‘Agent Carter’ Featurette & Episode 3 Synopsis

In one week’s time,Agent Carter – Marvel’s mid-season replacement for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., centering on Captain America: The First Avenger star Peggy Carter – will debut on ABC with a two-hour premiere. The seven-episode miniseries will feature Hayley Atwell as Peggy, Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark, and James D’Arcy as  Edwin Jarvis.

These three are brought together when Stark is framed for selling weapons grade technology on the black market and he asks Peggy – one of only a few people he trusts – to hunt down the missing weaponry and clear his name. Assisting her is Stark’s butler, Jarvis, and the two form an unlikely but more than capable duo. But working with Jarvis to clear Stark’s name means Peggy is living a double life, as she still maintains a position with S.S.R.

A new (and quite short) behind-the-scenes featurette for Agent Carter tries to get just that point across – Peggy Carter is a skilled and talented individual, but even she struggles with leading a double life. Give this latest look at Agent Carter a watch (above).

Atwell promises Agent Carter will explore the psychological and emotional toll that Peggy’s life as a secret agent will have on her. With a condensed season of only seven episodes, that doesn’t leave a lot of room to fit in all the thoughtful introspection, thrilling action, and period drama charm that Agent Carter promises.

Still, having too much to squeeze into a short season is preferable to having too little and needing to stretch an underdeveloped concept beyond its limits.

Admittedly, it took Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. a few episodes or so before it really began holding fans’ attention. Agent Carter won’t have that luxury, but luckily, the first episode of its premiere was written by Captain America 2‘s Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeeley and its second episode was directed by Joe Russo (also of Cap 2). That’s sure to inspire some confidence in the fledgling miniseries.

After its two-hour premiere, Agent Carter continues with Episode 3 “Time & Tide.” Read the episode’s synopsis, below:

As Agent Carter closes in on Howard Stark’s stolen technology, Peggy’s secret mission could unravel when the SSR arrests Jarvis and a secret is revealed, on “Marvel’s Agent Carter.”
“Marvel’s Agent Carter” stars Hayley Atwell as Agent Peggy Carter, James D’Arcy as Edwin Jarvis, Chad Michael Murray as Agent Jack Thompson, Enver Gjokaj as Agent Daniel Sousa and Shea Whigham as Chief Roger Dooley.
Guest starring are Lyndsy Fonseca as Angie Martinelli, Kyle Bornheimer as Agent Ray Krzeminski, Meagan Fay as Miriam Fry, Patrick Smith as Agent Wallace, Alexander Carroll as Agent Yauch, Rob Mars as Jerome Zandow, Lesley Boone as Rose, Benita Robledo as Carol, Bridget Regan as Dottie Underwood, Laura Coover as Molly, Tim James as Jimmy, Paul Roache as building manager, Christie Lynn Herring as prostitute and Rick Steadman as automat customer.
“Time & Tide” was written by Andi Bushell and directed by Scott Winant.

What say you, Screen Rant readers? Will you be watching Carter when it premieres? Let us know in the comments below.

Agent Carter‘s two-hour premiere airs on ABC January 6th, 2015.

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‘Parks and Recreation’: Paul Rudd Returning for Final Season

NBC’s critically acclaimed comedy series Parks and Recreation will draw to a closeafter its seventh season, which is set to premiere mid-January. The show has followed Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), a government official in the fictional Indiana town of Pawnee. For the upcoming final season, NBC has made plenty of alterations to the show’s schedule – moving from Thursday to Tuesday and airing two episodes a week – in an effort to give Parks and Recreation a worthy sendoff.

The show itself will see many big changes when the seventh season premieres, primarily that it will be set two years in the future. The trailer for season 7 of Parks and Recreation depicted the series’ main characters in new periods of their lives with new jobs and, in some cases, bigger families. However, the final season won’t only revisit the main cast – recurring and side characters will return as well.

EW is reporting Paul Rudd will reprise his role as Bobby Newport, heir to the Sweetums candy company, for two episodes in the show’s finale season. The character had a significant arc in season 4 of Parks and Recreation when Bobby ran against – and eventually lost to – Leslie for a City Council seat.

According to Parks and Recreation co-creator Mike Schur, Bobby will return to possibly help Leslie’s husband Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott): “Ben needs to fill a certain position and he thinks that Bobby might be a good candidate.”

Schur also said Rudd was high on the list of guest stars the series wanted to bring back for the final season. Among the other actors that are set to appear in season 7 are former stars Rob Lowe and Rashida Jones as well as recurring/guest stars Jon Hamm, Megan Mullally, and Natalie Morales.

