The Five Season Rule

Joanne Kelly and Eddie McClintock

This week marked the start of the fifth and final season of my favorite goofy Steampunk/Occult/Sci-Fi TV show  "Warehouse 13." The SyFy channel (I still hate that stupid name - what is it with me and names, lately? - again, I digress) seems to have a pattern of dumping some it's best shows after 5 seasons. "Eureka" was another sweet and goofy Sci-Fi show, while "Battlestar Galactica" spent a scant four seasons over 6 years. 

A fan since the very first episode, Uncle P is truly going to miss "Warehouse 13," though from what I'm guessing so far, it should have a satisfying ending. Yes, it's full of Steampunk gadgets (something they finally acknowledged in last night's season premiere) and a pseudo-science/occult vibe that makes total sense, given the confines of the universe established by the writers (Yes, K - "Within the parameters of it's own reality." Doesn't sound so crazy now, does it? -- Oops. Digressing again). Cool toys, one-liners and obscure but often hilarious historical and or literature references (and self-references) aside, it's the rather extraordinary cast and their chemistry that make "Warehouse 13" such a delight to watch. Brilliant veteran character actors Saul Rubinek and CCH Pounder are joined by Joanne Kelly; Eddie McClintock (who some call 'the poor man's David Boreanaz, though truth be told, I'll take Eddie over David any day...); Allison Scagliotti ("One Tree Hill") and Aaron Ashmore ("Veronica Mars") in a group that has become an oddly functional family is a very dysfunctional universe. 

More than anything, it's rather amazing chemistry between McClintock and Kelly that make the show so very watchable, as evidenced by the episode in which an 'artifact' (if you watch, you know) causes the unlikely partners to switch bodies in an episode which managed to skewer several genre tropes in one fell swoop:

Kelly's 'sexy, smart gal' is the perfect compliment to McClintock's 'sexy doofus.' Together, they provide the show with the perfect combination of romantic/sexual tension and buddy-cop camaraderie. Add Scagliotti's father/daughter relationship with Rubinek to her GBFF relationship with Ashmore and you have quite an interesting group of characters exploring all kinds of relationships amidst the quirky premise. TV doesn't get much more fun than this, kids.

The season premiere picked up right where last season's cliff-hanger left off with a time-travel, continuum-altering plot that was hardly original but very amusingly pulled off, saving the Warehouse once again from someone who wanted to use it's secrets for nefarious means. While there is never any doubt that our intrepid heroes will find a way to save the day, the fun is in watching how they do it. I must imagine it's lots of fun on the set of "Warehouse 13." I will be sad to see it go, but will never deny the pleasure it;s brought me. This is hardly Asimov or Heinlein. But it's always entertaining.

Only 6 episodes? Dang. Way to disappoint, SyFy. Hope we get at least another full 13 episode season of "Haven." Genre Geek rant over (for now).

More, anon.
Prospero

My Favorite Steampunk Sci-Fi Show

If you're not watching "Warehouse 13" on SyFy, you're missing out on one of television's most entertaining and amusing Science Fiction shows, ever. No, it's not as good or intense as "Fringe" but it has a charm all its own and the chemistry between the two leads makes for the best TV Sci-FI team since Scully and Mulder.

For the unfamiliar, Warehouse 13 is a storage vault for artifacts which have certain powers and/or abilities, imbued upon them by their original owners. For example, Lewis Carroll's mirror allows one to play ping-pong with oneself; Ben Franklin's lightning rod boosts the energy to any object to which it's attached; Sylvia Plath's typewriter makes its user commit suicide... you get the idea. Run by a mysterious government agency of Regents headed by the even more mysterious (and apparently ageless) Mrs. Frederic (CCH Pounder), the Warehouse is overseen by Artie Nielsen (Saul Rubinek). Secret Service recruits Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) and Pete Lattimer (Eddie McClintock) do most of the field work, aided by tech nerd Claudia Donovan (Allison Scagliotti) and psychic B&B owner Leena (Genelle Williams). New this season is gay ATF agent Steve Jinks (Aaron Ashmore*), who can tell whenever someone is lying just by looking into their eyes.

The team uses communicators called "Farnsworths" (after the accepted inventor of Televison) and energy guns called "Teslas" (after inventor Nikola Tesla). Artie's office is a compendium of Steampunk gadgets and keyboards while a variety of historical characters (HG Wells for one - who it turns out was really a woman in the Warehouse's universe) appear on a semi-regular basis.  Of course, the most fun comes from the "Will They or Won't They?" sexual tension between Myka and Pete.

A Tesla Gun

 Now in it's third season, "Warehouse 13" is SyFy's highest rated original show and that's hardly surprising, given the smart and funny writing combined with a charismatic and very attractive cast.

Last season's best episode involved Pete and Myka exchanging bodies (thanks to a pair of Gryffon bookends), which ramped up the sexual tension and made for some hilarious comments on the differences between men and women. Of course, in the sneak preview clip embedded below, that tension is increased tenfold. And it's also nice to see that McClintock has been working out over the hiatus. Yum!

I can't wait to see where the writers will take this show. Last season saw a crossover with SyFy's other terrific original series "Eureka." It can only get smarter, funnier and sexier from here. 

If you're a fan of Sci-Fi, Steampunk and Supernatural fiction, I promise you will love "Warehouse 13" as much as I do.

*Twin brother of X-Men's Iceman, Shawn Ashmore.

More, anon.

Prospero