Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the Media

[tv echo]

The TVLine Performer of the Week: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Joel Stoffer 
By Team TVLine / July 25 2020
https://tvline.com/2020/07/25/joel-stoffer-agents-of-shield-performance-season-7/

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THE PERFORMER | Joel Stoffer

THE SHOW | Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

THE EPISODE | “As I Have Always Been” (July 22, 2020)

THE PERFORMANCE | One might have dismissed Enoch when we first met him in Season 5. He did, after all, look and speak like one of Fringe‘s Observers, and Chronicoms even live a similar existence. But once Enoch formed a bond with Leopold Fitz and, by extension, the team as a whole, Stoffer made the characterization distinctly his. For that reason, saying farewell to this good friend utterly broke our electrochom displacement mechanism.

Before said sadness came, Stoffer in his final episode got to serve up a murderous (though in the funny way!) Enoch, programmed by Jemma to safeguard her memory inhibitor chip “even if I had to kill. Even if I had to kill you,” he cooly reminded her. Realizing that that is precisely what he had been up to through multiple time loops, it dawned on the ‘droid: “Oh my.”
*  *  *
When later presented with the chance to save the team, Enoch matter-of-factly did “what needed to be done, apparently,” by removing his “heart,” adding: “I would like to think Fitz would do the same for me. I would like to think all of you would.”

As Enoch then slumped to the floor, Stoffer, alongside Clark Gregg and Chloe Bennet, segued into a five-minute discussion of, among other things, the solitude of death. We hung on his every measured, soft-spoken word, marveling at how this robot had become so attuned to human ways. “In my thousands of years of observing humans… I have been alone many times. But it wasn’t until i met this particular team that being alone meant feeling lonely,” he remarked. Though consoled by Coulson and Daisy, he noted, “You can stay with me up to the end ,but you can’t come with me at the end. I will have to do that alone.”

Assured that he is a part of the S.H.I.E.L.D. family, Enoch accepted all that comes with it, as Stoffer’s observations faded into almost a whisper. In families, “People arrive, and so we celebrate. People leave us, and so we grieve…. The cycle is always there. No one escapes it. Not even me.”

Edited July 31, 2020 by tv echo

[tv echo]

'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Star Natalia Cordova-Buckley Is Joe Quesada's Guest on a New 'Marvel's Storyboards'
BY JAMIE FREVELE   JULY 28, 2020
https://www.marvel.com/articles/digital-series/marvels-agents-of-shield-star-natalia-cordova-buckley-is-joe-quesadas-guest-on-marvels-storyboards 

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Last week, Marvel debuted the new series Marvel’s Storyboards, where Joe Quesada, EVP, Creative Director of Marvel Entertainment welcomes a stellar lineup of celebrity guests who have made careers out of different ways to tell a story. On this week’s episode, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, star of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., welcomes Joe to her home in Los Angeles, where the pair swap stories about their Hispanic heritage and reminisce about their time working together. Natalia opens up about growing up in Mexico and teaches Joe a workout fit for a Super Hero. You can watch the full episode above!

Marvel.com had the chance to talk to Joe about what he took away from his conversation with Cordova-Buckley:

I loved how Natalia Cordova-Buckley talked about being a ballerina, and how she was able to express herself and tell stories without using her voice. She said her voice made her self-conscious, so she turned to a different outlet for telling stories, which I thought was so beautiful. What did you think about that when you first heard it?
Well, it's something I went in knowing, but I don't think a lot of people knew this about Natalia, that she started out as a dancer. Acting wasn't her first means of communicating story. So what was key to me in that episode was to find out how she took that physical storytelling ability that she had, that grace, and how she applied that to being on-screen reciting lines, getting used to the sound of her own voice, and being able to really captures this incredibly strong, strong Marvel character.

That's the journey that I was really interested in and that I thought was fascinating. Before I was a working artist, I was a musician. But I look at those years as a musician, as a songwriter, as probably the most important years of my life for my development as a storyteller, even more than art school. It taught me a lot. I wanted to know what Natalia's journey was, because she toured the world as a prima ballerina. Then to come see the world of Hollywood and acting… We had a lot of fun. It was a great conversation.

You both also got to connect on your family backgrounds, too.
We're both from Latinx families, and there's a lot in common there although we're from different countries. When I really met her and really got to know her while shooting Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot, we had even deeper conversation than the ones we had in [our episode of] Storyboards. We just really connect. Her husband is a singer-songwriter-musician as well. We all just hit it off because there was so much in common.

 

Edited July 31, 2020 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Collectibles From 'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Revealed As Prop Store's Next Marvel Television Live Auction
BY CHRISTINE DINH     AUGUST 4, 2020
https://www.marvel.com/articles/culture-lifestyle/agents-of-shield-prop-store-next-marvel-television-live-auction 

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Well, True Believers, you're in luck! Fans have a unique opportunity to relive key moments of all seven seasons of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. by bidding on over 500 original props, costumes, and set decoration items used on Marvel's longest running live action television series. This is your chance to own an authentic piece of the Marvel Universe later this fall.

Over 500 lots will be offered in this live auction, which takes place this November, courtesy of ABC Studios, Marvel Entertainment and Prop Store. Fans can register now to bid in the auction and to get updates at www.propstore.com/marvel.

A preview gallery featuring auction highlights is now available at www.propstore.com/marvel. Additional preview galleries focused on each of the seven seasons will be made available every Friday starting August 14. Lots offered will span across each season, including items from many of the characters who originated from the series and others who make appearances from the broader Marvel Cinematic Universe or the pages of Marvel Comics.

Highlights of the upcoming auction that fans and collectors can bid on with estimated sale prices include:

Alphonso “Mack” Mackenzie’s Signature Shotgun Axe
from Season 7, est. $10,000 - $15,000

Daisy “Skye” Johnson’s “Quake” Costume
from Season 5, est. $8,000 - $10,000

Robbie Reyes' “Ghost Rider” Costume
from Season 4, est. $8,000 - $10,000

The Darkhold Book
from Season 4 and Marvel’s Runaways, est. $8,000 - $10,000

Mike Petersen’s “Deathlok” Costume
from Season 5, est. $6,000 - $8,000

Bobbi Morse's "Mockingbird" Costume with Batons
from Season 2, est. $6,000 - $8,000

Deke Shaw’s Space Costume with Light-Up Helmet and Light-Up Gravitonuim Belt
from Season 5, est. $6,000 - $8,000

Jeffrey Mace’s “The Patriot” Stunt Costume
from Season 4, est. $6,000 - $8,000

Nick Fury’s Costume Components with Toolbox Cube
from Season 1, est. $5,000 - $7,000

AIDA’s “Madame Hydra” Full Cloak Costume with Wig
from Season 4, est. $3,000 - $5,000

Asgardian Berserker Staff Pieces
from Season 1, est. $3,000 - $5,000

Elena “Yo-Yo” Rodriguez’s Gloves
from Seasons 5-7, est. $3,000 - $5,000

Phil Coulson's Light-Up S.H.I.E.L.D. Badge
from Season 1, est. $2,500 - $3,500

Melinda May's Hydra Costume
from Season 4, est. $2,500 - $3,500

Phil Coulson’s Chronicom LMD Costume
from Seasons 6 & 7, est. $1,500-$2,500

Each item comes with a Certificate of Authenticity signed by Prop Store and Marvel Entertainment EVP and Creative Director, Joe Quesada.

Prop Store is offering a free chance to win a production used Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. “C.A.S.T.” chairback or one of four S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra production made patches to five winners who register for the auction. Complete contest rules can be found at: www.propstore.com/marvel

Edited August 6, 2020 by tv echo

[swanpride]

Depressing….

[tv echo]

Looper's July 27, 2020 interview with Chloe Bennet was previously posted upthread here. Now here are Looper's interviews with some other AoS cast members (no spoilers except for a vaguely spoilery commment by EH)...

