Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Complete Third Season (Marvel)

It all began, three years ago, with Skye...‘The secret is out. For decades your organizations stayed in the shadows hiding the truth, but now we know. They are among us - heroes, and monsters. The world is full of wonders-(KA-BOOM!)-We can’t explain everything we see, but our eyes are open. So what now? There are no more shadows for you to hide in. Something impossible just happened. What are you going to do about it?’...and, by the end of the pilot episode, when Coulson blasts off in his flaming red 1962 Chevy Corvette convertible flying car, I realized Joss Whedon had just hooked me again!Having finished three seasons, with the network promising a fourth, this fast-paced, tightly-scripted Marvel Cinematic Universe action-adventure series continues to entertain, with a talented cast developing their characters in interesting ways.Clark Gregg has taken his lead role as Director Coulson and run with it- part G-Man, part Rogue Agent, part All-American Boy.Ming-Na Wen, in addition to being the Cavalry and the bus driver, is one tough chiquita you don’t want to get on the bad side of. Cool, controlled - but explosively passionate and deadly, just under the surface.Brett Dalton was a promising looking good guy at first, and then an even better evil-doing bad guy once he flipped. He has already been resurrected once, though, and he should stay dead this time for good. Time to find another villain.Chloe Bennett has impressively grown as an actress in her role as Skye/Daisy. The season three finale had her struggling with, metaphorically speaking, life-threatening drug addiction issues. Very dramatic and heart-breaking stuff.Iain de Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge, and Nick Blood have done a great job upholding the trademark Joss Whedon British Connection tradition with their own high-quality performances. The Fitz-Simmons dynamic has been especially fun to watch.Adrianne Palicki makes quite the impression with her tall Valkyrie good looks alone; but she’s more than just that - she is a good character actor as well. And - who knows - she and Nick may show up again somewhere in the MCU - either with their own spin-off, or back on Agents of Shield.And I’ve come to appreciate Henry Simmons in his role as ‘Mack’ McKenzie, as he’s been brought into the team. His character radiates compassionate strength, forbearance, and the requisite toughness for a true-blue agent of S.H.I.E.L.D....and of course it is fun to watch for the segues where Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. overlaps with the Movies and other television shows in the Marvel Franchise.Good Quality action-adventure entertainment! Highly recommended.

I first began to read Marvel Comics when I was about 12 years old. This was in the early 60’s (I am dating myself) Spiderman, Thor, Captain America et al were my SANITY!! The Marvel World/Universe was my way to ME. I was (and am) a very, very creative and gifted kid living in a very inhospitable environment, school, home and my neighborhood was the worst place on This Great Planet Earth (of which I LOVE dearly) BUT when I went into, immersed myself in Peter Parker’s life, sitting atop a skyscraper in Manhattan amongst the Gargoyles brooding (I am from NY/Gotham) wondering what to do next or where he (I) had gone wrong I WAS HOME. When Thor would click his cane andbecome himself speaking of The Beauteous Sif I was with them HOME. Stan Lee who now seems to love emulating Hitchcock by camoeing (sic) himself in his movies would call us: “true believers” make a qualified reference to the storyline and then fade out with the words “’nuff said” I had purchased the Original “Conan the Barbarian” comic when I was 18 years of age. I often muse that if I had now every comic (and baseball card) that I had owned I would possibly be rich enough to buy Amazon. Com. I tell people that when I was a kid I was a Space cadet, and now I am a Full Fledged Captain. I LOVE THIS SHOW: Marvel’s Agents of Shield. It has evolved into something Wonderful. SciFi/Fantasy/Drama/Comedy merged together into cohesive Oneness that is actually so believable that the viewers (excuse me for speaking for you guys) Wish it were REAL. Well maybe in ways it is. The World now is WAY darker then it was when I first saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan and told myself that: “I would NEVER grow my hair that long”. However while I was in The Original Woodstock at 17 my hair was past my waste. If only these Guys and Gals were here now in America WE WOUD RULE THE WORLD!! Well maybe they are, and they are just waiting to come through The Portal and Save Humanity from Itself. ‘nuff said..peace always

