'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Season One DVD/Blu-ray Review
Last week, the first season of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. arrived on Blu-ray and DVD. The show featured Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson from the Marvel Studios movies despite what we saw in The Avengers. After the Battle of New York, things changed. With twenty-two episodes, we were introduced to different S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as well as other new dangers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
We won't go into specific reviews for each episode. We have reviewed some on the episode pages HERE. The season had some high and low points. Overall, the series progressively got better. We had some mysteries building throughout. Of course there was the question of what happened to Coulson. There was also an unknown threat called "The Clairvoyant." The series had some ties to Thor: The Dark World and Jaimie Alexander reprised her role as Sif. Nick Fury and Maria Hill also popped in, along with some other minor Marvel characters.
The show took a big turn after the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier occurred. If you've seen Winter Soldier, you know that movie pretty much changed everything for the Cinematic Universe. The affects were felt in the show it a big way, taking it down a darker path. It was a gutsy move to completely tear down the status quo of a show and some characters three-fourths of the way through the season.
I remember hearing some complaints about the lack of Marvel characters in the show. That's understandable. At times the show did feel a little isolated. In the movies, we saw big fantastical characters and super-powers. Of course you can't do that every week in a television show. And some characters would be better suited for a big theatrical release rather than a simple cameo appearance. But with the show going through some changes and the reports we've heard so far, things are looking great. Another reason to pick up this release and get caught up on the show.
Special Features
Of course you have to have special features. There were a few bits included. These are definitely for those invested in the show. You have your gag reel and deleted scenes that most would enjoy. The other ones are a little more technical, which is cool to see, as well as a little personal, in the first one.
Journey Into S.D.C.C. (13:14)
We get to see them preparing for SDCC. This was their first real public appearance together. There were problems with the bus on the way to San Diego. We see their reaction to all the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. signage around San Diego and all the people getting ready for the convention. “It was fun and overwhelming.” Their first time getting ready to face the ballroom. They had no idea how many people would be there. We see them watching the pilot episode together. It's nice to see them as "real people" adjusting to everything this entails.
Field Reports
The Field Reports let us see some behind-the-scenes action. We often take the action scenes for granted so it's nice to see some of the "secrets" in how things happened.
Field Report 103B “The Malibu Jump” (2:54) Filming on location in Malibu. Special FX and stunts.
Field Report 110 “The Bridge” (3:39) The bridge scene. Filmed at the Port of Long Beach.
Field Report 115 “Asgardian Bar Fight” (3:08) Lorelei and Sif. Filming out in the desert. Jaimie Alexander back as Sif.
Field Report 117 “Classified” (4:17) When Hydra has infiltrated. Actors dealing with the betrayal. Everyone was surprised.
Field Report 119 “Cello Duet” (3:46) Amy Acker playing the role of the Cellist, the lady in Coulson life.
Here's a clip of "The Malibu Jump" feature and "Asgardian Bar Fight" to get an idea of what these entail.
VFX Progressions
Lola Takes Flight (1:09) How they made Lola fly.
Free Falling (1:36) Jumping out of the plane. Green screen action.
Bloopers of S.H.I.E.L.D. (6:32)
You know what to expect here.
Deleted Scenes (6:56)
Eight different deleted scenes from various episodes.
The twenty episodes will run for a total of 946 minutes. The audio and video of the release is top notch as you'd expect. Both DVD and Blu-ray sets are really reasonably priced considering it's a full season. The show may not be for everyone but it does have a lot of heart. I'm looking forward to watching the next season with my daughter and you should look into catching up on the first season if you haven't already.
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