Although Schur’s description of how Rudd’s character will fit into the seventh season leads to more questions than answers, fans will surely be excited to see him reprise the role of Bobby Newport. Rudd and Poehler have teamed up on plenty of occasions – most recently in their riff on romantic comedies They Came Together – proving them to be a fantastic comedic duo.

However, Rudd’s two-episode appearance may be shorter than fans would like. But with only 13 episodes in the last season of Parks and Recreation, there is less time to develop characters or stories. Given the list of guest stars, it appears Schur and fellow co-creator Greg Daniels are looking to revisit fan-favorite characters and give the show (and the viewers) a satisfying sendoff in the final season.

Parks and Recreation season 7 premieres on NBC on January 13th, 2015, and will conclude with an hour-long series finale the following month on February 24th.

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‘Daredevil’ Showrunner & Star Tease Villain Love Story, and More

In 2015, Marvel Studios will be continuing its storyline concerning Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in The Avengers: Age of Ultron as well as introducing Ant-Man to the cinematic universe. On the television side, Marvel is also expanding. Agent Carter will premiere on ABC and run during the midseason break of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which will pick up its second season after an impactful (and far-reaching) midseason finale.

Aside from those on ABC, two other Marvel TV series will debut on Netflix: Daredeviland A.K.A. Jessica Jones. From showrunner Steven S. DeKnight, crime dramaDaredevil will be the first of the Netflix series to premiere. Charlie Cox (Boardwalk Empire) stars as Matt Murdock, a blind defense attorney based in New York City who doubles as a masked vigilante. In a recent interview, DeKnight and Cox, along with head of Marvel TV Jeph Loeb, discussed the characters of Daredevil.

While talking to EW, DeKnight revealed that Daredevil will focus on the titular character as well as the show’s antagonist Wilson Fisk a.k.a. Kingpin, played by Vincent D’Onofrio. DeKnight said Fisk’s character development will be fleshed out and include the story of how he fell in love with his wife; you can read the showrunner’s full quote, below:

“Fisk has very many different aspects so it’s not all, ‘I want to conquer the city and make a lot of money.’ In our story, we tell the story of how he met his wife Vanessa and how they fell in love – our antagonist actually has a love story. That’s the love story you’re following, the one you’re invested in, and seeing how that affects him and changes him. I think Vincent just brings such depth to it, his performance is just astounding.”

The series will be about the rise of both a hero and a villain, as Loeb said, so viewers can expect a fully developed villain in Daredevil. Some criticisms of Marvel films have centered around the villains – particularly that many, such as the Dark Elves in Thor: the Dark World, were underdeveloped. However, it appears DeKnight is attempting to avoid those problems with Daredevil.

On the topic of whether or not other comic book villains would appear in the series,DeKnight previously shot down the idea that Bullseye would have a role in the first season. Now, DeKnight has said “it’s not not to say he wouldn’t be in the series at some point.” In the Ben Affleck-starring Daredevil movie, Bullseye was the main adversary and DeKnight didn’t want to rehash the villain’s story – or cram too many antagonists into one season.

As for the hero of the show, Cox revealed that Daredevil’s title as the “man without fear” will have a less literal meaning in the Marvel television series. This is because, according to Cox, a man without fear wouldn’t have much character development and wouldn’t be compelling to watch.

Read Cox’s full quote:

“Someone who does not have fear – literally does not experience fear – is not that interesting. The way I like to think about it is that he is a man with fear, but he on a daily basis decides to confront that fear and to overcome it. So the title of ‘the man without fear’ is almost a title that the public in his world gives him just because of what he does. But inside himself, he’s very afraid at times. And he finds a way to confront those fears and punch through it.”

Although Marvel has become well-known for its superhero blockbusters, on the television side – especially with these Netflix series – it appears the studio is focusing more on character than action. In Daredevil, Murdock and Fisk will be at the center of the series’ first season. Whether or not these characters can sustain the show on their own remains to be seen, but it seems Cox and DeKnight are confident in their hero/villain story.

Daredevil will premiere on Netflix in 2015.

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‘Thunderbirds Are Go!’ Teaser Trailer: We Need Your Help

In the 1960s, the sci-fi British TV show Thunderbirds followed the secretive organization International Rescue, created and operated by Jeff Tracy and his five sons. Scott, John, Virgil, Gordon, and Allen used technologically advanced rescue vehicles (Thunderbirds 1-5) to help save anyone in need. Now, to correspond with the 50th anniversary of Thunderbirds, ITV has revived the show with Thunderbirds Are Go!, a new series that will debut in 2015.

