Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020) User Reviews

One of the most under-rated shows on TV

[Teansy · 9/10 · 14 January 2019]

When you first begin this show it seems like it might not go to very great places. The stories are sometimes lackluster and the comedy doesn't always fit, but as the first season progresses and you start to learn more about the characters and the stories become more inter-woven it all actually makes sense and stands as a pretty solid first season.

As the show has continued it's aged like a fine-wine, it's got great stories with crazy twists and turns in every episode and enough great characters that you have to find someone to connect with, whether they be a hero or a villain. The acting is phenomenal, the writing gets better and better each season, and the show is always open to try new things.

Even when I expect this show to disappoint me, it doesn't. It is easily one of the most under-rated shows on television, not just in the superhero and sci-fi genre, but altogether. This show deserves the world.

Every season got better!

[Rob1331 · 9/10 · 13 March 2023]

Agents of Shield was one of the best and most underrated superhero shows ever created. The first season wasn't any good so some people stopped watching which was a big mistake. I barely made it through the first season myself but if you can power through it you won't regret it. Like many people here have already said, each season gets better than the one before it. It starts off as a spin-off from The Avengers as it follows S. H. I. E. L. D. one year after that first movie and is originally part of the MCU. Then they made the incredible choice to break away and make the show their own, and that's when it gets good.! It follows a S. H. I. E. L. D. team led by Phil Coulson and the rest of his team (Daisy "Skye" Johnson, Melinda May, Mack, Leopold Fitz, Jemma Simmons, Grant Ward, Yo-Yo, Deke and more characters that come and go throughout the seasons). It has some of the best writing for a superhero show and some of the best characters. If you haven't seen this yet or stopped watching after that terrible first season then do yourself a favor and go watch this as soon as possible.

Already miss it!

[Supermanfan-13 · 9/10 · 16 May 2021]

Agents of Shield was such a great show. If you can get past the first season (which was by far the worst season) I guarantee that you will enjoy the rest! It just took a while to gets it's footing but once it did it was one of the best shows on tv. It's one of the rare shows where every season just gets better and better! I already miss it!

If the IMDB score ignored reviews from season 1, this would be 9+

[realscottishdave · 10/10 · 27 April 2018]

It started slowly, in season 1, but I'd heard so many positive accounts of the writing that I persevered.

Wow. It's amazing. The character development, the plot twists, the reveals, the twists and turns, the drama, the fight sequences, the effects, the acting, the whole story - it's truly awesome.

If you watched season 1 and gave up, I heartily recommend you get back to it and watch to at least season 2 and you'll be hooked. There are plenty of moments where I've laughed out loud, plenty moments where I've almost cried, plenty times when I've shouted at the screen - it's full of drama, adventure, action, suspense and even comedy.

No spoilers. Just watch it. Of all the television shows I've watched, it's definitely in the top 10, maybe even the top 5. Give it a go - if the IMDB review scores were ignored from 2013, this would be scoring a 9.0 or higher instead of the measly 7.5 it currently, undeservedly has.

Definitely Gaining Momentum

[nannyjo · 8/10 · 3 December 2013]

I have to admit that I was less than thrilled with this show's beginning. I didn't think the characters were well defined and the plot seemed very lackluster.

I did continue to watch, though, and I am glad that I did.

Each week, the characters are developing and the chemistry between the actors is getting better. The writing and the quick witted dialog are classic Joss. It just took some time to work out the kinks.

The story lines are getting tighter as the show goes on. Also, as each character develops, there are questions raised that keep me coming back each week for answers.

I'm glad that I stuck with this show and gave it a chance. It is turning out to be a great ensemble action show that I hope will last a long time.

My Favourite show!

[noorea-85147 · 30 September 2018]

This show is simply amazing, it has great writing, superb acting, unpredictable storylines, deep and interesting themes, great attention to details, and amazing pacing, it's the best show when it comes to using a 22 episode season without being full of filler. The characters on this show are quite well written, they feel, talk and act like real humans , I care about all of them to some extent..in fact, I might be more invested in their lives than I am my real friends..oops! It's not only the main characters though, I often find myself really loving characters that only show up for few episodes, all the props to the writers and the cast. Now the show isn't perfect, it does take some time to gain momentum, the first season while enjoyable is rather slow compared to the rest of the show. also the show tends drop storylines or leave some things unexplained, that doesn't bother me personally, but might bother others. There is also the connections to the rest of the MCU, which some people see as not enough, others too much, and yeah it can be a bit frustrating when the crossovers you imagine don't come through, but it's not something I'd hold against this show, I think they write around the MCU well enough, all things considered. In fact, I like that the show adds a 3rd dimension to the movies, It is more interesting to me than characters showing up for a quick team up or the like.

