Superpowers: The oppressors and the oppressed

Law enforcement shows have to decide whose side they're on--who's the hero, and who's the bad guy.  They can be Matlock or Perry Mason, helping the innocent escape conviction by overbearing authorities, or they can be Law & Order (and its many ilk), where the authorities protect an innocent population from the bad guys.  Superhero shows have the same options: who is being oppressed, and who protected?  Comics like MiracleMan and The Watchmen demonstrated that superheroes are far from a panacea for the ills of the world, and that sometimes the people need to be protected from the scary newness of the strange and powered.   On the other hand, there's a big dose of xenophobia inherent in the idea that the populous needs to be protected from supers. This season features two new shows with very different approaches to the relationship between the powered and the mundane.  S.H.I.E.L.D is a shadowy, and often oppressive, government organization that intervenes in super-related matters before they can disrupt the public.  The Tomorrow People are fighting an organization that bears some meaningful resemblance to S.H.I.E.L.D.  So who are the heroes here, and who needs protecting?  And what is it in the zeitgeist that makes us root more nowadays for the Law & Orders, rather than the Matlocks?

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC, new.  Sci fi drama/action/adventure.)

Watched: First three episodes

Premise: Agent Coulson and his hand-picked team of S.H.I.E.L.D. fighters and tech-heads protect the world from supernatural and high-tech dangers.

Promise: I have high expectations for Joss Whedon, but I’ve also learned from experience that his shows don’t necessarily start strong.  It takes him and his team of writers (in this case, they seem to be mostly from Angel) a while to develop a rhythm, a group dynamic, and a sense of purpose for the characters.  This show is no exception.   It feels much more like a show that would air on SyFy (Warehouse 13, Alphas, Primeval…) than an ABC show.  And for first two episodes, we’re still learning about what the characters do, rather than who they are.  By the third episode, they’re starting to coalesce into a team whose overlapping skills provide the backdrop for a story, rather than the story itself.  I expect this trend will continue, and the team will gain a sense of urgency.  It will take even longer, I expect, for the show to really embody the moral complexities of S.H.I.E.L.D., but it's hinted at them, so I have some optimism.  In the meantime, we get to watch a fun array of Whedon classics:  the kick-ass reluctant heroine(s, in this case), the gimmicky and all-too-often-annoying techie(s, in this case), and the sage teacher.  And I doubt I’m alone in saying it’s just darn fun to watch Phil Coulson be Phil Coulson.  (Or, more accurately, watch Clark Gregg be Phil Coulson. He’s just so good at it.)

Verdict:  It had a blah start, but I still have pretty high hopes.  It’s not important television (and I doubt it ever will be), but it provides a lovely little ride on the fun train, and improves with momentum.

The Tomorrow People (CW, new.  Supernatural drama.)

Premise:  Superpowered hotties contend with shadowy government oppressors.

Promise: Based on the UK shows of the same name.  This is one of those shows that keeps coming back.  It started in the UK in the ‘70s, and returned in the UK in the ‘90s, and now it’s here.  It’s a classic for a reason—teens with misunderstood powers provide lots of opportunities for angsty drama and adventure.  (See also: The X-Men.)  This show does exactly what it says it does, and does it in a comfortably CW-ish way, but it doesn’t give us anything particularly groundbreaking.  The teens’ powers are generally psionic in nature (teleportation, telekinesis, telepathy) and they are non-lethal by design.  That evens the playing field between the powered and the mundane, but it also lowers the stakes.  I can see ways in which the show could become interesting, but the pilot hasn’t done much more than explain the world and lay out the menu of choices.  Not that it would have had time to do more, but that means it’s hard to predict the show’s ultimate direction.

Verdict:  Meh.  It may turn out to be fun.  It will almost certainly turn out to be good fodder for fan fiction.  But it probably won’t turn out to be the sort of television that demands attention.

On the DVR:   Lucky 7 (canceled), Masters of Sex, Betrayal, Hello Ladies, Super Fun Night, Sean Saves the World, The Originals, Witches of East End, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.