For a long time an extremely popular format for television programming
has been the anthology series. Each week a different group of actors would
present a story written by different authors and presented by a select group
of directors. The benefits are fairly obvious, an exceptionally broad basis
for variety. Three years ago the niche cable network, SyFy came up with a
fascinating variation on this method. Instead of changing the casts and
creators each episode they remain the same but the props are varied. Now
this might appear to be too trivial an alteration to with make a difference
of be successful but it worked out exceptionally well on both counts. The
resultant series had the somewhat enigmatic title; ‘Warehouse 13’. The
reason for the success can be attributed to a number of key factors. First
is the premise. Warehouse 13 is a top secret government facility located in
a remote section of South Dakota known only by a highly cleared few. The
cavernous structure is used for storage of the most dangerous items on
earth. These artifacts, as they are called, are typically imbued with
strange, paranormal abilities or attributes that straddle the mystic and the
outermost fringes of science. Most are tied to a famous, or infamous,
person, place or event and the manifestation of the artifacts was typically
entwined with that history. For example, a piece of Wood salvaged from the
Titanic would instantly freeze anything that it comes in contact with.
Knowledge of history is helpful but thanks to well place exposition not
necessary to understand or enjoy the show. Each episode a team of Warehouse
agents go on a hunt for a stray artifact in order to bring it back to be
neutralized and safely contained in the Warehouse. For more seasoned members
of fantasy television this might sound familiar and it should. A very
similar plot was used in the TV horror series, Friday the 13th:
the series’ only there the objects were demonically cursed items sold in a
damned curio shop. Warehouse 13 was largely inspired by the last scene in
the first Indiana Jones Movie depicting the Ark of the Covenant being placed
in a dramatically huge storage area.
The second reason for the success of the series is it doesn’t rely too
heavily on the artifacts to drive the overall story. If that was the case
you would have a variation on the dreaded ‘freak of the week’ format. In
this methodology the never ending parade of freaky items is the sole
motivation for each episode and by extension, the entire series. The saving
grace beautifully infused in the show it ultimately it is a character based
series. The people are paramount in the construction of the stories and
progression of the themes. At the end of the second season it looked as
though the current Warehouse field team had split. Former Secret Service
agents, Pete Lattimer (Eddie McClintock) and Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) were
split apart. For personal reasons Myka resigned and returned home to help
with the family business, a bookstore. There was a perfect symmetry between
the by-the-book Myka and the freewheeling Pete but between her logic and his
hunches the job was done exceedingly well. Artie Nielsen (Saul Rubinek), the
Special Agent in charge regrets her going but the work has to go on and a
new field agent hired. The technology whiz kid, Claudia Donovan (Allison
Scagliotti) itching to get into field work but she is young, headstrong and
impulsive; besides Artie finds her knack for the strange technology of the
Warehouse more valuable on site. Although Myka does return much of the
season features Steve Jinks (Aaron Ashmore), a former agent of the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the uncanny ability to detect
when someone is lying. The interaction of this cadre of unique and quirky
personalities manages to keep the stories perpetually interesting. There is
also the gradual revelation of their back stories that has the effect of
fleshing out the characters realistically. The writers also manage to keep
the sexual attraction between Pet and Myka in check. Traditionally failure
to follow this is a sure fire ramp to make that fateful jump over the
proverbial shark. There was one particular episode this season where the
teammates wake up naked in bed together with no memory of how they got to
that contention. The gag artifact included here is the hair brush owned by
Marilyn Monroe which turns Myka into a blonde.
While most of the artifacts are dangerous a few do manage to provide a
touch of comic relief. In the first episode of this season the artifact to
retrieve is the guitar pick of Jimi Hendrix. The devices that the team uses
in the pursuit of the artifacts have a distinctive steam punk look and feel
to them. This gives a twist to the series that differentiates it from other
technology based shows. The most common devices is gun that shoots a
stunning electrical charge invented by Nikola Tesla, and their communicators
that may function in a similar fashion to a modern cell phone but this was
created by the early inventors of television, Philo Farnsworth.
The plots are strengthened in several way including cross over episodes
with two other series on SyFy, the new series, ‘Alphas’ and the lamentably
cancelled ‘Eureka’. This does allow for some intra channel cross promotion
but also expands the fictional universe used as a setting. Another aspect
that is greatly expanded on this season is the history of the Warehouse. It
is the thirteenth in a line of mystical storage facilities beginning with
Warehouse 1 built between 336-323 BC under Alexander the Great. The previous
incarnation, Warehouse 12, was located in Great Britain with one of its
agents a recurring character the morally ambiguous H.G. Wells (Jaime
Murray).
In all the series continues to be one of the brightest shows of its kind
and thankfully still seems to be in good favor with the network. The cast is
strong and capable of depicting a full gamut of range. There is adventure,
science fiction, and drama balanced with the perfect amount of tongue in
cheek humor.
Posted 07/05/12