Elizabeth Henstridge talks about playing Simmons on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Exclusive interview
BY CHRISTOPHER GATES   AUG. 5, 2020
https://www.looper.com/233470/elizabeth-henstridge-talks-about-playing-simmons-on-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-exclusive-interview/

Actor Henry Simmons dishes on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Mack - Exclusive interview
BY CHRISTOPHER GATES   AUG. 5, 2020 
https://www.looper.com/233642/actor-henry-simmons-dishes-on-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s-mack-exclusive-interview/

Actor Jeff Ward opens up about his Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. experience - Exclusive interview
BY CHRISTOPHER GATES    AUG. 5, 2020
https://www.looper.com/233705/actor-jeff-ward-opens-up-about-his-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-experience-exclusive-interview/ 

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Originally, you weren't supposed to be Deke. You were initially cast as a different character, right?
That is true. I was cast as Virgil, who is in a grand total of two scenes in the first episode of season five. I originally had auditioned for Deke. Ironically, the character that I originally auditioned for was named Deke, but then they switched names and stuff. It was all super confusing, but I ended up auditioning for this part, for what would become Fitz and Jemma's grandson, even though I didn't know that for 10 episodes. I auditioned for that, didn't get it. They gave me a different part, which was Virgil. He's the guy that, when Coulson wakes up, is trying to explain what happened to them in the Lighthouse, and then he gets claws put through his face and dies. That was who I was cast as.

I showed up to the table read and I did the table read as that character. I didn't know that it was the premiere of the season, because they're all very secretive about it. There were people from Marvel and ABC and all these extra people, and I immediately got terrified because I was like, "Oh no. Now I'm going to get fired." So I was like, "I got to do a good job." I did it, and he literally had two scenes, he had maybe 20 lines. Everybody was really nice about it when I read it. They laughed and were very nice.

I walked out of the table read and back to my car, and by the time I got to my car I had a voicemail from Maurissa Tancharoen, the showrunner, and she said, "Will you come back and read for that part again?" I did, and I found out that night, at 11:30 at night, that I was going to be playing Deke. It was really wild. As an actor, you always dream about stuff like that happening, but it never actually does. It was so crazy. I was supposed to be there for one day, and I ended up there for a little over three years.

Was the plan always for Deke to come back for season 6?
Not always, no. My first 10 episodes, I didn't know what I was doing. When I first started, I didn't know if I was doing more than three, and then I was doing more and more and more. I just told this story, but basically, at the end of 10 there's an explosion and I thought that Deke died. One of the assistant directors walked me into his office and showed me a wall of headshots, and there were X's on a bunch of the headshots. It was Edward James Olmos, Bill Paxton, all these great, amazing actors. He goes, "Don't worry. Look at all the great people that've been killed off this show." I was like, "Oh my God, I guess I'm dying. I didn't know. That's crazy."

Then they called me later that day and they said, "No, we'd like to have you for the rest of the season, and as a regular if we get picked up for season six." It was so unexpected. I was just grateful for whatever was going to happen, and it turned into something a lot bigger than it was supposed to. I'm just so lucky for that.

Natalia Cordova-Buckley discusses Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Yo-Yo Rodriquez - Exclusive interview
BY CHRISTOPHER GATES    AUG. 6, 2020 
https://www.looper.com/233978/natalia-cordova-buckley-discusses-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s-yo-yo-rodriquez-exclusive-interview/

Edited August 7, 2020 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Here's EH's live chat about this week's episode - guests included 711's director Keith Potter and writer Chris Freyer, Dianne Doan (Kora), Thomas E. Sullivan (Nathaniel Malick), Chloe Bennet and Jeff Ward...

Live with Lil! AGENTS OF SHIELD ep 711
Elizabeth Henstridge   Streamed live on Aug 5, 2020

 

Edited August 7, 2020 by tv echo

[tv echo]

15 TV Moments From This Week That We Can't Stop Talking About
by Nora Dominick  August 7, 2020
https://www.buzzfeed.com/noradominick/tv-moments-of-week-8-7-20

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7. On Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., we got to see this heartbreaking flashback between Fitz and Jemma as they debated using the memory implant on Jemma — also, Jemma forgot Fitz in present day and it broke my heart.

8. Also on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Daisy and Sousa shared this absolutely adorable moment together, and tbh, they've become my new favorite couple on TV.
 

 

Edited August 8, 2020 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Agents of SHIELD Stars Celebrate Series Finale by Breaking Down the Show's Legacy
BY MEAGAN DAMORE  AUGUST 7, 2020
https://www.cbr.com/agents-shield-stars-show-legacy/ 

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Asked how she wants the series to be remembered, Quake actor Chloe Bennet said, "You know what, I feel like -- for our fans and for the people that watch, that love sci-fi and love Marvel -- I mean, they've been with us from the beginning. I think this will always have a very nostalgic place for people, and I feel like something's going to happen when it ends and it's going to be that show that people recommend and maybe slowly watch within a few years."

"But it's really been the heartbeat of the Marvel Universe for a really long time," she continued. "Especially in the past 10 years, the Marvel brand has grown so, so much and in so many different ways, and it's continuing to grow at Disney+, but also we did something really special that a lot of shows aren't capable of doing and a lot of things in the Marvel Universe haven't been able to put their finger on and we've been able to just function in a really specific space that much harder to do than people think."

"I think that'll be appreciated more with time. I think we're like a fine wine and I think hopefully we'll age and just get better and people will look back on it with a lot of love. It's also is so complimentary to the films in so many ways, and I don't think we've gotten enough credit, to be honest, for the show. I think when people start making new things, they're going to realize how difficult it's been to do what the producers and the writers have been doing with our show," she concluded.
*  *  *
"I agree with that, and I would add two things," added Clark Gregg, who plays Phil Coulson. "I think what I'd like it to be remembered for is, one, it's the show the fans built, in that Coulson was dead, he had become an avatar of a regular guy, marked in the green room, marshalling all the rockstar superheroes, and he struck a chord with fans. When that Asgardian bastard shanked him, they weren't having it and they did a #CoulsonLives campaign and Marvel, to their credit, and ABC listened and suddenly we had a show, and the show became kind of just impossible to kill, as people tried, but we just kept our heads down and we kept trying to make the show that we wanted and the fans wanted and it kept on."

"The other thing that I feel super proud about is, from the beginning of the show, one of the key ideas behind the show was that it was going to be a team of superheroes -- I mean, a team of regular people working with superheroes that looked like the world and there has been a level of diversity," he said. "The strongest characters in the show were women early on. The first superhero we had within the team was Chloe. A lot of the world was catching up with that, and certainly we kept trying to evolve and get better at that part of the game as we went along. But from the beginning, that was part of what our show was, and I'm proud of that."
*  *  *
"I mean, whenever they asked me, to me, what was the meaning of the show, I just think it's a beautiful representation of a group of people -- yes, with superpowers and with talents -- whose true superpower is a love for humanity, a love for this world, a willingness to die for it," Yo-Yo actor Natalia Cordova-Buckley explained. "We need more of that kind of values and heroism and love for Mother Earth and for each other, to understand the interconnectedness."

"I think, in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., every single character understands the interconnectedness of a team. And if you make that into the macro, humanity as a race, we are interconnected -- and we're living it right now with COVID. So, the message is, if I hurt, you hurt; if I die, you die. If I die, something dies in someone else, so it's this belief that we need each other to be well, to be healthy and that our true superpower is not running fast but the love that we have for each other," she said. "I've always said that, to me, that's the most beautiful message that this show showed me. So I hope that's what we're remembered for."
*  *  *
"And our show's name is 'Ragtag,' actually. You know, that's our code name for the production company of S.H.I.E.L.D.," Ming-Na Wen, who played Melinda May, pitched in. "I think our show, it represents a ragtag group of people who are a lot of times outsiders or don't fit in, and yet they're able to create their own family and their own world where they can support and root for each other and live up to their potential and encourage each other to live up to their potential."

