WandaVision has been previewed as a twist on sitcoms with superheroes! It is premiering on Disney+ today with two episodes. The last we saw of Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) and Vision had Thanos tearing the Mind Stone from Vision and ending him(?) in Avengers: Infinity War (2018). The series is created by Jac Schaeffer who co-wrote the Captain Marvel (2019) screenplay. The first episode is written by Schaeffer who wrote the comedy The Hustle (2019) which didn’t seem like a laugh riot. The Marvel Studios logo, great to see it back again, has some Infinity War additions and changed to black and white. We get newlyweds Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) driving into a suburban town while a sitcom song plays. The theme song is by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. They enter their new house and kiss. Then, we see Wanda, in an apron, using her hex powers in a very Bewitched way floating around dishes.
One crashes into Vision in a suit and Wanda repairs it with her power. It looks like a stone on Vision’s brow, Mind Stone? Of course there is canned laughter with a laugh track. The two leads try to deliver the comedy as best they can, but the wry lines in MCU films can't sustain a 29 minute show. They notice a date on the calendar, August 23rd, but Vision can’t recall even though he has perfect android memory why that day might be special. Vision is about to head off to work and Wanda transforms him into a regular human before he leaves. Wanda ponders the calendar when she gets a knock at the door. It is their neighbor, Agnes (Katheryn Hahn), she voiced Doc Ock in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). She may be based or a counterpart to Agatha Harkness, who first appeared in Fantastic Four #94 (1970), Agatha had helped Wanda understand her powers. Agatha lived in New Salem, Colorado. She has brought a plant for a house warming gift, but it’s really an excuse to find out about her neighbors. Agnes is surprised at how fast they moved in and asked if they used a moving company.
Wanda responds, “Those boxes don’t move themselves”, a funny line. Surprisingly, Hahn isn’t too funny with the lines. She also mentions her husband and the “special occasion”, and realizes what the date is from Agnes’ suggestion of an anniversary. She leaves to work on the planning the anniversary. At the Computational Services Inc. building, Vision is typing at super speed on a small, mechanical calculator. He has the android calculations of Star Trek's Data. Vision brings over piles of papers to his co-worker, Norm (Asif Ali). He is a little confused about the business. Norm says they are a “computational form” company. Vision tries to remember the date and he is told by his boss, Mr. Hart (Fred Melamed), about the dinner. Melamed was in the action comedy, The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018). Another funny line when Mr. Hart asks Vision if he has “any skeletons in his closet.” Vision replies he doesn’t have a skeleton! At the house, Agnes is going over suggestions for the anniversary with Wanda. The android nature of Vision is the running joke. Wanda answers his call from work. Of course, they each have their own idea about the date, I do like that Wanda uses his nickname, Vizh, from the comics.
Next, we get a commercial of a toaster, the Toast Mate 2000 from Stark Industries. There is a red flashing light on it, but there is no context to this commercial in the show and how it works in the MCU. The hint of color slowly taking over a black and white sitcom world has already been done in Pleasantville (1998), 23 years ago. Night, Vision enters with Mr. Hart and Mrs. Hart (Debra Jo Rupp), the actress is of course known from That 70’s Show. At this point, the show seems to lean into the sitcom elements, but it lacks the energy of a classic sitcom, probably a veteran sitcom writer is needed. It is dark so Vision goes to the kitchen while Wanda appears in a white nightdress. She is about to surprise Mr. Hart when Vision turns on the lights. He tries to cover saying it is a traditional Sokovian greeting! The couple goes into the kitchen to work out the misunderstandings. Wanda snaps up a new dress while Vision tries to converse with his boss. Agnes has brought in her own meal into the kitchen. Wanda tries to hustle her out while Mrs. Hart wants to go to the kitchen to help.
Vision tries to cover the situation by singing while Wanda uses her powers to try to ready the dinner. There is a poof as the chicken turns into eggs, an unexplained manifestation of the hex power, Wanda is able to assemble a breakfast meal. Mrs. Hart has countless questions, but Wanda and Vision can’t recall their pasts. Their hesitation upsets Mr. Hart and he begins to choke on his food. Wanda and Vision can only look at Mr. Hart as he chokes as Mrs. Hart says, “Stop it” repeatedly and smiles. Vision goes to help Mr. Hart who has collapsed and uses his power to pull away the bone. Mr. and Mrs. Hart cheerfully leave. The credits start to roll as we pull back to someone watching the show on a monitor. I feared that the launch of the MCU shows would attempt something strange, but not capture what we like about the characters. I would hope there would be some hint of their previous life around the house and office, but the production design is too 50’s without hints. The second episode may be to provide context about what is happening, but the show needs to start with charming leads. WandaVision is a strange attempt at MCU sitcoms with a hint of what may come with Doctor Strange and the Multivese of Madness!
Three Mind Stones out of Five!
#WandaVision, #JacSchaeffer, #ElizabethOlsen, #PaulBettany, #KatherynHahn
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