the TV series acts as a bridge and a "loss leader" for the franchise.

I hope this week's drop off is an anomaly, and they go back up. I'm enjoying the show.

 

[Fading Fast]

I enjoy this show the same way I enjoy a Rueben - it's really a big sloppy mess that looks better than it is, but once you get over that, it's still pretty good.

Maybe it's because I'm not very familiar with the comic book genre, and while I get that one needs to suspend reality and just go with it, overall, I am still put off by some of the plot craziness and stilted characters, but I hope it keeps going.

And I love the over-the-top Art Deco diner and the full-on Edward Hopper office she works in - and the style overall.

 

[Frunobulax]

I enjoy this show the same way I enjoy a Rueben - it's really a big sloppy mess that looks better than it is, but once you get over that, it's still pretty good.

Maybe it's because I'm not very familiar with the comic book genre, and while I get that one needs to suspend reality and just go with it, overall, I am still put off by some of the plot craziness and stilted characters, but I hope it keeps going.

And I love the over-the-top Art Deco diner and the full-on Edward Hopper office she works in - and the style overall.

That's maybe a good description, LOL. As far as suspension of disbelief, as a former poster noted, this is a superhero universe with big green Gamma ray induced behemoths, super soldiers, and alien Nazis.

It's also apparently a post WWII world where tobacco products never seemed to catch on!

 

[DecoDame]

...And I love the over-the-top Art Deco diner and the full-on Edward Hopper office she works in - and the style overall.

I agree. Sometimes it's enough to just be fun, you know? That's not a bad thing.

But I still think (as a lot of comics do) they still manage to sneak in topics of depth, like: personal integrity, responsibility, loyalty, service etc and Hayley brings serious acting chops and elevates many a scene. It's not total eye candy fluff, either.

 

[Frunobulax]

I agree. Sometimes it's enough to just be fun, you know? That's not a bad thing.

But I still think (as a lot of comics do) they still manage to sneak in topics of depth, like: personal integrity, responsibility, loyalty, service etc and Hayley brings serious acting chops and elevates many a scene. It's not total eye candy fluff, either.

Marvel has always tackled the human issues. That's been their forte since the beginning. Remember, "With great power comes great responsibility."

Yes, I'm a bit of a comic book geek.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Re the lack of smoking, remember that ABC and Marvel are owned by Disney. Unfortunately, political correctness always trumps historical realism at Disney.

 

[Fading Fast]

Re the lack of smoking, remember that ABC and Marvel are owned by Disney. Unfortunately, political correctness always trumps historical realism at Disney.

From a period accuracy you are absolutely correct, but I so hate it that I am glad when they leave it out. I'm even glad "Mad Men" has cut back even those it is less accurate than in the earlier seasons.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I think Mad Men actually overdid it the first couple of seasons too.

 

[Frunobulax]

Re the lack of smoking, remember that ABC and Marvel are owned by Disney. Unfortunately, political correctness always trumps historical realism at Disney.

Well again, as you've pointed out, historical realism doesn't seem to be the thing. I think most producers would leave it out anyway.

/Can't wait for your movie to come out, but I'm not so sure about the whole Bandersnatch Cumberbund playing the part thing.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I think it's the best possible casting. I wasn't psyched for the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal or Joaquin Phoenix playing Doctor Strange.

Benedict Cumberbatch has the maturity, gravitas, and proper sense of reserved mystery for the role. Not to mention the perfect voice for declaiming those crazy Stan Lee incantations like, "In the name of the Eternal Vishanti, by the Seven Rings of Raggador, I bid you halt!"

 

[Frunobulax]

I hope I'm pleasantly surprised. Marvel hasn't let me down yet.

 

[Fading Fast]

I agree. Sometimes it's enough to just be fun, you know? That's not a bad thing.

But I still think (as a lot of comics do) they still manage to sneak in topics of depth, like: personal integrity, responsibility, loyalty, service etc and Hayley brings serious acting chops and elevates many a scene. It's not total eye candy fluff, either.

Agreed completely. The best example I know of this are the first two Chris Nolan "Batman" movies. They are incredible parables of good, evil, the blurry lines between the two, the morality of vigilantism and the complexity of fighting terrorism - and the philosophy behind it. Alfred's speech about "Some men just want to watch the world burn," is brilliantly insightful.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I mostly enjoyed last night's action-packed episode where Peggy re-teamed with the Howling Commandos.

However, like everyone else watching on the NYC ABC affiliate, I missed two four-minute portions of the first half when they broke in for special reports about the awful Metro-North accident. In both cases, the logic of how the story had progressed was missed, and I was like, "Oh... okay, they're in Russia now." I'll have to watch this one again on demand to see those missing connective bits of story.

Funny how those special reports NEVER break into the commercials!

 

[DecoDame]

Probably enjoyed last night's the most so far, after the premiere. It had great pace and very little filler.

"Dottie" was appropriately crazy-eyed creepy, yet, when she shackled herself to the bed to sleep I cringed for her. I expect there will be some moral tussle about this abused and brainwashed girl being the lethal enemy she now is. As Peggy said "She's just a girl". Or was.