Responding to Cordova-Buckley and Wen, Mack actor Henry Simmons added, "You two said it best. I mean, the only thing I could say is, really, it all boils down to family. It's just family. Those characters were family, and it's the lengths that you will go to protect [and] care for your family. And that's really the bottom line."
*  *  *
"It had such a huge pressure and expectation at the start. We found our feet in Season 1, and every season it was kind of like, 'Are we going to come back? Oh my gosh, we came back!'" recalled Simmons actor Elizabeth Henstridge. "And it felt like we kind of started maybe as -- the expectation was so high and then we kind of turned into the underdogs, and we've just kind of been scrappy and made it to season seven."

"I think we've really been able to -- the creators and the writers and the whole team has crafted the show to be kind of organically what it was always meant to be, and then being able to end on our own terms is just such a gift," she continued. "I think we're all so emotional, in terms of this being the end, because we feel like we've been through such a journey where every season we didn't know that we were going to come back and, just to be able to end it this way, I think is really great. So I think, for me, it's that show that has kind of the underdog charm, that we accomplished something kind of phenomenal and rare."
*  *  *
"It's interesting, because it feels like there's not a lot of Marvel properties that people would have to be like, 'No, it's good! It's good!'" Deke actor Jeff Ward added with a laugh. "I think the show always carved out a niche for itself. It was always different from what what everything else had to offer. I think one of the amazing things about S.H.I.E.L.D. that, to me, is kind of the main part of its legacy that I see, is I feel like there's a weight to the MCU movies that, you know, is awesome. "

"It's obviously very cool, and I feel like S.H.I.E.L.D. has that, but it's so effortlessly, always blended being very funny and kind of heightened comedy, sometimes being aware of itself -- when Jed [Whedon] and Jeff Bell would always like... that kind of aware-of-itself humor that's taking itself seriously but also commenting on itself in a fun way, like the way that they would seamlessly be able to do incredible action, especially when you consider on the budget and time constraints, that all of the action was done in, and then how it just would flip so effortlessly and seamlessly to really tugging on your heartstrings and or really making you laugh," he said.

"I feel like it has all these. It's genuinely thrilling, it's genuinely heartbreaking and it's genuinely really funny. So it's a very cool blend, that it always was all of those things, that I feel like is something that makes it unique, which is pretty cool," he concluded.

Edited August 8, 2020 by tv echo

[ProudMary]

 

[tv echo]

You can listen to this podcast by going to the Marvel article link or the Apple podcast link below...

This Week in Marvel Prepares to Say Farewell to 'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D'
BY JAMIE FREVELE    August 7, 2020
https://www.marvel.com/articles/podcasts/this-week-in-marvel-prepares-to-say-farewell-to-marvel-s-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d

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After seven seasons, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is coming to an end next week -- and This Week in Marvel has the inside story! (Don't worry, no spoilers!) Ryan "Agent M" Penagos and Lorraine Cink talk to show star (and director) Elizabeth Henstridge and VFX Supervisor Mark Kolpak about what went on behind the scenes of the groundbreaking show. Here's a tidbit of their conversation with Henstridge:

"And then afterwards I had to eat it! And so they'd filled this silicone kind of tentacle thing -- I mean it was so grim, and then they put jelly all over it and then it had, like, baking powder and gelatin and some food dye. So then I had to eat it, and we only had one shot because it was just so messy, and it's one of those days where you're just driving home going what just happened?"

Want to know what in the name of Thor she's talking about? You can listen to the full conversation right here!

#458 - Insider Look at Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 7!
This Week in Marvel    August 7, 2020
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/458-insider-look-at-marvels-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-season-7/id478352618?i=1000487423074

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Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is coming to an end, but it promises to go out with a bang! Join Ryan and Lorraine as they chat with series star Elizabeth Henstridge, AKA Jemma Simmons, about all the twists and turns of Season 7, including Jemma’s directorial debut! And for even more exclusive behind-the-scenes content, the hosts called up with VFX supervisor Mark Kolpack to talk about his experience creating the groundbreaking effects for the series. This is a CAN’T MISS episode for fans of the show!

2:46 - News
9:59 - Elizabeth Henstridge Interview
35:36 - Mark Kolpack Interview
58:31 - Community

Edited August 9, 2020 by tv echo

[VCRTracking]

 

 

 

[tv echo]

As Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nears Its End, Series Vets Agree: Breaking Away From MCU Continuity Was Marvelous
By Matt Webb Mitovich / August 9 2020
https://tvline.com/2020/08/09/agents-of-shield-improved-without-marvel-movie-connections/ 

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At a press event in support of the two-hour series finale airing this Wednesday, Aug. 12 at 9/8c on ABC, Natalia Cordova-Buckley — who joined the cast midway through Season 3, as Agent Elena “Yo-Yo” Rodriguez — was saying how she “would have loved for the movies and our world to connect” more than they did, when original cast member Ming-Na Wen jumped in with a counterpoint.

“Oh, no, I was there for that [first] season and no, uh-uh, no. Because It really, completely tied the writers’ hands,” Agent Melinda May’s portrayer recalled. “They had to write and try and coordinate with the release of the film [Captain America: The Winter Soldier]… and it just hampered us. It hampered the writers, it hampered everyone to have the freedom to be our own entity.”

Released to theaters on April 4, 2014, Winter Soldier revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been overrun with HYDRA sleeper agents, leading to the organization being compromised. Four days later, the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode “Turn, Turn, Turn” directly picked up that storyline — marking one of the ABC series’ first major tie-ins with the MCU, not long after Jaimie Alexander reprised her role as the Thor films’ Lady Sif.

That film-to-TV crossover is commonly hailed as the moment that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. truly kicked into high gear, after 16 episodes of “treading water,” as Clark Gregg put it.
*  *  *
“There was a lot of treading water in Season 1, waiting to reveal what we were doing and how it was crossing over,” Gregg observed at the Aug. 6 press event. “I do think the way it crossed over with Winter Soldier, and the use of the amazing Bill Paxton [as HYDRA mole John Garrett], really paid off, and the end of Season 1 holds up really well.”

An “It’s All Connected” hand-off such as Winter Soldier/”Turn, Turn, Turn” “serves to publicize the features and certainly help to publicize the show,” Gregg acknowledges, “but I liked when the focus [became], ‘What’s the best way to tell stories with these characters, using whatever pieces of the Marvel Universe aren’t already spoken for?’ That really freed up our writers to take chances — and take chances they did, every season.”

Wen shared a similar POV, that as fun as it may have been when the TV series tied into the blockbuster Marvel movies — which, all told, wasn’t very often at all, and most notably saw the TV series wholly ignore the Thanos “snap” that drove the narrative of the final two Avengers movies — Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was best when doing its own thing.
*  *  *
“I think it was a glorious idea to have this all be ‘connected,’ but in the end it was so great because it allowed our writers to just take off and use their imagination and create things that they were allowed to have with different characters and different storylines,” said Melinda May’s portrayer. “But that first season was a bit bumpy, definitely. It definitely had its issues…. There were all kinds of weird things we couldn’t do or say.” But once the notion of movie-to-TV continuity was prudently back-pocketed, “We found our own identity.”

Edited August 10, 2020 by tv echo

[Kel Varnsen]

I am not sure I agree that it was just being tied to Winter Soldier that hampered season 1. Sure they were stuck doing a lot of stand alone threat of the week style episodes. But I recall that even for those types of episodes some of them were really bad.

And on the flip side you have season 6 which completely ignored the happenings of the MCU with no real explaination. I found that season really hard to watch, and I think that a season set in the 5 year post snap period on earth could have been so much more interesting than sarge and the devil bats.

Edited August 10, 2020 by Kel Varnsen

[swanpride]

I actually think that some of the tie-ins were the best episodes...some where also the worst, but seeing the Winter Soldier impact from another perspective made it special, the Age of Ultron tie in was excellent and if anything I would have liked further exploration of the impact of the accords, not less.

And they better tie this back to the MCU, or I will get really, really angry!!!

[paigow]

15 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

 and I think that a season set in the 5 year post snap period on earth could have been so much more interesting than sarge and the devil bats.

