Warehouse 13 - Season 1 [DVD]

Fun. Daft though, based on a premise impossible to believe. Imagine a vast stock of artefacts, all with special powers. Clearly they must never fall into the wrong hands. America's government forces must secretly store them away with maximum security....

Not so! Instead they have created Dakota's Warehouse 13, its organization ramshackle (to put it mildly). In charge is brilliant but bumbling Artie, his staff in due course to rise to four. Many items seem haphazardly stacked, accidents (and problems) resulting - as with Lewis Carroll's toppled looking glass.

Despite such nonsense (or perhaps because of it), there is much to enjoy with a likeable cast. Those playing Pete and Myka entertainingly squabble their way through various investigations. Claudia makes impact - she a lippy ultra brainy whizz kid with considerable attitude. CCH Pounder adds welcome substance, Roger Rees formidable villainy.

Some may feel the series is at its best when not so lightweight (as with Edgar Allan Poe's pen and that prison suddenly experiencing suicides). The finale certainly piles on the shocks, cliffhangers designed to whet the appetite for Season 2.

Pleasant escapism for those who simply wish to sit back and relax.

I didn't really expect much from this box but the conclusion must be that it is one of the best "Recommends" from Amazon ever!

The series somehow just hit the spit with equal part of down-to-earth sci-fi and humor with that extra spicy touch of (to me at least) new and unknown actors/actresses - just what I needed!

The best word to describe this I think is fun. It starts off a bit dodgy and slow, but then as the series goes on, the storylines become more involving, and it's very good entertainment. On a scale of sci-fi goodness, I'd say it was at about the same level as 'Sanctuary' and 'The Dresden Files' - maybe a bit better. Towards the end you may realise you really care about the characters, even Artie the gruff Warehouse boss (Saul Rubinek), who I really wasn't keen on at the start, but I think grows on you.

It's also a really great idea for a show - a massive warehouse full of magical objects, or 'artifacts'. It will be hard for them to run out of ideas(yay, more seasons!), when there are millions of objects, and each one can be totally different. The episode I just watched included humourous but menacing dodgeballs that bounce up and down by themselves, and multiply on contact, or just downright evil historical artefacts, such as Edgar Allen Poe's notebook and feather quill, that inspires sociopathic tendencies and can make whatever it writes a reality.

The technology is the show is also a bit different, having evolved in the world of the centuries old Warehouse. For instance the 'Farnsworth', which looks like a rusty shaving mirror from the 60s, but is actually portable 2-way visual commmunication. Also pretty cool is the 'Tesla' - he worked for the Warehouse, obviously - which is basically a comical looking ray-gun, that fires bolts of electricity to stun the bad guys. Totally steampunky, and better than guns by a million. The visuals are normally great too, especially the sweeping shots of the gloomy interior of the Warehouse.

Warehous 13 also has more of a quirky sense sense of humour than your average sci-fi show (except Firefly of course), Eddie McClintock (playing Agent Pete) being particularly good at delivering the odd Whedonesque-ish line. However the wry, slightly teenagey humour does have a flipside, as it means that neither leads are particulary convincing as experienced FBI Agents, and because of the light tone of the show, the dangerous situations never really feel that dangerous. X Files it aint. Personally, I think it would be a little more believable if they toned the humour down a little bit, especially Agent Pete, and quirky 19 year old Warehouse wannabe Claire, who only speaks in ironic self-aware geek speak. It works really well though when theres a really serious scene, and then it's undercut by humour. In the same episode as the dodgeballs (I have a very short memory), Pete and Mika (his female FBI partner) have a long, serious conversation, which ends with Agent Pete saying dead-pan 'Also there's another problem. I think I'm hot for your mom.'

Also I think the show missed out on some opportunities. The agents got used to the physics-defying weirdness of Warehouse 13 too quickly, and also their relationship seemed to go from mutual annoyance in the pilot, to affectionate sibling rivalry in episode 2 or 3. They could've taken the whole season to get used to the supernatural goings on, and also to develop their relationship. There's zero sexual tension between them by the way, although that is actually quite refreshing as they still have good chemistry as close colleagues, who love each other in a friendly kind of way. From watching the special features, it does seem as if the actors and crew are all nice people who genuinely like each other, which definately comes across in the atmosphere of the show.

So basically, don't expect *too* much, but enjoy 12 episodes or so of humourous and intriguing sci-fi nonsense. If you're already a fan of light-hearted sci-fi, prepare to be addicted!