Warehouse 13 briefly flitted by my radar when it first began airing, but the premise didn’t capture me and I didn’t recognize the actors. Over the years I heard mostly good things about it, so when an acquaintance recommended it, I got the first disc from Netflix to try it out.
The pilot was a little slow (being a double-length premier at 90 minutes long) but interesting. The two main characters had a Bones- and Castle-like opposites attract chemistry, and I loved their new boss’s penchant for retro gadgets and milk and cookies. The show’s focus on supernatural objects rather than supernatural beings helped it stand apart from other speculative shows.
Eddie McClintock and Joanne Kelly play U.S. Secret Service agents Pete Lattimer and Myka Bering, who are ordered to the mysterious Warehouse 13 after saving the President. The warehouse is managed by the eccentric Artie Nielsen, played by Saul Rubinek, who I know best from the pilot of Leverage (I’ve seen the pilot so many times I can quote just about every line). He tells them the warehouse stores items with unique or mysterious qualities, and their new job is to collect them.
The second episode runs a little tighter, and guest stars Tricia Helfer (best known for Battlestar Galactica, but she was also in several episodes of Burn Notice) as an FBI agent reluctant to share information with a team who can’t even explain their reason for being there. It was about halfway through this episode that I knew I would keep watching this show. And as the opening credits ran for episode three, I knew I loved Warehouse 13.
At only three episodes in, it’s hard to compare it to shows I’ve watched for years, but I’d put it on par with Alphas, a fellow SyFy show I’ve recently fallen in love with. Definitely better than my experience so far with Supernatural and Suits, though not as amazing as Veronica Mars and Bones. I love the steampunk feel and the sibling-like bickering between the partners, and in many ways so far the show seems like a weird mishmash of Bones and Angel (minus David Boreanaz).
But Netflix isn’t going to cut it, not if I’m going to be rewatching episodes with a friend. So I just bought myself season one.
That acquaintance of yours sounds like an awesome person. Did season one arrive yet?
Joanne Kelly reminds me, have you seen The Dresden Files? She has a recurring role in that series.
Nope, it hasn’t arrived. And I haven’t seen The Dresden Files, are they good?
The Dresden Files was a short lived show, but I really enjoyed it. It is about a Chicago Detective, that happens to be a Wizard. He is a private eye for the strange and magical. I enjoyed the urban take on the whole Wizarding World. His staff was a hockey stick, and his wand was a drumstick. Last I checked the entire series was free on Hulu.
I so want to start this series! (I’m a fan of Eureka: heard that Fargo had a crossover episode and the artifacts they acquire tied in with section 5). I tried watching the first episode of season 3 (it was on demand) and I was completely lost. If only Netflix had this series steaming…
Warehouse 13 is now #1 in my top 5 list.
Warehouse 13 season 3 is now on Netflix !!! Oh happy day.