What I’m Watching: Warehouse 13

Warehouse 13: Season 1, Episode 10 “Breakdown” (C+)

This is all a bit silly. Artie takes one day off, and everything at the warehouse goes down the toilet. The place almost undergoes a total nuclear explosion, and simply because Artie wasn’t around to keep an eye on things and make sure that no one did anything stupid. You’d think that having some knowledge of the danger of the artifacts in the warehouse would make Artie think twice about leaving everything so carelessly unattended. Maybe Myka has a bit more sense in her, but Claudia and Pete clearly can’t be trusted to keep their hands off of the most disaster-prone artifacts. Claudia in particular just can’t manage to stay on track for even a second, and it seems like perhaps some training might be in order especially after all the dead warehouse agents referred to constantly. Artie’s getting chewed out by a group of rather unfriendly diners, but it doesn’t seem to make much sense since clearly Mrs. Frederick actually does support him. The presence of one Mark A. Sheppard, alumnus of “Battlestar Galactica” and “Firefly,” is of course always welcome, and his sardonic, critical tone directed at Artie is entertaining. The situation which befalls the hapless trio is highly reminiscent of another “X-Files” episode (no surprise there), which is actually one of the later episodes that doesn’t involve Mulder or Scully but instead Monica Reyes, titled “Audrey Paley,” where she’s trapped in a hospital and can’t seem to find a way out. Here it’s obviously less serious and more fun since all three of these comic characters are involved, though there’s considerably less suspense because it’s not like this is the season finale or anything and therefore such a monumental event as the near-destruction of the warehouse couldn’t possibly occur now. There are two more episodes left this season; perhaps they can help launch this show in a new, more sustainable direction.