"Agent Carter" season one discussion and spoilers

[Turtletrekker]

With the premiere of Marvel's "Agent Carter" less than a week away, I figured it would be a good time to spilt the Agent Carter discussion away from the general Marvel TV thread.

Years before Agent Coulson and his S.H.I.E.L.D. team swore to protect those who cannot protect themselves from threats they cannot conceive, there was Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell, Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier), who pledged the same oath but lived in a different time when women weren’t recognized as being as smart or as tough as their male counterparts.
But no one should ever underestimate Peggy.
It’s 1946 and peace has dealt Peggy a serious blow as she finds herself marginalized when the men return home from fighting abroad. Working for the covert SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve), Peggy finds herself stuck doing administrative work when she would rather be back out in the field; putting her vast skills into play and taking down the bad guys. But she is also trying to navigate life as a single woman in America, in the wake of losing the love of her life, Steve Rogers – aka Captain America.

When old acquaintance Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper, Captain America: The First Avenger) finds himself being framed for unleashing his deadliest weapons to anyone willing to pony up the cash, he contacts Peggy – the only person he can trust – to track down those responsible, dispose of the weapons and clear his name. He empowers his butler, Edwin Jarvis (James D’Arcy, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World), to be at her beck and call when needed to help assist her as she investigates and tracks down those responsible for releasing these weapons of mass destruction. But Jarvis, who is a creature of habit and sticks to a rigid daily routine, is going to have to make some major life changes if he’s going to be able to keep up with Peggy.

If caught going on these secret missions for Stark, Peggy could be targeted as a traitor and spend the rest of her days in prison – or worse. And as she delves deeper into her investigation, she may find that those she works for are not who they seem, and she might even begin to question whether Stark is as innocent as he claims.

Some promos...

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfGrwAFknpc[/yt]

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ExUzmhCm0c[/yt]

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWWSxne92Do[/yt]

Preview clip...

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V13W9gQ_1GA[/yt]

Another clip can be found here.

Here is a brief BTS featurette...

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmwDSolYG1Q[/yt]

I am really looking forward to this show and what it will bring to the fabric of the MCU. Hayley Atwell is amazing as Peggy and I'm sure this show will kick some ass.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Sweet. I'm really looking forward to this. Unfortunately, I'm sure it will never continue past the initial run, so I hope it doesn't end on a cliffhanger. I want the DVD set to be a complete story.

 

[John Clark]

I'm just hoping someone in the UK will pick this up. It looks quite interesting.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Looking forward to it. Hopefully Apple won't charge a full season on itunes for it.

It looks mostly like a straight forward spydrama.

Does anyone know how fantastical the show elements are supposed to be?

 

[Marsden]

Was Peggy always meant to be English for the MCU or was it after they cast Haley Atwell? I don't mind and she is great in the role but Peggy wasn't English, she was an American if I'm remembering things right. She certainly was never a main character, and I'm happy the MCU really seems to be keeping the "characters" but not slavishly repeating everything from the books.

 

[Christopher]

Was Peggy always meant to be English for the MCU or was it after they cast Haley Atwell? I don't mind and she is great in the role but Peggy wasn't English, she was an American if I'm remembering things right.

Peggy was first introduced as a nameless woman Cap met in the French Resistance, fell in love with, and then was separated from. When he met Agent 13, he was struck by her resemblance to his lost love. He later found out that Agent 13 was named Sharon Carter and that her older sister, Peggy Carter, was his lost WWII love. In more recent comics, Peggy was retconned as Sharon's aunt, and now her grand-aunt, since WWII has this pesky habit of retreating farther and farther into the past.

You can read excerpts from the relevant comics here:

http://goodcomics.comicbookresource...ed-so-how-old-is-captain-americas-girlfriend/

Anyway, it's hard to tell from those pages, but I guess the intent was that she was an American.

Of course, Peggy's not the first Marvel character to become English onscreen. Charles Xavier is a native of New York City in the comics.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Sweet. I'm really looking forward to this. Unfortunately, I'm sure it will never continue past the initial run, so I hope it doesn't end on a cliffhanger. I want the DVD set to be a complete story.

My understanding is they intend to do a complete story a year So, regardless of whether the thing you're sure about is correct, you should be OK with the no cliffhanger thing.

