Hey Warehouse 13 Fans! 
You better believe I’ll be tuning in to the ENTIRE season two of Warehouse 13 on SyFy! Speaking of which, standby for my review and analysis of Time Will Tell, the season two premiere. It was a fantastic episode enjoyed by everyone we know. Thanks SyFy!
Thanks to WR_Systems and by courtesy of NBC Universal, I include a few images from tonight’s Warehouse 13 episode “Mild Mannered” with Jewel Staite and Sean Maher which will be reviewed just prior to leaving for Comic-Con next week! I hope to see you there! Now Warehouse 13!
Warehouse 13 Season One
So you like Warehouse 13, do you? Or maybe you’ve never watched the show and are wondering what it’s about. I’m hoping I can help you out whatever your situation may be. I’ve been watching the show since the pilot and am excited about season two. I’m going to take a look back at season one and either refresh your memory or get you up to speed. So, keep your arms and legs inside Thomas Edison’s concept car at all times and, what EVER you do, don’t touch any artifacts!
I’m going into some detail on the first episode, entitled “Pilot,” as it explains much of the who, what, where, when and even the why. Bear with me; as Monk always says, you’ll thank me later. The main characters are United States Secret Service Agents Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) and Peter Lattimer (Eddie McClintock). As she is quick to point out to Pete, her name is pronounced MIKE-ah, not mick-ah. To say these two are polar opposites is an understatement. Myka is a by-the-book type while Pete goes by his gut and doesn’t seem concerned with rules. Their first assignment together is covering an art exhibit opening in Washington, D.C. The agents are to make sure the guest of honor, the President of the United States, is kept safe.
After a museum employee cuts his finger on an Aztec blood stone, things get a little weird. Myka seems on top of the security however when Pete shows up he tells her he gets vibes and something is really off in museum. Pete doesn’t think things will go according to plan and the president should not be brought in to the party.
Outside the museum a man approaches carrying a large leather bag. Back inside the museum the employee who cut his finger is looking terrible, to say the least. It seems Pete may be right after all. As Pete patrols the museum he comes upon the Aztec blood stone. He notices it’s dripping blood and decides to pick it up and take it out of the party.
Meanwhile the sickly museum employee passes Myka. She finally notices him and decides to follow him. However she’s already given the order to bring the president inside. Just as the president enters the room the employee takes a knife out and moves towards the president. Myka pulls a gun hidden in a holster on her thigh and aims it at the employee ordering him to freeze. He does as told which allows the other secret service agents to move the president to safety.
Pete is jogging through an empty part of the museum with the blood stone and trips, falling to the floor dropping the artifact. It rolls away and a foot stops it. The foot belongs to the mystery man with the large leather bag. The man opens the bag and pulls something out of it and holds it over the blood stone. Pete draws his gun and orders the man to drop it. The man tells Pete he can’t do that and puts on goggles. He places whatever he is holding into the blood stone and a bright yellow flash of light emanates from it.
At the same time the museum employee, now on the floor as Agent Bering has subdued him, screams and then loses consciousness. Pete, trying to regain his sight, looks around but the mysterious man and the blood stone are gone. Pete’s superior, Dickinson (Simon Reynolds), does not believe the story Pete tells him and accuses him of being under the influence. He suspends Pete, with pay, for two weeks. Myka is personally thanked by the president and the first lady.
When Pete returns home to his apartment that night his gut tells him something is off. He pulls his gun and turns to see a woman is standing in his apartment. She tells him her name is Mrs. Frederick (CCH Pounder) and that she’s with the government. As a matter of national security, Pete is to report to coordinates in South Dakota the next day. When Mrs. Frederick’s assistant hands the agent a paper she tells him it’s an invitation to endless wonder. Pete asks her if she could sound a little more creepy.
The next day somewhere in South Dakota, Pete drives his black SUV into a small valley. There is a cow and a very massive yet ancient looking warehouse. Shortly after, a silver sedan pulls into view. Out steps Myka. Neither agent looks happy to see the other. Both are equally confused as to why they were sent to this location. The warehouse door opens, seemingly on its own. As they walk toward the door a beeping noise is heard behind them. They turn around and see a man wearing what I describe as a ridiculous outfit. The man asks how the agents are doing.