This show is beginning to live up to its potential.

[mvmlego · 7/10 · 14 October 2013]

I had previously written a review based off of this show's first four episodes, and I gave it a 7. I felt that, as of that time, it was an average show, and that it could go either way. Most of the first eight episodes were good. A couple were great, even. But: episodes nine and ten were stellar. This series earned its 8th star.

The main characters are good. Agent Coulson, Skye, and Agent May are all very good, and, though some would disagree, I find Fitz and Simmons both likable. As for the minor characters: the people making this show aren't afraid to make up new characters, whether they're hero or villain, super- powered or non-super-powered. They already have a couple of compelling villains that are driven by more than simple greed or madness. The show's special effects are particularly good, which you might well have guessed. The show uses offshoots of classic story-lines such as Extremis. They also make references to the events happening in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at large. They are also beginning to link the events of individual episodes together very nicely. There is a good deal of mystery as to what happened to Coulson after the Battle of New York, and Skye's and May's rather ambiguous background is intriguing.

On the downside, the show contains some gratuitous content (and I'm not talking about showing blood in the action sequences or anything, I mean including things that are genuinely unnecessary). Also, some of the dialogue is a little cheesy. Additionally, some people who have seen a lot of television might find some of the plot elements predictable (although I personally don't).

Let me stress again: this show had potential, and, as of the most recent episodes, it is fulfilling it. It is truly earning its place in the MCU.

Sure it started slow, but good gracious what a ride we're on now!

[millbranch698 · 10/10 · 9 April 2014]

I heard an awful lot of people dogging this show at its inception. I wonder if they gave up or kept watching? Because if they kept watching I don't see how they could still be hating.

The past two weeks in particular have seen me literally standing up, pointing at the TV, and yelling things at it. Sometimes all I can manage is gibberish in my excitement; things like "What did the? Did he just? Who's gonna?" There have been so many jaw-dropping moments here of late that I literally do not know who or what to believe.

I failed to see Captain American: The Winter Soldier before "Turn, Turn, Turn", but am not upset by the fact that the show revealed the huge plot points rather than the movie. Yes, I will be seeing The Winter Soldier ASAP, but my heart has been so firmly gripped by the show that it felt more right to get the crazy news from there. I am sure the writers did a great job of making sure neither vehicle gave away too much.

This show has really come into its own since things began to come together after "The Bridge." I love these characters, including the ones I don't know whether to trust anymore, and have been blown away by the world being revealed.

If you hate it, re-watch it. If you still hate it, I'm sorry. But oh my goodness I am a complete SHIELD junkie!

some good years

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 13 August 2020]

This is an offshoot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and sometimes an overlooked step-child of the highly successful movies. SHIELD is a global security institution tasked with protecting the earth by using superheroes and some supertech. Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) returns from the dead to lead a small team of specialists.

The first year tries very hard to tie itself to the movies. Sometimes, it's to its own detriment. It can't help but feel inferior. Also, the movies never returned the favor which only accentuated a classic system between the two. Eventually, the TV show stops trying so hard and stakes out its own path. It does get caught up in a mess like the Inhumans but mostly there are some great season-long serials. With a few stumbles along the way, the show is able to find its own voice and its own cast of characters. They have fun adventures and even with some surprises. There are some very good years.

Great

[luisaacjara · 8/10 · 1 April 2020]

I pity people who stopped on the first half of season 1, because apart from that, is one of the best shows I've ever watched. If IMDb ignored the reviews from season 1, it would be a solid 9

Maybe.. just maybe!

