Review: 'Warehouse 13'

Sci Fi Channel/Syfy's big summer series launch is a his-and-her buddy comedy, with mismatched (but attractive) Secret Service agents Pete Lattimer (Eddie McClintock) and Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly, familiar to Sci Fi viewers as Bianca in The Dresden Files).

They get assigned to Warehouse 13, a humongous storage barn in South Dakota, where all sorts of strange, supernatural objects are collected and stored. She's ambitious and uptight; he's loosey goosey and intuitive. She hates the assignment; he thinks it's kind of cool. Their task: check out strange events and bring back new collectibles.

The pilot's real scene stealers are: Artie Nielsen, the warehouse curator played by Saul Rubinek, a pudgy, spectacled character actor whose guest credits include Eureka and Stargate SG-1; CCH Pounder of The Shield, who plays a mysterious overseer called Mrs. Frederic; and the warehouse itself.

"I like to think of it as America's attic," Artie says as he's showing Pete and Myka around.

With retro gizmos like Artie's portable video phone called the Farnsworth and the Mrs. Frederic mystique, the show has a little Lost in it. The stars are likeable; the special effects are fun.

There's even a cute B&B owner (Genelle Williams as Leena) and a cuddly ferret.

Just watch out for the purple goo: it's a neutralizer.

Warehouse 13 premieres on Syfy on July 7 at 9 p.m. Rating: 4 stars out of 5. (This review was corrected after publishing.)