WAREHOUSE 13: SEASON FOUR
(not rated)
MOVIE: **** (out of 5)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5)
STARRING
Eddie McClintock as PETE LATTIMER
Joanne Kelly as MYKA BERING
Saul Rubinek as ARTIE NIELSEN
Allison Scagliotti as CLAUDIA DONOVAN
Genelle Williams as LEENA
Aaron Ashmore as STEVE JINKS
CCH Pounder as MRS. IRENE FREDERIC
Studio: Universal
Created by: Jane Espenson & D. Brent Mote
BY KEVIN CARR
I had been told by several people that I would probably enjoy watching “Warehouse 13,” mainly because I liked science fiction and also watched “Eureka” (which featured a couple crossover episodes with the show on the Syfy network). However, I never really got around to watching it until I was sent the fourth season for review. It also didn’t hurt that my 12-year-old son was a huge fan of the show, having started to watch the series in its entirety on Netflix in the spring.
So, with all excuses and reasons to watch in tow, I started with season four. Like many popular science fiction series, this wasn’t that hard to jump into the middle of things. There were some character elements that I had to pick up along the way – like the fact that the character of Jinks (Aaron Ashmore) had been killed in the previous season, and Claudia (Allison Scagliotti) was going to do anything to bring him back.
As the season starts, the Warehouse has been destroyed, leaving Artie (Saul Rubinek), Pete (Eddie McClintock) and Myka (Joanne Kelly) to find a way to save it. Of course, things can get reset, but not without great cost to the characters. The overall story this season concerns Artie’s use of an artifact for such a purpose as well as Claudia finding out what her true destiny is with the Warehouse. Additionally, Pete and Myka start to explore their mutual feelings for each other.
“Warehouse 13” follows a standard format of a single episodes in which the cast has to overcome something in particular, mainly tracking down one or more artifacts. There’s an overall story, but it is only played to overtly in a handful of episodes throughout the series.
I have to admit that I kind of like this approach. It’s refreshing, and it makes the show an easier watch than some series that get bogged down in the overall character arcs throughout the seasons. The Warehouse offers an excellent MacGuffin to propel each episode, letting the characters face danger and overcome it in a short 45 minutes of air time.
I’ve watched a lot of science fiction television over the years, and my favorite shows are the ones that don’t take themselves too seriously. Going back to the original “Star Trek” series in the 60s, science fiction meant doing some fantastic things and facing some real (and often deadly) threats. However, there was always a sense of humor to the show. I’ve enjoyed this approached in everything from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” to more recent series like “Eureka” and “Stargate Atlantis.”
Sure, it’s cool to have a “Battlestar Galactica” show up now and then (and I dearly loved that series as well). However, things got pretty heavy in the past five years or so when everyone was trying to recreate the grim nature of “BSG.” In fact, the producers of the “Stargate” franchise pretty much killed their own series by trying to make “Stargate Universe” too much like “Battlestar Galactica.” Sadly, without the humor and lightness, the shows became heavy and morose.
But not “Warehouse 13.” Made with the same penchant for fun that we see in “Eureka,” “Warehouse 13” offers some fun characters that you can grow to love (even if they do tend to fall too easily into a standard television rubric). I enjoyed watching this season quite a bit, and it’s a shame to know that there’s only going to be six more episodes before the Warehouse will be no more, with the final season airing sometime in 2014.
This five-disc set includes all 20 episodes from season four, along with a few special features. There are deleted and extended scenes on select episodes, along with podcasts featuring the cast and crew. There’s a gag reel and a 10-part animated web series called “Grand Designs” if you need just a little bit more of the Warehouse before the big break to wait for season five.