Sci-Fi Storm

Syfy’s Warehouse 13 returns next Monday at 9/8c, and earlier today I was on the phone with three of the stars – Saul Rubinek (Artie), Eddie McClintock (Pete) and Allison Scagliotti (Claudia). I should have more a more complete article about the call this weekend, but here is a “sneak peak”, along with a sneak peek of the premiere as well as part one of the “webisode” tie in, “Of Monsters and Men”.

I asked each of them to describe the direction that we’d see their character’s take this season – spoiler free, of course (Saul said he wanted to give spoilers though…). McClintock said we’ll see “more insight into the people who influenced him…more about his dad…his mother…[his arc will be] centered around Pete’s past.”

Scagliotti added that Claudia’s arc mirrors her own, about how to contribute and “figuring out how to be part of the team.” We’ll also find out about Claudia’s past time in a mental institution.

Rubinek spoke more on the freedom of the writers. “The can take some chances,” he said. Given’s Warehouse 13‘s success, “We’re not trying to figure out how keep a show on the air. The scripts are ‘page turners’ to [the cast] and hope it is to the viewers.” Returning to Artie, he said we’ll see “how Artie fits into the hierarchy” of the Warehouse organization.

Speaking a bit about their favorite upcoming episodes, Scagliotti first mentions “Don’t Hate The Player”, which she describes as “TRON meets Dungeons and Dragons” and “has everything,” including the return of Eureka‘s Fargo, played by Neil Grayston. McClintock agreed, and also added “Love Sick”, as “I had to play drunk.” Rubinek also agreed about “Love Sick”.

Rubinek then wanted to call out a special “unsung hero” of the crew – Franco De Cotiis, the production designer for the show who also worked on Witchblade and The Dresden Files. “Very few people can do what he can do on the budget he’s given,” Rubinek praised, calling his works “masterpieces”. All the artifacts seen in the warehouse, including the signs, even if it is just a background prop, is complete – and the descriptions can often be humorous. I asked if the writers have ever taken inspiration for a story from something he already created, and Rubinek couldn’t say if that ever specifically happened, but he and Scagliotti did say that if there is something he created that works well on screen, you will definitely see more of it.

As a followup to a question I asked Scagliotti and Grayston back in October regarding if the cast interactions off screen were as fun as they seemed on-screen, I asked if Eddie was the “cast clown”. Saul thought it was “unfair” to categorize Eddie that way, as they all are “goofy” – and they have to be to be working the long hours. But Allison did mention that Eddie was the “gassiest”, which of course led to a number of gas references…

What else might we see this season? We’ll see at least a brief love interest for Claudia, although Allison said it was “less interesting as Claudia trying to fit in.” Saul also mentioned that Allison will get to sing in an episode, although he wouldn’t say what song. And the only artifact they would mention was Jimi Hendrix’s guitar.

So I hope you’re even more excited now for the return of Warehouse 13 and tune in Monday – and if you are attending Comic-Con in a couple weeks, don’t forget about the Warehouse 13 panel at 4:15pm on Friday, moderated by Neil Grayston. It follows the Eureka panel at 3:00pm moderated by Wil Wheaton (who returns as a guest star as Dr. Isaac Parrish this season).

Catch the webisode and sneak peek below!

Warehouse 13 webisode – “Of Monsters and Men, Part 1”:

Season premiere sneak peek:
The team gets a new face, new mysteries and a visit from familiar friends. Artie, Pete and Claudia welcome Steve as a new warehouse agent and during the introduction they discover a storm brewing at the Pyramid in the Ancient Archives. Artie and Claudia race into the office to figure out what the storm is while Steve stands in awe, shocked that a Pyramid can fit into a warehouse at all.

[Video no longer available]