Glad to see this get its own thread. I was wondering about that.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Yeah, I suspect they'll do like SHIELD did with it's first half-season this year...tell a tighter story, a la cable series, that has its own ending but establishes threads to be followed up on. In Agent Carter's case, they'll likely establish threads to be followed up on in the next half-season of SHIELD.

since WWII has this pesky habit of retreating farther and farther into the past.

 

[kitik]

Sweet. I'm really looking forward to this. Unfortunately, I'm sure it will never continue past the initial run, so I hope it doesn't end on a cliffhanger. I want the DVD set to be a complete story.

If it does come back for a second season, it won't be for 12 months, so there's pretty much no chance it'll end on a cliffhanger.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Was Peggy always meant to be English for the MCU or was it after they cast Haley Atwell?

If I recall, most of the actresses in contention for the part were English. It was part of the attempt to internationalize the movie to broaden its appeal.

 

[Procutus]

Definitely looking forward to this as well, just to see how much it will line up with the currently storyline in Agents of SHIELD.

Either way, should be a lot of fun.

 

[Morpheus 02]

i'm glad it's at an earlier hour...and for the next couple of the weeks, it looks like a great show to watch with my little girls...

But come Jan 20, we're gonna have a problem with the Flash airing at the same time. Who was the programming genius that thought this would help the series get renewed? At least the 2nd week will establish if the drop will be due to the quality of the show or a rival show with similar appeals

 

[Turtletrekker]

I think only the 2 hour premier comes on at 8 o'clock. Its regular time will be the same as SHIELD.

 

[CorporalClegg]

I can't wait for this. I've been waiting for a show like this for a long time, having it be a Carter/MCU thing is only a bonus.

Is this going to be a one time deal, or do they plan to do this annually (ratings permitting, of course) when Shield is on holiday hiatus?

 

[The Master of Tarquin Hill]

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I don't usually like period pieces but, I'm totally stoked for this show.

Any chance we will see Tommy Lee Jones?

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I think only the 2 hour premier comes on at 8 o'clock. Its regular time will be the same as SHIELD.

Yeah, it's a 9:00 show, but they made a two hour premiere (because one of the weeks they were going to air it is now the State of the Union). The two hour premiere is going to be at 8 so they can still have Forever at 10.

 

[Christopher]

Is this going to be a one time deal, or do they plan to do this annually (ratings permitting, of course) when Shield is on holiday hiatus?

As with so many things on TV, that probably depends on how good the ratings are for the first set of episodes. Even shows that are explicitly billed as limited series tend to get renewed if the execs are happy with their performance.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Was Peggy always meant to be English for the MCU or was it after they cast Haley Atwell? I don't mind and she is great in the role but Peggy wasn't English, she was an American if I'm remembering things right.

Peggy was first introduced as a nameless woman Cap met in the French Resistance, fell in love with, and then was separated from. When he met Agent 13, he was struck by her resemblance to his lost love. He later found out that Agent 13 was named Sharon Carter and that her older sister, Peggy Carter, was his lost WWII love. In more recent comics, Peggy was retconned as Sharon's aunt, and now her grand-aunt, since WWII has this pesky habit of retreating farther and farther into the past.

You can read excerpts from the relevant comics here:

http://goodcomics.comicbookresource...ed-so-how-old-is-captain-americas-girlfriend/

Anyway, it's hard to tell from those pages, but I guess the intent was that she was an American.

Of course, Peggy's not the first Marvel character to become English onscreen. Charles Xavier is a native of New York City in the comics.

Peggy and Sharon are from an old Virginia family. Which makes me wonder if Virginia was chosen because John Carter (of Mars) is also a Virginian.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Sweet. I'm really looking forward to this. Unfortunately, I'm sure it will never continue past the initial run, so I hope it doesn't end on a cliffhanger. I want the DVD set to be a complete story.

My understanding is they intend to do a complete story a year So, regardless of whether the thing you're sure about is correct, you should be OK with the no cliffhanger thing

That's good. Do you know if they plan to do a complete Agent Carter every year, or just a complete mini-series about a character from the MCU?

If it does come back for a second season, it won't be for 12 months, so there's pretty much no chance it'll end on a cliffhanger.

Good point.

 

[Reverend]

^It may not end in a cliffhanger, but given the way Marvel operates I wouldn't be at all shocked if they close out on a stinger.