[martin-499-776822 · 7/10 · 25 September 2013]

I have been anticipating this show for quite some time now, and my expectations were high. Let me start out by saying that I am a big Marvel and Avengers fan, so there was no question for me whether to watch this show or not. The fact that Clark Gregg (plays Phil Coulson) was in the cast only heightened my expectations and excitement! The pilot was, in my humble opinion, very decent. I wasn't blown away, but my expectations were met and I was intrigued by the story and entertained throughout the episode. I will definitely be tuning in for the next couple of episodes and ignore some of the bad reviews that I've been reading. The show is interesting and has potential to become a great show that will last for many seasons, which i hope it will.

My advice to you is, ignore the bad comments and reviews of the show and go take a look for yourself, you wont regret it!

a victim of circumstance

[eduargr · 5/10 · 3 November 2022]

The sports series had great potential, at first it was quite good with a good plot and good characters that enlarged its universe a little more, the problem with the series was not even the series, it was the circumstance, being a marvel series and having very little budget for it and its plots having to align with what was going on in the marvel movies as they came out complicated things with its own plot, and it still made for an acceptable series.

But when the series began to have its own problems, it was when it died little by little because by achieving emotional moments that amounted to nothing since none of the characters were capable of dying and returning in so many different ways that it seemed like a joke and it damaged the series, each time the chapters became more and more boring and some repetitive was what killed the series

Without a doubt a good series despite everything that if I had had freedom I would have done quite well.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: A Marvelous Journey Across Seven Incredible Seasons

[sufyaanrashid95 · 8/10 · 5 May 2023]

Marvel's Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. is a thrilling and action-packed television series that takes viewers on a captivating journey through seven incredible seasons. As a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I found this show to be a fantastic addition to the larger Marvel universe, offering a fresh perspective and expanding the lore in exciting ways.

Season 1 introduces us to Agent Phil Coulson and his team of skilled agents as they investigate strange occurrences and protect the world from various threats. The plot is filled with twists and turns, and the character dynamics are well-developed, keeping me engaged from start to finish.

Season 2 continues to build upon the foundation laid in the first season, delving deeper into the characters' backstories and introducing new mysteries and adversaries. The stakes are raised, and the action becomes even more intense, leaving me eagerly awaiting each new episode.

In Season 3, the show takes a bold and unexpected turn, introducing the concept of the Inhumans and exploring the consequences of their emergence. The narrative becomes darker and more complex, and the character arcs are both compelling and emotionally charged.

Season 4 brings a fresh and innovative approach by dividing the story into three distinct story arcs: "Ghost Rider," "LMD," and "Agents of Hydra." Each arc offers a unique storyline and explores different themes, showcasing the show's versatility and creativity.

Season 5 takes the agents on a thrilling journey into space, where they face new challenges and encounter fascinating alien civilizations. The high-stakes nature of the story and the exploration of new frontiers kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the season.

Season 6 continues to push the boundaries of the show's narrative, introducing new elements and exploring the consequences of the previous season's events. The character development remains strong, and the plot twists keep the audience guessing.

Finally, Season 7 brings the series to a satisfying conclusion. The agents travel through time, encountering different eras and historical events, while also facing a formidable new enemy. This season beautifully ties up loose ends and provides closure for the characters we have grown to love over the years.

As a fan, I enjoyed all seven seasons of Marvel's Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. The show consistently delivers compelling storytelling, well-rounded characters, and impressive visual effects. It seamlessly connects to the wider Marvel universe, with references to the movies and appearances from familiar faces, while also carving out its own unique identity.

While it is sad that the show has come to an end, it is a testament to the incredible journey it has taken us on. Marvel's Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. has left an indelible mark on television, showcasing the power of storytelling and the impact of well-developed characters.

In conclusion, Marvel's Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. is a must-watch for any Marvel fan or anyone who enjoys thrilling and well-crafted television. With its engaging plotlines, memorable characters, and a perfect blend of action, drama, and humor, this series will keep you entertained from the first episode to the very last. Farewell, Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D., you will be missed!

Brilliant , intriguing and thrilling

[yagooga · 10/10 · 16 May 2018]

Agents of SHIELD is by far the best TV show based on Comic character (beside Netflix Marvel series like Jessica Jones Luck Cage , Daredevil and Iron Fist ) the characters are well develope . It's not like typical Superhero show with particular Villian and our hero defeat him and save the world , it's very complex and well written . the story is running parallel with the Marvel's movies (but without huge spoilers ) , and make you feel that marvel's world is so big and connected . Phil Coulson is the protagonist in the show but they don't focus on that , they give other character a very huge part in the story and you keep forgetting that there is a central character , and the character are so intersting , facinating and complex . It's worth watching and i hope they continue produce more seasons .

