Warehouse 13

Oy. I just finished watching the premier of Warehouse 13, SyFy (another oy. Why the name change/rebranding? You've alienated the scifi fans, who are your base and just confused the people who MIGHT watch). I watched the first half the other night and went to bed before I saw the end, and I sort of wish I hadn't seen it. Don't get me wrong, I liked 3/4 of it. The stars had chemistry, Saul Rubinek was quirky and funny and I'm always happy to see CCH Pounder in almost anything. And the plot is good, if a bit one-note.

And then we got to the last 20 minutes, during which all the bad things that had been happening got blamed on Lucrezia Borgia. Lucrezia, the poisoner, the evil woman who wanted to rule a young man, kill his girlfriend and was hungry for power.

Jesus Christ. Did these people do ANY research on her before they wrote this show? Actually, I know the answer to that, and it's clearly no, because the truth (and rumors) about Lucrezia Borgia are far more disturbing, complicated (and not) and nuanced than being a power hungry cougar. A woman who was used both by her father (you know, Pope Alexander VI), and her brothers (Cesare and Rodrigo, two nasty pieces of work) is being maligned as a power hungry cougar, when the truth is that she was used by all of them to further their alliances and when her husbands had served their purposes, they (father and sons) had them killed. Lucky for her, she survived her father's death, and that of her brothers as well, her third marriage was reasonably happy and she lived and longish life-rising above her family to become a respectable Italian matron with eight children.

But I guess that's not as good a story as the power hungry cougar who wants to kill the younger girl and take over the life of that nice young man.

I'll say it again. Oy.