Which team members would have been snapped? Would it be a season of the survivors moping in support groups like Steve Rogers?

[Llywela]

20 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

I am not sure I agree that it was just being tied to Winter Soldier that hampered season 1. Sure they were stuck doing a lot of stand alone threat of the week style episodes. But I recall that even for those types of episodes some of them were really bad.

And on the flip side you have season 6 which completely ignored the happenings of the MCU with no real explaination. I found that season really hard to watch, and I think that a season set in the 5 year post snap period on earth could have been so much more interesting than sarge and the devil bats.

That's the popular view of S1, sure, but when I rewatched it this year I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it and how well the season hung together overall. All those 'treading water' episodes served a purpose, laying the groundwork for everything that came later.

There was never any chance that the show would be able to tell a post-snap storyline because they were already writing and filming future seasons before Endgame aired.

I honestly prefer the show since it became divorced from the movies - it works better as a standalone show telling the story it wants to tell, without any movie references that never quite manage to gel with ongoing storytelling. During my complete show rewatch this year, I found the movie tie-in episodes really awkward as they don't quite manage to stand alone and fully make sense if you don't also watch the appropriate movies between episodes.

[Kel Varnsen]

6 minutes ago, paigow said:

Which team members would have been snapped? Would it be a season of the survivors moping in support groups like Steve Rogers?

You have 5 years to play with so it doesn't have to be a ton of moping. Skipp ahead a few years so you don't have to deal with the immediate reaction then show the team getting things done. Clint Barton spent apparently years murdering people before he got around to the Mexican Cartels and the Yakuza. That tells me that a lot of bad shit was going down. I would have been much more interesting in seeing the Shield agents deal with that.

[Guest]

57 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

And on the flip side you have season 6 which completely ignored the happenings of the MCU with no real explaination. I found that season really hard to watch, and I think that a season set in the 5 year post snap period on earth could have been so much more interesting than sarge and the devil bats.

I think Season 6 showed the deterioration of the relationship between Marvel and ABC. Apparently ABC was forced to renew AOS and it did not have a set airdate. Season 6 could have premiered before or after Endgame so they had to ignore Infinity War and Endgame entirely. 

[Raja]

19 minutes ago, Llywela said:

That's the popular view of S1, sure, but when I rewatched it this year I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it and how well the season hung together overall. All those 'treading water' episodes served a purpose, laying the groundwork for everything that came later.

There was never any chance that the show would be able to tell a post-snap storyline because they were already writing and filming future seasons before Endgame aired.

I honestly prefer the show since it became divorced from the movies - it works better as a standalone show telling the story it wants to tell, without any movie references that never quite manage to gel with ongoing storytelling. During my complete show rewatch this year, I found the movie tie-in episodes really awkward as they don't quite manage to stand alone and fully make sense if you don't also watch the appropriate movies between episodes.

I posted the same view on season 1 a while back. It has only been the last third of season 6 which had an extended oh well I have to power through for the entire story feeling.

With no S.H.I.E.L.D. and no explanation of how those who manned the helicarrier were what S.H.I.E.L.D does but not S.H.I.E.L.D. the show was left in a lurch. But the lack of tie ins were no worse than say Iron Man 3 where the tie ins going forward beyond kicking off the Agents first episodes was limited to a cameo in Endgame's penultimate scene.

The Winter Soldier and Age of Ultron "we found it contact the Avengers" tie ins however were beyond anything ever tried before. It certainly worked better than throwing Worf back to the Enterprise from DS9 for Star Trek First Contact.

I still feel that beyond introducing Izel to kill the Chronicom's home planet the entire season was stretched as filler  when Disney said we want a  season 7 too.  But in the end after getting stung by trying to guess the Infinity War plot from the trailers like most everybody they probably would have guessed a reset  rather than a time jump and diverged timeline for Thanos to get the MCU out of the decimation and made things worse.

With the last countdown to the finale i am thinking that the show links back to the MCU by doing season 5 at large which ended with a spare Enoch and Fitz with Deke being pulled out of time. That the entire series from welcome to level 7 forward was one large time loop in an alternate timeline.

[Kel Varnsen]

52 minutes ago, Llywela said:

There was never any chance that the show would be able to tell a post-snap storyline because they were already writing and filming future seasons before Endgame aired.

Except what is super frustrating is that Marvel Studios were ok with sharing the major plot points of Endgame with another Studio, since Spiderman Far From Home was filmed before endgame came out. But they apparently couldn't share the same level of detail with their own TV division.

[Llywela]

3 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

Except what is super frustrating is that Marvel Studios were ok with sharing the major plot points of Endgame with another Studio, since Spiderman Far From Home was filmed before endgame came out. But they apparently couldn't share the same level of detail with their own TV division.

The movie and TV divisions of Marvel had divorced completely by that point.

[Raja]

1 minute ago, Kel Varnsen said:

Except what is super frustrating is that Marvel Studios were ok with sharing the major plot points of Endgame with another Studio, since Spiderman Far From Home was filmed before endgame came out. But they apparently couldn't share the same level of detail with their own TV division.

Especially after they proved themselves by keeping The Winter Soldier's secrets. I guess the thinking was the MCU was bigger and needed more security by the time of Infinity War. But I think that it was more likely that Kevin Feige just said Disney logo or not those TV shows are not mine.

I truly wonder that if a long term Infinity Saga was still running if he would have cut out Disney+ miniseries from plot points to develop their stories also.

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

Except what is super frustrating is that Marvel Studios were ok with sharing the major plot points of Endgame with another Studio, since Spiderman Far From Home was filmed before endgame came out. But they apparently couldn't share the same level of detail with their own TV division.

Marvel Studio’s made Far From Home. Their deal with Sony gives them creative control. 
 

Also according to AOS’s showrunners they avoided the snap because there was a chance it would premiere in January and they couldn’t risk spoiling Endgame. Plus the relationship between Marvel Studios and Marvel TV was very contentious leading to Feige threatening to quit because of Perlmutter. Then you throw in tension between ABC and Disney+ and AOS is left in limbo. 

[swanpride]

Honestly, I partly blame the writers of AoS, too. Okay, they didn't get ANY information for Infinity War. Why the HELL did they even do a tie as specific as "Thanos is in New York"? Season 4 was so super-tight written, the entire second and third pod basically happened within a week, and then you had the time jumping fifth season directly after it. Why not for once say "okay, we make sure that our season ends in 2017, before the events of Infinity war and then we see where we go from there"? At this point the movies themselves kept jumping around in time, too, nobody would have been angry if AoS had dropped the "this roughly happens in step with real time" routine.

On the other hand, Marvel studios could have told them that it would be better to do that and then worry about dealing with Infinity War later on.

And for the "who should have vanished" question: Davies, Piper, Deathlock, it's not like there aren't enough characters the audience cares about which aren't part of the main team.

[Raja]

5 minutes ago, swanpride said:

And for the "who should have vanished" question: Davies, Piper, Deathlock, it's not like there aren't enough characters the audience cares about which aren't part of the main team.

If all the original Avengers plus could survive  and all of a teen's closest friends be snapped  then the same could have happened to the small S.H.I.E.L.D. group time looping through the Lighthouse. But with big brother Joss out of the picture in favor of the Russo's they just didn't know

[blueray]

I was glad when they finally started ignoring the movies. I think that it does didn't fit in (mainly from the higher ups) and it is better when it's being an independent show. 

[Raja]

12 minutes ago, blueray said:

I was glad when they finally started ignoring the movies. I think that it does didn't fit in (mainly from the higher ups) and it is better when it's being an independent show. 

They just waited a couple episodes too long. Going with the Confederation knew Thanos was heading toward earth for an infinity stone worked. Trying to pass off that the Daisy versus Graviton battle happened just after Thanos went after Dr Strange and then Phil and Melinda had time to clean up and go on a honeymoon was a step too far.

