I fell in love with the pilot of Agents of SHIELD. As I’ve said to others, it had the stink of Joss Whedon all over it, and I was taking it all in. Alright that sounds gross, so let’s just say it had all the elements I love about Joss’s writing style, and it glued me to the TV. I admit I’m a big-time fan of all things Whedon, but I  don’t let that get to my head and simply flat-out love everything he does unconditionally. Dollhouse, for example, was not what I consider a fine example of what Joss is capable of, and I had a pretty hard time finishing that short-lived series. For me, Dollhouse had the same thing plaguing it that SHIELD now does: I’m unable to connect with its characters.

After that fantastic pilot, for me, the show took a slight downward turn in its enjoyability somewhere. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I knew it was clearly not as strong. After the third episode, things were pretty much level with the second, but not improved. I started to peel back the layers to put my finger on what was wrong. I put aside that this was a Whedon project, that this was an awesome geek-fest of Marvel shout-outs and cameos, and Chloe Bennet’s cuteness. What I was left with was the story and the characters. The stories weren’t faulty: it was the characters. With the exception of robo-or-something Coulson, I don’t give a shit about any of them. They’re not exactly unlikeable; I just don’t connect with them at all. I care about Coulson and what happened to him … or what he really is. But I don’t care about Skye and who she’s working for, what the deal is with Fitz and Simmons, or anything, really, about Grant Ward. The only other character I might have some interest in is Ming-Na Wen’s Melinda May; I admit she’s definitely bad-ass, but she’s not given enough to do beyond being tough.

One of my biggest gripes about these characters are Fitz and Simmons. I get these two are the geniuses of the SHIELD team (or, at least, among the ones we follow), but they’re overly contrived and cliché without being funny most of the time. The show sort of gives the duo a pass for bumbling on the job from time to time, but it’s a hard pill to swallow given the situations they’re in.

Ivey has, in the past, often called out the famous line by Ronald D. Moore, after his Battlestar Galactica series ended: “It’s the characters, stupid.” The saying is meant to defend a show’s faulty storyline — or overall plot, for that matter — by pointing out that the story’s been about the characters themselves all along; that the characters are what you should be paying attention to. I can’t say that holds true with SHIELD. I never really agreed that character connectivity mattered that much for the enjoyability of a show, but — at least with SHIELD — that’s the case for me.

I will say that this latest episode saw some improvement on the characters front, but only slightly. If it doesn’t find a way of bringing out something about the non-Coulson characters that make me care about them, we may be parting ways sooner that I’d ever expected.

At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, I got to talk to actor Mark Sheppard (currently on Supernatural as Crowley, though you may have seen him on many other shows: Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, Dollhouse, Leverage, 24, Warehouse 13 … just to name a few. Three years ago I’d met up with Mark at SDCC, when he was at a signing booth with his son. At that time he’d kinda-sorta hinted he hoped to be included in the then-upcoming Avengers movie, when I asked if he was going to be working with Joss Whedon anytime again soon. Being that I apparently like to beat a dead horse, I asked Sheppard about it again at the following SDCC. Mark didn’t appear in the movie, though we may never know if he was ever really vying for a part in it.

Yet that horse still looked like it needed another beating.

This year I asked Mark what new we’d be seeing him in, seeing as Leverage was over and Warehouse 13 (where, yes, his character died) is ending. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., perhaps? Watch the video for his answer.

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For most, summer is the time that generally means less TV watching. Sure there’s some great stuff on cable — more and more each year — but May marks the end of the networks’ regular TV season. For me, however, the end of one season means it’s time to look forward to what is coming in September.

The past couple weeks, I’ve been working my way through all of the drama pilots that the broadcast networks have been kind enough to share with us to preview, and I’m pretty excited. There’s a lot of good television that will be premiering in the next year: there’s a lot of high-concept stuff that accompanies a nice dearth of procedurals.

Of course, there are a couple of stinkers in the bunch as well. One or two were so bad they left me scratching my head and questioning the sanity of those with decision-making authority — then again, I look back at network executive’s track record in the last couple years, and I shouldn’t be surprised.

Over the next couple of days, we will preview the dramas coming in the next year. Today, we’ll be taking a look at ABC’s offerings.

Betrayal (Sundays 10:00 PM)

Betrayal was probably the first big surprise of the fall pilots to me. The logline did literally nothing for me: “A couple falls into an affair only to find out their lives were become more complicated than a ‘simple’ affair.” But the pilot was intriguing; I was drawn in, mainly because of the lead Hannah Ware (Boss – also set in Chicago); there’s also a prologue and epilogue scene set in the future that I’d like to see resolved. That being said, I’m curious if this show will be able to build an audience; like FOX’s Lonestar a couple of years back, it is going to have difficulty with audiences that like to find someone to pull for.

Verdict: I’m giving it a couple of episodes to see how the show evolves past the pilot.

Magic Eight Ball Chances of a Second Season: Ask again later.

Killer Women (Midseason)

As an unabashed Battlestar Galactica fan, the idea of Number 6 Tricia Helfer as a badass Texas Ranger (and for those that love their Cylons, Michael Trucco has a small role in the pilot as her brother). I liked Killer Women, but it seemed the world was almost a little small. Also, the show didn’t really tread on any new ground we didn’t see in the short-lived – but underappreciated – Chase.

Verdict: I’m in … for now.

Magic Eight Ball Chances of a Second Season: Reply hazy try again.

Lucky 7 (Tuesdays 10:00PM)

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a network drama focused on a group of lottery winners. FOX’s Windfall was a wholly forgettable affair. ABC is banking on Lucky 7, based on BBC One’s The Syndicate will do better. I don’t think it will. There’s very little I found engaging; the only thing that really jumped off the screen was the one member of the group who didn’t cash in. His family’s story is about the only thing I’m interested in following.

Verdict: Not even the fact that ABC’s scheduled Lucky 7 at a time where my DVR could easily handle it will force me to give it a chance.

Magic Eight Ball Chances of a Second Season: Don’t count on it.

ABC pilots not yet available to press: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Tuesdays 8:00PM), Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (Midseason)