This week Warehouse 13 went to more of an A and B team motif in its approach, having two mysteries handled by two different teams. And really the story of the episode is, to me, that these stories were very uneven.
The A story had Pete and Myka investigating artifacts that originated with Walter Winchell, which had the power of extracting and returning memories. This story worked well, with Myka racing to save Pete, who was pretty much turned into a mental child by the artifact. It also allowed for exploration of the underlying issue between them that arose when Myka resigned last season. Upside: Pete and Myka are all fine now. There was also a nifty 1A plot where the mission was sort of a probationary one for Myka before the Regents would approve her return. The nifty part was where it turned out that the regents were more interested in Myka proving to herself she could do the job - they already knew she could.
The B story had Claudia paired with "the other guy" (Agent Jinks) on the trail of an artifact in the form of a hatchet that transfers illness from one person to another. This one did not work as well as the A story for a very basic reason - Claudia and Jinks don't have any "partner" chemistry. The story was ok, but the lack of that chemistry between what is the equivalent of "buddy cops" dragged the B story down. The pairing kind of felt like what would happen if someone made a serious cop movie that had Jason Statham partnered with The Beeb as "buddy cops".
In fact, the lack of real chemistry with Jinks has appeared in both episodes this season. I am sure the actor is a good one, but the way the character is written makes him not mesh properly at all with the rest of the scooby gang. And this is a potentially troubling problem to have in a show like this.
In my opinion, Warehouse 13 succeeds because it is light hearted but also incorporates a key element of what popularly is called the "buddy cop" genre (think movies like Lethal Weapon). The relationship and interaction between the leads, especially Pete and Myka, gives the show a lot of its charm and "pizzazz". This happens because Joanne Kelly (Myka) and Eddie McClintock (Pete) play off each other fantastically well. They even already have a second duo that play very well off of each other - Alison Scagliotti (Claudia) and Saul Rubinek (Artie). The problem is that so far the character of Jinks (played by Aaron Ashmore) does not play well at all off of anyone. And to make it worse by inserting the character into what is really a show with a cast of four they are messing with a very effective and proven character chemistry.
Based on the first two episodes, I hope they either remove the character or figure out a way to employ him more effectively, as right now he is basically window dressing.
The A story had Pete and Myka investigating artifacts that originated with Walter Winchell, which had the power of extracting and returning memories. This story worked well, with Myka racing to save Pete, who was pretty much turned into a mental child by the artifact. It also allowed for exploration of the underlying issue between them that arose when Myka resigned last season. Upside: Pete and Myka are all fine now. There was also a nifty 1A plot where the mission was sort of a probationary one for Myka before the Regents would approve her return. The nifty part was where it turned out that the regents were more interested in Myka proving to herself she could do the job - they already knew she could.
The B story had Claudia paired with "the other guy" (Agent Jinks) on the trail of an artifact in the form of a hatchet that transfers illness from one person to another. This one did not work as well as the A story for a very basic reason - Claudia and Jinks don't have any "partner" chemistry. The story was ok, but the lack of that chemistry between what is the equivalent of "buddy cops" dragged the B story down. The pairing kind of felt like what would happen if someone made a serious cop movie that had Jason Statham partnered with The Beeb as "buddy cops".
In fact, the lack of real chemistry with Jinks has appeared in both episodes this season. I am sure the actor is a good one, but the way the character is written makes him not mesh properly at all with the rest of the scooby gang. And this is a potentially troubling problem to have in a show like this.
In my opinion, Warehouse 13 succeeds because it is light hearted but also incorporates a key element of what popularly is called the "buddy cop" genre (think movies like Lethal Weapon). The relationship and interaction between the leads, especially Pete and Myka, gives the show a lot of its charm and "pizzazz". This happens because Joanne Kelly (Myka) and Eddie McClintock (Pete) play off each other fantastically well. They even already have a second duo that play very well off of each other - Alison Scagliotti (Claudia) and Saul Rubinek (Artie). The problem is that so far the character of Jinks (played by Aaron Ashmore) does not play well at all off of anyone. And to make it worse by inserting the character into what is really a show with a cast of four they are messing with a very effective and proven character chemistry.
Based on the first two episodes, I hope they either remove the character or figure out a way to employ him more effectively, as right now he is basically window dressing.