Pete pulls his gun on the man and informs Myka that this is the person who took the blood stone at the art exhibit. The man explains that the stone and the warehouse are property of the government; he has stolen nothing. He introduces himself as Arthur Nielsen (Saul Rubinek), claiming he, too, works for Mrs. Frederick. He invites the agents inside saying they can call him Artie and that he made cookies. Artie leads the perplexed agents through the warehouse door. Behind the door is a white metal tunnel which leads to a homey office room. There are oriental rugs on the floor, bookshelves, desks with computers and many artifacts filling the large space. Artie shows the agents to the open door at the other end of the office and steps out onto the balcony. They follow him to discover an almost impossibly large area under one roof. If you weren’t sure before, this is no ordinary warehouse.
Artie shows the agents around part of the warehouse. Officially it is K39ZZZ on the North American grid but he likes to think of it as America’s attic. Artie explains that no one is sure how all the artifacts work. “We take the unexplained and we just safely tuck it away in this super-sized Pandora’s box.” During the tour Artie realizes Pete is holding a kettle. He tells the agent not to think a single thought for the kettle grants wishes. Myka doesn’t believe Artie and grabs the kettle, making a wish. A ferret pops out of the kettle startling both agents. Artie tells Myka he knows she wished for a transfer out of the warehouse. Impossible wishes result in ferrets, he explains. He, too, had wished for a transfer out of the warehouse. He tells the agents that his first year there the warehouse was crawling with ferrets.
Leena’s Bed and Breakfast
Just like the warehouse is by no means an ordinary warehouse, the B&B the agents are told to stay in appears to be no ordinary B&B. Or at least, Leena (Genelle Williams), the woman who runs the it is no ordinary woman. She shows the agents to their rooms. A disgruntled Myka storms off to her room while Leena stares intensely at Pete. Leena informs Pete that he is a very lucky man because he is in tune and that is very rare. Whatever that means. A bewildered Pete watches as Leena walks down the stairs and out of view.
Seever City, Iowa is where Artie sends the agents on their first assignment. They are to find a college who student and determine what artifact has turned him inexplicably violent. Myka thinks it is a waste of time but Pete is taking a liking to the warehouse assignment. While the agents are questioning the student at the police station Pete could sense something was about to happen. He pulls Myka and himself to safety before the college student snaps and knocks the desk over.
In the end the two agents work together quite well to figure out that a hair comb that used to belong to Lucrezia Borgia, a sixteenth century love-jilted Italian woman, is the artifact they are looking for. It’s being worn by the student’s god mother, Lorna Soliday. Before anyone is seriously injured the agents save the day. All is right with the world once again. For the moment.
Back at Leena’s B&B, Dickinson calls Myka to inform her that she can transfer back to Washington, D.C. but she has to give her answer almost immediately. Bering smiles and hangs up the phone.
This is how Myka and Pete begin their new assignment as warehouse agents. And now let the real fun begin. I’m a firm believer in safety first so next up, the rules.
The Rules of the Warehouse
Since the warehouse holds not just valuable but also dangerous artifacts, there are many rules that need to be followed. Listed below are just a few we’ve learned.
One of the first rule of the warehouse deals with static balls. As with so many bizarre artifacts containing all sorts of mysterious power, static gets kicked up and little electrical balls course through the warehouse from time to time. The rule when dealing with a static ball? Duck and cover!
Occasionally an artifact happens to find you. It can’t always be helped as Pete discovered with the wishing kettle. What is to be done when suddenly holding an artifact? Put it in the neutralizing agent. It’s a thick, purple gooey substance that not even Artie can explain.
Don’t eat the purple stuff because Artie says you’ll… see things.
The Farnsworth is a communication device. It’s sort of like a two-way video phone. It was invented in 1929 by Philo Taylor Farnsworth. The rule of the Farnsworth: Always keep your Farnsworth on you.
Tesla’s electric stun gun: One blast and down you go. Also it affects short term memory if you’re shot with it. Remember it needs to recharge after you’ve used it so try to hit the target on the first attempt.