One of the two best TV dramas currently in production -- not just Marvel-based or comic-based or SF/fantasybut of all non-comedy fictional shows period (and, no, for me, the other one is not Game Of Thrones). Every element in it is wildly intense, perfectly tuned, and always a riveting surprise. Got it all - SF, fantasy, super-heroes, action, mystery,drama, intrigue, romance, tragedy and solid human interest. Even the special effects are dynamite. The cast is as good asit gets ... including many of the recurrent guests like Kyle McLachlan and Adrian Pasdar. I find myself terribly investedemotionally in these individual characters, especially Fitz-Simmons, May, and, most of all, Daisy. The series evolves fromone major arc to another seamlessly, as if it was natural reality. And the suspense, every time, just kills me! I only read a few episodes of the original comic book this show is based on, but never followed it. So I had serious doubts about thisshow when it was announced -- but Joss Whedon has earned my awe. Three episodes in and I was hooked. This TV program has byfar exceeded the comic. In my view it has, in fact, achieved something I never anticipated was even possible -- in almostevery respect (except the wide visual scope) it has matched the quality of all the best of the Marvel-based movies. Plus, it has given us at least 3 times the number of hours with these characters compared to any other Marvel characters on the bigscreen. One of the 3 current-production TV series I will pay money to see every time I miss it, every single episode as soon as it has aired, because I cannot endure not knowing what has happened next. Very few programs have ever had this effect on me. One thing though. You must see all the episodes in sequence to get its full grand effect. (The other show is ORPHAN BLACK.)

An entertaining third season for the "Agents of SHIELD" with a satisfying conclusion to SHIELD vs Grant Ward story arc tied in with a quirky but fun explanation for the origins of the Hydra organisation. Given the increasingly super hero/cosmic nature of the storylines, the special effects are good and script and acting keeps it credible in a comic book context.On the Blu Ray, image quality is sharp and constant and the audio is clear. Menus on the discs are good although each episode has few chapter breaks. The big let down of the Blu Ray set are the "explosive extras" given they are limited to a brief blooper reel and some inconsequential deleted scenes - no behind the scenes footage or commentaries.

The third season centers on the metamorphoses of Hydra and Grant Ward into a single, unrelenting force hell-bent on mankind's extinction. Coulson and his agents, still reeling from the events in the last season, mounted a rescue attempt on Gemma but in the process unleashed a new ominous threat to S.H.I.E.L.D.. New allies as well as adversaries are introduced and each one of them adds more mystery and excitement into the evolving story. PQ and AQ are both outstanding and help get you absorbed into the plot. Just like in the previous seasons, the final episode showed an epilogue, this time we see Daisy/Skye going rogue after the last mission. Bonus features is limited to a few deleted scenes and gag reels.I'm definitely going to watch the 4th season soon!

Just over 600 reviews of the series as i write this - seems like the number of reviews decreases the further into the series you go. The consensus is 5 stars. Similar to my reviews of the first and second series, whilst i think this is a good series, i don't think it is worth a 'must watch' / 'multiple watch' 5 stars. One good thing with all of the shield series so far is that you generally get a reasonable number of episodes (22 in this season) compared with some other series (10 or less), which in some ways feels like better value for money...

I really liked the storylines this season. It's bittersweet to see the great Powers Boothe in what would be his final role, but he does a great job throughout the season. The loss of Palicki and Blood midway through the season for a show that never materialized is a tough loss, but the show manages to stay interesting and moving all throughout the 22 episodes. As usual there is the tie in to accommodate the premiere of Captain America: Civil War. As for technical specs, this is almost a no thrills box set. The limited edition packaging is nice, it looks and sounds good, but in terms of extras there is only a collection of deleted scenes, and bloopers, on the last disc.

Meandering storylines run on longer than they need, limited situations seem to repeat...very lazy in places, relying on the strange pseudo chemistry between the agents to hold it together. Mawkish emotional connections make them dither over crisis decisions, makes you wonder how they ever get anything done. Some way off the production and polish of the films, but with 22 episodes per season it passes the time.