I was surprised and impressed, in TV trope terms, that they actually killed not one but two of the good guys during the Russian mission. Actual peril. No, they won't kill Peggy, of course,but that makes it feel like anyone else could buy it. No bullets bouncing off anyone.

Thompson's turnaround felt a little rushed, but I'm just glad the posturing will lessen around the office now.

What will Sousa do with the evidence of Peggy's Double Agent-ing? Is he really hesitating to protect Peggy or...something else? I take nothing at face value here and I like that!

 

[Fading Fast]

Probably enjoyed last night's the most so far, after the premiere. It had great pace and very little filler.

"Dottie" was appropriately crazy-eyed creepy, yet, when she shackled herself to the bed to sleep I cringed for her. I expect there will be some moral tussle about this abused and brainwashed girl being the lethal enemy she now is. As Peggy said "She's just a girl". Or was.

I was surprised and impressed, in TV trope terms, that they actually killed not one but two of the good guys during the Russian mission. Actual peril. No, they won't kill Peggy, of course,but that makes it feel like anyone else could buy it. No bullets bouncing off anyone.

Thompson's turnaround felt a little rushed, but I'm just glad the posturing will lessen around the office now.

What will Sousa do with the evidence of Peggy's Double Agent-ing? Is he really hesitating to protect Peggy or...something else? I take nothing at face value here and I like that!

Agreed - best episode since the premier. The Russian girls' "Training School" was creepy but good plot advancement / character development.

I also agree that Thompson turnaround was rushed as was Dooley's seeming turnaround, but their two-dimensional cardboard chauvinism was boring and - while hard-edged chauvinism existed in the period - my grandmother (a woman of the Era who was a successful business woman) says it was much more nuanced, only sometimes blunt and many times not an issue.

For a show to become real and feel alive, issues like that have to be fully developed and not simply played in a way to makes us feel good today - i.e., look how backwards and stupid those people were and what an enlightened person this person was, etc. Life and people are rarely that black and white.

 

[DecoDame]

... but their two-dimensional cardboard chauvinism was boring and - while hard-edged chauvinism existed in the period - my grandmother (a woman of the Era who was a successful business woman) says it was much more nuanced, only sometimes blunt and many times not an issue...

Yes, but did she work in an ultra macho environment like the SSR is portrayed? I dare say the military or especially an intelligence agency (like the CIA) would be a harder environment to crack as a woman, then and even now. Regardless, like we've been saying, this is a comic book come to life and broad strokes in the narrative are to be expected.

Still, I understand that doesn't mean it's not one-note to watch as a viewer, I agree, so I'm glad that they're giving some depth beyond their biases to the office fellows now...

 

[Frunobulax]

I think that Dooley really didn't have a "turnaround" so much as he was willing to accept what lay before him. It's taken a while to develop his character, but even though he's hard-boiled, they've developed his character as a fierce defender of his team and someone who is willing to go where the evidence leads him. I could tell last week he was beginning to soften on Stark as being a traitor. I'm starting to really like him.

I, too was surprised a Howling Commando bought the farm. The SSR agent didn't surprise me, but losing a HC was a bit of a shock.

Dottie and the other girls are part of the first wave of assassins trained by the Russians that eventually gives birth to Natalia Romanov - The Black Widow.

 

[Fading Fast]

Yes, but did she work in an ultra macho environment like the SSR is portrayed? I dare say the military or especially an intelligence agency (like the CIA) would be a harder environment to crack as a woman, then and even now. Regardless, like we've been saying, this is a comic book come to life and broad strokes in the narrative are to be expected.

Still, I understand that doesn't mean it's not one-note to watch as a viewer, I agree, so I'm glad that they're giving some depth beyond their biases to the office fellows now...

She owned a small appliance / jewelry store and every supplier was male, as was every bankers and every institutional account she tried to crack (and she did crack many of them), but I agree with you, probably not the extreme macho attitude of military intelligence. And there were outright "I won't even look at a women in business" men out there in her world, but she said that was incredibly rare (maybe, again, different in military intelligence).

But the point is that in the first several episodes, Thompson and Dooley were written as such two dimension stereotypes that it had a stupid feel of "look at how enlightened we are today" self satisfaction. That is why their transition felt fake. If they had been more nuanced characters, where you felt they were thinking about if their attitudes made sense, then the transition would have felt more real.

Let me raise my hand and say, I am not arguing that there were not (and probably still are) some incredibly narrow minded extreme chauvinists in the world. But I do not believe, based on my life experiences and direct knowledge of the era from my grandmother, that the majority of the world was anywhere near as black and white as the Thompson and Dooley characters.

It makes the show more interesting when characters are more three dimensional. I'm fine with the technology, fight scenes and even history being amped up for the comic book genre, but all good story telling requires three dimensional characters that reflect the moral ambiguity, nuances and shifting beliefs of the times. And the worst is when they are drawn so that we can get a cheap laugh at how "backwards" they were then - it is gratuitous, insulting to that generation and to those who think in our generation.

I am now doing two things, one stepping off my soapbox (a sigh of exhausted relief can be heard from the Fedora Lounge crowd) and, two, Deco Dame, the above rant is directed at the show not your insightful comments.