Warehouse 13 Review & Discussion

Saul Rubinek as Artie Nelsen, Joanne Kelly as Myka Bering, Eddie McClintock as Pete Lattimer

The short of it:  The advertising for Warehouse 13 did not do the show justice, but then, I’m not sure how they could have capitalized on an ad campaign for a show that had a decent, slow developing story line.

I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in this new show, Warehouse 13 (WH13) that is leading the newly renamed Syfy network programming charge.  They didn’t force feed us instant character development (there was plenty of conversational exchange that accomplished that) and story lines for the characters weren’t shoved in our face just for the sake of making things happen.

Everything progressed at a decent pace and I found myself engaged by the story the show was telling.

Will I be watching it next week?  Read on to find that out.

The 22-minute opening teaser segment was engaging enough to keep me pretty focused as we were introduced to Secret Service agents Myka Bering and Pete Lattimer.

They agents weren’t incredibly engaging at the beginning, but we didn’t know them right away.  I was just along for the ride, just like they were. If you were expecting to see instant action, then you might have come away feeling disappointed.

As the 2-hour premiere carried on, Bering and Lattimer developed more depth and (to me) became more interesting.

Pete has a type of sense, a fifth sense or spider-sense and Myka has an eye for detail.  This is what makes them a good team.  Pete may step right into a bear trap if someone said there are cookies in there, but Myka would see the bear trap and stop him.

Both agents were recruited behind the scenes and at first they had no clue what was going on.  Myka was ticked to say the least.  This did not look like the fast lane to somewhere important.  But as the case evolved, she became slowly and begrudgingly pulled into the job at WH13, while Pete jumped on board because of all the cool things there.

They didn’t like each other at first, but as they came to recognize and respect one another’s talents, they also came together as a team.  And I’m glad for that because I don’t think I could have used yet another sparring mixed-gender team always at odds.

The caretaker of Warehouse 13, Artie (Saul Rubinek) uses super-antiquated equipment that was reminiscent of steampunk-like gear.  Equipment that was invented many years ago, but is near on par with modern-day equipment.  More or less.

Saul Rubinek’s delivery is a bit low key from what I remember of him from past parts, and I enjoy it.  It was almost too low key, but I think he’s got a lot to bring to the table, as this character just reeks of backstory.

CCH Pounder plays the ageless Mrs. Frederic.  From what I see, she’s running the ultimate secret government programs and would seem to be the one who staffs this incredibly über-secret storage facility.  And from what we’ve seen so far, she’s been around for a very long time, and has not aged a bit.  The way Pounder played Mrs. Frederic, I’m thinking that I wouldn’t want to mess with her.

I hope they expound on Mrs. Frederic a little more.

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Did The Story Deliver?

WH13 is more about the story between all components of the episode interlaced with subtle tones of humor.

What I mean by that is that the case they worked on in this 2-hour premiere tapped into different aspects of the characters, showing us more of what makes our Secret Service agents tick, whether they liked it or not.

Like I said, it’s good story telling and that’s a good thing.  I don’t think I’m watching this show for the action scenes.  Who ever choreographs the fighting or the editing of the fight scenes does not agree with my sense of flow as the physical altercations are more chop-edited than fluid.  And for now, that’s the only real gripe I can come up with.

I’m cutting them some slack because it’s a brand new show, and, so far, nothing stood out and screamed for me to run and change the channel.

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Yes, I Liked It And I’m Not Alone

I did a quick Twitter search after the show and the first 20 “reviews” that I could pull out of the noise leaned heavily towards the positvie.  Of those 20 tweets, only 3 of them were upset in some fashion, but I’m not sure what they were expecting.

At one point in the Tweets, WH13 was compared to an older show called Special Unit 2, which I used to find entertaining…  I didn’t say good, just entertaining.  Me, I’m seeing a bit of Indiana Jones as they try to figure out what artifact they’re after, and Ghost Busters as they collect the artifacts in special containment units.  There are lots of other shows I could pull into the mix to describe WH13, but why.  The show should stand on its own and I think it will.  I’m sure those critical of it will manage to make all possible comparisons.

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In Closing

First, I hope the cow and the football stay in this show in some fashion.  I can’t wait to see how they explain the football, and there has got to be more to the cow than meets the eye.  It had good comedic timing.

Second, I can’t wait for that ad for the new Syfy network to change or stop.  It just doesn’t make sense to me and interrupts my flow of the show.  I get what they’re trying to say, but I’m not sure taking that much time to say it is going to work.  I don’t know.  I’m not the expert on musical commercials.

Third, there will be a lot of guest stars from other past Syfy shows passing through.  Joe Flannigan, Tricia Helfner, Michael Hogan are just a few off the top of my head.  It will be good to see them on Syfy again.

Fourth, Syfy is pronounced exactly like it used to be when it was Sci-Fi.  Now you know.

Yes, I will be watching WH13 again.  If it retains or improves on the how they deliver the story and create character interaction and development, this should be a hit.

Many in the Twitter community have voiced their enjoyment of the show.  I pretty much enjoyed it.  Now, Screen Rant readers, it’s your turn to fill in things I haven’t touched on or let us know what you thought of Warehouse 13.