by Rich Heldenfels, Akron Beacon Journal –
AKRON, Ohio — The Syfy series “Warehouse 13” begins its fourth season at 9 p.m. EDT Monday with a pile of rubble and a host of challenges.
The series, which co-stars Eddie McClintock, focuses on a secret warehouse where historical artifacts with supernatural powers are stored, to keep them out of evil hands. McClintock plays Pete Lattimer, who with partner Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) retrieves the objects, which is almost never easy.
The third season was terrific, involving not only adventure but also emotional moments, sacrifice and, in the season finale, the destruction of the warehouse itself. The fourth season begins in the aftermath of that disaster.
“I remember them talking early on, so Season One’s cliffhanger was this, Season Two’s was this, and what do you do for Season Three?” McClintock said in a recent telephone interview. “And (writer-producer Jack Kenny) was saying, ‘We’re gonna blow up the warehouse.’ Luckily, in sci-fi you can do that. It’s like the saying goes: You’re never really dead in sci-fi … unless you can’t come to a contractual agreement with the network. Then you can really die.”
And what did he think when he read about the warehouse’s demise? “I thought it was great. It’s always interesting to see what they come up with. And you know, I trust Jack. If it’s stupid, then he feels it’s a reflection on him. And that makes me feel safe. He doesn’t want to look like an idiot. No one does. We want to make something that’s not just fluff.”
The show as a whole “has got Jack’s handprint on it so substantially,” McClintock said. “The network keeps saying this is the strongest season so far. It doesn’t happen very often that by the time you get to Season Four, you’re doing your best work. … It looks like we have a few more years left with us.”
A few years, but short seasons. Although the show’s latest order was for 20 episodes, and that’s what “Warehouse 13” is shooting, Syfy has said the fourth season will consist of just 10 episodes. The other 10 will be saved for later telecast, presumably as a fifth season. But there is a plot break after 10 episodes, McClintock said, just as if the 10th is a season finale.
As for the new season, McClintock said, “I think the series starts off on kind of a dark note. So many people have now died, and the warehouse is destroyed. But I don’t want people to think the tone of the show has shifted. … I think it’s everything we’ve come to expect from the show, except it’s more refined.
“As an actor, I’ve become more comfortable knowing who Pete is. At the beginning, Pete was a little more focused on Pete …to satisfy his own ego. As it’s gone along, he’s found a family. He’s realized his relationship with the other warehouse agents is what it’s all about. And I think there are parallels to my life. … Getting married, and having kids, it may be possible that I’m not the center of the universe.”
That sort of humorous turn is common when talking to McClintock, and it’s often shown up in Pete. That has made some viewers wonder how much McClintock and the other cast members improvise — but McClintock said he would never just invent dialogue in the middle of shooting a scene.
“Jack is pretty protective of his words,” he said. Instead, McClintock will pitch an idea off-camera, and Kenny is sometimes receptive. “He acknowledges when something isn’t working. Most of the time, he’s spot-on, though. … People come up (to McClintock) and say, ‘You’re so funny,’ but very little of it can I take credit for. I’m just the meat puppet, you know.
“I love the show. I love working with Jack. I have a great time making the show. The only problem is being in Toronto (for production) and being away from my family and my house. I’ve worked so hard to be able to afford a decent house and a nice place to live, and I don’t live there. You know?”
But McClintock has also found time for other projects, such as guest star in other series, or making the movie “Boogeyman,” which Syfy premieres on Aug. 11. McClintock shot that a couple of years ago, in Bulgaria, no less. It’s “kind of my homage to Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi.”
