Category: Steampunk Video

Warehouse 13 Cancelled, Alas

On Friday, Syfy announced that Warehouse 13 will be endings its run after a 6-episode fifth season to air in 2014. The show is centered on the eponymous warehouse in which the government stores all manner of mystical, mysterious, or supernatural object they’ve come across. The agents charged with finding and collecting these objects encounter myriad challenges along the way, whether from the objects themselves, others who want to possess them, or even local law enforcement. Helping them are a number of technological gizmos, many of which have a distinctly retrofuturistic, if not entirely Steampunk, design (which is why we here at Steampunk.com are mourning the loss of this show).

A statement from Mark Sten, Syfy’s President, Original Content read: “Warehouse 13 has been an incredible signature series for us. We are grateful to the loyal and passionate fan base and know that Jack Kenny, his gifted creative team, and outstanding ensemble cast will give them an amazing finale season.”

If you haven’t seen it, you really should give it a chance. The first three seasons are available on Netflix or Amazon.com streaming video (free if you’re a prime member). Or if you’re into owning plastic circles, you can buy them on DVD or Blu-ray.

Below are a few of the more Steampunk elements the agents encountered in their first four seasons. For a longer list of artifacts in the warehouse, see the Warehouse 13 wikia.

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Ay-leen the Peacemaker on “Re-Racing Steampunk”

Diana Pho, aka Ay-leen the Peacemaker, friend of the site and editor of Beyond Victoriana, spoke recently at Roger Williams University where she gave a lecture on “Re-Racing Steampunk: Race, Memory & Retrofuturism”.

If you have concerns about Steampunk’s glorification of the past, and you should, the lecture is a must watch. As always, Diana’s words are thought-provoking and insightful.

You can read her post about the experience on her blog or just watch the video here. I’m sure she’d appreciate hearing what people think, so please post any comments on her blog.

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Anna Karenina Opening Today

At long last, the new film version of Anna Karenina is opening, albeit to mixed reviews. Director Joe Wright and lead actress Kiera Knightly have worked together twice before, on Pride and Prejudice in 2005 and Atonement in 2007. These efforts were both critical and financial successes, so news of a third collaboration on something as grand as Tolstoy was well received.

The stills we’ve seen so far from the film are beautiful, showing lavish costumes and sets that promise to bring 19th century Russia to life. In fact, the costumes have even inspired a fashion line from Banana Republic, as we reported back in July. So, if nothing else, the movie should be a feast for the eyes.

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ABC Developing Steampunk Drama “Gaslight”

According to report from Deadline, ABC is developing a Steampunk drama called Gaslight. The show is “described as a lavish soap opera of passion, greed and hope set in a present-day Steampunk World in which three rival families battle for power and redemption in a re-imagined San Francisco.”

The show is being written and exec produced by Michael Cooney, who wrote the only-half-clever suspense thriller Identity (confession: I kind of like this movie), as well as some less interesting fare. The production company behind this whole thing is Sander/Moses Productions, headed by the team that brought us The Ghost Whisperer and the much more watchable Profiler back in the 1990s.

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ABC’s New Steampunk Show: Finn & Sawyer

ABC is working in a new show Finn & Sawyer about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn as private investigators “in a bustling and steampunk New Orleans,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. The ABC show is being developed by Jason Richman and David Zabel, who have worked together on Detroit 1-8-7 for the last two years. No word yet on casting or on when it might make it might make it to air.

This twist on Mark Twain’s well known characters might sound like a crazy idea, but I suspect Mr. Twain would have approved. Let’s take a look at his Steampunk credentials:

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