Marvel TV Reviews Round-Up: T.A.H.I.T.I & All Hail The King

It's our very own Marvel Two-Shot (and suffice to say that if one's lost on you, you'd better go)...
Marvel Studios couldn't be on stronger form right now, with Captain America: The Winter Soldier set to storm the box office at the end of this month and Guardians of the Galaxy already looking set to become a boiling-hot new property for the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise this Summer. What's often neglected, however, is that Marvel are slowly but surely entering the TV stratosphere with a host of live-action projects, the most notable of which is the first season of their ABC detective drama Marvel's Agents of SHIELD.

The series returned to ABC with a bang last night via its fourteenth episode, T.A.H.I.T.I., and here we've got not only the first verdict on that spectacular mid-season première, but also our evaluation of the latest straight-to-Blu Ray short film (or Marvel One-Shot, as the studio call it), All Hail The King:

• MARVEL ONE-SHOT: ALL HAIL THE KING (4/5)- Central to the appeal of this short (launched on the Thor: The Dark World Blu-Ray package last month) is Ben Kingsley's reprisal of his Iron Man 3 role as Trevor Slattery, a 'professional' actor whose talents were put to creative use by Aldrich Killan in the form of the fictitious Mandarin, a front for Killian's Extremis researching division which was soon set aside once Tony discovered the terrorist's true nature. Now imprisoned for his crimes, Slattery agrees to an interview with an intrepid documenter, at which point hilarious chaos ensues as the pseudo-antagonist rattles off an all-manner of ludicrous anecdotes regarding his performing career. In essence, All Hail The King is a running gag, or rather a run-on gag that pursues Kingsley's gut-wrenchingly comedic construct beyond Iron Man 3's storyline and teases the implications of how his recent actions have been perceived by the oft-mentioned Ten Rings organisation (headed by the real Mandarin in the comic-books). Had the latter element of the flick's narrative been given a bit more attention in its final moments, then Hail might have gone down as one of the superior productions from Marvel Studios so far, but even as it is- taking the form of an extended sketch- this is a brilliantly raw diversion from the glum-and-apocalyptic tone of The Dark World that warrants the purchase of the Blu-Ray version on its own merits alone.
• MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D: T.A.H.I.T.I. (5/5)- So just to get the bad news out of the way first, here's the primary remaining problem with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fourteen episodes in- T.A.H.I.T.I. is a 5* episode solely because it diverts the show's focus from its remarkably unsympathetic outsider protagonist Skye and instead places Clark Gregg's supreme Agent Phil Coulson directly in its crosshairs. Just as was the case with The Magical Place in January, the narrative here for the majority engages with the nature of Coulson's resurrection and begins to disentangle how the seemingly fantastical event which triggered his revival can be rationalised to a degree. Quite why this particular agent is held in such high esteem (other than for his enduring charm, of course, which Gregg continues to convey with aplomb) by Director Fury is still sketchy terrain at this point, but judging by the prominence of this much-coveted plot arc here, we're sure to find out more in the weeks ahead. New aboard the Bus this week was Bill Paxton's John Garrett, the Supervising Officer of both Coulson and Ward, and this reviewer sincerely hopes that Paxton returns in future episodes, since Garrett was undoubtedly a breath of fresh air in a series which has too often been rigid in its representation of its central ensemble's dynamic (kudos to B.J. Britt for subverting this as well with his contribution as SHIELD trainee Antoine Triplett) and indeed the team's interaction with supporting characters such as these. Best of all, with a post-credits sequence that finally accomplished a swift and proficient integration of an Asgardian character (in this case Lorelei, better known to fans of the words "Make Mine Marvel" as Lorelei, an Enchantress and ally to Loki) into the show's universe, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. may finally have reached its turning point with its best episode yet, and as such, the show may be well on the road to a Season Two commission- and lord knows, it's about time!

For all the latest news on Agents of SHIELD and the studio's other upcoming big-screen and small-screen productions, keep it On-Screen in the days ahead.