First Impressions - AoS: 'Pilot'

This is by no means a deeply intense dissection of the episode.

That will happen over the summer after my purchase of the Blu-ray.

I've put my quick comments and notes after seeing the episode only once.

You've been warned...

Episode 1: 'Pilot'

The Good: One of the problems with over-advertising is that there's not much left to be surprised about. However...

* It was good to see Shepherd Book/Officer Harris Ron Glass again.

* Cobie Smulders' Maria Hill appearance was also a nice connection to "what has gone on before". Porcupine indeed...

* A big THANK YOU for mentioning Extremis. I was hoping there would be some reference to Iron Man 3...which proves that this show takes place closer to the present than I thought.

* I also like that instead of shoehorning existing characters/villains into the first episode, they went with all new characters. BUT...

The Bad: ...they really...really need to start bringing existing characters/villains into the show. Points added for not doing it badly, points taken away for not doing it at all.

* I get that the truth behind Coulson's time in 'Tahiti' is an ongoing plot, but at one point I shouted out "He's a Doll!" Don't tell me I'm the only one...

* Another Whedonesque thing: a lot of plot droppings. One of the (very few) sad things about Firefly was that Joss had a lot of potential stories in there that never got developed. Even with the follow-up comics and film. I'm not saying AoS will last only thirteen episodes, but even so, there's a lot going on. Hopefully, any and all dropped threads will be resolved in the ongoing comic...which you know is coming...and I know I'll buy. Religiously.

* The character(ization)s. I liked the stoic agents we saw in Iron Man. I get that Coulson's creating a team that is more outside Fury's ideal, but the dorky science duo? the agent who's more than she seems? the loner who's learning to work with a group? Which brings me to the weakest link...

The WTF?: Skye. In typical storytelling fashion, there has to be a character viewers can connect to. Someone who is introduced into the main gist of the project - in this case S.H.I.E.L.D. - and eventually becomes part of the group. (Wasn't it convenient that Coulson's crack team of agents was missing a computer genius until Skye came along?) Now, for all purposes, Coulson was that character. We've all identified with him since Iron Man, and we were all pissed off when he was 'killed' in Avengers. 

So why have Skye at all?

So viewers who've never seen the movie can start in fresh with the show.

...

I'm sorry, but if anyone on this planet hasn't seen Avengers by now they would have no interest in watching this show. Ever. Their loss.

Adorkification Moment: My hope is that there's at least one moment in every episode that makes me squeal like a little girl. This one did. At the very end, when we learned a secret about Lola. Granted, it felt a little over the top/Back to the Future-ish, but I didn't care. I loved it. More please!