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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.: EP Sheds Further Light on Third Season [ABC]

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

New season, new dynamic, for ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., according to EP, Jeff Bell. In a previous interview, AoS Executive Producer, Jeffrey Bell, touched (lightly) on matters such as character evolution, Inhumans, and Secret Warriors. Now, thanks to Albert Ching, at Comic Book Resources, the series showrunner once again sheds more light on Agents’ season 3 happenings.

CBR’s Jeff Bell interview:

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CBR News: Jeffrey, obviously season two of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” was very different from season one, given the rise of Inhumans and more. Surely season three is different still — what new elements have you excited about the show going into the new season?

Jeffrey Bell: I think my favorite thing about this season is how we’re changing some of the pairings up. One of the things that I think makes the show interesting is seeing how characters interact. Putting Mack and Daisy together; putting Hunter and May together; putting Bobbi and Fitz together — suddenly you have all these different dynamics, all these different stories that you didn’t have before. I think people will get a kick out of seeing those, as well as Coulson’s new hand. [Laughs]

There’s lots of cool tech stuff — we got a new plane, — that kind of stuff. Really, what’s fun for us to write are the new characters. We’ve got Constance Zimmer coming in as the head of some other group. Where in the past, Coulson frequently plays sort of a paternal role on the show, because Daisy is kind of a surrogate daughter figure — suddenly there’s another adult, who can banter, who can hold her own, and there’s something nice about seeing him in that relationship. We’re having Blair Underwood back a little bit. I think all the writers love writing scenes with characters in different combos, and I think the fans will really like watching those as well.

It’s obviously a big chance seeing more people with superpowers on the the show — and on the team itself. Now there are characters like Lash coming to the show, who are very “inhuman” looking. How has that shift worked to the show’s advantage? And is there also still a balance to keep the human level that has been a hallmark of the show?

In the first year, “not all heroes are super” was the tagline. And yet, people like a little super. Finding a balance is our ongoing goal. You always try and top what you did last year. Introducing Daisy with powers — [felt] like that went pretty successfully. Bringing on other characters; Lincoln with his [pantomimes electrical powers]. So we’ll see. It’s always tricky. We’re not trying to get bigger just to get bigger, but to expand the show, and tell bigger theme-y stuff. Inhumans are a nice metaphor for what a lot of people are going through.

We’ll see. It’s a challenge to do big effects on a show, and do it well. Especially when you go to the movies — “They had $10 million for the first four minutes!”

It sounds like viewers are going to see more and more Inhumans as the season progresses. Creatively, what kind of an opportunity is that? By the nature of Inhumans, as we’ve seen in the comics, the powers can kind of be anything — how much fun is that as a writer? It feels fairly wide-open.

It is, but we have to do a couple things: Can we afford to produce this effect? Because every time last year Gordon went “bamf!,” we went, “Wow, that was [expensive].” We want to do things we can do well, and that are visually interesting, and ideally serve as a metaphor somehow.

One of the challenges with Inhumans is, outside of the royal family, there aren’t a lot of characters who are super well-known. I think there’s an opportunity for us to develop that. Even Ms. Marvel in the comics, is technically an Inhuman — I think Marvel’s relying that more and more to explain how characters became powered. We’ve got some new ones coming this year, and I hope people like them.

A sliver more light still counts as more, right? Beyond more on character developments, Bell’s emphasis seemed to fall on the effort, from both Marvel’s film & TV production houses, to make the most of the ‘Inhuman condition’ they have been left to work with (thank you, Fox). That, and hopes for fan appreciation for all the SFX cash that went into making season 3 up to the task. Given the nature (and inherent advantages) of the source material, I’d say fans should appreciate as much expense as possible.

I say splurge. Splurge like your money means everything to satisfying my fan sensibilities, and overall entertainment value.

Leave your thoughts on this Jeff Bell interview in the comments section below. For more Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. photos, videos, and news, visit our Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Page, subscribe to us by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+ or “like” us on Facebook. Agents returns this Tuesday, September 29, at 9 pm EST, on ABC.

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Sam Joseph

Sam is an Avid consumer/observer of Geek culture, and collector of Fanboy media from earliest memory. Armchair sociologist and futurist. Honest critic with satirical if not absurdist­­ wit with some experience in comics/ animation production.
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