I think that was one of the best pilot episodes I have ever seen for an action series.
The first scene literally made me jump in my seat. That big boom was very well timed and I am not used to that level of action on the small screen. That goes for all the FX really and the set pieces/locations were really well done, cinematic even.
The cast has a lot of potential. I loved seeing Ron Glass in the headquarters and I hope he gets some screen time. Ditto Cobie Smulders because I love her. I am also in love with Fitzsimmons. I think those two have great chemistry. I am not sure if I like Ward yet, but there is plenty of time to find out. Heh, introducing your lead man as poop with knives sticking out was unusual to say the least.
The message the writers slipped in to the final speech was awesome and had me cheering. I had wondered about what kind of tone they would be able to find, what with the NSA Prism scandal and what not. A super secret, classify all the danger the public is in, heavily funded, autonomous from the democratic process, government department is a really, really hard thing to write right now as the "good guys." The Rising Tide/Anonymous elements were well done too and I am curious how they are going to pull that into the story as the season develops. Good sci fi must take into account what is going on in the culture and they more than exceeded my expectations on that front. Which was 99% Coulson pbuh.
Whedon, with a budget and a network on his side, is unstoppable.