[Kel Varnsen]

1 hour ago, Dani said:

Marvel Studio’s made Far From Home. Their deal with Sony gives them creative control. 

Even if Marvel had creative control, Sony was still involved (Amy Pascal was a producer) and it is not like they found out about the death of Tony Stark at the Endgame premier (although I wouldn't be surprised if the AoS show runners did). 

[Linderhill]

1 hour ago, Dani said:

Also according to AOS’s showrunners they avoided the snap because there was a chance it would premiere in January and they couldn’t risk spoiling Endgame. Plus the relationship between Marvel Studios and Marvel TV was very contentious leading to Feige threatening to quit because of Perlmutter. Then you throw in tension between ABC and Disney+ and AOS is left in limbo. 

there was also the big split between Jeph Loeb (Marvel TV) and Kevin Feige (MCU) and that misogynist Ike Perlmutter.

[Guest]

22 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

Even if Marvel had creative control, Sony was still involved (Amy Pascal was a producer) and it is not like they found out about the death of Tony Stark at the Endgame premier (although I wouldn't be surprised if the AoS show runners did). 

I’m sure Sony knew a lot about Endgame given they own Spider-Man. That’s just part of the trade-off to use the character. 
 

I have no clue how much AoS showrunners knew but I suspect it’s more than most here are assuming. They’ve have said they knew a “fair amount” and many people involved have said they have to get approval over characters and storylines they can write. 

3 minutes ago, Linderhill said:

there was also the big split between Jeph Loeb (Marvel TV) and Kevin Feige (MCU) and that misogynist Ike Perlmutter.

Yeah, that’s what is was talking about. As Fiege has been increasing his power Perlmutter and Loeb have been losing theirs leaving AoS in limbo. 

[Raja]

29 minutes ago, Dani said:

I’m sure Sony knew a lot about Endgame given they own Spider-Man. That’s just part of the trade-off to use the character. 
 

I have no clue how much AoS showrunners knew but I suspect it’s more than most here are assuming. They’ve have said they knew a “fair amount” and many people involved have said they have to get approval over characters and storylines they can write. 

Yeah, that’s what is was talking about. As Fiege has been increasing his power Perlmutter and Loeb have been losing theirs leaving AoS in limbo. 

Assuming they knew about the time jump and no reset in Endgame they still had no way to fix the first series finale of Tahiti to play in the mostly untold gap in time before the blink. It was not being told about the snap to end Infinity War and their blind attempt to tie in based off of movie trailer scenes which messed them up..

[swanpride]

It was shortsighted to push AoS aside due to those power struggles. I have no idea who at Disney kept insisting that the show kept getting renewed, but that person got that AoS plays an important role in the MCU. There are fans who ended up watching the movies because of the show, not the other way around,  and fans who kept up with the movie due to the show, too.

[ProudMary]

Cast and creators say goodbye. 

[Raja]

9 hours ago, swanpride said:

It was shortsighted to push AoS aside due to those power struggles. I have no idea who at Disney kept insisting that the show kept getting renewed, but that person got that AoS plays an important role in the MCU. There are fans who ended up watching the movies because of the show, not the other way around,  and fans who kept up with the movie due to the show, too.

It had to be someone at Disney still linked to Ike Perlmutter. No matter how bad a person he might be the multimedia all connected vision was his while Kevin Feige was just a movie producer getting the fame that used to be given the movie director. And as a movie producer he could care less about the multimedia links, only the links in his movie saga. 

But the movie billions was so large compared to global syndication fees and advertising who ever the Perlmutter disciple of the multimedia experiment was must have some power to get or force two more half seasons out of ABC.

[VCRTracking]

I'm just going to say the last two seasons occurred in a timeline where Thor went for the head.

[tv echo]

Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Iain De Caestecker And Elizabeth Henstridge Explain The 'Turning Point' For The Show
LAURA HURLEY     AUG. 10. 2020
https://www.cinemablend.com/television/2552209/agents-of-shields-iain-de-caestecker-and-elizabeth-henstridge-explain-the-turning-point-for-the-show?pv=related_list 

Quote

Iain De Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge of course respectively play Leopold Fitz and Jemma Simmons, and the duo transformed FitzSimmons from the scientist comic relief of early Season 1 with its close ties to the MCU to arguably the keys to everything in the final season after S.H.I.E.L.D. almost entirely departed from the films. The stars spoke with CinemaBlend and other outlets ahead of the series finale, and they shared their memories of when S.H.I.E.L.D. really started to break away from the larger MCU. Iain De Caestecker said:

"Actually, I remember there was a specific moment. It was Season 1 Episode 6, and it was about Elizabeth like sacrificed herself... And there was a very specific moment actually, I think people talked about it. We were doing the scene, and Elizabeth, or Simmons the character, was getting ready to sacrifice herself in order to save everybody else. And she did this scene where she says goodbye to everyone and she kind of breaks down... I remember, it was this big turning point where just no one had ever done anything like that on the show. And as well with Elizabeth, she's got an amazing ability to tap into that kind of emotional side. And I remember that was a big turning point for it. And a few people said that, actually."
*  *  *
As Iain De Caestecker noted, Simmons went through a journey that culminated in her saying her goodbyes and attempting to sacrifice herself, and it packed an emotional punch with a focus on character over plot that hadn't been done before. All the characters were invested in Simmons' safety, seemingly even double agent Ward. It was also early enough in the series that it was very possible that Simmons could be killed off, so the stakes were high. Elizabeth Henstridge commented on how "F.Z.Z.T." changed the game for FitzSimmons as well as S.H.I.E.L.D., saying:

"I think for FitzSimmons too that episode was [a turning point]. We suddenly had dramatic scenes to do that weren't just kind of pop in, say something funny, and pop out, which was also so brilliant to do. But Paul Zbyszewski wrote that one. I remember that episode so clearly. I agree that was a big turning point that we started to care about the characters rather than kind of all the stuff around them."
*  *  *
Iain De Caestecker picked up on the thread of what made "F.Z.Z.T." such a standout turning point for S.H.I.E.L.D. and FitzSimmons in the early days:

"And to go back to that moment, the show is in a sci-fi superhero world which is fantasy. And so sometimes you lose a sense of reality in that, and I suppose when there was that... [to Elizabeth Henstridge] I think you were saying 'Say goodbye to my mum and dad' or whatever in that scene. It just added an element of reality to it. That was a big part of what the show was about, really, was about within that world of superheroes and fantasy elements, they were real people."
*  *  *
Jeff Ward, whose character is the product of some especially bonkers plot twists, weighed in on what FitzSimmons have brought to the show, even though he didn't join until Season 5. Deke of course turned out to be FItz and Simmons' grandson, making the FitzSimmons family larger and weirder. Ward commented:

"I think FitzSimmons did that a lot in general in the series, always kind of ground those emotional stakes."

Edited August 11, 2020 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. stars and bosses reflect on the show's standout moments
By Chancellor Agard August 11, 2020 at 10:00 AM EDT
https://ew.com/tv/agents-of-shield-pivotal-moments/ 

Quote

... Last summer, EW visited the set of the series finale and spoke to the cast and showrunners about some of the show’s most pivotal moments and turning points from the first five seasons.

The big Hydra reveal in season 1
...
In “Turn Turn Turn” — which tied into Captain America: The Winter Soldier — Coulson and the gang not only learned that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been infiltrated by Hydra, but that their teammate Ward (Brett Dalton) was one of those double agents, which was a huge betrayal.

Maurissa Tancharoen (showrunner): [Before Winter Soldier opened] we couldn’t talk about anything that interested us [or] insinuate anything about any moles or spies.

Jed Whedon (showrunner): That was when we put the pedal to the metal and cut free from what we felt was a little bit of standalone storytelling and just became fully serialized. That was really, I think, the moment where we found our voice in the series after a rocky start.

Jeffrey Bell (showrunner): Ward being Hydra is still, I think, our biggest and most emotionally difficult story.

