World Enough and Time

I've been a fan of S.H.I.E.L.D. since the Steranko days - and a fan of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. before that. So the announcement of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series filled me with joy and trepidation. I knew it wouldn't be the S.H.I.E.L.D. of my dreams. The tidbits of information Whedon leaked about the story sounded terribly trite... but that man has been known to make pearls of out swine (and vice versa), so that wasn't much to go by. It would at least feature Agent Coulson from the movies - whom I adore.

Mixed feelings about it. I couldn't wait. I begged, cajoled and bullied my friends into watching it last night. My feelings? A sort of reasoned: not bad, not bad at all. The story didn't thrill me or move me as much as, say, The Avengers movie did, but it wasn't horrifying, either, and it had a few real plusses.

One thing horrified me: Maria Hill's long hair. So wrong. It made me almost sorry they included her.

But if that's the worst I can think of...

Though, actually, Maria Hill's hair was exacerbation of something that both commodorified and I thought: that the main characters were all a type, all too alike. Young, dark-haired... even Sky, who is supposed to be a renegade, seemed very conformist. To blend in with the crowds she hides in? I wanted her to be more of a Kenzie, more of an outsider. But she was my favourite character, except for Coulson himself. As a matter of fact, more than I expected, I liked them all - even though I had some trouble telling them apart. I didn't even notice that May was Asian until someone pointed it out.

I loved the comic book and movie references. "With great power comes..." and the inclusion of Extremis in the plot. Mentions of Thor and Iron Man and the Chitauri. It's the Marvel world, but it's a variation of the Marvel world we haven't seen before - the TV Marvel world.

I'm looking forward to next week. It hasn't awakened my fannish passions, but it has me interested and intrigued.

And it's Phil Coulson. He makes me happy. I particularly loved his moment of anger: "Don't tell me you can't do it." That's why I love S.H.I.E.L.D.

Oh, yes. Also his car. Lola. Yup, that's the right spirit.

Just read the lowdown on the characters Joss Whedon has invented for the SHIELD TV show.

They don't sound very original - but then, they don't need to. I'm not sure I should be mapping them to known comic book characters or known Whedon characters, or both. I like it that there seem to be three women and two men - that's unprecedented.

I want this to be good, I really do.

I feel nervous about it.