Warehouse 13

Premise

The series follows U.S. Secret Service Agents Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) and Pete Lattimer (Eddie McClintock) when they are assigned to the secretive Warehouse 13 for supernatural artifacts. It is located in a barren landscape in South Dakota, and they initially regard the assignment as punishment. As they go about their assignments to retrieve missing artifacts and investigate reports of new ones, they come to understand the importance of what they are doing. In Season 1, Episode 4, they meet Claudia Donovan (Allison Scagliotti), who is searching for her missing brother; in Season 2, she joins the team as their technology expert. In Season 3, Episode 1, Steve Jinks (Aaron Ashmore), an Agent from Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives comes aboard.

Fictional history

The series posits that there have been a dozen incarnations of the Warehouse before the present-day 13th in South Dakota. Warehouse 1 was built between 336–323 BC under Alexander the Great as a place to keep artifacts obtained by war. After Alexander died, the Warehouse was moved to Egypt, establishing the practice of locating the Warehouse in the most powerful empire of the day, under the reasoning that it will be best defended there. Egypt's Ptolemaic rulers appointed a group of people, known as the Regents, to oversee the Warehouse and act as its first "agents" and collectors of artifacts. Warehouse 2 lasted until the Roman conquest of Egypt. Other warehouses: Warehouse 3 in Western Roman Empire (Italy), Warehouse 4 in Hunnic Empire until the death of Attila the Hun, Warehouse 5 in Byzantine Empire, Warehouse 6 in Cambodia under Khmer Empire, Warehouse 7 in the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan, Warehouse 8 in Germany during the Holy Roman Empire (1260–1517), Warehouse 9 in the Ottoman capital of Constantinople until the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, Warehouse 10 in Mughal Empire (India), Warehouse 11 in the Russian Empire under the Romanov Dynasty (the 1812 Napoleonic War with Russia was an attempt to seize control of Warehouse 11), and Warehouse 12 in the United Kingdom from 1830 until 1914. It was during the time of Warehouse 11 that the Regents began to employ agents to gather and protect artifacts. This practice continued under Warehouse 12, with British agents traveling further and further searching for artifacts to add to the collection.

The next move brought the Warehouse to South Dakota in the United States. Unlike previous warehouses, which were placed in the centers of their empires, Warehouse 13 was located in a remote area of South Dakota to hide it. The first Warehouse 13 was built in 1898, but the structure burned down because of an insufficient understanding of how to safely store artifacts. The move to the rebuilt and current Warehouse 13 occurred in 1914 at the onset of World War I. The Warehouse was designed by Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and M. C. Escher, while the Warehouse Expansion Joints were created by Albert Einstein.

Artifacts and gadgets

Originally, artifacts are items connected to some historical or mythological figure or event. Each artifact has been imbued with something from its creator, user, or a major event in history. Some are well known: Lewis Carroll's looking glass, which contains an evil entity called "Alice" that can possess other people's bodies (Myka in Season 1 episode "Duped"), leaving their minds trapped in the mirror; and Edgar Allan Poe's pen and a volume of his writing, which can make whatever the user writes a reality. Some are not: Lizzie Borden had a mirrored compact that today compels users to kill their loved ones with an axe; Marilyn Monroe owned a brush that now turns its user's hair platinum blonde, which Myka once used on herself while under the influence of W. C. Fields' juggling balls that induce drunkenness and blackouts. Others are just plain bizarre such as Ivan Pavlov's Bell, which will call any dog to you but causes excessive drooling for 24 hours, or a magic kettle that grants wishes but will produce a ferret if the wish is impossible. The artifacts react with electricity and can be neutralized by immersion in a mysterious purple goo or placed inside a neutralizing reflective bag both produced by Global Dynamics, a research laboratory from Warehouse 13's sister show, Eureka. Artie has also mentioned that ingesting neutralizer will make you "see things". A new concept is introduced in Episode 43 (Season 4). Mrs. Frederic shows Claudia an artifact being created—a silver bracelet worn by an ordinary person who exhibits extraordinary courage—opening up new possibilities for future stories.

Cast and characters

Warehouse agents are provided by the host country of the warehouse, in this case from various government agencies (such as the Secret Service, FBI, ATF, CDC, and DEA, etc.). Agents of Warehouse 13 in particular were chosen either for their above-average intelligence (Artie is an expert NSA codebreaker, Myka has an eidetic memory and a wealth of encyclopedic knowledge, Claudia and H.G. Wells are both expert inventors) or because they possess a kind of extranormal ability (Pete and Mrs. Frederic both receive "vibes" regarding situations; Leena can read peoples' auras; and Jinks has the ability to tell when a person is lying).

Main cast

Recurring cast

Production

The network, then named SciFi, originally ordered a two-hour pilot episode written by Farscape creator Rockne S. O'Bannon, Battlestar Galactica co-Executive Producer Jane Espenson, and D. Brent Mote. Jace Alexander eventually directed a revised version written by Espenson, Mote, and Blade: The Series executive producer David Simkins. SciFi ordered an additional nine episodes on September 19, 2008. The series premiered in the U.S. on July 7, 2009 concurrent with the name-change to Syfy. The series was filmed in and around Toronto, Ontario.

Crossovers

Warehouse 13 was part of Syfy's developing shared fictional universe, with several characters crossing over between series:

Additionally, Hugo Miller spent some time in the town of Eureka, departing with Douglas Fargo at the end of episode "13.1"; he returns in "Love Sick", commenting that, "every week [there] something seems to go 'boom'!" His presence there is off screen.

Reception

Warehouse 13's series premiere was the most-watched cable show on American television that night. With 3.5 million viewers, it was also Syfy's third best premiere ever, behind Stargate Atlantis (2004) and Eureka (2006). Joanne Ostrow of The Denver Post described it as "X-Files light, with the bickering Scully and Mulder stand-ins going off on Indiana Jones-style adventures." IGN reviewer Ramsey Isler gave the pilot a positive review, but felt that it was not enough to give Syfy "a chance to once again boast the best sci-fi show on TV." Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly gave it a negative review in July 2009, describing it as an "unholy cross between The X-Files, Bones, and Raiders of the Lost Ark." In July 2010, Tucker amended his opinion, stating that "Warehouse improved as it went along" and "grew more riveting"; he subsequently gave the show a rating of "B". In 2010, the series' composer, Edward Rogers, was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Original Main Title Theme Music. Warehouse 13 has received seven 2012 Portal Award nominations, including best television series, best actor (Eddie McClintock), best actress (Joanne Kelly), best supporting actor (Saul Rubinek), best supporting actress (Allison Scagliotti), best special guest (Jaime Murray as Helena G. Wells), and best episode ("Emily Lake"). It was Eddie McClintock's third straight nomination and the second nomination for Saul Rubinek and Allison Scagliotti.

Streaming

Individual episodes can be purchased at the Google Play Store, iTunes, and Vudu.

Comics

The first part of a five-part comic series was released in August 2011 by Dynamite Entertainment with part five released in December 2011. A trade paperback was released in May 2012 containing all five parts.

Novels