(S01E01) The creators titled this "Pilot," but I'm going to dub it "Another Reason I Want Brothers to Fail on FOX." CCH Pounder is such a talent I really prefer her on a good show. With Battlestar Galactica gone, there's going to be a lot of scrutiny on the network's new offerings, and while this doesn't seem to have the depth and complexity of BSG, it's a perfect companion to shows like Eureka and Sanctuary. It even channels a lot of the latter in that it deals with ancient mystical forces, albeit in the form of artifacts instead of creatures. It also has a huge facility to house and protect them, and the world from them. To take it one step further, CCH Pounder's Mrs. Frederic may be much older than she appears, and my money's out on Leena having a similar genetic disposition and possibly being Mrs. Frederic's daughter. These mysteries are barely touched on in the pilot which means there's layers. But how does the show stack up on the surface?
The casting idea appears to be modeled closer to the classic The X-Files format. Two government agents, the man more off-the-cuff and following an uncanny gut instinct, while the woman is very by the books and meticulous. These are pretty standard variations on Scully and Mulder but it works. After all, they weren't the first partnership in television and they certainly won't be the last.
While we didn't get much screentime with Mrs. Frederic, we get plenty of Saul Rubinek. He's one of those character actors who seems to have had memorable guest appearances on virtually every show you can imagine. He's always a little frantic and disheveled, which works tremedously well for Artie, the sort of "boss" for our principal pair.
The only thing that stood out as a bit odd for me was that Warehouse 13 is under the jurisdiction of the Secret Service. I'm hoping some explanation comes forth on that one because people think of protecting the President when they think of Secret Service, not gallavanting across the countryside investigating strange occurrences.
I'm glad the show addressed this very oddity in the pilot by having the people of Iowa wonder why the Secret Service would be there investigating an abuse case. It's so much easier to swallow with almost any other government agency. A lot of the fun of these investigations is the banter we've seen so far between Pete Lattimer and Myka Bering. They're a great pairing, and while the sparring has been fun to watch, I think we're going to pretty quickly see a real partnership developing with trust and support. At least they both believe in the artifacts now, though you'd have to be pretty bull-headed to doubt still.
Like the "monster-of-the-week" episodes of The X-Files, it looks like it's going to come down to our agents heading off to somewhere in the US tracking down bizarre cases that may or may not be artifact related. I'll be looking forward to seeing if they keep this straightforward, almost episodic approach, or if some deeper story emerges running beneath the weekly shenanigans. Honestly, I think I'll be okay with it either way.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
7-08-2009 @ 5:07PM
FussyButt said...
Loved the first episode. It gives me great hope for future episodes; the writing was clever; the plot works for me and I loved the actors -- excellent job! Look forwarding to seeing more. Thanks for the creativity!
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7-08-2009 @ 5:10PM
Leroy said...
The Secret Service was originally the law enforcement arm of the Treasury Department, primarily for catching counterfeiters. Responsibility for the safety of the President was added later. If these objects are considered assets of the US Government, it would make complete sense for Treasury and the Secret Service to be involved.
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7-09-2009 @ 9:08AM
Martin said...
Good call, glad some people understood that. Anyways, on another note, I watched the season preview at the end, it looks like it is only gonna get better... And people complaining about its similarities to fringe or bones, come on, the formula is a lot older than that, and there was no plane crash in the first episode so you know it isn't a rip of of JJ Abrams..
7-08-2009 @ 5:11PM
garlick said...
It's interesting that the show has a strange blend of X-files dark feeling, the whole man dousing himself with gas, and the car crash, and yet they're able to keep it light, almost like the feel of Eureka.
I don't think I've ever seen that type of dichotomy in the same show before. I'm interested to see how this progresses, and also think it fits the programming well.
I'm still pissed that they decided to go with SyFy, that whole logo and theme are just agitating.
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7-08-2009 @ 5:49PM
Harpy said...
I was pleased with the pilot. I just hope the new "SyFy" is willing to stick with a costly scripted piece when they seem to love various ghost hunter/ scare tactics crap.
