Mekeisha Madden Toby: Review

Syfy Channel's 'Warehouse 13' is packed with danger and intrigue

Somebody has to be the skeptic. Oftentimes, when it comes to television, it's the woman.

On "The X Files," it was Agent Dana Scully. The syndicated series "Friday the 13th" also had a non-believer in the sole lady, Micki Foster.

Well, don't expect a gender shift with Syfy Channel's fun and imaginative new offering "Warehouse 13," a show that debuts tonight and continues this tradition with Secret Service Agent Myka Bering (played by the beautiful Joanne Kelly, "Vanished") taking on the role as the logical, buttoned-up pragmatist.

Meanwhile, her partner, Secret Service Agent Pete Lattimer (Eddie McClintock, "Bones") is a handsome, free-spirited intuitive who loves a challenge. Can you say Fox Mulder?

After saving the president's life, Bering and Lattimer are rewarded by being shipped off to a top-secret government storage facility called -- you guessed it -- Warehouse 13. It is at this mammoth structure that strange artifacts, mysterious relics and supernatural souvenirs are locked up to protect the innocent masses.

When Bering and Lattimer arrive at their new assignment in a secluded area of windswept South Dakota, they meet their handler, an eccentric Secret Service agent named Artie Nielsen (the incomparable Saul Rubinek, "Frasier"). Nielsen in turn answers to a shadowy but commanding figure named Ms. Frederic (CCH Pounder, "The Shield"), who oversees every mysterious Warehouse mission.

After giving them a brief and slightly dangerous tour of the Warehouse, Artie tells the pair that it is now their job to investigate and collect mysterious objects, big and small, that wreak havoc and inspire people to do very bad things. Think "Something Wicked This Way Comes" and "Friday the 13th" the series.

Following the script of the logical one, Bering protests and demands to be let go while Lattimer delights in the unknown and can't wait to take on the first case: a domestic abuse incident that belies dark motivations.

It is up to Lattimer and Bering to figure out what item could have possibly driven an otherwise peaceful and harmless college student to attack his live-in girlfriend, retrieve the object, and bring it back to the Warehouse.

What "Warehouse 13" lacks in refreshing gender portrayals, it more than makes up for with clever gadgets, sharp dialogue and impressive casting. Yes, Kelly and McClintock are donning Scully and Mulder personas, but they do so with just as much chemistry and dedication.

Just like Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny before them, these two actors work very well together on screen and the synergy they share will keep viewers coming back for more.

The same can be said for the writing. While building a show around the collection of creepy and terrifying tchotchkes is far from novel, "Warehouse 13" is a whodunit or a whatdunit at heart, and mysteries, especially in the summer, are a great source of entertainment.

mmadden@detnews.com (313) 222-2501