Agent Carter

[tecolote]

Is anyone watching Agent Carter, the latset Marvel entry.It's set in 1946, and the cars, clothes,scenery seem good. A camera girl uses a nice Leica Screw mount, Howard Stark has a nifty boat, cool ties on the gents. All in all, it seems like a pretty good effort to me, even though Carter's Walther PPK is too achronologiclally new for '46....

Regards,

Tecolote

 

[up196]

All in all, it seems like a pretty good effort to me, even though Carter's Walther PPK is too achronologiclally new for '46....

Regards,

Tecolote

I thought the Walther had an exposed backstrap, unlike a PPK, so I watched this "sneak peek" on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l5Kt_c1-7U

If you freeze it just right at about 56-57 seconds, you can see that the left side of the slide is marked Model PPK/S.

 

[Bushman]

Been watching this show, and I like it a lot. It's well paced, and action packed, but not overly so. I think that if it weren't so well paced, I'd have noticed errors for the time, but I didn't that much. I also give it a bit of a lee-way simply because we're dealing with secret agents, and they always have the cool gadgets before they're common place. I was afraid that, because I haven't been keeping up with the original "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." series, that I'd be lost within a ton of references to the other series that I wouldn't understand, but fortunately that's not the case at all. It works great as a stand alone series and has really kept my interest. It's currently the only basic network show I've been keeping up with.

 

[Worf]

As a life long Marvelite I awaited this show with great interest. One never knows how Nick Fury goes from WWII Commando to 60's superspy at least not in the comics I read. This series will give us the origin of S.H.I.E.L.D. and it's history. Maybe even explain how Nick Fury changes from white to black.... LOL! But as I said in an other thread. I find the show fast, fun, the men are tough and the women gorgeous. What more can you ask for?

Worf

 

[Fading Fast]

The architecture and period sets are outrageous. The diner she frequents is Art Deco on steroids. The office she works in is fantastic 1940s. I have only somewhat followed the story (which fortunately isn't that hard to do in this show) as I keep getting lost looking at the sets, the cars, the old radios, etc. that are in every scene. Also, as someone who knows nothing about Agent Carter from Marvel, I am going to have to do some research as I feel I am missing too much back story.

 

[Doctor Strange]

There's not a lot of backstory. This version of Peggy Carter was introduced in Captain America: The First Avenger - her major establishing appearance. Watch this flick if you want the important backstory. She also appeared briefly in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a couple of flashback cameos in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and in an "Agent Cater" one-shot short on the Iron Man 3 Blu-Ray that was essentially a test run for this series.

The original Peggy Carter of the comics, introduced in the Kirby/Lee run of Captain America in the sixties, has very little in common with this conception of the character. She's Cap's wartime girlfriend and a French Resistance fighter. And the aunt, later grand-aunt (as real time advanced and in-comics-story time was adjusted) of Cap's sixties and later girlfriend, S.H.I.E.L.D agent Sharon Carter.

As far as the new series goes, I liked the first two episodes a lot. Hayley Atwell's tremendous presence in the role made up for some of its sillier story points and the sometimes-on, sometimes-off period stylization. It's way more satisfying TV than the improving-but-still-a-slog Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

 

[m0nk]

I like the show to an extent, it certainly has much better writing than Agents of Shield. My compaint is with the hats (and lack-therof). The hats all seem to be much more modern than the period. From the ones I've noticed, they're mostly pressed-form creases and not open crown hand-creased such as the hats of the day. I have (and have had) quite a few vintage late 1940's and early 1950's hats and they're all open crown hand-crease with crowns ranging from 5 1/4" to 5 3/4", while the ones in the show appear to be mostly 5" or only slightly taller with pre-form c-crown creases. And a lot of peopler are going hatless outdoors, which seems off to me... just my take on that aspect, but that said, I'm looking forward to the next episode.

 

[MontaukTrl]

I thought the Walther had an exposed backstrap, unlike a PPK, so I watched this "sneak peek" on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l5Kt_c1-7U

If you freeze it just right at about 56-57 seconds, you can see that the left side of the slide is marked Model PPK/S.

A PPK/S makes it a genuine anomaly - PPK/S did not come along until the Gun Control Act of 1968 was passed. The PPK start production in the 30s, but the PPK/S is a invention for the American market ONLY. The PPK/S is a PP frame with a PPK slide and barrel in order to get around the requirements of the aforementioned Gun Control Act.

