I'm always leery when some Hollywood suit wants to make a television show, generally costing far far less, out of a multi-million dollar movie. For every M*A*S*H there is a Fast Times. Remember that show, a sitcom based on Fast Times at Ridgemont High? No? Know why? Because it was dreadful. It came out four years after the movie, could feature none of the bawdy content seen in the film (especially Phoebe Cates' boobs, not that I was lookin at em but certainly a ton of my straight classmates were), and involved absolutely no one from the movie in the creative process. Sure, it had Vincent Schiavelli and Ray Walston, but no Spicoli, no Damone, no Kashmir, no anything worth your time to tune in. Accordingly, it lasted all of seven episodes which is more than some get, but as a tribute to the excellent film it was based on it reeks of utter failure. Action and superhero movies are ALWAYS tough regarding this particular issue. The reason Captain America looks so good tranforming from 90 pound weakling into shield-baring bruiser on the big screen is because they have millions of dollars of CGI at their disposal to aid in the process. A prime time show usually has a big budget, but nothing close to what this would require. So what we're usually left with, unless they have extremely talented writers and creators at their disposal and some awesome world building skills, feels half-baked at best. At worst, God awful. I would term Marvel's Agents of Shield the latter. I tuned into the pilot fully expecting them to fail. And they did, as far as I'm concerned. Big time. They had world building, for sure. Marvel is very into world building since a ton of their characters and concepts are sold out to other studios so they are always desperate to create new things they can capitalize on in their own sandbox. I'm not knocking the MCU. In fact, I'm simply amazed by what Marvel has managed to do with their films. Some of my favorite comics and characters from my childhood have been brought to life with glorious results. The films vary in quality, this is true, but over-all you're never wanting for thrills, fun, or excitement. Agents of Shield had none of this. I fault the showrunners. And to be fair, it might have gotten better as the series went along, but I am an extremely stern critic for television shows. If you don't give me something to hook me the first time I watch, its almost certain that I won't give you a second chance. There are just too many quality shows waiting to be watched out there to spend 3 or 4 hours building up slight concern about why Agent Coulson is still alive. Which brings me to Agent Carter. The idea for this show started as a Marvel One Shot, one of the mini-films released on dvd with bigger titles. I was hooked immediately. I loved Hayley Atwell in Captain America anyway, but the writers took the topic of what it might be like for this courageous, intelligent army officer to return from war and find none of the applauds of her male counterparts. Instead, she finds sexism and is sidelined taking the coffee orders. I worried that Marvel would have the same problems with this show that they had with Shield. And to be honest, they did, but only just. The series picks up after the war. The macguffin that gets the plot rolling is the theft of Howard Stark's inventions. This leads to a complicated morass of criminals and super secret villianous organizations that can sometimes feel like you're going to be buried under exposition. There are Russian assassins, voice-boxless thugs, but most importantly, plopped squarely in the middle: Hayley Atwell. Simply put, she is awesome in this part. She's classy but tough, feminine but not fawning. And to see someone so accomplished be benched because she has breasts makes you mad. At least it did me. I rooted for her immediately. Along with her we have Dominic Cooper recreating the Howard Stark of the movies, and we meet the actual Jarvis, the first one anyway, the human one, Howard's butler. His Thin Man double act with Peggy Carter is fascinating to watch. Beyond that, the costumes and the set design and the period setting are all stunning. There is no other current show set in this period, which makes it unique in the television landscape right now. It also has a strong group of creators behind the scenes, though not the ones from the movies, definitely ones with a strong televisual pedigree. The two showrunners and the director of tonight's episode are all Law and Order: SVU veterans. So we're at the 4th episdode now, and the Howling Commandos have returned, and Peggy's private investigations have been discovered, and now I'm hooked. Yet this morning I read an article that broke the news that ratings are down and people aren't watching. Since I unloaded on Agents of Shield and am certainly guilty of being a harsh critic sometimes it is certainly possible that some people simply think the show is terrible. Hey, countless awesome shows have been canceled because they couldn't find an audience. Freaks and Geeks, anyone? But I'd like to posit a theory that makes me even madder than what Peggy faces in the show because it mirrors what she faces in the show some 60 plus years later. I think its a form of sexism. Peggy doesn't wear skintight spandex a la Black Widow. She doesn't have a complicated back story. She doesn't sleep around and use men to get where she wants to be. She, like Steve Rogers pre-serum, is an Everywoman who just happens to possess so many of the qualities that we as humans prize. The trick of the show, as with the character of Captain America, will be to watch her hold on to and strengthen her ideals in the face of pessimism and sexism. So far so good. The plot is still a little shakily complicated at times, but I'm holding on because Peggy is leading the way. The show's also been criticized for being too whitebread. Fair dues there, I guess. But admittedly most of the show involves high ranking government officials and I could be wrong but its probably pretty accurate that despite Peggy's femininity not halting her from getting her foot in the door a black man might not even get that far. But its true, the boarding house where Peggy lives or the automat where she eats lunch could most certainly feature a few more faces of varying nationality and color. Maybe even a queer or two. I don't see representation of me on the show either, but I'm not letting it stop me from watching. And you shouldn't either.
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