Agent Carter

[Frunobulax]

Right.

I'm not sure when I'm going to get around to watching it, but I was very impressed with the Daredevil series, and Krysten Ritter is a longstanding personal favorite. So I definitely will! (Unlike nearly every earlier Marvel Studios project, Jessica Jones is a character that was created long after my comics-reading days that I've never read, so I'll be going I cold. But by this point, I have faith!)

Me too. I remember Luke Cage's premier, and even had the first few issues, but I don't remember Jessica Jones, either. However, the Marvel stamp, like the Pixar stamp, will pretty much sell me on a film or series at this point. And though it's modern, it's supposed to be pretty noir, so...

 

[Formeruser012523]

Was wanting to go in blind with Jessica Jones, as well, but heard it's pretty explicit. Don't normally go for that kind of stuff & am surprised that Marvel would so openly put their stamp on something that dark. Then again, I'm not familiar with the comics, so...

Just worried about the kids today who've seen the ads splattered with "The Doctor's" face & "Marvel" & saying "Mommy, Daddy, let's watch Jessica Jones!"

Ugh.

 

[AmateisGal]

Was wanting to go in blind with Jessica Jones, as well, but heard it's pretty explicit. Don't normally go for that kind of stuff & am surprised that Marvel would so openly put their stamp on something that dark. Then again, I'm not familiar with the comics, so...

Just worried about the kids today who've seen the ads splattered with "The Doctor's" face & "Marvel" & saying "Mommy, Daddy, let's watch Jessica Jones!"

Ugh.

I was rather astonished when I watched "Daredevil" because it was pretty gruesome, too.

 

[Doctor Strange]

A two-week delay was announced for Agent Carter's return date during last night's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D... but at least we get two episodes on the first night!

http://www.superherohype.com/news/359901-agent-carter-season-two-slightly-delayed#/slide/1

 

[Formeruser012523]

Thanks! Was wondering why the delay.

 

[Doctor Strange]

We're now less than two weeks from the second season premiere - two episodes coming on January 19!



Lots more pictures - and a couple of significant spoilers - here, if you want to get psyched:

http://www.superherohype.com/news/362249-50-photos-from-the-agent-carter-season-2-premiere#/slide/1

I recently picked up the first season DVD from Amazon. While the package is unimpressive (the only extra feature is a few minutes of bloopers), I'm thrilled to be able to watch without commercial breaks. I hope to convince my son - or someone! - to watch the series with me.

 

[Fading Fast]

My hope for this year is that we get the same fantastic, over-the-top period sets, cars, clothes, etc., stronger-and-tighter story lines, more use of Jarvis and that they build on his relation with Peggy.

 

[AmateisGal]

My hope for this year is that we get the same fantastic, over-the-top period sets, cars, clothes, etc., stronger-and-tighter story lines, more use of Jarvis and that they build on his relation with Peggy.

Me, too! It's a gorgeous production. Can't wait!

 

[Doctor Strange]

A reminder that season 2 premieres in the US on ABC tonight! They are airing two episodes... preceded by an hour special on Captain America. Sure, no doubt it's mostly to plug the upcoming Captain America: Civil War film, but I plan to DVR it and check it out later. (I'll be watching The Flash at 8:00 - tonight's a superhero pile-up!)

 

[AmateisGal]

A reminder that season 2 premieres in the US on ABC tonight! They are airing two episodes... preceded by an hour special on Captain America. Sure, no doubt it's mostly to plug the upcoming Captain America: Civil War film, but I plan to DVR it and check it out later. (I'll be watching The Flash at 8:00 - tonight's a superhero pile-up!)

Oooh! Thank you for letting us know!

 

[tecolote]

In the If You Blink You'll Miss It Dept. there was a shot of airplane tickets in the latest episode, which showed the profile of a Boeing 707/Douglas DC-8 jet... the LAPD detective who went "cold case",so to speak, was outfitted pretty well,though I wondered if his Colt Official Police was the same 5 inch barreled gun that showed up a couple of times in Mob City.I've attached a photo below of LAPD Chief Norell inspecting some of his detectives as I I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of Mob City stuff ended up on AC. One thing I noticed was the LA office really appears to be the same set as last season's NY office. I know it probably is the same set, but it looked a little too obvious to me. The "talent agency" allows for some fun,but sousa using an alias up front then going out and identifying himself as the SAC of the LA office of SSR is stretching it a little bit.That I focused on this may be because the story hasn't grabbed as much as last year so far. It's fun, but entirely predictable so far. Best part so far has been Stark invading the "gentleman's" club...
Regards,
Tecolte

 

[Fading Fast]

^^^ I, too, noticed the similarities in offices and assumed it was a big cost save as these sets have to be really expensive. Since, overall, the visual is the best thing about the show, I'm willing to forgive them a cost save here and there as long as they don't meaningfully cheapen the overall visual. And I'm with you on the story - I almost find it irritating as they have the aforementioned beautiful sets, some wonderful characters (and actors) and, occasionally, very good dialogue, but the stories are flailing about.

