Print Warehouse 13: Resonance Review

Warehouse 13 takes a big step forward with its second episode: a clever, funny and consistently entertaining caper that solidifies the credentials established in the pilot. The Great Whatsit this week involves a recorded song that renders any listeners passive and docile. The owners have found a uniquely practical use for it: robbing banks. Just step inside (with a set of ear plugs in place, nach) hit “play,” and grab all the money you want. Agents Lattimer (Eddie McClintock) and Bering (Joanne Kelly) have some idea what they’re up against, thanks to a fortuitous cell phone recording taken in the middle of a robbery, but the reasons for the crime may prove far more confounding than finding the criminals themselves.

The show displays a real strength by making the human motivation behind the mystery as important as the gimmick itself. Granted, it’s a really cool gimmick--the siren song is internally consistent yet possesses a neat sense of style--which most shows would accept as good enough to carry the episode. Warehouse 13 takes it a few steps further, bolstering its central premise with a genuinely solid narrative. An array of mystical doodads crop up solely as throwaway gags--a mirrored ping-pong table that lets you play with your reflection, for example--which are right about the level they need to be. They establish the spirit of this universe, provide a proper Neat-O Factor to the proceedings, and yet don’t become so overwhelming that the remainder of the show takes a back seat to them. We need an in to the drama beyond the toys; credit the creators with understanding that from the get-go and allowing Warehouse 13 to rely on other assets.

Director Vincent Misiano does “Resonance” a similar service by keeping the action light and buoyant. With the exception of a brief and rather pedestrian chase scene towards the end, he refuses to settle for cop show clichés. The humor follows the same pattern, relying on quiet yet palpable witticisms that don’t feel the need to draw attention to themselves. (Joss Whedon, I hope you’re taking notes.) It retains adequate plausibility while deftly avoiding the po-faced self regard that ultimately doomed The X-Files. Succeed or fail, Warehouse 13 clearly recognizes the dangers of screwing up a good thing, and wisely opted for an alternate route than its celebrated precursor.

Lattimer and Bering remain a significant weak point however: not so much the performers themselves as the characters' status as vague ciphers. “Resonance” makes some attempts to give them more personality--mainly with Bering’s familial relations--but none of it proves particularly interesting. They still smack unduly of Mulder and Scully, and while chemistry between the actors papers over the worst of it, it leaves the show’s central relationship fairly rudderless. Saul Rubinek’s Artie Nielsen struggles to remain pertinent this week as well, shunted off to an (apparently) ongoing plot thread about an attempted hack of the Warehouse 13 computer system by parties unknown. Nielsen is loads of fun and Rubinek knows how to work the neurotic collector shtick extremely well. The more Warehouse 13 keeps him involved, the better off it will be.

BSG alumnus Tricia Helfer lends support as an FBI Agent initially assigned to the robbery case, but Warehouse 13 can’t rely on guest stars to keep things buoyant. At this early stage, it seems to live or die on the strength of its mystery each week… which in this case is terrific, but might not always reach such heights. In the event the gimmick doesn’t hold, the show needs a little more of a safety net: a net that, for now at least, is still being woven.

Mania Grade: B
TV Series: Warehouse 13
Episode: Resonance
Starring: Eddie McClintock, Joanne Kelly, Saul Rubinek, CCH Pounder, Genelle Williams, and Tricia Helfer
Written By: David Simkins
Directed By: Vincent Misiano
Network: Syfy
Series:

Warehouse 13: Resonance Review (Mania.com)