Episode Recap & Review
Season 1, Episode 1 “Warehouse 13”
Show homepage: www.syfy.com/warehouse13
This two hour pilot ep introduces you to Warehouse 13’s dynamic secret service agent duo, Pete Lattimer (Eddie McClintock) and Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly). Pete and Myka are stereotypically opposites of one another- Pete, the intuitive, fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants bad boy VS Myka, the straight, by-the-books, keenly perceptive and driven career woman. It is this contrast that gets them the appointment to Warehouse 13. They are recruited by the mysterious Mrs. Fredrick to the secret government operation at a giant metal warehouse in the middle of nowhere, South Dakota. Neither is happy to see each other, but follows orders until their unbelievably lame re-assignment is sorted. It’s never clearly spelled out to them what their new duties are or what they are in for, but a-ha, that’s the fun of it!
You know this is going to be an interesting show when you meet Artie Neilson, a curator of sorts in charge of the snag, bag, and tag of supernatural ‘artifacts’ and the cool fusion of vintage and new tech they have on the show (pictured is the communicator designed by Philo Farnsworth in 1929 after he invented the TV).
Pete and Myka are sent on a mission to recover an unknown artifact in Iowa. The key to finding it? The unusual behavior of the people it affects. They investigate under Artie’s hunch armed with an electric stun gun by Nikola Tesla and a container full of artifact-neutralizing goo.
SPOILAGE AHEAD (You were warned!)
*BEGIN SPOILAGE*
This weeks’ artifact is a hair comb made by alchemists that transmits Lucrezia Borgia, a cutthroat Italian woman in the 1600s with power & love issues. It affects the human brain chemistry and wants love at any cost. Unchecked, this effect will spread like a plague! This comb possesses a middle-aged woman who tries to kill her godson’s girlfriend and any one else who gets in her way.
Serious character development points: We discover that Pete’s gut feelings have occurred all his life and the one time he didn’t listen to it was the day that his firefighter father dies in the line of duty. For Myka, her baggage is that she lost a lover and possibly fellow agent in ‘what happened in Denver’. Her ambition to be a great secret service agent weighs against her guilt of his death. At the end of the ep, Myka is given the chance to go back to DC, but Pete would have to stay behind either way. She chooses to stay.
A little rant from me: The thing that annoyed me about this ep was the beginning where they save the President from an artifact-affected person. How do both these really perceptive or in-tune agents miss the obvious sweaty, bloodshot, man standing alone staring at the artifact? And I kinda really disliked Myka for the first 2/3 of the ep. The actress has this sort of wide-eyed, blank stare on her face so often that it really didn’t sit well with me. Luckily, she managed other facial expressions by the end of the ep.
*END SPOILAGE*
THE WRAP UP:
Warehouse 13 is like the X-files, but a serious case of levity. It looks like it will be a fun ride with formulaic tendencies (but a formula that we’re happy and familiar with). Can’t wait to see what they’ll snag, bag, and tag for America’s attic next.
Psst! We’ll be seeing familiar faces in this season’s Warehouse 13 as guest stars, like BSG’s Tricia Helfer and Michael Hogan (Six and Tigh), what-show-hasn’t-he-been-on Mark Sheppard (Romo Lampkin on BSG, Tanaka on Dollhouse, Badger on Firefly), Eureka’s Erica Cerra and Niall Matter (Jo and Zane), and Stargate Atlantis’ Joe Flannigan (Sheppard).
[Source] EW
