DVD Review: ‘Warehouse 13: Season 2’

Appropriately enough, the Syfy channel has been home to a plethora of great science fiction shows. A lot of theses series have ceased production over the years (‘Farscape’ and ‘Battlestar Galactica’ to name a few), but a relatively new series that has some serious potential to join their ranks is ‘Warehouse 13.’ The second season has arrived on DVD right before the third season airs. Good timing.

Agents Pete Lattimer (Eddie McClintock) and Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) work at a secret government facility tucked away in South Dakota that houses artifacts which contain various powers. If these objects were to get into the wrong hands, who knows what could happen? There are still countless artifacts still on the loose, many of which are being used for evil and to cause great harm.

Lattimer and Bering work with their boss Artie Nielsen (Saul Rubinek) and tech wiz Claudia (Allison Scagliotti) to track these items down so they can be neutralized and contained in the warehouse.

That’s a pretty broad generalization about the series. There is a lot more going on, with some shady characters that you will have fun meeting. If you haven’t seen the first season, don’t dive into the second right away. The first episode on this set picks up the instant that the first season ends.

Unlike some series, the characters are constantly evolving and the group dynamics are always shifting slightly. Whereas Myka was more guarded in the first season, she seems to believe in her team a bit more in these episodes. Claudia becomes a more fully-integrated member of the team this time around because she proves that she can be trusted and has more experience on her side. She also gets a bit more to do this season than simply sit around, hacking into systems. If you’re a little lost, don’t worry.

The Lattimer/Bering relationship is a common case of one character being by the books (Bering) while the other is more free-wheeling and apt to thinking outside the box. It’s kind of like a Mulder/Scully team. There is definitely enough humor present to keep the viewing experience fresh and exciting along with some reasonably good special effects.

While some have compared the series’ premise to ‘Friday The 13th: The Series’ the tones couldn’t be any different. It’s far from being horror, the vibe is just way too fun. The intercontinental adventures sometimes are reminiscent of ‘Indiana Jones,’ especially the episode where they go to Egypt.

Special features include: commentary, a look at designing the warehouse, a feature that explores the series’ combination of thriller and comedy, video blogs, photo gallery, deleted scenes, a gag reel and the ‘Eureka’ cross over episode.

‘Warehouse 13’ is quite possibly, Syfy’s most popular original show at the moment. It has achieved this by appealing to a very wide audience, not just the male 18-34 demographic that is practically a given for science fiction. Maybe this series is the equivalent to a gateway drug for science fiction. At the very least, it’s a great show.

Unrated          Approx 560 minutes          2011