The show just got better and better

[sifu_annie · 9/10 · 17 May 2014]

I remember how I felt after watching the first episode. It was 'meh' to describe it best. I think it was only out of sheer boredom I continued to watch it. I especially didn't like Skye. I found her too intrusive and irritating for my liking. But I knew the show still had some potential. The other characters entranced me. Sure the plot was bland and boring but I knew it was only the first few episodes out of twenty two. This meant there was room for development. And by gum did that last episode delivered.

The things with new series are is that they require patience. You have to be very picky if you expect an amazingly complicated plot right at the beginning. A slow start makes sense. It matters on where the show takes us afterwards. And we've been to a lot of places in AoS. It just took time to pull everything together for a neat finish. And I'm glad they took their time; how else are we able to achieve such a deep and rich relationship with all the characters?

I find it really funny how some of the viewers are still bitching about how there were no major SUPERheroes featured in the show. Well, the show made it clear that it was gonna be about the agents and the strength of humanity. Who cares the mains don't have any superpowers? It made me admire them only more.

This show lacked nothing at the end. But perhaps I shall give it a nine for the minor inconvenience of the first couple of episodes.

Superpowers, aliens, mysterious artefacts and overarching plots

[lerak · 11 August 2019]

You should give this series about a season before judging it, as a large part of the first season is setting the scene for what comes after. And in my opinion, everything that comes after, is definitely worth the wait.

As this television was born from the MCU you can expect superpowers, aliens, mysterious artefacts and overarching plots that make you want to rewatch it to enjoy its brilliance even more. This TV series might have grown out of the MCU, but quickly paved its own path, using Marvel as its inspiration, but not its limitation.

Watch the show, expect the unexpected and enjoy yourself.

every season gets better, season 4 is where it makes its mark on TV

[ChrisInMiami · 9/10 · 23 February 2017]

Its such a cliché to say that every season gets better, I know. But M.A.O.S does just that. As Season 1 wound down, there was speculation that the storytelling wouldn't support the longevity. We wanted to see our favorite heroes from the Marvel Universe but even tie ins with other marvel characters such as Jamie Alexander as Sif from Thor and Sam Jackson as Nick Fury felt like hand me downs from an older sibling. Luckily we got a season 2 and so on. The show's strength seems to be that every new season seems to turn the story on its head and milk more action and drama. With season 4, the show has finally reached a point where it doesn't need any gimmicks. At this point, who cares about the other MCU characters! These characters own their own universe right now. At this point I'd rather see them make an appearance in one of the MCU movies! Season 4 did give us the best Ghost Rider we've ever seen... Now I want to see a Robbie Reyes movie. The season 4 storyline with the LMD's and especially ep 4.15 reminds me of when Star Trek Next Generation finally grew out of the shadow of the original and proved it could carry itself on its own merit. Well done guys.... BRAVO!

Magnificent series with unstoppable action , fights and abundant special effects

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 19 May 2018]

Spendid series with action-packed , suspense , thrills , plot twists and lots of Computer Generator FX. It follows the events after NY battle from The Avengers , at a wold where the inhumans , weird aliens , supervillians and bizarre people arise and they want to conquer it . It stars Phil Coulson, Clark Gregg (110 episodes) , who joins an expert team , the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logístics Division to face off dangers , risks and threats around the world .This bunch includes May: Ming Na Wen , Syke : Elizabeth Henstridge, Syke : Chloe Bennet, Mac : Henry Simmons , Fitz : Iain Caestecker.

ThiS awesome group take on powerful menaces , superhumans , aliens , other dimensions , strange as well as supernatural cases and rare characters as the Clairvoyant. But their main enemy results to be the organization Hydra that takes weapons to execute terrorist acts and the leader called Hive: Brett Dalton , the deadly contender that has infiltrated Shield. In fourth season are signed the Sokovia accords , with the appearance of a Shield new chief: Jason O'Mara, then director Coulson goes back as a simple Field agent, and shows up Ghost Rider played by Gabriel Luna along with his uncle , José Zuñiga . Meanwhile , agent Leo Fitz : Iain Caestecker and scientist Holden Radcliffe : John Hanna, are making the Life Model Decoy Project and developing a peculiar framework , creating a beautiful Android named Ada : Moley Jensen , who will have an important role in the successive chapters.

