The creative team behind "Warehouse 13" has consistently sought and attained a very high level of creative fiction, in the writing and the production of this series' episodes. This latest installment, called "Burnout," is no exception, nor is it an exception which proves the rule. The plot revolves around an artifact of great antiquity, dating back perhaps to Babylonian times, and definitely to about 1100 A.D. and the army of the Saracens. Whether the "device" which is pivotal to this storyline is magical or some kind of an organic fluke is left, somewhat, unresolved. And that's really OK, for after all, this is science-fiction and fantasy, not rocket science.
Well, maybe there's a little rocket science tossed in to the mix, every now and then !! And speaking of mix, Allison S. in her role of Claudia Donovan has now become an established -- and most probably quite irreplaceable -- member of the Warehouse 13 team. And that is also really OK.
What makes it OK is that the writers have found subtle ways to use the Claudia character to spark creative thoughts in Artie ( Saul Rubinek ), thus making her into a problem-solver where she was a trouble-maker. This is a brilliant move which adds a nice touch of spice to the grumpy but genial persona which has been created by Rubinek for his role.
And so, again, the creators have introduced a crucial new relationship into the Warehouse mix thus making the team into a new Gang Of Four. The plot for "Burnout" has less comedy and more action than what has been presented in some previous episodes, and yet it seems wholly and completely natural to the storyline. That's another indication of how brilliant and yet subtle this newest SyFy series really is.
Moreover, the creative team condenses all of these relationships which are blooming between the Gang into the forty-odd minutes of actual story time which are alloted. Although there is no sense of the story being adrenaline fueled, it is supercharged, as the pacing is fast and organic to the story itself. And the artifact sought in this most recent episode is one hundred per cent scary, as in panic-inducing.
Some of us are even warming up to Myka, Joanne Kelly, the otherwise stone-cold brainiac Secret Service agent, and that's another plus for the team.