Warehouse 13 Will Satisfy Fans of the Librarian

The Syfy channel has another hit on it's hands with Warehouse 13, a fanciful new comedy/drama about a mysterious warehouse located somewhere in South Dakota. Similar to the library in The Librarian movies, Warehouse 13 holds the world's most cherished magical objects. Warehouse 13 also has the same whimsical nature and funny moments as The Librarian.

Where the two shows differ is in story-line. While The Librarian series is chiefly about finding artifacts already known to have mysterious powers, many of the cases in Warehouse 13 revolve around first discovering what artifact needs to be retrieved in the first place. The Librarian is centered around one main character, whereas Warehouse 13 revolves around two main characters. Warehouse 13 also has more of a dramatic feeling than The Librarian, even though they are both a ton of fun.

Syfy's Warehouse 13 season-opener reveals many--but not all--of the show's secrets. In this 1:30 hour pilot, two secret service agents are mysteriously whisked away to South Dakota after saving the life of the president. From the first scene, the audience can feel the tension between the two main characters, Pete Laddimer (a semi-psychic, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants professional) and Myka Bering (who not only makes sure all her t's are crossed and her i's are dotted, but she'll check yours, too). This tension only grows as the two find themselves in a very strange situation, working for a very strange man; Artie Nelsen (played by the energetic Saul Rubinek).

Pete and Myka discover, by way of the mad-hatterish Artie, that the objects they protect carry disruptive magical powers. A perfectly sane person may all of a sudden hurt a loved one or groups of people could start acting strangely in the presence of an artifact from Warehouse 13. Artie gives the odd couple a tour of the expansive warehouse and its amazing artifacts and, of course, the mischief begins. Soon after the tour, it comes time for the agents' first assignment.

Artie's old-fashion, yet highly advanced equipment picks up an odd occurance. A straight-laced college student has been arrested for beating his girlfiend. Artie has a gut-feeling that a magical object is at the root of the problem. The highly skeptical Pete and Myka are dispatched to see if they can find (and retrieve) any artifact behind the student's outburst. The two end up in a whirl-wind of trouble, their only resource a list of questions Artie gave them, magic-neutralizing purple goo in a canister and Artie's advice, which is given over a two-way video monitor invented in 1929.

For much of the Syfy pilot and episodes proceeding it, the pair find themselves in strange circumstances they can't believe. Each episode of Warehouse 13 also finds Pete and Myka growing stronger as a team and less skeptical of the new and magical world the warehouse introduces them to. The couple bickers but they have a definite chemistry as partners (think Bones with more fun). From the getgo, the audience cares about these characters; stereotypical, though they may be.

Warehouse 13 keeps viewers guessing when it comes to a few key elements of the show. For instance, the head of Warehouse 13, Mrs. Frederic doesn't seem to age and can appear anywhere, at any time. Even Artie, who has been with the warehouse for years, seems mystified (and initimidated) by her. Then there are the agents who came before Pete and Myka who are alluded to briefly and died untimely deaths. the show has smartly left some mysteries unrevealed thus far. Mrs. Frederic seems skeptical that Artie will be around forever, too, does she know something that we don't? These running mysteries along with the individual cases in each episode and Pete and Myka's evolving relationship will keep viewers interested in Warehouse 13.

In short this new Syfy show is a perfect blend of drama and magic that will appeal to fans of The Librarian series and mystery shows, alike; the ancient artifacts add the same style of playful adventure as The Librarian, while the use of agents solving mysteres adds the drama that is so popular in TV shows these days. Warehouse 13 is a lot of fun and each episode is a delight.