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Warehouse 13 begins like most police dramas or in this case a secret service drama, with Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) and Pete Lattimer (Eddie McClintock), preparing for an event at the Museum of Natural History. This quickly shifts as one of the curators pricks his finger on an ancient Aztec “blood” statue. We find that the statue now has control over him and he is poised to kill the president. Our heroes butt heads but eventually prevent the assassination from occurring.
Bering and Lattimer are then assigned to a mission in South Dakota, where they’ll reluctantly have to work together again, Syfy obviously wants a Mulder/Scully (The X-Files) relationship here. The two arrive at a large building in the middle of nowhere. Here they meet Dr. Artie Nielsen (Saul Rubinek), the veteran caretaker of the warehouse. He explains that millions of the world’s devices and inventions, supernatural and other, are stored there. Items include Edison’s first car, Pandora’s Box, Houdini’s wallet and a kettle that grants wishes. The warehouse resembles the final scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, where the Ark is eventually stored away, as millions of crated items are shown.
Nielsen explains to Bering and Lattimer their new assignment will be capturing and defusing these items/devices by storing them in the warehouse. The first mission is retrieving an unknown item in Iowa that has caused a college student to beat his girlfriend. The eventual item, an Italian comb that causes the woman who wears it to control the one she loves (the student).
The show slows down a bit when the characters report to Iowa but overall it was a solid pilot/first episode. The producers could have spent more time exploring the warehouse and less time building the relationship between Bering and Lattimer. A strong performance from Rubinek and some decent humor were a plus. Hopefully better writing will eventually build the relationship between the characters and Warehouse 13 will serve well as mindless summer viewing.
Go to Hulu.com to watch the episode or check local listings for a replay on Syfy or the USA network.
The premiere of "Warehouse 13" opened to a strong numbers for Syfy, drawing 3.5 million viewers, the third-best premiere in the network's history, behind "Stargate: Atlantis" and "Eureka." It was also the most-watched program on cable Tuesday night.
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