At 12, my daughter is right at that age where some science fiction, some smart-aleck, a little creepiness and maybe a shudder or two are good things in a television show.
And since we’ve been watching a ton of the original Twilight Zones on Syfy, we’ve also seen more than our share of promos for the network’s new show, Warehouse 13, and we decided to give Tuesday night’s pilot a shot. (Besides, Fringe – our favorite watch-together show – is on summer break.)
So, if you’ve got a geeklet who’s into a little mystery and light occult, and bad science mixed with some neat steampunk gadgetry and quirky characters, here are 10 notes to consider if you’re planning a visit to Warehouse 13:
Language There’s some ancient Italian spoken in the pilot, but I’m guessing that’s not what you’re asking about. Warehouse 13’s TV-14 designation got us a reference to “screwing off,” a “what the hell,” a “kick your ass” and a “pile of crap,” the last one played strictly for laughs and involving, yes, an actual pile of crap.
Violence and The Ooky Factor Action-wise, you’re looking at some Secret Service-Fu, guns drawn but not shot, and a pretty tame immolation and crispy corpse that didn’t touch most of what Fringe or The X-Files carried week in and week out.
Gotcha! My daughter got one genuine moment of heart-race goosebumps out of the show. Enough to have her smiling about it, nothing that really freaked her out.
You know, (whisperwhisper) There was also a very brief morning-after scene, though the naked woman involved stays behind her blanket. Given that Syfy’s been touting the show as part Moonlighting, though, I wouldn’t count out the occasional flirtation and double entendre.
“Hey, that’s just like - “ Yes, Warehouse 13 offers plenty of reminders of either other movies and TV shows your kids have seen, or the ones you’ll want them to see soon enough: Raiders of the Lost Ark, The X-Files, Fringe and Men in Black all popped into my head during the two-hour premiere thanks to fairly obvious connections.
“No way!” (eye roll) Okay, you’re doing some heavy lifting with the suspension of disbelief on this one, given things like lightning guns, mind wipes, crystal-borne curses and supernatural-energy-eliminating purple goop.
“Is that real?” On the other hand, this is the first show I’ve seen since Sports Night that actually mentions Philo T. Farnsworth by name and credits him with inventing television, so that’s worth double-geek bonus points. Tesla and Edison get shout-outs, too, and I was intrigued enough to visit Wikipedia and read up on Lucrezia Borgia after the show.
“That guy, he’s, um…” I’ll save you the trouble of being distracted as I was trying to figure out where I’d seen Artie (Saul Rubinek) before: Among his many roles, he’s the collector from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Most Toys.”
Is it any good? In case I haven’t hinted heavily enough, the show is super-double-secret-probation derivative of a huge catalog of existing work, so it relied heavily on its characters. My daughter and I shared a few laughs at the banter and one-liners and were intrigued by the leads’ back-stories. That said, it’s summer, so I’ve got time to see how this series unfolds.
Yeah, but you’re a grown-up. What did your kid think? She had a mixed reaction. Immediately afterward, she pronounced it “okay” but added that she liked Fringe better. That said, she’d had a long day and still desperately wanted to stay awake to see how it ended.
Wired: Kids who love mysteries and adventure and can handle the PG-to-PG-13 arena could have some fun in here.Tired: So much of this has been seen before – maybe not all in the same place, but lots of this stuff in the Warehouse is in need of a good dusting
By John Booth
FROM GEEKDAD...RAISING GEEK GENERATION!
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