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7-08-2009 @ 5:46PM
purpleslog said...
"the President when they think of Secret Service, not gallavanting across the countryside investigating strange occurrences"
Well, if the stuff going on goes back to the late 1800's that pre-dates the USSS protection mission. The USSS was pretty much the only source of Special Agents / Investigators for USGOV back then. Besides the treasury role they took on other duties like Counter-intelligence and loaned out agent to DOJ to help them on cases.
In the context of the show mythology, the USSS maybe just help onto this mission once they got it.
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7-08-2009 @ 7:57PM
Leroy said...
Their founding date of July 5, 1865 covers most of the late 1800's.
7-08-2009 @ 6:31PM
Jigsaw hc said...
I enjoyed the Pilot a lot more than I thought I might. I'm looking forward to watching it weekly.
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7-08-2009 @ 7:11PM
chuck said...
i liked the original leaked pilot so much better!
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7-08-2009 @ 9:37PM
Eludium-Q36 said...
Guys, you don't have to go back as far as the '90s to tag it as an X-Files rip. It's actually more a rip from two Fox shows: Fringe and Bones ! It's as if the creator/writing team chinese-menued these two shows, a little from Fringe, a little from Bones.
I was a little miffed when the warehouse custodian guy stated he thinks of the warehouse as "America's attic". Excuse me but that's a well-earned tagline for the Smithsonian museums in the national capital area.
I'm not impressed or pleased with the pilot. We again have a super-agent chick that is apparently an expert martial arts fighter ala Dark Angel, Dollhouse, Sanctuary, etc etc. Yawn, fast forward...
The SFX seemed to be first-class but did they spend it all in the pilot with nothing left for subsequent episodes ? I'll watch a few more times, though, since every other decent show doesn't re-appear till the freakin Fall. And, by the way, those include Stargate Universe and Sanctuary on SciFi -- yeh, that's right, you can't make me type the new stupid name.
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7-08-2009 @ 10:09PM
Man said...
Friday the 13th: The Series is great one guy and one gal and the older leader go around returning cursed objects to a vault since they can't be destroyed.
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7-09-2009 @ 1:02AM
burningchrom3 said...
my thoughts exactly, they just need that hot redhead, instead of the girl with the {{craaazy}} eyes. good to see that dude from Dresden Files in the bit at the beginning, but i'd much rather have seen him in another season of dresden (yeah i know, i CANT let it go!).
7-09-2009 @ 11:49AM
Ryan G said...
Did this remind anyone else of The Middleman?
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7-09-2009 @ 8:51PM
Bite Me said...
The Middleman was funnier. I'll watch 13 though.
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7-10-2009 @ 1:43AM
Mike said...
Thought the 1st show was too long...should have been 90 min. But I will watch the series.
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7-10-2009 @ 10:44AM
Dan said...
I enjoyed the show, but kept thinking I was watching another ep. of the Librarian, with Noah Wylie.
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7-10-2009 @ 3:13PM
Ian said...
I can't help feeling that The X-Files and Eureka met on the set and became Warehouse 13.
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7-11-2009 @ 9:17PM
realist66 said...
I'd probably resign before allowing something to take control of me like that. I hope the female agent continues to fight to get out from under the boss lady even if it means outing her.
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7-11-2009 @ 9:51PM
cdan said...
If they want this series to make it, they better start cutting out the cheese. Don't make the warehouse controller so stupid. Hooking up to a zip line to find stuff and falling to the floor???.....please. This is a top secret facility...make it look like one. Video cam/phone in a tin box.....get real. THAT wouldn't attract attention in public and i'm sure it's easy to carry around.......not. Get some James Bond tech in there....make the show more down to earth and serious and it might make it. The premise is great.......now treat it as such.
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7-12-2009 @ 7:38PM
tozmervo said...
Like others, I have my own combination formula: X-Files meets Bones meets Ghostbusters.
I like it.
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