 

[MikeKardec]

A PPK/S makes it a genuine anomaly - PPK/S did not come along until the Gun Control Act of 1968 was passed. The PPK start production in the 30s, but the PPK/S is a invention for the American market ONLY. The PPK/S is a PP frame with a PPK slide and barrel in order to get around the requirements of the aforementioned Gun Control Act.

I wish we could expect more from Hollywood but this is one area where subjectivity rules. Even though shows all supposedly have armorers or prop men who know what they are up to, the level of precision in dealing with weapons and weapons handling (especially period weapons handling) is diminishing as fewer and fewer people have familiarity with firearms. Personalities are also an issue. I worked with an armorer on a Western who insisted on bringing in original guns from the period, he was very proud of this fact ... unfortunately they LOOKED like they were 100 years old. And functioned like it too. My complaints about the look fell on deaf ears, the director just didn't get it, in his mind things were old in the "old west." But I warned the armorer, the first time we miss a take because a old weapon failed to function he had to replace all the guns not previously established with modern replicas. Of course he told me there wouldn't be a failure and, of course, there was ... on the first gun shot in the film. Problem solved. The point, people insist on odd things and often are wishing to use what they have in stock rather than harm their budget (or what they are planning to pocket) by buying or renting something from outside.

There is also a worthy excuse that can be made. Not all semi-autos work equally well with blanks and tuning an individual gun is sort of a trick. Since there is no recoil with a blank the entire mechanism functions on gas pressure ... machine guns work fine but few pistols were designed to function that way. Spring weight, the type of blank and the size of the hole in the barrel plug are all critical ... the smaller hole in the barrel plug the better action you get but less flash and more frequent cleaning. I'm not an expert in these things, there is probably more to it, but I've been through this issue a time or two from the perspective of a producer. Movie guns are not respected by many who use them and they tend to be dropped, worn out, played with and suffer from that indefinable mechanical gremlin that appears when too many people (even competent and respectful people) mess with something.

Also no one seems to want to use revolvers any longer and Walthers tended to have very heavy springage. There might be only a few out there that work well. I was told at Stembridge Gun Rental (the "Western Costume" for firearms) that they had only one Colt 1903 Pocket Automatic that was totally reliable ... it was the pistol used virtually every time one was seen on screen for 40 years or so. They probably had 20 others "just" like it but only one they could recommend with confidence. There was a time when nearly all the 1911s were reputed to be Llama 9mms rather than Colt .45s because someone had figured out how to make them more reliable with blanks ... that was a bit before my time. Frighteningly, today the gun companies themselves engineer some of the semi autos used in film ... audiences seeing a gun in a film is such good advertising for them.

All that said, it is a live action comic book story with exaggerated art direction to match that concept so I should probably lighten up!

 

[DecoDame]

As I mentioned in the general "What are you watching" thread, I really, really enjoyed the premiere. So I'm in. As Bushman said, it really is the only network broadcast show I'm currently bothering to follow.

And also one of the few instances in watching a period piece where I've enjoyed the ride so much I'm not obsessively grading the authenticity as I watch. Unless a 50s tail fin drives by, I'm gonna let it go on this one. It's such a loud, stylized version of the Era, based on comic book characters, so it has more wiggle room with me. Besides just being plain entertaining.

For anyone wanting to learn the comic book origins of Peggy Carter, they can watch this.
[video=youtube_share;RV2SDQfFk44]http://youtu.be/RV2SDQfFk44[/video]
Also, seems Bridget Regan (for other other genre fans who will recognize her) is joining AC on tonite's show, playing "Dottie". I'm not unpleased.

 

[DecoDame]

(SPOILERS of course) I liked tonight's episode, though the beginning was relatively slow. I didn't mind it, but wondered if the attention-spanned-hampered general audience might be getting restless. The last 20 mins or so really picked up with the fight on the boat and the surprising hit on the Agent. I thought Peggy's reaching out to Angie was nicely played by HA, too.

I don't believe for a moment that Dottie is the golly-gee she's being introduced as. You don't hire Bridget Regan for that kind of role (stereotyping is a fact) - so is she working for Leviathan? I swear I'd believe she made the hit herself if the figure approaching the car hadn't seem male (but..disguise and misdirection?). She's certainly there at the women's hotel because of Peggy, imo, not by chance.

