Airdate: July 7th, 2009
Episode Title: "Pilot"
Episode #: 01
Starring: Eddie McClintock, Joanne Kelly
Marking the channels re branding transition into "Syfy" Warehouse 13 was surprisingly captivating in its first go. The two-hour series premiere set up the series quite nicely and also warped my expectations of the show. I figured I'd be one and done with this one, I'd watch the first episode, be met with stereotypical alien invasion, sub-par special effects and techno babble up the ying-yang and be turned off (It IS a Syfy original series after all). However, the fact that Syfy promoted this show so heavily, at least made me feel I could sacrifice an hour to watch the pilot. I'm glad I did. It had a little bit of everything and a lot of room to grow. The main characters, Peter Lattimere (McClintock) and Myka Bering (Kelly) are polar-opposite secret service agents that have been recruited to work for the mysterious Warehouse 13, headed by an even more mysterious Mrs. Fredrick (CCH Pounder). They are met by the wacky, eccentric and brilliant Artie Nelson (Saul Rubinek), the last remaining member of his team, who is reluctant to bring on the two newcomers. During the first hour of the two-part premier, we get the grand tour of the mysterious warehouse, equipped with all sorts of gadgets like a plane from flight 22, Houdini's wallet, and even a magic lamp (that wished out a ferret!) Artie Nelson explains some of the techno babble of the show, such as the slime that neutralizes unknown artifacts, and the electric gun used to stun people, not kill them, which was apparently invented by Edison's rivals. I know, it sounds kind of geeky, but the show doesn't quite douse itself in corny, nerdy science fiction bile, or at least it hasn't yet. It maintains enough mystery and twists that makes it feel more like an episode of "LOST" meeting a "NCIS". The storyline of this episode focused on the two partners tracking down a mysterious artifact stolen from Italy. Coupled with a bizarre Italian puzzle and a few interesting antagonists along the way, the "Pilot" episode was solid enjoyment. I especially enjoyed the "Ghostbusters" like finale to the episode. At least Harold Ramis and Dan Akroyd will appreciate that. The future cast for this show can go one of two ways. It can delve into bonkers repetitive sci-fi crap, or it can keep up the mystery and aura of the shows mythology and create an entertaining cast that keeps us watching, like X-Files or Fringe. But it did one thing, it got me to set the DVR to record next weeks episode.
Episode Score (out of 10): 8.2
Characters: B-
Story: B-
Creativity: B+
Impact: B-
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