Along the episodes appear a great number of prestigious secundaries as the recently deceased Bill Paxton , Mark Dacascos , Nick Blood , Natalia Córdoba, Ruth Negga, Kyle Maclachlan , David O'hara, David Conrad, Catherine Dent, Jose Zuñiga , Gabriel Luna , Patrick Cavanaugh and Adrian Pasdar as General .The series being created by Joss Whedon , Jed Whedon , Maurissa Tancharoen with the collaboration of notorious comic books writers as Stan Lee , Joe Quesada , Fine , Jack Kirby . Being nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys . It goes on and ties to the MCU, Marvel Cinema universe films , as it follows : Captain America the first avenger 2011 by Joe Johnson , as well as Captain América the Winner soldier 2014 by Russo Brothers and finally The Avengers 2016 by Joss Whedon.

Sometimes patience is rewarded...

[danyboo41 · 9/10 · 15 September 2018]

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D had a rocky start considering it's inception was the brain child of Joss Whedon and with backing of Marvel off the back of the hugely successful Avengers movie. The show suffered from being in the shadow of the movie verse and over promised on something that it never had the ability to deliver which was a story inter-woven with the events of the movies. I could pick apart the show's first season for hours talking about the trouble of episodic T.V in a world that has moved on from that and the poor execution of and end of season twist with one of it's characters. Most viewers tuned out after that and it's a shame because the events The Winter Soldier was the best thing to happen to the show. It allowed the show runners to break away from the movie's and to do it's own thing and this is where the show became interesting. With a greater focus on it's own cast and telling their own stories this is a show that season by season has taken some exciting twists and turns and broken out of the mould it's own frame work. AOS has done unusual of starting bad and getting better each season, it has matured well and I would encourage anyone with an interest in good sci-fi or hero-esc stuff to give it another go.

Not terrible, but seriously flawed

[mweratcliffe · 7/10 · 12 February 2023]

Right now I'm at the end of season two and grant it I am streaming so viewers of the original airing of this series on ABC may not have so easily caught a major flaw in the premise of the show. Theoretically shield is running around doing all of this subversive coercive covert activity to protect everyone else in the world meaning you and me and those we love from people who are doing bad things or aliens who might have super powers and do super bad things, the only problem is that by the end of season two, the only thing that shield has done is be attacked by hydra attack, hydra attack itself, and run around protecting itself, or fighting its own agents. There has been almost no activity involved in the series at this point, where in we can see that shield is protecting regular folks from bad guys , this is a major flaw. It's not terrible. It's just very flawed.

My second, revised review

[bbbfa · 10/10 · 30 August 2015]

I reviewed the show during the first season, when it was just off to a rocky start, and I said it had potential. But that potential has been satisfyingly reached, and continues to increase with every consecutive season. Without giving any spoilers I'd like to know that there are a lot of twists later on in the first and second season, that really make it a lot more worthwhile to hang in for, and when you go and re-watch the first season with those twists in mind, you realize that it wasn't just something they threw in to make it more interesting, it was something they planned from the beginning and dropped little hints towards that no one noticed. Ward was my least favorite character, until his true nature was revealed, and then when you go back and look at it with the experience of later events, you can see that there's much more underneath the surface. They were playing the long con, fooling people and thinking they were an average episodic show, when they had much more in mind for it. I have never been excited for any episode of agents of shield as I am the season three premiere, and I can't wait for the secret warriors story arc. The 10 I'm rating this is a bit preemptive, because I expect that season three maybe one of the best things to happen to the Marvel universe since Iron man 1, but it's also a bit of an apologetic rating for misjudging it early on in the first season. I now prefer agents of shield to arrow which used to be my favorite superhero show, but is now trailing in a close second.

