A Sixth Season for S.H.I.E.L.D.

It's surprising that "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D" hasn't been cancelled due to its unreliable scheduling and subsequent, sour ratings. 

All the same, other ABC series have done much better in compared content and scope, only to face demise. That includes "Agent Carter", which shared an unflinching, anti-commie angle: not the sort of thing, I guess, that ABC's execs could endorse for any extended time. In addition, "Inhumans" was dandy for all of its fish-out-of-water misadventure, yet got stomped not long after it began. (Gee friggin whiz, why start a high-profile spin-off, if it's not meant to conclude?)

Be that as it may, my main gripe with "S.H.I.E.L.D." is its serialized structure. (Granted, "Agent Carter" and "Inhumans" were serialized, but they came in shorter, easier-to-digest portions.) In my humble opinion,  "S.H.I.E.L.D." would work better if it were defined by individual stories (and/or occasional two-parters), instead of going the one-plan, seasonal route. (To frustrate further, when the show has, in fact, dealt a juicy track, like Ghost Rider's advent, it ends up second fiddle to a loosely attached "Days of Our Lives" stint.)

Perhaps "S.H.I.E.L.D" was only ever meant to be a pseudo link. Its reluctance to tie full-fledged to the Avengers movies is a telling sign: Allusions and cameos aren't enough to cultivate an adequate crossover. (Why the heck didn't Jaimie Alexander's Lady Sif become a regular?)

I don't know...maybe to enjoy "S.H.I.E.L.D", one needs to take it as a basic, Bond knockoff. However, wasn't that the point of the '60s comics series? And yet in that instance, we had Nick Fury as the Hydra-hating lead. Through him, there came constant interaction with other Marvel heroes, leaving the character and his team essential figures in an interlocking mythology: something its television counterpart hasn't achieved.

For the record, Season 6 will show "S.H.I.E.L.D." attempting to salvage humanity in the wake of Phil Coulson's end (or so the press releases proclaim), with (I'm presuming) more sappy subplots. (And what's the deal with Coulson?  He didn't really die the first time around, and he shouldn't have died again. Whether he remains "dead" is anybody's guess. And who is this Clark Gregg "Sarge" guy? Is it just me or does the gimmick echo Tasha Yar getting a Romulan stand-in?) 

On the possible plus side, we'll meet a gorgeous, galactic mercenary called Izel (and reputedly, not a Marvel icon in disguise), played by Karolina Wydra. She could develop in such a way to appeal on several levels...that is, if meandering motifs don't eclipse her. 

Whether bland or grand, the latest "S.H.I.E.L.D." glides our way May 10.  In the meantime, Season 7's production rolls on. So much for seeing Season 6's story reach fruition. Yeah, really...

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: A Ghostly Season 4 Appears!!!

Well, folks, at this point, I really don't know what to make of an ongoing supernatural element in "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." (premiering 9/20 on ABC), but when it comes to comic-book adaptations these days, the formula for success seems to be a varied "more the merrier". 

Ghost Rider has now entered the Marvel super-spy scene. He's a cool, vengeance-driven character, who (with a different alter-ego) occupied two swell, theatrical films. His addition to the series, even if he's not Johnny Blaze, ought to make Season 4 one to remember, with a guaranteed new and refreshing direction. (I thought last season wavered between extremes and sometimes felt more like "Outer Limits", with its Inhumans approach, than what we normally find in derring-do Marvel.)

Incidentally, for the sake of the series, Gabriel Luna will play Robbie Reyes, the current comic-book Ghost Rider. (So, where does that put the potential Norman Reedus series, if it's even being seriously considered? Would a possible Netflix show be a prequel, or is even that just another hopeful extension of fanboy speculation?) 

Guess we'll just have to see how it plays out, but for the time being, the Ghost (as he'll be referenced on the show) must elbow his way among existing characters: Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg); Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen); Alphonso MacKenzie (Henry Simmons); Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge); Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker); Holden Radcliffe (John Hannah); and of course, Daisy Johnson/Skye/Quake (Chole Bennet). (Yeah, the whole Daisy deal is far from over and will occupy a portion of the new season, no doubt, but in what way will it link to the Ghost, if at all?)

Season 4 could be a defining moment for the series. It all depends on how elaborate and/or clear-cut the producers/writers are this time out. I'm confident they'll do well, but gosh, if only we could get a stronger link to the "Avengers" movies (or vice versa), that would be most beneficial. Got my fingers crossed, since there's speculation that the Ghost's mythology may connect somehow with the upcoming "Doctor Strange", but if Season 3 was any indication of the way things are played, I've a hunch we may also face more of the same ol' distanced-at-best approach.