Ming-Na Wen (Agent Melinda May): Definitely the jump from season 1 to season 2 was very big for us. In season 1, we started off at an 8 p.m. time slot, so there were a lot of things we couldn’t do just because of the family hour time slot. Also because we were coinciding with Winter Soldier, there were a lot of limitations of what our writers could do. It was almost like every episode was like a standalone episode, so we were kind of still finding our identity. What was great was once we were able to break free of that and we moved to a 9 p.m. time slot, it gave us a chance to be more serious with certain topics, a little bit more intense with the fight scenes. That’s why the night-night gun was created — so we didn’t kill anyone, really.

Skye’s (Chloe Bennet) transformation into Daisy “Quake” Johnson in season 2
...
Bell: We had no characters with powers and discovering that she's Inhuman and that journey and what that meant for really changed the kind of stories we could tell by introducing powered people. Marvel was very protective and very adamant when we started [because] Thor's an alien, Hulk is an accident of science, Captain America is an accident of science, and Tony Stark has a cool suit — that's it. There were no powered people, and so the Inhumans was our way into that.

Jemma Simmons' journey to an alien planet in "4,722 Hours"
...
After falling through the Monolith in the season 2 finale, Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) found herself stranded on an alien planet. Written by Craig Titley, season 3's "4,7222" revealed what happened to her and was the first time the show broke away from the action to spotlight one character.

Whedon: Craig Titley broke that episode. That might be one of the fastest breaks we've ever done. Early on [in the season] we decided, “You know what? Let's not see her. Let's just not even deal with what's happened there and then do an episode about it.” We decided that early. And we had the idea of that she fell in love there. One of the things that we feel about FitzSimmons for us, we call it a forever love FitzSimmons. FitzSimmons is something that's perfectly pure that we love and we want them to be together, so you always have to put obstacles in their way because it's an easy way [and] a great way to feel something because you're like, “Get them together.” What a great obstacle. She had no choice.

Maurissa Tancharoen (showrunner): [We kept] calling her Furiosa Simmons just to show that aspect of her — that she could full on survive.

Elizabeth Henstridge (Jemma Simmons): It was awesome. You're always grateful for the challenge and it's so wonderful to be put in a new situation. I did miss everybody cause we get so used to being together. It was definitely different to kind of be a focus of the episode and not supporting. That was one of our first [of] multiple episodes where it's just kind of on its own. I was really nervous about it. I was more nervous about FitzSimmons fans [reacting to] me getting off with an astronaut. That was my main thing.

The introduction of speedy Inhuman Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez in season 3
...
Natalia Cordova-Buckley (Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodgriuez): I auditioned for a “tough girl from the streets of Colombia called Adriana Molina.” And 12 hours before starting to shoot I was told it was Yo-Yo Rodriguez, a superhero. So, I had 12 hours, which meant from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., to do my research. When I found out I was going to portray a Latino superhero I got diarrhea of everything – of the heart, of emotions. I just couldn’t believe it. It was a dream come true. She’s just such a superb human being. That girl, Yo-Yo, she’s taught me so much. The way they’ve written her has been wonderful to portray.

The three-part structure of season 4
...
Unlike previous scenes, the fourth one was divided up into three pods (or mini-arcs): Ghost Rider, which introduced both Gabriel Luna as the fiery, vengeance-seeking Marvel character; the LMDs, which was centered around sentient robots that started replacing the team; and Agents of Hydra, which saw the team trapped in an alternate reality called the Framework where Hydra won. All of it was tied together by the Darkhold, a book that brought magic onto the show.

Clark Gregg (Agent Phil Coulson): [Doing] 22 episodes felt more like a marathon — kind of a single story marathon that had twists and turns, but you definitely felt like at some the moment you were trying to swim the English Channel and sometimes you would have to stop and tread water for a minute. The three pods felt like three intense sprints where a lot of story got paid off. I think TV changed around us and luckily our show changed along with it, and that's really been something that gave the actors a chance to grow and flex.

The introduction of Ghost Rider and magic
...
Bell: We exist in the wake of the movie, so it wasn't until after Vision could we do LMDs; we couldn't have sentient robot characters until after that. And it wasn’t until after Doctor Strange that we could find a way [to say] that magic is just science we don't understand.

Whedon: As magic was introduced into the MCU, it allowed us to do Ghost Rider. The season sort of opened up the door in terms of what we were going to do with story. We loosened the rules a bit cause we had magic. We had been toying with the idea of an alt-world [the Framework] and we were starting to toss around those stories when Ghost Rider became available to us. And when Ghost Rider becomes available, you put him in the TV show.

Creating and exploring the Framework
...
In the Framework’s alternate reality, Coulson was a high school teacher, May was a Hydra agent, Mack’s daughter Hope was alive, and Fitz was evil and helped run Hydra as the Doctor. As the only member who wasn’t forced into the reality, Simmons enters the Framework and teams up with Daisy to free their friends.

Whedon: All the choices in the Framework were a personal “what if?” What if Coulson hadn't joined S.H.I.E.L.D.? What if the Cavalry had gone as a positive for May? What if Hydra had won? What if Fitz had had his dad? That was fun for us. That pod was definitely the fastest we [ever] broke any stories because once we got into the framework he was just playing with our same characters in different situations.

Chloe Bennet (Agent Daisy Johnson): The contrast of us working against all of the same actors who were playing completely different versions of themselves, was a really fun [and] genius way to kind of reinvent the show and give it like an extra kick at the end of that season.

Iain de Caestecker (Leo Fitz): [Playing] the doctor was probably one of the most nervous I’ve ever been on the show. That’d be one of the things I'd really like to go back and do again — not because it's enjoyable, but just because there's so many different ways you can do it, isn't there? And that was a really cool thing to get. Fitz and Simmons have got that very strong moral compass, as does everyone, but to switch that on its head and go the other way definitely took a good minute to really try and figure that out and start to feel a little comfortable in that skin.

Henry Simmons (Director Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie): I remember the Framework when I had to leave Hope, [that] was a hard scene to do. We were there for six hours of just hysterically crying. That was the most emotionally challenging scene that I had done. When I was speaking with Daisy, they [originally] wanted to show that, “Oh, Mack realizes he's in the Framework and he's not real life.” But I wanted to add an extra level of emotion to it because it's not just realizing he's in the framework, it's realizing that his daughter is not real as well. So there was a lot going on there.

Season 5 sent the team to space and the future
...
In season 5, the S.H.I.E.L.D. traveled to a future where the Earth was split in two and what remains of humanity lives on at the Lighthouse, a S.H.I.E.L.D. base that's now controlled by the Kree. Thus, it fell on Couslon and company to find a way back to the present to stop whatever catastrophe caused this calamity.

Whedon: We wanted a new base [Editor's note: This is when the Lighthouse was introduced]. Some of these ideas, and this is just as us just being frank, some of the ideas come out of a cold pitch, like “What if the [season 4] tag was just he's in space?” And we're like, “Oh my God, that'd be awesome!” And then we start chasing the idea of why? What would that be? Can we even do that? Should we do that? I think it was a combo of many different ideas that led to [it]. Part of the problem was getting to space was such a cool reveal that you didn't have another cool reveal after that. So that was where the idea of, “Well maybe it isn't space. Maybe [it’s Earth in the future].”

Bell: Actually, season 5 broke us until we got a diagram [of the time loop] that made sense to us and we literally took the diagram into every meeting we had to go, “This is what happened.”

Bell: Actually, season 5 broke us until we got a diagram [of the time loop] that made sense to us and we literally took the diagram into every meeting we had to go, “This is what happened.”

Edited August 11, 2020 by tv echo

[ProudMary]

Full-scene sneak peek for the series finale, so spoilers.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

20 hours ago, swanpride said:

It was shortsighted to push AoS aside due to those power struggles. I have no idea who at Disney kept insisting that the show kept getting renewed, but that person got that AoS plays an important role in the MCU. There are fans who ended up watching the movies because of the show, not the other way around,  and fans who kept up with the movie due to the show, too.

