ABC’s big shiny new action series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., debuted to huge numbers last week. It was seen by over 11 million viewers and scored a 4.9 in the coveted 18-49 demo, which bested both The Voice and CBS’s paint-by-numbers juggernaut NCIS. The second episode, however…
The ABC series, which posted the biggest drama debut in four years, pulled in 8.4 million viewers and a 3.1 in the adults 18-to-49 demographic Tuesday, dropping 34 percent from last week. S.H.I.E.L.D. placed third in the timeslot behind The Voice (14.2 million, 4.4) and NCIS, which drew 19.3 million and a 3.4, down two-tenths, for Cote de Pablo’s final episode. [TV Guide]
Our own Dan Seitz outlined some of the early problems with the show in his review of last night’s episode, so I’ll direct you there for the real, actual analysis of why viewers might be bailing on the show so quickly. (A bunch even bailed mid-episode, which is probably not a good sign.) Instead, I’d just like to point out that toward the end of the episode the agents blew a 6×6 hole in the side of an airplane that was yoinking 250-pound Peruvian military officers out of the plane two at a time, and they plugged it by blowing up a thin, partially transparent emergency life raft that magically fit over the hole and provided enough structural support to allow the plane to land safely. Here’s a screencap.
Not gonna lie, I kind of love that the day was saved via the aeronautical equivalent of duct-taping a Hefty bag to your car door in the place where your driver’s side window was right up until a narcotics user bashed it out to steal the loose change in your cup holder. Please ring in on the plausibility of this plan in the comments. SCIENTISTS ONLY.