Joanne Kelly, Saul Rubinek, Eddie McClintock, courtest of NBC
WAREHOUSE 13
Friendly Rating: Elementary and up, depending on individual constitutions.
Safety Rating: Lots of things going boom, some blood.
Quality Rating: Fun and smart, what more could you ask?
Season Two premieres tonight on Syfy at 9 p.m.
The final scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark (in that deep, never-ending warehouse) may have been the starting point for this imaginative and witty series about a couple of Secret Service agents whose job it is to keep all sorts of scary artifacts locked down and away from the unsuspecting public. But the producers of this one decided to go beyond 1940s Saturday matinees and hit the books. Literally.
Last season, Alice’s mirror was among the stuff causing trouble, not to mention several Edgar Allen Poe artifacts. The two agents, Pete (Eddie McClintock), who is not too bright, but is terribly sensitive to his vibes, and Myka (Joanne Kelly), the ultimate bookworm and existentialist, until she’s confronted with all this weirdness, find they have to rely on each other’s gifts to capture and lock down the afore-mentioned items. They are aided in their quest by Artie (Saul Rubinek), the care taker of the warehouse.
It can be violent and tonight’s episode, in particular, has a rather bloody scene, but more often than not, people don’t die – the idea is not to destroy, but contain. It can also be somewhat on the spooky side, so be careful if you have sensitive viewers in the household. It’s probably not a bad idea to monitor this one, if not for the violence, then for the frequent literary and arts allusions – I mean an Escher Vault?
Other good news for the season, CCH Pounder is back as stern Mrs. Frederick, the director of the project, as is Allison Scagliotti, as the young assistant Claire and Genelle Williams as Leena – who knows a lot about the warehouse, but doesn’t seem to have any actual attachment to it.
And the writing is back, including a great reference to Young Frankenstein, that we had to run the screener back to catch, plus all the glorious steam punk props and sensibility. I love that Artie’s computer keyboard has old manual typewriter keys, and monitors are as likely to be made from old oscilloscopes as modern materials. And, of course, the two-way video link – the Farnsworth, named after the guy who invented the electronics that made television possible.
With that kind of wit and non-stop action, what’s not to love?
