Warehouse 13: "Resonance" Review

Summary: Artie sends Pete and Myka to Chicago to investigate a string of odd bank robberies, while he tries to find someone who has hacked into Warehouse 13's computers

Let's start with one thing, first. Although it's premiering around the same time that our beloved Battlestar Galactica is ending, Warehouse 13 is in no way its replacement. It's whimsical where BSG is serious, it's light where BSG is dark (and I mean literally) and it uses wide sweeping shots where BSG uses extreme close-ups. That's not to say it's bad, it's just very different. Anyway, on to the real review.

I can happily (and with complete honesty) say that "Resonance" exceeded my expectations. It's not brilliant, but nobody could realistically expect that from the second episode of a new show. The (main) actors are still struggling to fit into their roles, and maybe this is me being nitpicky, but Pete & Myka seem to have grown awfully close in the very short time they have spent together (Pete admits they've been partners for "not very long"). In any case, they're turning into an okay team to watch. I'm having a very hard time liking Pete, since he's so constantly immature, but Myka is brilliant and has so much character potential (and is so good at putting Pete in his place, a definite plus) that she's quickly becoming one of my favorite characters.

The writing, now that we're past the necessary long exposition/introduction in the pilot, passes as decent, I suppose. My problem is that while it's good fun to watch, it, like Eureaka is not really good scifi. A song that makes people extremely happy is kind of, um, lame? Yeah, that's the word I want. Throw in some computer hacking, bank robberies, guys in Kull-warrior-esque suits with capes (if you've seen Stargate SG-1, you know what that means), a dying musician, and the FBI, and you suddenly get a much better show. Add in Myka's family drama, a completely unexpected turnaround at the end of the episode (sappiness is forgiven, at least a little, because of the total shock value), a camera that turns people into 2D images (or something like that), and a cliffhanger-ish ending, and all of a sudden, you're really liking the writing.

Character-wise, "Resonance" is pretty good, especially in exploring Myka's past, which was hinted at in the first episode, but still, all we have is pieces. And casting Tricia Helfer (from BSG again!) as the FBI agent was an excellent choice =). Saul Rubinek as Archie is a totally brilliant actor, and he, unlike the other two actors, seems to have no problem slipping into his role as the crazy-but-genius Warehouse proprieter. But by the end of the episode, Pete was, as I said before, just annoying.

I'm still going back and forth on the directing. The extreme slow motion scene of stealing Jed away from the FBI and Myka and Pete was rather cheesy, but oddly effective. It really showed the "altering" effect the music has on people. I also approve of how each act blinks out to a commercial break (or just blinks out, since I'm watching these on Hulu xD) as if it were one of those video communicators blinking off.

So "Resonance" wasn't great, and wasn't horrible. Warehouse 13 as a whole lacks the darkness that is so prevalent in many of the TV shows I enjoy (a la BSG or X-Files), and that makes it a lesser show in my opinion. But right now, it's keeping me waiting for the next episode, which is a good sign.