Warehouse 13 - First Quarter Impressions

Ever since last summer’s cliffhanger finale, I have been languishing in anticipation of Warehouse 13’s second season premiere. And now, eight months later, here we are! What high-octane hijinks and action-packed artifact-retrieval await us in this brave new season?

Episode 201 – Time Will Tell

Slapdash, poorly scripted ones it would seem. Hrmm.

The writers have tasked the premiere with two chores. The first is to resolve last season’s “MacPherson” finale. We are not talking about an episode with a conclusive ending, with a “Six Months Later” premiere. We are talking “The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1” here – Picard/Locutus informing the Entreprise that “resistance is futile”, and Riker giving the order to fire on the Borg cube. We are talking “WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S TO BE CONTINUED?!”

So. This episode is about fallout.

The second chore is to set up the new season’s over-arching plot arc. What new and exciting conflicts are going to challenge our trusty Warehouse agents from without, and possibly from within? Out with the old, in with the new, and all that jazz.

Folks, I was disappointed. Not so much by the clumsy execution of these two chores, but more by the out-of character moments. Pete, whom I adore, is the good-hearted goofball whose intuition and empathy lead him toward the heart of the mystery. In the premiere, the writers substituted poor decision-making for intuition. Pete is sacrificed to the god of Plot Progression, and acts like a dolt to facilitate a new recurring character’s introduction. That’s weak writing - it seems like the creative team simply couldn’t conceive of any other way (aside from damaging the character) to advance their plot. For any aspiring writers out there, if that is a wall you ever encounter, please take a step back and think about why you’ve up come against such an obstacle before trying to awkwardly force your way over it.

Artie and Claudia’s dialogue doesn’t suffer from the break, thankfully, but I am inclined to believe that this is due to the fact that a script would have to be catastrophically bad for Saul Rubinek to be unable to salvage something from it. Allison Scagliotti has good chemistry with Saul and shines when the writers don’t weigh her down with irritating science-hipster lines.

At the end of the day, the episode accomplishes its objectives, but not without consequences. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and my heart seems to have spent the eight intervening months between finale and premiere ironing the wrinkles from the show. The premiere reminded me that the show is not infallible; there will be moments of bad writing, bad dialogue and weak story-telling from time to time. That wasn’t what I wanted out of the episode, but perhaps that cold-water-to-the-face sensation was necessary.

Episode 202 – Mild Mannered

Alright, the premiere is in the rear-view mirror. What have you got for us this week, creative team? Special guests stars Jewel Staite and Seah Maher, of Firefly and Stargate: Atlantis fame? Well, we know one of them did it. I don’t know what “it” is yet; regardless, I'm positive one of them did "it."

Here’s the thing, though: Warehouse 13 has a great track record of bringing in nerdy guest stars for non-antagonistic roles: Joe Flannigan (SG:A), Joe Morton (Eureka), Niall Matter (Eureka), Michael Hogan (BSG), Tricia Helfer (BSG), Mark Sheppard (everything). So that whole “it” thing? Fuhgeddaboudit.

The episode goes a long way towards repairing the damage from the premiere: solid one-shot artifact mission for Myka and Pete and amusing Warehouse sub-plot with Artie and Claudia. I admit it’s a little formulaic, but W13 is not intense, searing drama – I’m here for the great banter that occurs when the cast and the writers are firing on all cylinders. If they keep delivering that within their Ghostbusters/X-Files/Antiques Road Show formula, well, I’ll keep watching.

The characters are being written properly again, so my major issues with the premiere are gone. The episode never really moves beyond the “Special Guest Stars!” novelty it advertises, but it's fun. It's certainly a move in the right direction.

Also. “It”? Yeah. Totally right.

Episode 203 – Beyond Our Control

Right up front, folks, this episode is great. This is the calibre of episode that kept me coming back for more last season. Formula is simple. No guest stars, no season-wide implications (or are there...?), just a straight-forward artifact retrieval. That the artifact is apparently in the Warehouse’s current base-town of Univille allows the creative team to reveal a little more of the show’s universe.

The episode also features the ham-fisted introduction of potential love interests for Pete and Claudia later in the season. First off, Pete and Univille’s local vet, are at each other’s throats at the outset of the team’s investigation. The nonsensical nature of their antagonism screams looooove interest. I suppose it could be ridiculous characterization, but I thought we’d gotten past that, creative team? Still, my Vegas money says love interest, because, well...duh.

Meanwhile, Claudia bumps into Michael Cera’s less successful younger brother at Univille’s local hardware store. Hey, you know what would be cool? What if he wore Buddy Holly glasses like Rivers Cuomo and half of the hipster population of America? Perfect. The audience will love this guy’s slightly awkward charm for sure.

PROTIP: Michael Cera is trying to not be Michael Cera these days (well, for Scott Pilgrim’s sake, we hope), so maybe his brand of awkward-chic is not what you should be affecting right now.

Not digging this guy, and that is certainly not because I have a ridonculous crush on Claudia (when she isn’t being fed those science-hipster lines). I suppose that if Wonder Twin is the worst part of the episode that means it’s been pretty good overall. It’s definitely the best example of W13’s fun formula so far this season.

The Concise Conclusion which Reduces the Complexity and Effort of the Body of the Article

Ladies and gentlemen, we’re back to good. While Warehouse 13’s second season started off rocky, a few misfires here and there, the creative team is getting back into the swing of things. Beyond Our Control is a great example of what the show does best and as I wait for the fourth episode, Age Before Beauty, to air next Tuesday, I am hopeful for a season that features entertaining and exciting challenges for the Warehouse crew, as well as a greater exploration of the world it inhabits.

More on Warehouse 13 at the half-way mark.