The scent of fudge means something is wrong. Be on alert when you smell fudge or if someone tells you they smell fudge.
Don’t converse with reflected entities. Why? Two words: Bloody Mary.
Watch your negative energy. As Pete and Myka find out in episode 3,“Magnetism”, negative energy makes the warehouse artifacts act up.
Electrical energy can crank up the level of intensity of an artifact. This includes weather like tropical and thunder storms.
Never rule anything out.
Don’t get killed.
Partners
Considering that Myka and Pete are virtual opposites and more of an odd couple than partners, they actually have great chemistry together. Not romantic chemistry, mind you, but more like brother and sister. Case in point: the punching. Myka is, as Belski (Tricia Helfer) in episode 2 put it, wound very tightly. Yet she does not hesitate to hit Pete. I love this about her because it’s something I would do. It makes her more likeable and certainly more real.
Pete may be a lady’s man and come off as goofy and very boyish. However he’s an excellent partner. Even though he does tease Myka he is also there for her. His professionalism is subtle but it’s there if you look for it. Myka is an extremely attractive woman yet Pete treats her as a partner. This forces me to respect him. Also his vibes aren’t the only thing going for him. He notices the details almost as well as Myka. I think these two partners are up there with Mulder and Scully.
Now that you’ve been introduced to the characters and the warehouse I’ll give you a brief rundown of the first season. I’m focusing on those episodes that contributed to the overall story arc.
Episode 3 Magnetism
Artie and Leena try to figure out who or what is hacking into the warehouse computer system. The agents are off to Unionville, Colorado to figure out what caused a few of the townspeople to behave irrationally. A nun climbed a ladder to a building rooftop and jumped off it almost killing herself, a widow smashed her husband’s ashes on a hospital wall then spray painted a profanity and a talented teen violin player smashed his violin into smithereens during a group lesson. During the investigation the dangerous behavior of the first three people escalates.
While Myka is talking to one of the town’s paramedics in hopes of figuring out what is causing seemingly well-mannered people to go crazy, the paramedic tries to grab her chest. After her initial shock Myka realizes this is more uncharacteristic behavior from a seemingly well-mannered paramedic. He reaches for her chest again. This time she takes action. What I love in this scene is that Myka is so nonchalant about it. She realizes some sort of artifact is in play and therefore takes it all in stride. One of my favorite lines is Myka telling the paramedic, “I believe you. I just rather you not do it again, ok?”
Retracing Myka’s steps against Pete’s the agents realize the artifact is at the church. The priest recently inherited a chair belonging to distant relative, James Braid, the father of hypnotherapy. They finally have found the artifact! Myka tells Pete to douse the chair in the purple goo but nothing happens. He sees an ax on the wall and starts breaking the chair with it. Finally the neutralizer works and once again the agents save the day.
Back at the warehouse Artie is still having trouble with the attempted hacker. He realizes the person is probing the electrical grid in an attempt to locate the warehouse. Artie thinks the probes are random and that the person is just poking around. Leena isn’t too sure. She wants Artie to take the situation more seriously. When Artie is alone the hacker attempts to break into the firewall again. Lights flicker and, to Artie’s surprise, the power box displays a message. It seems the hacker isn’t being so random after all.
Episode 4 Claudia
Here we finally meet the mysterious hacker. A sleeping Artie wakes to realize he is handcuffed to the desk. Someone is in the warehouse office with him. It isn’t long before Artie recognizes the person.
Claudia (Allison Scagliotti) is the hacker. She is after Artie because her brother Joshua (Tyler Hynes) has died and Claudia blames Artie. She kidnaps him. The agents arrive at the warehouse and realize Artie is missing. Using the durational spectrometer they see who took Artie. Then they begin to track down Claudia.
Claudia has taken Artie to Joshua’s old lab. She insists Joshua isn’t dead, just trapped. She says mathematician Rhetticus’ theories were right. Artie doesn’t believe her, that is, until Joshua visits them in the lab. Apparently some experiment Joshua had been working on got him trapped. Claudia has tried to recreate the experiment to bring her brother back. She is now sick because of it and needs Artie’s help to save her brother and herself.