I always found it weird that someone at Disney corporate was high enough up to basically order ABC to keep the show on the air, but no one at the top level bothered to order the movie and TV divisions to sort their shit out.

On 8/10/2020 at 4:22 PM, Linderhill said:

there was also the big split between Jeph Loeb (Marvel TV) and Kevin Feige (MCU) and that misogynist Ike Perlmutter.

Yea from what I have read (Like this) Perlmutter was a racist and sexist jerk. Which kind of makes it hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that the first 2 Marvel tv shows were AoS (with the cast that it has) and Agent Carter.

[Guest]

55 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

Yea from what I have read (Like this) Perlmutter was a racist and sexist jerk. Which kind of makes it hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that the first 2 Marvel tv shows were AoS (with the cast that it has) and Agent Carter.

If I had to guess it was more about who created the shows than the content. Joss Whedon and his brother for AoS and the writers of the Captain America movies for Agent Carter.

Plus AoS wasn’t diverse to start. The season 1 regulars were 3 white men, 2 (apparently) white women and an Asian woman. Fortunately Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen went on to add diversity and wrote Chloe’s Chinese background into the character but AoS looked very different when it was announced than it does now. 

Edited August 12, 2020 by Guest

[swanpride]

Perlmutter wasn't particularly hands on with the Marvel TV shows, with the notable exception of Inhumans. And we all know how this ended. And Loeb apparently did a pretty good job managing him.

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, swanpride said:

Perlmutter wasn't particularly hands on with the Marvel TV shows, with the notable exception of Inhumans. And we all know how this ended. And Loeb apparently did a pretty good job managing him.

Yeah but Leob wasn’t any better than Perlmutter. 

[swanpride]

I don't think that it is possible to be worse than Perlmutter. I have to take your word for it, though, I don't read websites which don't allow me to opt out of cookies.

[tv echo]

Three more (nonspoilery) Looper interviews with AoS cast members (other Looper interviews were previously posted upthread)...

Iain De Caestecker talks playing Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Fitz - Exclusive interview
BY CHRISTOPHER GATES     AUG. 10, 2020
https://www.looper.com/235077/iain-de-caestecker-talks-playing-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-s-fitz-exclusive-interview/

Ming-Na Wen talks Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, The Mandalorian, and Mulan - Exclusive interview
BY CHRISTOPHER GATES     AUG. 11, 2020
https://www.looper.com/235480/ming-na-wen-talks-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-the-mandalorian-and-mulan-exclusive-interview/

Clark Gregg opens up about Phil Coulson and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Exclusive interview
BY CHRISTOPHER GATES     AUG. 12, 2020
https://www.looper.com/235795/clark-gregg-opens-up-about-phil-coulson-and-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-exclusive-interview/ 

Edited August 12, 2020 by tv echo

[AimingforYoko]

AV Club's Alex McLevy interviews Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, along with EP Jeffrey Bell.

[tv echo]

‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’: Behind the Scenes of the Emotional Series Finale
By Jennifer Vineyard    Aug. 12, 2020
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/12/arts/television/agents-shield-series-finale.html 

Quote

Almost exactly eight years ago, the husband-and-wife writing partners Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen were having a pitch meeting at a Brentwood sushi restaurant in Los Angeles with Jed’s celebrated older brother Joss and two Marvel Television executives. The Whedon-Tancharoen trio had already collaborated on the musical “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” (along with another Whedon brother, Zack) and had written the short-lived Fox TV show “Dollhouse.”

Their latest idea was a TV show set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe about the fictional Marvel Comics agency S.H.I.E.L.D. (the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division), which is dedicated to investigating the paranormal and supernatural. The budget for the proposed series was to be a fraction of what is spent on Marvel films, but it would place one of the movies’ characters at its center: Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg).

“We knew that our show would be character-focused, about getting to know these people, and slowly building a team that becomes a family,” said Jed Whedon, who oversaw the show with Tancharoen and Jeffrey Bell. (The elder Whedon, credited as a creator, stayed focused on directing the “Avengers” films.)
*  *  *
But about halfway through its run, the show began reinventing itself, with characters ping-ponging through space, time and alternative realities. Once the writers freed themselves of the timeline and narrative restraints established by the movies (and even ignored a few), the series started to soar.

“We could just make up our own stories,” said Jed Whedon. “It was liberating.”
*  *  *
But the show never lost its emotional core: the relationship between Agents Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge), who crossed the galaxy more than once to be together, only to be repeatedly pulled apart. In the finale, they reunited, as Fitz helped the ragtag team save both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Earth from a takeover by an alien android race.

In a phone interview Monday, Tancharoen and Jed Whedon discussed bringing “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” to a conclusion. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
*  *  *
A couple of years ago, you constructed the end of Season 5 to serve as a series finale in case the show was canceled. How did that affect planning this series finale?
MAURISSA TANCHAROEN It’s so strange because we feel that we’ve said goodbye to the show a number of times now. We tied everyone’s arcs up with a nice little bow back in Season 5.

JED WHEDON We wanted this to be different, not another goodbye. We landed on the feeling of nostalgia, a feeling of moving on as life changes around you. It’s not a sense of loss. Lives change. Paths diverge. You have that sense of longing, nostalgia and connection with people with whom you spent lots of time.
*  *  *
TANCHAROEN We had no idea we were predicting the near future with our social-distance ending, our virtual Zoom call between the characters. Of course, we conceived of all that before 2020. If we were developing the last season right now ——
*  *  *
Losing Iain De Caestecker to other productions meant he was absent for much of this season. How did you sort that out? Did you ever worry about keeping Fitz and Simmons apart too much?
WHEDON As we were ending Season 6, we knew we were going to have very little Fitz. So we sort of jumped in with time travel, knowing that we were creating a puzzle that would be very hard to solve. For Fitz, one of the things that justified it is that for him, only a moment in time has passed. And we knew it would a fun boost of adrenaline for the production and the actors to be able to play in different time periods and tell stories based on S.H.I.E.L.D. history.

The problem is that there are so many details! And with time travel stories, loose ends can turn you into a pretzel, your best friends into enemies and the writers’ room into a war zone. [Laughs.] We had a couple of time travel experts write diagrams so we could wrap our heads around it and make it consistent with the M.C.U. and everything we had done in the past. The short answer is that we solved some of it.
*  *  *
Did the altered timelines in “S.H.I.E.L.D.” actually shift time enough to enable events in “Infinity War” and “Endgame”? Did the show ultimately reconnect with the Marvel movies in the end? Some of the Time Stream is melting my brain.
TANCHAROEN Melting brains is what we do. I’m still confused a bit, too.

WHEDON Some of the stuff they did with time travel in “Endgame” indicated that there are other timelines where other adventures are occurring. We’re following the multi-verse rule. The only way that someone survives Thanos’s snap in the movies is go into the quantum realm, and we originally did plan to give that a mention — because we used the quantum realm to move between timelines — but it got cut for time.

TANCHAROEN It’s very clear that Fitz and Simmons now live a life that they want to live, retired and raising a daughter.

WHEDON With everyone else, they’re on a new journey, which allows the audience to fill in what they believe could happen next.
*  *  *
I assume Deke continues to use his knowledge of the future, singing songs in the ’80s before they’ve been written? We don’t see how he fares in his alternate timeline.
WHEDON There was talk of flashing to what he was doing, but that would have undercut the emotional development. He’s playing Madison Square Garden, singing “Money for Nothing,” but it’s a S.H.I.E.L.D. operation.

TANCHAROEN That would have our dream end credit sequence.

Any other wish-list items left unfulfilled? A musical episode, maybe, considering Jed writes music and Chloe Bennet used to be a pop singer?
TANCHAROEN Was that our secret wish of wishes? Yes. If there were a Season 8, our entire cast would jump at the chance, and all of them can dance.

