Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

Warehouse 13: "The Greatest Gift"

Pete Lattimer accidentally stumbles upon an artifact that has the power to erase him from existence, forcing him to see what life would be like for his co-workers if he had never joined the staff of Warehouse 13 -- and, of course, putting him in the position of having to set things right again. As you might guess, the plot of this episode is a rather deliberate homage to It's a Wonderful Life; indeed, the writers of this episode are smart enough -- or at least, respectful enough -- to actually reference the original short story upon which the movie It's a Wonderful Life was based on instead of just attributing the whole storyline to Frank Capra like far lazier writers might have done.

It may not be the best homage to Frank Capra that I have ever seen but it is one of the better ones that I have seen so far. Then again, I have a soft spot for this show so what can I say?

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

Warehouse 13: "Pilot"

By all rights, I should have hated this series because it not only played fast and loose with historical facts, but its premise ripped off one of the most famous scenes from my beloved Raiders of the Lost Ark. And yet...

I could not help loving it.

I won't pretend that it was one of my favorite TV shows of all time but it was a lot better than I expected it to be. Maybe it was the fact that though the two main characters are government agents, there was little attempt to make them over into the next Mulder and Scully even though one is a man and the other is a woman. Or maybe it was the fact that the show's writers actually had a sense of humor. (It did not hurt that one of the co-creators -- Jane Espenson -- was a former writer for Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) Or maybe it was the fact that the actor who played the male agent -- Eddie McClintock -- did a good job of playing a young Bruce Campbell-like character without trying too hard to mimic Bruce Campbell. Or maybe I just found it hard to hate a TV series that managed to cast Lindsay Wagner -- the original Bionic Woman -- as a recurring character.

In any event, I am kinda sorry that I waited so long to write about this show. After all, it is off the air now and they aren't likely to be making any new episodes. Then again it did last five seasons and when I consider how many good shows did not last half that long, I can't help but consider that a good thing.

Of course, it might have been better if they had made it to a sixth season, but perhaps it is just as well that they quit while they were ahead.