 

[Julian Shellhammer]

There seems to be too many stories going on at once. But I still like the commendable effort to replicate the '40s, especially some of the cars. The red and yellow taxi cab shows up from time to time.
Noticed a movie marquee with "Tales to Astonish" as the feature. Kid Colt reference very cool. Stark the millionaire as Stark the movie director is a nod to Howard Hughes? It's one of the shows my wife and I look forward to watching~

 

[Fading Fast]

There seems to be too many stories going on at once. But I still like the commendable effort to replicate the '40s, especially some of the cars. The red and yellow taxi cab shows up from time to time.
Noticed a movie marquee with "Tales to Astonish" as the feature. Kid Colt reference very cool. Stark the millionaire as Stark the movie director is a nod to Howard Hughes? It's one of the shows my wife and I look forward to watching~

^^^I love that taxi and it shows up in the background of a lot of scenes - both in NY and LA (another example of them maximizing the budget). Once you start looking for it, it's almost like a shark lurking in the waters just off shore as it shows up so often.

I finished the most recent episode last night where they grafted a bit of Hedy Lamar's biography on the Whitney Frost character. It's 2016, it's a silly little comic book character show, but I was marginally bothered by it as Hedy was very loyal to her adopted country and was pro-active in sharing her scientific work with the US Gov't to help the war effort. So, I didn't like that they used her biography for a communist spy character - but again, it's just a TV show.

 

[Doctor Strange]

She's not a commie, more of an agent for the council-of-rich-white-guys pulling the strings from the Arena Club. Similar - but I don't think quite the same(?) - as the Illuminati or Freemason-style hundreds-of-year-old group that's been revealed to be proto-Hydra on Agents of SHIELD this year, with their long devotion to inter-dimensional mysteries.

I am not bothered by the redressed sets or reused props. And as far as the Hedy Lamarr angle, that bit of info is too little-known to the general public to be recognized as any kind of smear, apart from the likes of us. But there are two things that are bothering me about this season:

Too much plot - I'd hoped that with two additional episodes this year, they'd let it "breathe" a bit more and give us more character-building and lighthearted sequences. But it's rushing along obsessed with its plot machinations... though it's the least interesting or original thing about the series.

And while I'm perfectly happy with the show's exaggerated forties stylization - hey, this is comics material, not historical fiction - I think they've glammed up Peggy a little too much, even given the Hollywood setting. She had what, six or eight costume changes in this last episode that was supposed to take place over two days? Good thing Mrs. Jarvis has a big closet! Not that I don't love Peggy in all her manifestations! (I just viewed some pictures from an upcoming episode where she goes undercover with a Bettie Page-ish pageboy wig... big surprise, she looks amazing.) But I miss her working-girl suits, they had that touch of military authority that connected back to her war service.

But these are minor complaints. The show remains a treasure, and Hayley Atwell's performance is a delight.

 

[Fading Fast]

She's not a commie, more of an agent for the council-of-rich-white-guys pulling the strings from the Arena Club. Similar - but I don't think quite the same(?) - as the Illuminati or Freemason-style hundreds-of-year-old group that's been revealed to be proto-Hydra on Agents of SHIELD this year, with their long devotion to inter-dimensional mysteries.

I am not bothered by the redressed sets or reused props. And as far as the Hedy Lamarr angle, that bit of info is too little-known to the general public to be recognized as any kind of smear, apart from the likes of us. But there are two things that are bothering me about this season:

Too much plot - I'd hoped that with two additional episodes this year, they'd let it "breathe" a bit more and give us more character-building and lighthearted sequences. But it's rushing along obsessed with its plot machinations... though it's the least interesting or original thing about the series.

And while I'm perfectly happy with the show's exaggerated forties stylization - hey, this is comics material, not historical fiction - I think they've glammed up Peggy a little too much, even given the Hollywood setting. She had what, six or eight costume changes in this last episode that was supposed to take place over two days? Good thing Mrs. Jarvis has a big closet! Not that I don't love Peggy in all her manifestations! (I just viewed some pictures from an upcoming episode where she goes undercover with a Bettie Page-ish pageboy wig... big surprise, she looks amazing.) But I miss her working-girl suits, they had that touch of military authority that connected back to her war service.

But these are minor complaints. The show remains a treasure, and Hayley Atwell's performance is a delight.

Agreed on the Hedy angle, just my personal insanity.