Artie calls the agents and tells them he is fine and helping Claudia with the experiment. Mrs. Frederick explains Pete and Myka need to help Artie do the experiment correctly. There are items belonging to Rhetticus in the warehouse that may be helpful. Pete finds a type of puzzle with Latin on it belonging to Rhetticus. It’s the key to doing the experiment correctly. Once the agents are at the lab they give Artie what he needs to save Joshua and Claudia.
Back at Leena’s B&B Mrs. Frederick visits Artie. She tells him Claudia is now a liability because she hacked into the warehouse and knows too much. The episode ends on a creepy note when Mrs. Frederick tells Artie he knows what his options are in dealing with Claudia.
Back at the warehouse Claudia returns from a trip to Vegas. She tells Artie she doesn’t belong in college and that the warehouse gives her a challenge. Artie decides to let her stay and helps Joshua get a job at CERN.
Episode 7 Implosion
Myka and Pete return to Washington, D.C. to collect a samurai sword that will be given to the president. While in the Japanese embassy a thief takes the sword taken after some sort of explosion. Artie joins the agents in D.C. when he realizes that an implosion grenade, found only in the warehouse, was used. Someone has been removing warehouse items. Bering notices a piece of the sword, called the tsuba, is missing. When the sword and tsuba are together the holder becomes invisible. The tsuba is in the custody of the secret service. Pete and Myka try to steal it and get caught. Their former supervisor, Dickinson, tells the agents what he’s learned: Artie has a criminal record.
Artie finds evidence that someone named James MacPherson (Roger Rees) may be involved in the case. He meets a woman named Carol at a bar and questions her about MacPherson. It becomes obvious that Artie, Carol and MacPherson were involved in a love triangle. After Carol leaves, Mrs. Frederick appears at the bar. She tells Artie MacPherson is not involved and pulls Artie off the case.
Never one to listen, Artie is caught breaking into Dickinson’s office stealing the tsuba. Surprisingly he is arrested for committing treason. Artie realizes that his record had been fixed by Mrs. Frederick once before and someone is setting him up.
Mrs. Fredericks bails Artie out. She tells Artie MacPherson is trying to get to the sword and Artie is free to go after him. Artie shows up at the airport hanger where MacPherson is meeting his contact from the Japanese embassy. MacPherson kills the contact and tries to kill Artie by stabbing him with the sword.
The sword gets stuck in Artie just as the agents arrive. MacPherson runs away. At the warehouse Artie tells Mrs. Frederick that MacPherson is up to something. It isn’t the last they will see of him.
Episode 10 Breakdown
Claudia is left to do chores at the warehouse, never a brilliant idea. She is “tightening and lubricating the zip line” when the autovac she fixed goes haywire, knocking her ladder over. Claudia is grabbing the zip line and the falling ladder turns the zip line on, sending Claudia with it over the warehouse.
As a result of Claudia’s little trip, sticky string gets knocked into the neutralizing agent processing center’s gears. The agents and Claudia need to fix it before the warehouse is thrown into chaos. Claudia, Myka and Pete work together to free the gears of sticky string by freezing the mess with a snow globe artifact and all is well.
Mrs. Frederick has Artie meet her at some diner-type restaurant. Artie finds out it is no ordinary restaurant. He is actually on trial by the regents, Mrs. Frederick’s superiors. Regent Benedict Valda, (Mark Sheppard) seems to be in charge. He tells Artie that because of MacPherson the regents wonder if Artie is capable of doing the job correctly. Artie realizes the regents are scared of MacPherson. He tells them to either fire him, kill him or let him do his job. Then he leaves the restaurant. Mrs. Frederick tells Artie he still has his job and is free to hunt down MacPherson.
Episode 11 Nevermore
A notebook is delivered to Bering’s father (Battlestar Galactica’s Michael Hogan) in Colorado City, Colorado. Meanwhile Myka is in Berlin at MacPherson’s apartment. She can’t find him. Pete is in Montreal and spots MacPherson. He chases him into an alley. MacPherson uses cymbals that create some sort of massive sound and disable Pete so MacPherson gets away.
