Mrs. Frederick sends Eureka’s Douglas Fargo (Neil Grayston) to upgrade the warehouse computer system, but the old operating system has other ideas in the “Warehouse 13.1″ episode of WAREHOUSE 13. When Fargo tries to bring the new system online, a failsafe is activated after eye probes pop up all over the warehouse and detect a catastrophic failure. Control of the system has passed to Hugo One, the creation of former agent Hugo Miller that actually contains the left half of Hugo’s brain. Pete and Myka find the real Hugo at a nearby sanitarium and after a few hiccups bring him back to the Warehouse to undo Hugo One’s damage and regain control of the warehouse by putting Hugo`s brain back together.
Grayston slips seamlessly into the Warehouse 13 ensemble, but retains his signature Fargo-ness. I love his attempt to horn in on the Artie-Hugo hug. The Claudia-Fargo chemistry is palpable and they could be their own crime-fighting duo. Almost. “We’re the two biggest techno-brains in the Dakotas and we’re getting our asses kicked by Colossus.” They more than make up for that with the light saber, though. I so want one. Poor sad Fargo after Claudia breaks off their kiss: “This is why Jedis turn to the dark side.”
While the Eureka crossover is the hook for this episode, it’s Rene Auberjonois as Hugo Miller that makes it for me. As Hugo One, he’s all creepy business in his leisure suit, and as the real Hugo, he’s a loopy and joyous delight. His giggle as he Teslas Pete and Myka and his skipping dance out of the sanitarium are pure bliss, and his random responses and noises are beyond fun. “Pachoom!” after Pete yells, “that thing is shooting laser beams at us” kills me. Plus, half of his brain has been missing for decades and his first concern after becoming whole again is his neck waddle. Hee.
Pete and Myka face their possible futures when Myka notes that all the former agents they know are “crazy, evil, or dead.” Fortunately these agents have each other’s backs. “We’re not gonna feed a former agent to some pissed off Atari.” I have no idea how Pete thought his “look at the bright side; I’m usually within ten feet of you, so whatever terrible thing happens to you probably happens to me, too” could be at all comforting, but I somehow do find it comforting that he always picks rock in rock, paper scissors.
Other thoughts: “That scary woman with the beehive” is the my new favorite description of Mrs. Frederickson, I think I remember having crustless PB&J sandwich, Twinkies, and Doritos lunches as a kid, and doesn’t everyone cheat at Battleship? Good artifacts tonight with the Babel stones and the Wertheimer Zoetrope. Creepy metal spiders, too.
All in all, a fun and successful crossover. Given Todd’s random dumping of newly clarified Claudia, her sudden desire to get away from Warehouse 13 makes sense and I can’t wait to see what shenanigans she gets up to in Friday’s Eureka episode.
Did you like the episode? Do you think crossovers are a good idea or should characters stay on their own shows? Have your say in the comments.
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