‘Agents of SHIELD’ now getting even further ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ promotion

ABC really wants to make Marvel’s “Agents of SHIELD” happen … and we get it. This is a show that they have invested a ton of money into so far, but for a variety of reasons (including just the simple fact that the show was not very good early on) its ratings have slumped to the point where it is not necessarily a lock for renewal. We still feel like it will be coming back, but the network still wants to do what it can to bring back some of that old audience.

With that in mind, we now have announcements like this one. ABC has confirmed that next week, they are going to be turning the show into a two-hour event in order to further capitalize on the crossover with “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” that left (movie spoiler alert!) SHIELD in complete disarray thanks largely to HYDRA. The show’s new episode Tuesday in “Turn, Turn, Turn” will touch on that, and it will carry over further into next week’s “Providence.”

So what the series is planning to do on April 15 is air “Turn, Turn, Turn” again, and then follow that up with the new episode at a special time in 9:00 p.m. Eastern. It’s a novel idea in the event that some see the “Captain America” movie a little bit later than others, but we’ll just have to wait and see if that really ends up working to bring in the film audience at all. Even if it increases the show by a tenth or two in the demo, it is probably still something that will be considered a win.

What do you think about the idea for Marvel and ABC to try to milk the show further: A smart decision, or a wee bit desperate? Share your thoughts below.