Warehouse 13

[Occulus]

So, SyFy (WTF is THAT name change about) decided to renew the Warehouse for a second 13-episode run.

What? You've never heard of Warehouse 13? Shame on you. The highest-rated program in the network's history, even surpassing the popularity of the critically acclaimed smash hit "Battlestar Galactica", "Warehouse 13" delivers some seriously entertaining television.

So what, exactly, is Warehouse 13?

Built deep inside a mountain in South Dakota by Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and M.C. Escher, and curated by a group of the nation's best Secret Service agents, Warehouse 13 is a storehouse (an almost impossibly vast collection) of seemingly-innocuous Artifacts, each either invented by or connected to a person and each imbued with special properties. Some of these are useful, some are amusing, and some are too dangerous to be anywhere else. The job of the characters is to preserve the Artifacts, protect the Warehouse, and recover new Artifacts as they are detected.

To that end, main characters Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) and Peter Lattimer (Eddie McClintock) are recruited in the show's pilot (titled, appropriately, "Pilot") by another Secret Service agent, Arthur "Artie" Nielsen (Saul Rubinek) to aid him in accomplishing the Warehouse's mission. Along the way, we're introduced to Leena, proprietor of the Bed & Breakfast where Pete and Myka stay during their tenure as Warehouse agents.

To give you an idea of why, exactly, the Warehouse exists (the first was in the Library of Alexandria, by the way, and may have been the cause of the fire that destroyed it; later, it was located in Rome, Mesopotamia, Russia, and England, among other nations), here's a rundown of a few of the known Artifacts and their effects. Note- Some of this is cribbed from the Warehouse Wiki.

Aztec bloodstone: causes anyone who bleeds upon it to be possessed by a mania to perform an Aztec sacrifice.

Nikola Tesla's Gun: Fires a multiphase electrical pulse that stuns its victim and causes short-term memory loss. Settings are in increments of 0.5 each, from 0.5 to 10.0. Artie suggests not going above 2. May be Tesla's fabled "death ray". Used by Warehouse as a stun gun.

Rugby football: When thrown, the football circles the globe before returning to its point of origin.

Wishing Kettle: An old copper kettle that grants wishes. When one makes an impossible wish, a ferret emerges from the kettle.

Studio 54's Disco Ball: Projects the energy and feelings that were captured at Studio 54. When dropped or struck by a bright light, it projects light and desires from its surface and spins, regardless of any present light source or outside forces. It also plays "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor.

Lewis Carroll's Mirror: A large standing mirror that allows people to interact with their silent reflections and also allows objects to pass through its surface. Pete uses it to play ping pong with his reflection before its true purpose is revealed.

Sylvia Plath's Typewriter: Extremely dangerous Royal Typewriter Company brand manual typewriter contained in the "Dark Vault" of the Warehouse. It was once owned by Sylvia Plath, and gradually sucks the life (and will to live) out of any person who is in close proximity to it.

Harriet Tubman's Thimble: Worn by Harriet Tubman as she was stitching clothing for slaves, this thimble eventually became imbued with her hopes and dreams of a better life for everyone. Used by Tubman (and possibly others) on the Underground Railroad to help slaves escape their owners. When worn today, the thimble causes anyone looking at the wearer to see whomever the wearer wishes them to see.

Warehouse 13 will return with 13 new episodes in the summer of 2010. Some episodes may be currently found on Hulu. This is my new favorite show, and if you want a weird, fun ride, this is the one to get on. The actors all have great chemistry together, the sets and props are well-executed and often intriguing, and the stories being told are more than interesting enough to keep you coming back to the Warehouse again and again. Watch for the reruns (if any) and go check Hulu for full episodes- this is one show you shouldn't miss.

[flor de jasmim]

1. Agreed. LOVE IT!

[Myrina]

2. I tried to watch a few times ... it reminds me of that lame "Friday the 13th"

... series that Fox did back in the late 80's; but without quite as much "horror".

:hangover:

[CBGLuthier]

3. the name change was because they could not trademark scifi

scifi too generic a term for trademark protection .

I know this may be a good show. It features Saul Rubinek one of my favorite actors. But I will not watch that shit channel that canceled every show I loved and thinks SF is just a stupid joke.

So I will rent it instead.

[T Wolf]

4. Never miss it. Love the show. read somewhere that the name change was because the term

"sci-fi" is generic and cannot be "owned" or copyrighted, etc.

Another story is that they are trying to become "hipper" with the youngsters.

Whatever they call the channel - it has most of my favorite shows on the tube.

[ananda]

5. Thank you!

I just put it in my Netflix queue.

Ya'll -- FlashForward is great too!

[Recursion]

6. I want a cop show where the chemistry is not rehashing Mulder and Scully

It feels like every show since the X-Files has to have a hyper-rational female cop and a very intuitive male cop.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

7. Good news!

The first few episodes weren't up to par, but the characters have developed nicely and the scripts have tightened up. Claudia was a great addition to the cast, now the dynamics work.

I do wish they would go into more detail on the history of the items, but that's just me being picky.

[Occulus]

9. Ever since I first started watching I've wondered what else could be in there

I came up with a few that could be in the Warehouse:

William Randolph Hearst's tieclip: The tieclip worn by media magnate William Randolph Hearst, this Artifact causes everyone listening to the wearer to believe his or her every word.

Benjamin Franklin's first mailbox: Delivers mail from the future to the indicated address. This is in the Warehouse because the postmark, although always in the future and always pertinent to the address, is always a completely random date. The address portion of this mailbox is intentionally left blank by the Regents so no mail is ever actually delivered. Positioned outside the original Leena's Bed & Breakfast for aesthetic reasons.

Liberace's personal datebook: If not located within the Warehouse, causes serious distraction and mayhem per the schedule and locations written in the book. This is one of the artifacts in the Warehouse that depend on the Gooery to not cause utter chaos.

Frank Lloyd Wright's drafting table. Compels a person seated at the table to accurately visualize and then draw on paper the interior architecture of any building from a photograph of the exterior.

Julia Childs' favorite whisk. Multiplies ingredients when used to mix them.

Babe Ruth's baseball bat. The ball (any ball) goes wherever you think it will go when you hit it.

[xultar]

8. LOVE IT!

[MikeE]

10. I love the show!

Eureka and Sanctuary are back also. What fantastic shows!

[3waygeek]

11. Can't believe they haven't included the

Ark of the Covenant -- maybe in the next season.

[Occulus]

12. What would that one do?

I bet it's still "in the wild". In the Vatican, perhaps.

[3waygeek]

13. No it's in a US government warehouse...

remember the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark?