Women Who are Positively Portrayed in the Media

So.  Either I'm being whiny and sleep deprived (entirely possible), or this list is my rebuttal against the entire concept of the Women's Studies class (also totally possible).

From The X-Files

• Dana Scully
• Margaret Scully
• Teena Mulder
• Marita Covarrubias
• Monica Reyes
• Dakota Whitney

From Babylon 5

• Susan Ivanova
• Talia Winters
• Delenn
• Lyta Alexander
• Elizabeth Lochley
• Na'Toth

From CSI and CSI: Miami

• Sara Sidle
• Catherine Willows
• Terri Miller
• Sofia Curtis
• Calleigh Duquesne
• Wendy Simms
• Natalia Boa Vista
• Alexx Woods

From Buffy the Vampire Slayer

• Buffy Summers
• Willow Rosenberg
• Faith
• Kendra
• Jenny Calendar
• Cordelia Chase

From Warehouse 13

• Myka Bering
• Claudia Donovan
• Leena
• Mrs. Irene Frederic

From Fringe

• Olivia Dunham
• Nina Sharp
• Astrid Farnsworth
• Amy Jessup

From Roswell

• Liz Parker
• Maria de Luca
• Isabel Evans

From NCIS

• Abby Sciuto
• Caitlin Todd
• Ziva David

From Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU

• Olivia Benson
• Alexandra Cabot
• Abbie Carmichael
• Elizabeth Donnelly
• Casey Novak
• Jill Hennessey
• Serena Southerlyn
• Connie Rubirosa
• Alexandra Borgia
• Claire Kincaid
• Monique Jefferies
• Kim Greylek
• Melinda Warner

From Battlestar Galactica

• Laura Roslin
• Tory Foster
• Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
• Anastasia Dualla
• D'Anna Beirs / The Rest of the Threes
• Sharon Agathon / The Rest of the Eights
• Gina Inviere/ The Rest of the Sixes
• Helena Cain
• Kendra Shaw
• Margaret "Racetrack" Edmonson
• Diana "Hardball" Seelix
• Louanne "Kat" Katraine
• Erin Matthias
• Jean Barolay

From Stargate (SG-1, Atlantis, and Universe)

• Samantha Carter
• Janet Frasier
• Vala Mal Doran
• Elizabeth Weir
• Teyla Emmagen
• Kate Heightmeyer
• Jennifer Keller
• Laura Cadman
• Katie Brown
• Chaya
• Helia
• Alicia Vega
• Camille Wray
• Tamara Johansen
• Jeannie Miller

Some of them are evil, sure, but they're all strong, complex characters who would never let men make them feel bad about themselves.

4ND 50 1!F3 607 PWND 8Y 5¢!-F! 4ND ¢0P 5#0W5. 1337!!!!!!!
(^^it's leetspeak.  figure it out :P^^)

Warehouse 13: "MacPherson" Review

This episode was absolutely. bloody. brilliant.  I have no idea how on Earth I am going to survive waiting MONTHS for Season 2!!  (Watching shows on DVD has spoiled me, I'm afraid).

Some comments . . .

• I was right all along.  Leena was the mole!  I knew it couldn't have been Claudia!  Truth be told, I thought there was something odd with Leena way back in "Duped", when she a) couln't tell that there was a different consciousness inhabiting Myka's body and b) couldn't tell that the Myka in the mirror was alive.  I excused the second one because I wasn't sure completely how the mirror worked, but the first part is bugging me even more now.
• I really want to know why Leena decided to work for MacPherson.  Or even if she's doing it voluntarily.
• Warehouse security sucks.  Majorly.  If the Bronze Vault houses the worst of the worst, why is there a huge "reverse" button right next to the machine?  Trust me, you're not going to put someone in there by mistake.  Ahhh, plot devices, we love you.
• The Phoenix is one of the most interesting items in the Warehouse so far.  I'm so glad that this is a storyline that will be getting some attention, because I'm loving the moral/ethical issues that are being raised here.  I think W13 is finally gaining some of the maturity it needs to handle these issues, and I can't wait to see where it leads!
• So, um, someone hid about 1000 stairs pretty darn well, or the Warehouse is bigger/weirder than I had thought.  Either that, or there's another warehouse that's been hiding in someone's back pocket for a bit.
• The psychedelic glasses are so cool!  It's totally awesome how Myka's the only one to be able to see the clues with them.  Although I do wonder if they ever considered they might be walking into a trap?
• "Children . . . I'm working with children . . ."  'nough said =)
• Claudia needs to come back!  I can't wait to see how that is wrapped up.  I think Mrs. Frederic should go looking for her.  She sooo owes her an apology.
• That thimble . . . I'm so curious as to how it works!  I really don't get it.  I mean, if it can make you look like whoever you want . . . then . . . um . . . I dont know!  I can't even properly explain what I don't like about it!  Maybe it has something to do with how it can possibly make the huge muscular bodyguard look like short, fat Artie.  What happens to all that body mass?  And how did it fool the DNA/retina scanners on the different artifacts?  Just a tad too convenient for my tastes, although super-cool.
• MacPherson backstory!  Yay!
• Since Mrs. Frederic had that necklace on the whole time . . . could that possibly mean that she has that chemical in her blood, too?  If so, what did she do to deserve that?  If not, why does she have the necklace?  Curious . . .

Okay, that's all for now.  Im sure there's more that I've missed, but right now I'm too excited (plus I have about 30 thousand fanfic ideas in my brain that I need to sort through).  So check for fic/art later on, and I can't wait for season 2!!

Rationalizations (Spoilers/Guesses for Warehouse 13's finale)

I know the finale was last week for those of us in the States, and YES I watched it and YES it was amazing, but this is something I wrote up before and never got around to posting ('cause this is me, after all).  So, for all of you who don't want to be spoiled for the finale . . . don't read any farther.

Anybody who's like me (aka a spoiler hound) knows that there's a mole in the Warehouse (Allison Scagliotti said so on an interview . . . that I don't have the link for anymore >.<)  A lot of the discussion seemed to suggest Claudia was the mole, but I really can't see that.  And before you ask, I'm not doing this just because she's my favorite character (but she is) but because I honestly can't see her being evil.  This is my list.

• Claudia loves the warehouse.  Totally and absolutely.  I have a very hard time seeing her wanting to leave.
• More than that, she loves the people in the warehouse.  She finally has a family besides Joshua: Artie is her dad, Pete's her big brother, Myka's her big sister/best friend.  She would never hurt them.
• When would MacPherson have contacted her?  Between psych wards, foster homes, and searching for Joshua, she's been pretty hard to reach.
  

So who is the mole then?  If you want my opinion, I think it's Leena.  Why?  Well, I just went through the reasons it wasn't Claudia.  It's not Myka . . . not after MacPherson went after her parents in "Nevermore".  It's not Pete . . . he is, for all his flaws, too good and loyal to switch sides.  It's not Artie . . . MacPherson's been his nemesis for far too long.  It's not Dickinson . . . he's been in three episodes and is too much a DC beaurocrat to get involved with strange things.  It's not Mrs. Frederic . . . mysterious she may be, but she wants to catch MacPherson as much as Artie does.  So that leaves Leena.  Quiet, unassuming, very close to Artie, came to the Warehouse semi-recently (after MacPherson and Artie split up).  She's been under-used this whole season, and although I like her, making her a mole will vastly expand her character and let her hold my interest for more than two minutes at a time.

Warehouse 13: "Nevermore" Review

Well, I really didn't expect much of this from the previews.  I was happily surprised.  Although I don't have time to write a full review, I'll try to hit the most interesting points in a list (I should do this for all my reviews.  It makes them so much easier!)

• I totally expected more on Myka's family.  Everything went from "I hate you" to "It's all good" really quickly.  And I thought that was rather abrupt.  What we did see was brilliantly acted on both sides.  Joanne Kelly never ceases to amaze me, and Michael Hogan is always brilliant (though I'm not used to seeing him with two eyes, after watching him on BSG for years).
• Claudia gets to go out into the field!  This is what I want to see more of . . . the Myka + Claudia + Pete, or even just . . . anything that's not just Myka and Pete.  Because we know a lot about their relationship already, I want to see some other pairs working together.
• Pete could've Tesla's MacPherson and have been done with it.  He was standing right there, fifteen feet away, with his Tesla out and a clear shot.  I know it would have made for a far more boring story, but it still reflects poorly on Pete's character.  In my opinion.
• Mrs. Frederic appearing and disappearing will never cease to make me jump.  And smile.  And be very curious at the same time.
• Myka's dad's bookstore is my idea of heaven.  I could seriously live there.
• I love when Pete and Claudia opened that locker and then jumped out of the way really quickly.  And then nothing happened.
• I've said this before, but it should be said again: Joanne Kelly is bloody brilliant.
• All of the kids attending the school in "Oregon" are so . . . bland.  And boring.  And unlikable.  And . . . the school takes the idea of being old-fashioned/creepy close to the point of being unrealistic.  I mean, I suppose schools like that do exist, I just found it . . . odd.  (It made so much more sense when I watched one of Allison Scagliotti's video blogs and saw it was actually the University of Toronto.  See, a college should look like that . . . not a high school)
• Although it does show in quite a sinister way exactly what artifacts can do to unsuspecting people.  This episode is, I think, unique in that the character(s) affected by the artifact know that the object gives them power, but they don't know it's really an artifact.  It makes for a much more interesting story.
• The pendulum.  Was a supremely amazing effect.  I love how it just . . . disintegrated afterward.  Although I wonder why it freed Claudia, and then Pete.
• I actually quite liked that old English teacher.  I wonder how you survive being buried alive inside a brick wall.
• The first five minutes and the last five minutes are by far the best, writing-wise, but the directing is fantastic all the way through.  Lovely set up on the location shots, especially in the bookstore.  It makes it feel warm and home-y, while still managing to show that, from Myka's point of view, she still feels like an outsider.
• Susan Hogan is utterly forgettable.  Pity.
• MacPherson is so. creepy.  I can't wait for the finale now!!

P.S.: The guy in this comic was SO using Edgar Allen Poe's pen.  xD

Warehouse 13: "Breakdown" Review

So I finally realized that no matter how much I loved loved loved this episode, I would never have time to sit down and write a proper review.  Instead, I'm going to list a few (a lot) of may favorite bits (and one or two not-so-favorites).

• There's a manual for the warehouse.  That Claudia and Myka have read.  And that they will never stop teasing Pete about.
• Myka picks probably the only non-artifact in the warehouse to save Pete from the typewriter: a broom.
• The original B&B in the warehouse, and the painting.  I wonder if it really was "Leena's" back then, since she hasn't been with the warehouse as long as Artie has.
• The bedazzler.  End. Of. Story. ^_^
  
• Mrs. Frederic counting down 'till the destruction of the warehouse ("her voice gets really annoying when she's counting down seconds one at a time!")
• The Baylor dodgeballs.  Probably one of my favorite artifacts, not counting the Studio 54 disco ball.  I especially like Myka's plan: "I run away and you get pummeled".  Pete under the mountain of dodgeballs was absolutely hilarious
• Claudia and Myka save the Warehouse.  Now, they're going off to learn how to hack the grid (Myka) or learn kickass secret agent moves (Claudia).  I soooo want to see this happen!  I love the sister-relationship they have going on, now we just need MORE of it.  And Myka still owes Claudia a hug from "Duped".
• Claudia, Myka, and Pete pretending to throw Artie a "welcome home" party to disguise the fact that they almost blew up the warehouse.
• The auto-vac and the zipline.  A very bad combination if you are Claudia.
• Silly string.  I always knew there had to be something odd about it . . . seriously.  Silly string is EVIL.
• Mrs. Frederic.  She's always awesome, but even more so when she's advocating . . . ehm, shall we say bending the rules a bit.
• Okay, the Regents in the cafe is a bit too much like Oma Desala's cafe for all the ascended people in Stargate SG-1, down to the whole more-powerful-than-meets-the-eye waitress.  It's a good idea . . . but it's been done before, and better.

So, there're the main points I want to hit.  Overall, a very very good ep, that provides team bonding, danger, and foreshadowing in equal amounts :)

Warehouse 13: "Regrets" Review

"Regrets" is the first dip in W13's pattern of wonderful episodes, but it still provides an hour of chaos, character development, and downright spookiness. I mean, I was jumping at little sounds for a good half hour after I turned the TV off.

Yeah, so, I started the review after I finished the episode, and (of course) I'm not posting until. . . the eleventh?  Sorry!  This episode just did not stick in my head at all.

It's not the best and it's not the worst, and it definitely has its share of moments.  By far the best part of this was the end, when Myka and Pete finally had to face their demons.  We got to see Myka's human side, and finally find out what happened in Denver . . . I was really expecting something huge, and then Sam's death was pretty anticlimactic.  But I'm not really complaining, because Joanne Kelly's acting makes it ten times better.  She plays the tortured agent so well . . . but still manages to hit the perfect combination of vulnerabilty and hard-ass that defines Myka so much.  We finally get to see a more mature side to Pete, although his scenes with his dad had less impact on me, I think because Pete has had, what, thirty years to accept his father's death, while Myka's had months to accept Sam's.  In any case, the whole episode shows the growing trust and friendship that's been developing between Myka and Pete, and that makes me happy.


Although.  This is as good of a time as any to say that I will be extremely disappointed if that friendship turns into romance.  I can't imagine the two of them together, at all.  It would be awful in my opinion . . . and way cliche.  I threatened to stop watching the show if that happened . . . I don't think I'll do that now, but I'll be really upset, in any case.


Apart from that, there's not too much to make "Regrets" stand out in my mind.  For once, the artifact was the solution instead of the problem, which was a cool twist.  Revered Hill was poorly underused, although the motif of the Orouborus was fascinating and, in my mind, connected to Myka's and Pete's constant vicious circles of guilt.  The prison-in-lightning-storm idea was a it cliche, but definitely effective.  And . . . what else . . . oh, Claudia-the-magnet in Alessandro Volta's lab coat was a lot of fun.  And any solution involving crossbows and inflatable mattresses is, well, interesting, but apparently very effective.  I almost felt sorry for Claudia by the end, having to rewrite "I must obey Artie" over again, this time, "like she means it".  But Artie should really know better than to think that will stop her.  I bet next week she'll be back making trouble again.


One thing that "Regrets" does that I absolutely love (and some other episodes have done this too) is throw in references to things that are actually happening.  "Tropical Storm Jimena" is obviously a real hurricane that was going on about the time this episode aired.  And earlier on, "Implosion" contained a dig at the economy ("Cash only.  American credit's not what it used to be") that made me laugh probably more than any normal person would (then again I've never claimed to be normal).

Overall, good but not great.  Definitely not on the same scale as "Implosion" or "Duped", but much better than some of the early episodes.  It's not bad, but it's also not memorable.

My Pretties! (Warehouse 13: "Duped" Artwork)

I love love love love the Warehouse 13 episode "Duped". Aaaand it just so happens that I took 261 screencaps while I was watching it on hulu (I blame Joanne Kelly. She's just too darn photogenic, whenever she comes on screen I just want to take a picture of her!). And if you've been to my website, you know I do a ton of graphic arts related to TV shows and movies that I like. But I haven't done any W13 artwork, mostly 'cause I'm lazy and screencapping from hulu is a pain (I take a snapshot of my desktop, hope the character wasn't moving too much, then go through all the pics, rename them from "Picture 12" or whatever, and crop out just the part that has the W13 bit.) and I hadn't actually had any pictures to work with 'till now.

What's this all leading up to? Lovely lovely new Warehouse 13 artwork, all based on 'caps from "Duped".

Summary: 1 animated icon (150 x 150px), 5 regular icons (100 x 100px), 2 banners (728 x 90px and 500 x 100px), 1 wallpaper (1280 x 800px).





You are more than welcome to download these for your own use, but please, please credit Anya Prynn and link back to either my website or this blog.

Warehouse 13: "Duped" Review

Joanne Kelly is several thousand degrees of amazing. She has two totally opposite characters to play here: evil, flirty Alice and troubled, trapped Myka and she portrays both of them absolutely beautifully. And by the end, Alice/Myka looks a whole lot like Bellatrix Lestrange (or maybe that's just me).

All that aside, "Duped" is a really, really good episode, and makes me happy I've stuck with the series long enough for it to find its feet. It proves, thankfully, that last week's "Implosion" was not just a fluke, the series really is getting good =)

Character-wise, I could go on for paragraphs and not say enough good things. Leena is actually useful (yay!). Claudia is brilliant, and I love how she fights so hard to get to talk to Myka. She really cares for her fellow Warehouse agents now, which is touching to see. Oh, and Myka still owes her a hug.

I cannot tell you how happy I am that the Artie-drama from last week wasn't just dropped. I was half expecting it, to be honest, because shows tend to do that, but this was a very pleasent surprise. I have to say that Artie and Myka's conversation through the mirror is one of my favorite scenes so far, it was wonderfully touching and very real, a testament to the abilities of the actors.

From a directoral standpoint, "Duped" shines as well. I loved how in the breakfast scene and in the hotel room scenes, "Myka" is shown mostly in mirrors. It's something that only makes sense after the end of the episode, but after, it makes you say, "Huh. Now that makes sense!" There were several really nice pan shots of the casino floor, and I like the different effects that come into play whenever someone is seeing the future with the coin. Also, Alice/Myka slowly becomes less and less like Myka . . . which builds suspense until the end.

There's a few things that bothered me, though. Alice takes over Myka's body very easily . . . too easily, actually. She knows exactly how to act like Myka, she has fighting skills far beyond anything a girl her age should have . . . it was just odd for me, because my understanding of the mirror was that one essence fuses with another image or body. Which should mean that Alice would have no idea of who Myka was. It was confusing. And the music. I know, I know, part of the fun of W13 is that it has funny music, but in this case, the "Go Ask Alice" song when Claudia, Artie, and Leena are setting up the trap completely ruined the mood they were trying to set up. Like, completely completely. And, lastly, when Alice/Myka tesla's Gary, and Pete tells her he's dead . . . he's so not. His eyes are even moving. And I'm sure Alice/Myka knew the tesla wasn't high enough to kill him. And the tesla also doesn't do anything to their memories, so . . . anyway.

Overall, though, this was a brilliant episode.

~~~~~~~~~~

And I know I don't usually do this, but I want to pull a few of my favorite lines from this episode.

Myka (to Artie): "When I get out of here [the mirror] I'm hugging her [Claudia] and I'm kicking your ass."

Myka: "You do not treat me like some chess piece that you move around on a board only you can see."

Artie: "What kept you?"
Leena: "Three pumpkin pies, and a broken oven thermometer that you keep promising to fix."

Pete: "The real Myka would never kiss me. Not if her life depended on it."

Claudia (to Artie, on how to contact Pete): "Well, dude. He's in a big hotel."

Oh, and that disco ball? If it ever gets out of the Warehouse, it is becoming mine.

Warehouse 13: "Implosion" Review

Best. Episode. Yet.

Forgive me if I sound too enthusiastic, but this is the best Warehouse 13 episode by far. It has backstory, foreshadowing, special effects, plot twists, witty dialogue, very good guest stars, and Leena actually does something useful. Okay, so maybe that last isn't quite on the same level as the others, but "Implosion" establishes once and for all that Warehouse 13 has credibility and potential, two things it desperately needs.

So, decapitations, implosions, and disintegrating bodies, among other things, definitely prove that W13 is earning its TV-14 rating. I was complaining about that earlier (I found a lot of things to complain about in the early episodes) but "Implosion" brings in a new, darker side that I cannot wait to see explored. And remember how I was complaining about how there could never be story arcs, due to the format of the show? Well, the writers found a way to do a story arc -- and pretty good one, if this is any indication -- despite all of that. The whole idea of a rogue Warehouse agent (is that what MacPhearson is) is really quite fascinating.

This all just goes to show you the potential that W13 has when it's not being X-Files for the twelve year olds. We get real background information, real conflict, and finally, finally, when the agents burst in on the bad guy with the weapon and scream "Federal agent! Drop your weapon!" they actually get shot. So maybe that's not necessarily a good thing, but I've always thought that that would be closer to what would happen in real life.

Guest stars. Well, I always always always love seeing CCH Pounder/Mrs. Frederick. "We're all human. As far as I know." (Best Artie line :D). I really hope we see more of her. She is probably the most fascinating character yet. Roger Rees is an awesome evil guy, and I'm excited to see MacPhearson's story evolve. I have no idea who that lady at the bar with Artie was, but I'm assuming she was part of the whole MacPhearson debacle. Again, there's so much story potential here.

I love the interdepartamental conflict brewing between Artie and Dickinson. I kind of thought it would be coming up, but not like this. I find myself fully on Myka's side here: Artie's treating the agents as expendable (which that beautifully timed first implosion grenade shows) and they're not. I said a bit ago that I wanted to see Artie and Myka talk a bit about their past losses, and I still want that, even more now.

Special effects are better than usual, and leaving aside the somewhat kooky music and a very eight-year-old Pete playing with the decoy sword in the beginning, the great directing, the real feeling on the part of the cast, and what is quite possibly the best Star Trek reference ever, combined with everything above, make this as close to a perfect 10 as I think we'll see out of W13. It's finally hitting its stride, and dang it's good!

P.S. I know this review is a bit late (I've been doing my summer reading, ugh), but at least my tardiness lets me add in this little tidbit: W13 has officially been renewed for a second season! Hopefully we got more episodes this time round :) Full story here.

Warehouse 13: "Burnout" Review

Myka's coat is amazing. Sorry, that just had to be said.

Okay, fashion aside, "Burnout" was a really good episode. I (foolishly) thought I would be able to watch this episode while organizing my Irish dance makeup kit. Fat chance. "Burnout" had me hooked from the very beginning.

Storywise, this was a much more engaging, interesting, and suspenseful story than last week's "Elements". It got me thinking, once again, about how much of the artifact stories are actually true. Because if something like this spine were real . . . anyway, I know the truth-to-fantasy ration is probably something like 1:200086 (or something). But still. This falls into the category of "I love how W13 (my new abbreviation) blends past/present/future-ness". It's like steampunk, but not. Right? Maybe I'm making no sense. In any case, there are no points lost for the plotline here.

One aspect of the show I still cannot figure out. I may have asked this question before, but here it is again: how alive is the Warehouse? Rebecca says that the Warehouse doesn't let people go once it has a hold on them. There's certainly more going on with the whole preserving-the-rooms-of-the-deceased-agents-perfectly-in-the-warehouse thing than it looks like at first glance (I have no idea how that's possible, by the way, but it does look extremely cool to see how you get access to the rooms.)

Claudia is, as always (can I say "always" after 3 episodes? Oh well), brilliant, whether she's ribbing Artie's fashion sense or inventing holographic projectors. All in a day's work, I suppose. I am a bit worried though, that she'll turn into a perfect, always-saves-the-day character. I think that the writers have more sense, but that has yet to be seen. And as far as characters go, if they start a Pete/Myka romance, I will . . . I dunno. I threatened my friend I would stop watching the show, but that seems extreme now. Be very upset, I suppose.

I was sadly surprised when I realized that I didn't care at all if Pete died or not. I knew that I should care, obviously, I just didn't. Then I realized that it would completely traumatize Myka, losing two partners in such a short span of time, and reconsidered. But still, it was disturbing to figure out that I cared that little for one of the main characters.

But speaking of Myka being traumatized, that brings me to another interesting point. In six episodes, we already have a very defined and very interesting character here, and Joanne Kelly really does her justice, which makes me quite happy. The most powerful scene for me here was when Pete, fighting the influence of the Spine, was pleading with Myka to, basically, electrocute him. And she couldn't. Because, in my opinion (and I might be totally wrong here) Myka's forgotten what it's like to be willing and able to die for a cause, after she saw her former boyfriend die for what he believed in. She's still very scarred by that. But Rebecca, who also lost her partner to the spine, was able to do what Pete asked. Maybe it's because she had more time to adjust to losing her partner, or maybe it was just personality differences, but either way, I found it quite interesting.

In any case, this is a very good episode that has me looking forward to next week. I'm starting to like this show, and I think that one of its strongest points is that it's able to constantly get better (Uhm. Ignoring the thing that called itself "Resonance"). So I'm thinking there's high potential for next week.

Oh, and I also got some pretty pretty screencaps! (Hulu is murder to 'cap from. But anyway).

Warehouse 13: "Elements" Review

While I didn't enjoy "Elements" as much as I've enjoyed some of the previous episodes, it was still a solid episode with a very interesting storyline and good effects.

The premise of this episode is actually quite interesting. Native American objects are often used in mystery/scifi shows because of the sense of mystery and magic that surrounds them. In that sense, "Elements" certainly doesn't fall short, mystery and magic abound. I love the idea of the four statues leading to the cave. And in Warehouse 13's usual ancient/modern mix, I love how Claudia figures out the cave's location with no trouble (or statues) at all, using the magnetic lay lines. The idea of world domination is not new (with such prevalence in scifi shows, it seems like some new person should be ruling the world every other week, but hey), however, I'm not sure I've ever seen it be domination through use of the four elements before. The story, overall, does not disappoint, although I wish there was some better resolution. We're not quite sure (or atleast I'm not quite sure) what happened to Radbum at the very end . . . I'm assuming he dies when the cave is destroyed, but the ending seems very unfinished.

The artifacts. Being able to walk through walls is so cool. Like Pete said, this is one artifact I totally wish would stick around. I can see him and Myka and Claudia using the cloak on some mission somewhere one day :).

The special effects. Well, they're not the most elaborate ones we've seen in the series, but turning people's hands into fire and rock surely deserves some credit. I like how each element was represented in the cave, and how Radbum completes his transformation, and is then (presumably) destroyed. The effects aren't too complex, but they're good, and that's what counts.

Character wise . . . well, I still don't like Pete. He's toned down the jerkiness a bit, but he still acts very much like a child, and it's annoying. Although, he did gain some sympathy by being thrown out of the steel wall of a moving truck (I wouldn't be too happy about that either). Leena continues her role as the "explainer" . . . she spends a good three minutes telling us every minute detail of Claudia's emotional state, something, I think, that Alison Scagliotti could have acted for us without much difficulty. On that topic though, Claudia is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters. She's complex and guilty and funny and sarcastic, and beats Vegas without thinking twice. She's a much-needed addition to this show, and I'm so glad she's staying.

I liked how we got some resolution to the Claudia-Joshua story. However, it is a pity that with Joshua going off to CERN we don't get any more of the wonderful brother-sister sister moments like we did here (oh well, I suppose we need to leave that to Pete and Myka. Pete is so the annoying little brother!)

It was awesome to see Joe Flanigan again, but I have to say that after seeing him as John Sheppard on Stargate Atlantis for five years, it was a bit difficult to adjust to seeing him as a different character. But his acting is just as good here as in Atlantis, so I'm happy. He also provides a good excuse for Myka to relax a bit, but she doesn't hesitate to pull her gun on him when she thinks he's the bad guy.

Overall, a good episode with an interesting story and some fun character moments. Oh, and Artie's chess game against himself totally rocks.


(By the way . . . I wonder if Joshua knows that this is what they're really getting up to over at CERN.  xP)

Warehouse 13: "Claudia" Review

Now that I'm back from my summer program, I can actually watch the episodes when they air, as opposed to waiting for Hulu to have them. Although, my beautiful little MacBook has far superior image quality than my 20+ year old ancient, awful TV . . . but that's another story :)

So this started off a bit anticlimactically/non-linearly, considering that the hacker got into the warehouse at the end of the last episode, and this one starts with Pete and Myka coming back from what seems a normal mission, Artie's lack of sleep notwithstanding. I thought the opening scene here would follow on more directly from the end of last week's episode. But, as soon as Claudia came in, things got pretty interesting. To be honest, this episode had me riveted pretty much start to finish.

I was pleased that "Claudia" doesn't fall into the same trap as "Resonance" -- under-using it guest stars. Both Allison Scagliotti's Claudia and CCH Pounder's Mrs. Frederick are used to the fullest extent possible, providing for great character moments. I loved the glimpse into Artie's past, and, for once, the child actress who plays little-Claudia is actually a good actress. Also great to watch was Artie and Myka's conversation at the very end -- they both have scars from the past and it would be very interesting to see them actually get to sit down and talk about what happened, to Myka in Denver and to Artie in . . . well, we're not actually sure.

Mrs. Frederick is also an asset to whatever scene she's in. She's creepy and smart and knows, well, if not everything, then certainly a lot. She also sets up some interesting foreshadowing here, in terms of Artie's and/or Claudia's future. For right now, I'm forgiving her for being on obvious Cigarette-Smoking-Man-ripoff (much like Myka and Pete are Scully and Mulder) because she doesn't seem to have the pure evil that the Smoking Man does. And, she's a lot more helpful. I'm very interested to see where her character arc is going.

Leena, on the other hand, I'm growing to despise. She does nothing useful. Or if she does, I haven't seen it. She's basically and excuse for Artie to explain whatever's going on in the episode. No offense to Genelle Williams, because I'm sure she's a wonderful actress, but this character is just pointless. On a related note, however, I didn't want to punch Pete in the face once this whole episode, which is a nice change.

Luckily for us science/CGI nerds, "Claudia" does not sacrifice special effects or nerdiness for the sake of the characters. Rheticus' compass is supremely cool, and the idea that he was searching for a way to teleport, which is a kind of holy grail for many people (yes, I'm including myself in that category :D). The idea of being caught in an "in-between place" was done in The Next Generation with Ro Laren and Geordi LaForge being sucked out of phasse (sorry, I can't remember which episode off the top of my head) but it had a bit of a twist here, with Joshua being able to come back occasionally, and those arrivals steadily killing his sister.

Overall, I don't have any major complaints about this episode, it's certainly the best one so far. People are settling into their roles more, and the writers have a better idea of what they're doing. This is a solid early episode for a show that desperately needs as much credibility as it can get (because it's still an awful lot like an X-Files for the new generation at some points).

On a side note, I have surely been spoiled by Hulu's 15-30 second long commercials =)

Warehouse 13: "Magnetism" Review

Okay so I really meant to post this Wednesday or Thursday, but it's the end of my summer program and things got super busy.

Anyway, just when I think I have Warehouse 13 all figured out as a decent enough show that's fun enough to keep you interested and that'll run for three or four seasons (maybe) the writers/producers spin around and give us something like "Magnetism" (not sure where they get that title, but oh well). Last week's episode, while a solid second episode for a series with pretty big shoes to fill, quality wise, had a disturbing propensity to be silly and sappy and a bit annoying. "Magnetism" starts off with Pete dangling upside down from a ceiling, stealing a guillotine blade, and the episode just gets better after that, turning into the ultimate "be careful what you wish for" tale.