As Myka’s father is reading the notebook words start coming off the page and onto his skin. He cries out in pain. Later Myka’s mother (Susan Hogan) calls her to inform her that her father is not well and she needs to come home immediately.
In Portland, Oregon at the Kingford Academy a student named Bobby is being bullied by some boys before English class. In class he hears a voice whispering from a display case. An artifact, an ink pen, is calling to the boy. Bobby ends up breaking into the display case and taking the ink pen. Now he and Myka’s father are connected.
Myka and Pete are at her parents’ house when Myka’s father gets worse. Artie sends Claudia with purple goo to take care of the artifact. But when they drop it in nothing happens. Artie figures out they are dealing with a bifurcated artifact. The other piece is a pen. The notebook belonged to Edgar Allan Poe. It isn’t long before the team discovers an ink pen at academy in Oregon.
Pete and Claudia get the ink pen while Myka stays with her father. Pete arrives with the ink pen. After putting the two objects together Myka’s father is better again. As they are leaving Pete gets a vibe that something is wrong with Myka’s father. They run back into the home to find MacPherson there. He is holding Jack the Ripper’s lantern on her parents. Myka gives MacPherson the ink pen and notebook in exchange for her parents’ lives.
Episode 12 MacPherson
Fifteen years ago MacPherson used the Phoenix to save his wife, Carol. Artie tried to stop him but failed. MacPherson was given five consecutive life sentences but two years into his prison term there was an explosion and twelve people were killed. Obviously MacPherson got away.
After questioning Carol, Artie and the agents are lead to a warehouse. Once there Myka finds a wooden box with the Was scepter engraved on it. Artie takes the box and realizes that Carol’s pendant is a key that opens the box. Inside are a pair of glasses. Artie puts the glasses on and sees hologram of an artifact known as the Phoenix. MacPherson has it up for auction.
At the warehouse Claudia pulls up a picture of MacPherson and looks shocked. The man was Joshua’s physics professor, Reynolds. Reynolds gave Claudia help in getting around the warehouse firewall. Leena later wonders to Mrs. Frederick if MacPherson could still be using Claudia. The two check on the Phoenix and find it is no longer in the warehouse. The video display shows Claudia was the last to access the Phoenix.
Artie and the agents arrive at the meeting place for the Phoenix auction. Artie splits from them to find MacPherson. The agents find the group of men that MacPherson has called to the auction. While they are watching from a hidden location, Artie walks in to toward the group and thanks them all for coming.
As Pete and Myka try to figure out what’s going on another Artie walks up behind them. He tells them MacPherson is using Harriet Tubman’s thimble which allows the wearer to look like another person. The agents surround the imposter Artie, handcuffing him. When the thimble is removed from imposter Artie’s finger he transforms into MacPherson’s body guard. MacPherson then brings Artie in on a leash. In Artie’s mouth is an eggshell bomb.
Using a shard of an artifact known as the goblet of Severin, Pete catches MacPherson off guard. The agents take him into custody. Once at the warehouse they bronze MacPherson. It’s what they do with all the people who would otherwise become Hitlers or Mussolinis.
While Myka and Pete are putting artifacts away someone undoes the bronzing process on MacPherson. Mrs. Frederick, who is being driven away from the warehouse tells her driver to turn around. The person who freed MacPherson is finally revealed: It’s Claudia. She takes MacPherson to the office and removes Harriet Tubman’s thimble from her finger. She transforms into Leena.
Artie finds MacPherson in the office activating codes on the computer. The two fight and Artie is knocked to the ground while MacPherson escapes. Artie chases after him into the white tunnel. MacPherson, who has reached the outside of the warehouse, locks Artie in the tunnel and initiates the self-destruct sequence. It blows up the entire tunnel with Artie in it.
Outside the warehouse a very happy MacPherson walks away. Pete and Myka open the door to the tunnel and see it has been completely destroyed.
And then…?
This is what I call a cliff-hanger. Artie is one of my favorite characters. I cannot imagine the warehouse without him. Leena appears to be in league with MacPherson and Claudia is taking the rap for it.
Thanks for reading and visiting WormholeRiders News Agency.
Whovian99 (Trish)
