“Marvel’s “Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D” is an interesting way to immerse viewers in Marvel and, by extension, its Cinematic Universe.” 

I am watching Marvel’s “Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D,” airing on ABC in the United States, and I like the way that things seem to be proceeding.  Marvel, unlike their Distinguished Competition, are embracing the variety – and the geekiness – of their universe, as opposed to a “realism” that’s the antithesis of what comics are about in the first place.

‘Agents,’ created by brothers Joss (Yes, that ‘Joss Whedon’),  Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen, takes place when S.H.I.E.L.D (Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistic Division) is mopping up after events that took place in “The Avengers,” and acting as a bulwark between humanity and a universe much larger than most people are comfortable knowing about.

Now, seeing that “The Avengers” cost over $200 million to produce, it’s unlikely that a weekly series will even come in at a fourth of that.  That being said, “Marvel’s Agents Of Shield” doesn’t, by any stretch, look cheap.  A plus is that its ratings are – so far – quite good (12.1 million viewers for the premiere – for any show – are awesome numbers).

That being said, those numbers should be expected to drop in future because such a high-profile series is expected to attract a lot of attention initially.

The question is, can it maintain the audience (and the quality) week after week.

That being said, if it pulls in somewhere between eight and 10 million viewers a week, it’s future is probably assured.  If not, then I doubt that the expense of producing it will make it feasible (as I implied earlier, I have no idea how much Marvel’s “Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D” cost to produce, though I am sure it isn’t cheap).

The show feels like typical Whedon in that the writing is fun, though everyone always has the right thing to say, and are witty to a fault.  And there’s the geek cred.  A character actually says, “Are you excited to be coming on our Journey into Mystery?  Or a mention of ‘Project Pegasus.’

Those references will sound little more than interesting to the  average viewer, while those with the requisite comic book knowledge will see hints of all sorts of interesting things.

Whedon regulars, such as Ron Glass (Firefly and Serenity) and J. August Richards (Angel) make an appearance, which is always a good thing.