With "Magnetism", we're finally starting to see some of the darker side of these artifacts. Throughout the first two episodes, I was thinking that there had to be something going on with this show that gave it its TV-14 rating as opposed to, say, Stargate Atlantis or The X-Files's relatively mild TV-G or TV-PG ratings. Now, we see that the artifacts aren't all fun and games. So, we saw a little of it in the pilot, but now Warehouse 13 is taking the time to actually explore issues prevalent in society today. Especially powerful was the end, which addressed the issue of suicide bombing in a truly scary way. The final confrontation in the church, with time running out and Myka scrambling between pews desperately trying to buy time for Pete to disable the chair was an extremely powerful scene . . . far better than I had thought. Here's hoping Warehouse 13 continues on this more mature line of storytelling. But, on the other hand, "Magnetism" had plenty of humor too, what I appreciate was that the writers were able to strike a good balance between the two. (I loved the very end scene where Myka and Pete played the joke on Artie about his car being destroyed).

Character wise, I'm beginning to get a bit frustrated with the -- again with this word -- maturity gap between Myka and Pete. "You're eight years old!" Myka yells at Pete in frustration, and really, she couldn't be more right. I'm getting sick of his stupid comments and constant mucking about with Myka's plans, and it's only the third episode. He says he has more experience and is the "natural choice" for a field leader, but he's not, and it's really annoying that he doesn't see his faults, at all. On the plus side, his arguing with Myka leads to both of them geting drenched with purple slime, which was quite amusing :). Myka, on the other hand, has a past with at least one major mess-up (we're still not quite sure what happened in Denver, although it was obviously bad) but she knows it. She understands her faults, knows what she does right and wrong and her strengths and limitations. Apart from her constant subconcious desire to punch Pete in the face (and really, who can blame her?) she has a type of self-awareness that lets her function much more effectively, even if she does have a "tortured" aura (or whatever Leena was saying, I can't quite remember).

Other than the increasingly improving writing, one thing that I'm really starting to love (and this is non-episode specific here) is the idea that the warehouse is, if not exactly alive, then at least it has some type of a mind of its own. The things in it are so full of energy and strange powers that it would be hard for it not to, but this will be an interesting idea to see developed a bit more.

I do wish Warehouse 13 would put a bit more effort into actually explaining what the artifacts actually do. I know the whole premise of the show is that Artie and his team have to find the artifacts and then neutralize them, but I think that just finding the artifacts will get pretty boring after a while. I mean, obviously they know what the effects of some of the artifacts are, or else they wouldn't have been able to find them. But it seems a total waste to just shove everything in a corner of the warehouse and never hear from it again. I know it's just the third episode, but it's something I'll be on the lookout for in the future.

Something else that Warehouse 13 does with great success is seamlessly blending modernity and antiquity to come up with almost futuristic technology. Video communication? A staple of scifi shows. Also developed right after the television. Artie's computer can do anything a modern computer can and more, but it looks for all the world like it got taken out of a junkyard. It's these little things that that make me think this show is going places after all.

So Warehouse 13 is keeping me coming back for more . . . and for the first time, I am actually excited for the next episode, after this (actually) really good cliffhanger.

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.

Warehouse 13: "Pilot" Review

I'm cautiously optimistic for Syfy's new show, Warehouse 13. Well, considering that their other options include Stargate: Universe, which promises to be a disgrace to the franchise, and Caprica, which is I-don't-know-what, but it's certainly not Battlestar Galactica, I don't really have much choice.

So, the basic idea of Warehouse 13 is that two agents with wildly different styles who really don't get along at all are forced to work in this middle-of-nowhere warehouse in the middle of South Dakota, and they have to collect all these weird and dangerous things that promise to, as the proprietor puts it, "ruin the world's day". In other words, it's the X-Files with artifacts instead of aliens, and there's a bit of Indiana Jones and some other action movies thrown in. I mean, seriously, the two agents (Myka Berring and Pete Lattimer are just lesser versions of Mulder and Scully. They didn't even bother to swap the gender roles and make the girl agent the one with the crazy ideas).

It has some potential though, especially since both Rockne O'Bannon (from Farscape) and Jane Espenson (from Battlestar Galactica) worked on the pilot. It follows on the new "Syfy" theme of dumbing things down, but at least it's a sign that Syfy hasn't completely given up on good TV. Just mostly given up. But Warehouse 13 has promise and at least bothers to set up a nice mythology/history type mystery (I'm sorry, I just could not make that not rhyme), and I'll be following this for at least the first season. If nothing else, it's a chance to see some pretty funky objects, including a teakettle that grants wishes (or ferrets, if the wish is impossible to grant) and a wickedly fast football.