"Too much plot" yup, great way of saying it. Also, I have no problems with science fiction - from "Star Trek" to "The Twilight Zone" my bonafides are legit - but if you do science fiction, the science, at least, has to be somewhat credible (not dark matter existing inside someone, and manifesting itself as a scar, but able to completely consume others).

Agree - I love the exaggerated forties stylization.

I, too, miss the working girl suits - fits her character better, the glam outfits should be the one-offs.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Well, it's comic book SF, not serious SF, so I am willing to give some leeway and suspend disbelief... this is a series derived from a film about a weak dude who instantly gains a hundred pounds of muscle, becomes the world's greatest fighter with apparently no training, and carries an indestructible shield!

But I do wish they kept it more of a grounded spy story than wacky sci-fi.

 

[Blackjack]

Really really liked the first season. The setting in NY yelled postwar to me than their new move to LA. I also don't like the fact that they've gone way overboard with Carter love life. last season she was pining for the loss of Steve and brought that into her personality with the story line. This season all of a sudden she has it bad for her co-worker Sousa ( when did that happen?) and then there's the Dr. Wilkes storyline. Just to stay historically correct, chances are that since this whole series has been about her proving herself to her co-workers I doubt she would risk her job and reputation in 1946 by throwing herself into an affair with a black man. Also Dr. Wilkes himself coming out of the Navy in WWII finding this job as a nuclear Physicist after no one else would hire him ( there were only six black PHD Physicist's in 1942) so what is he doing? Cooking booze in his lab and hitting on a white government agent in front of her co-workers. Somehow I'm not thinking this is very realistic for 1946, I'm seeing it more as PC Hollywood trying to push an agenda of being "edgy" to it's watchers. I've written the series off after last week, If I start jonesing for Peggy Carter I'll re-watch season one.

 

[hbenthow]

Really really liked the first season. The setting in NY yelled postwar to me than their new move to LA. I also don't like the fact that they've gone way overboard with Carter love life. last season she was pining for the loss of Steve and brought that into her personality with the story line. This season all of a sudden she has it bad for her co-worker Sousa ( when did that happen?) and then there's the Dr. Wilkes storyline.

In the last episode of the first season,

Spoiler

Peggy has a moment of catharsis during the scene where she must talk to Howard Stark over the radio, and lets Steve go. She now assumes him dead and has moved on with her life. This is later symbolized by her pouring the vial of his blood into the water.

Because of that, the writers feel free to let her consider new romantic possibilities. That said, I'm not particularly fond of the new romantic subplots. I never cared for the slight hints of a possible romance between Peggy and Sousa that were in the first season, and I like the strong overtones of a Carter/Sousa/Nurse Fiancé love triangle in the second season even less. Also, the Carter/Wilkes romance developed too quickly and seems a bit forced, not to mention that the nonchalant way it is handled feels anachronistic to the 1940s. And, to be honest, I'm just not interested in seeing Peggy romance anyone not named Steve Rogers.

The writers have developed a pattern: Peggy falls for men who have found similar obstacles in their lives and careers to those she has experienced. Steve, because he was overlooked and underestimated due to his poor physical health. Sousa, because his wounded leg has made him overlooked and undervalued. Wilkes, because he had to overcome enormous hurdles caused by racism to become a successful scientist. The problem with this is that when writers try to make a point so blatantly and so often, it can become mawkish, which I feel is starting to be case in season two of "Agent Carter". The first time (Steve), it worked perfectly and was one of the best romances in the history of superhero cinema. The second time (Sousa) it started to feel like deja vu. The third time (Wilkes), it became a cliché.

That said, I don't feel like any of this ruins the show thus far. It's more of a mild annoyance at this point. The show still has a lot going for it, such as a fun pulp/serial-style adventure tone, a lively sense of humor, and the excellent performances of Hayley Atwell, James D'Arcy, Bridget Regan, and Dominic Cooper. Wynn Everett also shows promise.

Also Dr. Wilkes himself coming out of the Navy in WWII finding this job as a nuclear Physicist after no one else would hire him ( there were only six black PHD Physicist's in 1942) so what is he doing? Cooking booze in his lab and hitting on a white government agent in front of her co-workers. Somehow I'm not thinking this is very realistic for 1946, I'm seeing it more as PC Hollywood trying to push an agenda of being "edgy" to it's watchers. I've written the series off after last week, If I start jonesing for Peggy Carter I'll re-watch season one.

Back when season two was first announced, Hayley Atwell said that she thought that the first season wasn't racially diverse enough, so she talked to the writers and convinced them to try to remedy that in the second season. The Wilkes story seems to be their attempt at a solution.

 

[Blackjack]

Well since their ratings are now tanking, I guess she was wrong. Too bad I really enjoyed her in the First Avenger movie.