By Pam Glazier · July 13, 2011
Warehouse 13, if you haven’t heard of it, is one part Antiques Roadshow, one part Indiana Jones, and one part Mission Impossible with a splash of Moonlighting (Oh yeah, that’s right, I went there. I just referenced Moonlighting. Bam! How you like me now?). Anyway, this show follows the agents that recover dangerous artifacts that have somehow or other become imbued with supernatural powers. Gandhi’s sandals, Abe Lincoln’s Hat, Hendrix’s Guitar—these are just a few of the things that wreak havoc on unsuspecting citizens.
These are the items that Agents Pete Latimer (Eddie McClintock) and Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) must consistently risk their lives recovering in the interests of national security. That is, until Myka quit. Now Pete’s running solo. Claudia (Allison Scagliotti) and Artie (Saul Rubinek), the goofy librarian/crisis handlers of the warehouse are helping out, but Pete needs a new partner. Enter ATF Agent Steve Jinks (Aaron Ashmore), a mildly prosthelytizing Buddhist who has the wacky knack of always knowing when someone is lying. And as weird as it sounds, it actually plays well in the show. Pete, still sore about Myka abandoning the job, is far from happy with her replacement. But no time to sulk, there’s a mysterious death in Denver that Latimer and Jinks have to check out, and Artie and Claudia have a dangerous lightning storm to deal with in the ancient artifacts section. Time’s a wasting.
**SPOILER ALERT**
The body count rises to two and Latimer and Jinks are still at a loss for what the artifact could be. On top of that, FBI Agent Sally Sikowski (Ashley Williams), assigned the murders to ensure that some sort of bankers meeting goes well, is stonewalling them in their investigation. Latimer realizes that the deaths are reminiscent of famous deaths in Shakespearean tragedies. He knows there’s only one place to find answers when it comes to Walter Shakespeare. Myka. With her help, Latimer and Jinks unravel the mystery of Shakespeare’s Lost Folio. Now that they know what is killing these people, it’s time to find out who’s behind it and why. They rush back to the bankers’ meeting, half-cocked as always. Will Agent Sikowski prevent them from saving lives? Will they catch the culprit? It’s a race against the clock.
(Just as a side note: I have no idea what the bankers have got to do with anything, but it was such a randomly unrelated detail that it got my suspicion antennae up. Why assign FBI to protect a run of the mill big-wig event? I am guessing that this will come up later in the season. At least, I hope it will, otherwise it’s just distracting.)
Back at the warehouse, Artie and Claudia have found out that a couple ancient statues of Zeuss and Herra are to blame for the supernatural pyrotechnics. This is interesting, but ultimately disappointing because it took Artie waaaay to long to figure it out. Everybody knows the whole Zeuss/Herra debacle, and he seemed to be genuinely surprised when he found out about it. Even to the point of recounting the story in a chest-puffed-out-proud sort of way. I thought my dismay might have been able to be pawned off on me being a mythology snob, but I can’t accept that. The Clash of the Titans remake (hehe, man-thighs), while terrible, retold the ancient Zeuss/Herra thing for all the ignorant multitudes that might’ve missed it in their Dorks 101 class.
In Denver, just as Latimer and Jinks get to the hotel where the meeting is to take place, Jinks gets a mysterious letter. It’s one of the deadly pages of Shakespeare’s Lost Folio! He begins suffocating and there’s nothing Latimer can do about it. But look who comes to the rescue. Myka. She’s awfully involved for someone who refuses to take part. Perhaps with the three of them they can manage to avoid death and save the day.
Warehouse 13's premiere sets up the third season nicely and there are enough unanswered questions (aside from the weird banker thing) to keep both loyal fans and new watchers coming back for more. The fun repartee is as good as it usually is, and the new addition (Aaron Ashmore’s Agent Jinks) is very well suited to the well-oiled ensemble cast. So grab your popcorn or whatever, and enjoy.