The visual effects get a 10 out of 10, on par with supernatural or fringe The acting gets an 8 out of 10, added points for Agent may, Skyes impressive character development, and a lot of the humorous moments between Colson and Nick fury, or the infinite likable agent tripp, points docked for Fitz and Simmons "trying to sound smart" speak in season one, although a lot of their more annoying badly written character quirks are ironed out by season two The writing gets a nine out of 10, mostly because hard to write something I don't see coming a mile away, though it might be a bit generous considering a few of the missteps in the early episodes of season one

The fight choreography gets a nine out of 10 for how well it blends with the visual effects, though it might've been a 10 out of 10 if daredevil hadn't come out with that awesome fight scene in the hallway the same year

I now have nothing but high expectations and hopes for the show and I hope it only improves further. A few areas of improvement include Bobbi Morse who is not likable at all, and maybe some kind of seriously superpowered villain, or possibly the skrull invasion, or something on par with that? So far the major antagonists are a bit interchangeable, Whitehall being the major exception, who is probably the best written villain yet. But I feel this show does best with the villain that is both superpowered and covert, mixing subterfuge, espionage and superpowers in action. But the good news is they set up the foundations to make something like that happen spectacularly

Really great show !

[kdupes-1 · 9/10 · 9 December 2018]

Took me a long time to watch this, And then I watched only half of the first episode and quit. Then I finally went back to it and.... damn glad I did ! > If you like spy type shows like Alias or Nikita then you'll like this. > You've also got some sci-if added into the spy/ crime fighting theme. If you like The 100, Battlestar Galactica or Stargate movie/series then you'll love this show. I could not wait to find out what happened in the next episode. I'm so glad I could just hit "next" and not have to wait a week.

Faithful to Marvel Comics

[ericstevenson · 10/10 · 26 April 2016]

I admit that the only thing that made me interested in this was probably how it was a spin off of the much loved "Avengers" movie. It was great to see such a popular movie franchise with so much continuity get expanded into new media. Yeah, I do kind of wish there were more characters from Marvel Comics. It was great to see some like Absorbing Man. Agent Coulson works so well in this. It was tons of fun to have Samuel L. Jackson appear as Nick Fury.

What I really do love about this show is that you never know what kind of character will show up next. They're mostly original characters, but they still contribute to the story and greater Marvel continuity quite well. Any comic book related thing with Patton Oswalt is going to be awesome. Okay, "Blade: Trinity" was pretty bad, but you catch my drift. It was great to see new story lines being developed that were more about superpowered beings like the Inhumans.

As someone who knows a lot about Marvel Comics, it's pretty annoying just to have to learn all the new characters' names. You can still definitely count on this show to have all sorts of new developments, especially with all the work around Jemma traveling to the other planet. Plot threads get resolved quite well and they manage to build in a good amount of tension in new episodes. I guess it's just lots of fun to see the adventures of some lesser known people in this Universe. It helps that most of them couldn't be considered superheroes in any sense. They are simply agents adding a nice dose of realism to this supernatural world.

While vastly different than the Marvel movies, it's great that this still keeps the spirit with interesting characters, complicated plot lines and great environments. It can be hard to please some die-hard fans, but it's wonderful that this new world is created with just so much humility. There isn't that much of an attempt to be fancy, it's simply a show that shows off its characters great and makes you realize everything that goes on in a shared Universe. I would recommend this to anyone just to see what kind of different arcs each character will get. 10/10.

Adore this so much!

[AnnaPagrati · 10/10 · 16 January 2022]

Ahhh this show! I'm so emotional for just having finished it right now! Such a plot, the characters so intriguing & amable, I just have no words, definitely a 10/10!

Not your best work, Joss!

[dan-804-309580 · 28 September 2013]

Joss, I'm a big fan since Firefly but I hoped for better than this. Remember how it was to create Firefly with a limited budget so you had to rely on genuinely original stories with real depth and human drama?

Shield is just another predictable, formulaic, two-dimensional, Hollywood techno-fest with no character or story development potential. When the tech and the plate-headed eye-candy (bad acting BTW) is no longer new and titillating you have nothing to keep the show alive.

The review page is insisting on more lines, but, I'm sorry, there just isn't enough that's interesting about this show to comment upon. It would appear there is enough money to make a good show, but, apparently, the network (all TV networks now it seems) are run by shallow people and are putting restrictions on producers to help them make TV viewers as shallow thinking as them.

I'm just cynical enough to believe that is precisely why Firefly was never properly supported by Fox and didn't just cancel but slammed the door on it. I think the six mega-corporations that own and control all the media in the western-hemisphere prefer a weak-minded, compliant, consumer population and fear shows that stimulate viewers to think and feel deeply.