The original Thunderbirds was created using marionette puppetry – similar to Team America: World Police - and scale model special effects. Now, with the help of Weta Workshop (the special effects studio behind The Hobbit trilogy), ITV revived the series using a mixture of CGI and live action sets. Some of those effects can be seen in the new teaser trailer for Thunderbirds Are Go! as well as the first image released from the series

The teaser trailer (above) and the first image of the five Tracy brothers (below) offer fans more of an idea as to how the CGI will look in the finished Thunderbirds Are Go!series. A redesigned version of what appears to be the Thunderbird 5, the space station used by International Rescue, is featured in the teaser and on the newly launched website Thunderbirds.com.

The voice cast for Thunderbirds Are Go! includes Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) as Lady Penelope, Thomas Brodie-Sangster (The Maze Runner) as Tracy brothers Gordon and John, Rasmus Hardiker (Your Highness) as both Scott and Alan Tracy, and David Menkin (Arthur Christmas) as Virgil Tracy. Additionally, David Graham is returning as Aloysius Parker, his role from the original series.

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Both the teaser trailer and the image from Thunderbirds Are Go! give the impression that the new series will stay true to the original. Certainly the concept – a team of brothers trying to help people – is exactly the same. The biggest difference between the two shows seems to be the way in which they’re created.

Although the CGI of Thunderbirds Are Go! brings the series into the 21st century, fans of the original show may miss the quirks and aesthetics that come along with marionette puppetry. However, the CGI opens up Thunderbirds Are Go! to the younger audiences of today – since it is meant to be a children’s show.

Like other revived/rebooted series, the series’ need to acclimate to today’s children’s programming may alienate older viewers – or it may not. We won’t know for sure until the series premieres sometime next year.

What do you think of the CGI-rendered Thunderbirds Are Go! series? Or do you prefer the puppets from the original Thunderbirds? Let us know in the comments!

Thunderbirds Are Go! will air on ITV in 2015.

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‘Doctor Who’: Jenna Coleman Confirmed for Season 9

[SPOILERS for the Doctor Who 2014 Christmas Special ahead!]

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The Doctor Who 2014 Christmas special, “Last Christmas” (read our review), ended with Peter Capaldi’s Doctor and Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) taking off together, reuniting for more adventures across space and time after the season 8 finale, “Death in Heaven”, left it unclear what the future would hold for Clara and The Doctor. Now, we can officially confirm that Coleman will be returning in the ninth series of the sci-fi/fantasy series’ modern run.

Coleman’s predecessor, Karen Gillan as Amelia Pond (the companion to Matt Smith’s Doctor), hung around on the show for two and a half seasons. It appears that Clara will, in fact, be around as least as long, as Coleman has specially stated that she will be getting “a whole other series of stories with the Doctor” – meaning, she will be around for the entirety of season nine, presumably.

Clara became a much better-developed character throughout Doctor Who‘s eighth season (a.k.a. Capaldi’s debut series), and Coleman – who’s always done a good job of bringing Clara to life on the series – also said that she thinks it’s “wonderful” that the character’s story will continue to develop for a whole additional series. Here is her quote on the matter (via BBC News):

“There is so much more to do. I think they’ve [The Doctor and Clara] finally just reached a point where they really understand each other. The arrival of the 12th Doctor has just kind of dropped this whole bombshell and allowed the dynamic to totally change, so I think just when Clara was feeling more comfortable in the relationship, it has suddenly thrown something new up.”

Doctor Who introduced Clara as something of a glorified plot device (a la “The Impossible Girl”), whose existence drove the over-arching mystery in the second half of series seven. However, in series eight, she became more of a flesh-out individual, in no small part through her time with Danny Pink (Samuel Anderson), short-lived it may have ultimately been. Now, it remains to be seen if there is, indeed, more interesting story material to be told around the Clara character and her relationship with the most well-traveled of the Time Lords.

Steven Moffat is confirmed to be writing the season nine premiere for Doctor Who, after having served as its head writer for the past four series now. Series eight (under Moffat’s watch) was on the whole much better-received critically than series seven, so there is probably now a bit more support for him to go on telling The Doctor’s tale than there was this time a year ago, when Smith left the show (even after what seems to be generally lukewarm reactions to the season eight finale).

Still, just as any companion is only able to run with The Doctor  so long, it’s possible that Moffat will begin handing off more responsibilities to his fellow Doctor Who writers and/or producers, especially since he’ll be working on Sherlock season four over the forthcoming year. If nothing else, Doctor Who season nine will be including some fresh creative input, what with Torchwood alum Catherine Tregenna joining the writing crew (making her the first female writer Doctor Who‘s had under Moffat’s watch).

Doctor Who season nine will air sometime in 2015.

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