Edited August 13, 2020 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Series Finale: EPs Discuss Why Who Wound Up Where — And [______]'s Selfless Sacrifice
By Matt Webb Mitovich / August 12 2020, 8:00 PM PDT
https://tvline.com/2020/08/12/agents-of-shield-recap-series-finale-character-fates-may-academy-instructor/ 

Quote

FITZSIMMONS are retired with a capital-R, and left the get-together to resume a countryside picnic with Alya. “I think for a long time, we had a sense that Fitz and Simmons would be sort of out of S.H.I.E.L.D. and living the simpler life — while secretly working with Daisy on the side,” said Whedon. (Read much more on that happiest of endings.)
*  *  *
One agent who did not make it to back to the original timeline was Deke; instead, FitzSimmons’ oneday grandson volunteered to stay behind in the 1980s to 1) set off the gizmo needed to propel the others into the timeline-graversing quantum realm, 2) take a leadership role in that era’s S.H.I.E.L.D. and 3), you know, be the rock god that he is.

“The one thing we talked a little bit about was leaving Deke behind,” conceded EP Jeff Bell, “but having him make what was truly a big sacrifice… makes sense.” Plus, the producers love the idea of a rock star moonlighting with a spy organization (or vice versa). “If we were ever to come back for another [series], it would be that show,” Whedon quipped.
*  *  *
Following the one-year time jump, “They’re already established in their new lives, but no matter, there’s still longing for what was, and I think that will always be there,” said  Tancharoen. “That bond between them will always be there. So, hopefully, that sort of hits home at the end for [everyone].”

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Stars Weigh In on Series' Final FitzSimmons Twist — Plus, the Real Reason Behind Fitz's Absence
By Matt Webb Mitovich / August 12 2020, 7:59 PM PDT
https://tvline.com/2020/08/12/agents-of-shield-series-finale-fitz-simmons-ending-daughter/ 

Quote

“[T]o make the reward of him missing for so long pay off… the only way that we could think is a super-happy ending,” Whedon said. “And also, for him, he actually hadn’t missed anything. That was how we answered that in our minds, and on the show.”

What did De Caestecker and Henstridge themselves think about FitzSimmons getting the happiest of ending that the beleaguered couple so richly deserved?

“It’s a pretty fitting end,” De Caestecker told press last week. “There’s a connection with two of our showrunners, Mo and Jed, and they have a young daughter [who] was a certain type of miracle, so it’s a very fitting thing. But also for the evolution of those characters, it’s a fitting end but a beginning, of another life, as well.”

“It was a lovely ending for them, and it helped to explain why Fitz was away,” Henstridge in turn added. “It had to be something bigger than them, and for them that would be their daughter.”

Reflecting on seven seasons of flirtation, angst, near-deaths and separations, Henstridge observed, “It was so lovely to play characters that at the start were doing everything they could not to think of each other romantically, to ending with them having this daughter that they both laid their lives on the line for. As an actor, that’s just amazing.”

Edited August 13, 2020 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Elizabeth Henstridge And Iain De Caestecker Talk The FitzSimmons Finale Twist And More
LAURA HURLEY   PUBLISHED: AUG. 12. 2020 
https://www.cinemablend.com/television/2552402/agents-of-shields-elizabeth-henstridge-iain-de-caestecker-and-jeff-ward-talk-character-endings-fitzsimmons-twist-and-more 

Quote

Fortunately, Elizabeth Henstridge and Iain De Caestecker spoke with CinemaBlend and other outlets about the series finale, and they weighed in on FitzSimmons' ending with their daughter. De Caestecker said:

"Yeah, it's a pretty fitting end. Elizabeth was talking about this earlier. Those characters, there's a connection with two of our showrunners and co-creators, Mo [Tancharoen] and Jed [Whedon]. And they have a young daughter and, she in herself was a certain type of miracle and that's kind of the similar thing with the show, and so it's a very fitting thing but also for the evolution of those characters. You said a nice thing, Elizabeth, that it's kind of a fitting end but also a start. I'm stealing your stuff. The beginning of something as well. The beginning of another life for them."
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And honestly, Alya sounds like exactly what fans could expect of a FitzSimmons daughter. She even wanted to design her own fish! As long as she focuses her efforts on fish and fun rather than Framework code and monolith transport, she could be the best of both worlds. Elizabeth Henstridge picked up on Iain De Caestecker's comments on the FitzSimmons ending, saying:

"Well, that's probably why I think it's right. No, it was a lovely ending for them and it helped to explain why Fitz was away and you know, it had to be something. It had to be something bigger than them. And for them that would be their daughter. And it was just so lovely to get to play characters that at the start, were just kind of, you know, doing everything they could not to think of each other romantically to ending at Season 7 with them having this daughter that they've both laid their lives on the line for is, as an actor, that's just amazing."
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Of course, while FitzSimmons is pretty firmly established as the epic love story of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. now, they were once no more than best friends and colleagues who may or may not have been psychically linked. The romance took a while to start, but it didn't stop once it started! The stars weighed in on FitzSimmons' journey from the comic relief scientists to parents at the heart of it all, with Elizabeth Henstridge saying:

"Yeah, it was crazy. I mean, I think as an actor, I was just so happy to have Iain back. So I was hoping that he would show up at some point. It's been such a joy to play these characters and to be in a double act... We were the comic relief at the start and there was so much pressure on the show when we first started filming and to be able to be in a duo and go through that experience with somebody else was so wonderful on so many levels."
*  *  *
The stars went on to explain how their real-life evolution paralleled what their characters were going through on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.:

Elizabeth Henstridge: "I think our friendship in a way, as we got to know each other, FitzSimmons kind of started to see each other in a different light and it's just a really cool, it's such a wonderful journey to have been on with someone and I don't know that either of us will be in this position again, where we get to experience that being so brand new to TV in America and then end it with being married and having a little baby."

Iain De Caestecker: "Yeah, I agree. I couldn't imagine that experience without Elizabeth."
*  *  *
In a fun twist, viewers watching from home weren't the only ones who became big fans of the Fitz and Simmons relationship. Jeff Ward, who joined the FitzSimmons family in Season 5 with the reveal that Deke was actually FitzSimmons' grandson thanks to some time travel shenanigans, revealed that he counts himself as a fan of what Elizabeth Henstridge and Iain De Caestecker delivered as the duo. Ward said:

"I always tell them this but it's funny because I started watching the show and I became a big FitzSimmons fan. I just loved their scenes and it was funny because I would have weird times where Deke would be in the first half of a scene. There was this one scene specifically, I think it was Season 5. I was in the first half of the scene. And then the second half of the scene was just the two of them. And I walked out of the scene. And I was like with my friends, Iain and Elizabeth and we were messing around. We were talking, we did the scene, and I walked out and I walked past the monitor. And I looked at the monitor and I was like, 'It's FitzSimmons!' I just as a viewer grew very attached to them."

Edited August 13, 2020 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Agents of SHIELD’s Jeff Ward Reveals His Thoughts on Deke’s Fate
By JAMIE JIRAK - August 13, 2020 
https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/agents-of-shield-series-finale-interview-jeff-ward-dekes-fate/ 

Quote

Agents of SHIELD has officially come to an end, and the series finale revealed the fate of each main character. While the end of the final episode saw the team reuniting virtually to catch up, there was one vital member missing: Deke Shaw. The character played by Jeff Ward stayed behind in the other timeline in order to help get the team back to the original timeline. Not only is Deke a "rock god" in this version of the 1980s, but when we last saw him, he was appointed the new leader of SHIELD. During a recent round of interviews with the cast, Ward was asked if Deke will choose between playing music and SHIELD.

"We've been discussing this and I know that it's a blend of the two because imagine if you found out that Bruce Springsteen was actually the head of the FBI, that's kind of... you'd never suspect it, right? So he's using his rockstar persona as the ultimate hiding in plain sight tactic to be running an international superhero policing ring and at night, gigs with various songs that he's ripped off and passed off as his own. He has an amazing cover of... a litany of... really you should hear his 'Space Oddity' cover. It's very excellent," Ward explained.

Edited August 13, 2020 by tv echo

[swanpride]

Yeah, a musical episode was all which was missing on the bucket list.