And a 2 week break before another episode? Hope the show doesn't lose viewership momentum.

 

[LuvMyMan]

Well, we here watched this show and appreciated something about the time period. I am sure if someone is looking for small details of what is spot on or not, can find them. But the show was worth watching and so far has been entertaining. It was this or watching our DVD collection of Boardwalk Empire for this evening's entertainment.

As already mentioned, the time setting and cars, attire, and action all seem to make this a winner for us.

 

[tecolote]

As it is a sci-fi show, I suppose the show can be given a little wiggle room. The look of the show reminds me of Mob cityalmost as if that's what the producers used as a template.
Carter's PPK/s is,as shown on IMFDB in a sreencap, is a U.S. made 9mm kurz(380 ACP), rather unusual in wartime Walther PPKs and PPs,but by far the most common chambering in the PPK/s, and really would not be an issue in filming anyway,as long as it went bang! on cue. However, there does seem to be a real dearth of vintage firearms( and most other vintage subjects) knowledge these days in the film/TV industry, and as mentioned above, producers/directors often don't really care anyway.
I think that Royal typewriter may be period OK, and I love those ties. Interestingly, our nephew was over tonight and watched it with us. He remarked,"There sure aren't many people smoking,are there?"

Regards,

Tecolote

 

[Doctor Strange]

You gun guys really have to calm down: there is PLENTY on this show that isn't even vaguely period accurate. For example, two establishing shots used repeatedly in last night's episode:

The ship/docks with the four-tower suspension bridge in the background... There is no four-tower bridge like that anywhere near NYC.

The repeated nighttime shots of the Chrysler Building... The fluorescent tubes outside the V-shaped windows were only added to the crown in 1981, it wasn't illuminated that way in 1946.

Period issues aside, I really liked last night's episode. Peggy's subtle handling of Jarvis being interrogated was brilliant, and her fight with the mook guarding Stark's stolen weapons was awesome. And her showing more emotional responses to everything going on than a typical "hero" would is just great. Hayley Atwell is outstanding in this role, and I already feel that this series is far more confident, successful, and dependably entertaining than Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

 

[tecolote]

Doctor Strange: I appreciate your comments about the bridge and the Chrysler Building. I didn't know that, and obviously the producers,etc. in L.A. didn't either, and frankly probably didn't care a bit.Being the OP of the thread, I was hoping for more of the informtion such as you and others have provided, mainly because I like the show enough to pay attention to it and the neat details, right or wrong, that catch my eye. However as a "gun guy", I can assure I, and the others, are plenty calm, even blase about the gun goofs. We'd be surprised if it didn't happen. If you'll note my above post, I mentioned the dearth of period info in all subjects vintage; I believe this sort of expertise is. perhaps, literally dying out. It is the stuff we know about that jumps out at us.

I am hoping that someone will chime in with knowledge of Royal typewriters to comment on the typewriter/transmitter
Regards,

Tecolote

 

[Bushman]

I think we should also remember that this is a universe where, in World War II, a Nazi scientist with a red colored skull for a face had an army using laser weaponry. I don't think that period accurate guns are that much of a concern to the production team.

 

[MikeKardec]

I think we should also remember that this is a universe where, in World War II, a Nazi scientist with a red colored skull for a face had an army using laser weaponry. I don't think that period accurate guns are that much of a concern to the production team.

Hysterical!

 

[Hat Dandy]

I hope I don't get too many tomatoes hurled in my general direction but I was only lukewarm about the show. My daughters, however, like it and this good enough for me.

 

[Fading Fast]

I think the director and set designers are going for a stylized look more than accuracy and, once I let my quibbling go, I'm enjoying the over-the-top '40s and deco vibe. The interrogation room looks like an Edward Hopper painting on steroids. The diner looks like Art Deco in outer space.

As to the diner on the show, it has both Automat-type machines (where you can get you food out of, basically, a vending machine) and a full service section where a waitress takes your order, etc. Did diners exist that offered both vending machine and full-service?

 

[Doctor Strange]

Sure. There were still a couple of Horn & Hardart restaurants in operation when I worked in NYC in the 70s-90s, and they had both an automat wall and a cafeteria-style line. There were some free-standing tables, and a very large counter with stools. I don't think waitstaff came to your table, unless you were sitting at the counter. But there was more human service than "automat" implies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horn_&_Hardart