As WAREHOUSE 13 prepares to close the doors on its popular third season, the series is set to go out with a bang and perhaps a big death in the 2-hour finale scheduled to air on October 3rd. Taking time out of his busy schedule, Eddie McClintock talked with press about what it was like working with so many fun, renown guest stars this season and what he thinks is the best part about playing his character Peter Lattimer.
Can you talk about return of Anthony Michael Hall and Jaime Murray for the big season finale?
EDDIE: Well, I love Jaime and she is fantastic. And I know that there’s been talk about spinning her off and doing her own series, but whatever the end result of that may be, I sure hope we can continue to work together. She and I did some stuff last year when we were on hiatus and we really got to know each other well. So she’s a great actress and whatever she ends up doing I wish her well. What’s great is the way she comes back this year here in the two episodes here at the end of this season. Well, gosh I’m not sure exactly what I’m allowed to say about it. Whatever she does it’s always good. And I can promise the fans that they won’t be disappointed with however the story plays out. In regards to Anthony Michael Hall, I mean I grew up with all of those great movies that he did when he was younger. And he really kind of grew into himself. But he’s amazing, he’s great fun to work with and just for me it’s like getting to meet some of your childhood heroes and the people that you admired and the people whose work you admired, and to have him come on the show and play such a strong character is pretty thrilling for me.
How is it working with Kate Mulgrew, especially because she’s playing your mother? What’s that been like?
EDDIE: If you went to Dragon*Con or if you ended up at the Las Vegas STAR TREK convention you would see that Kate and I get along better than I could have ever even dreamed of. She’s the kind of person that after I had known her for five minutes I had basically told her my life story. And it’s not a long story but she stood there and listened to everything I had to say. I was kind of going through some stuff and some family stuff and I was just like, “Hi I’m Eddie, and oh and by the way this is my life,” and she told me some stuff about herself to let me know that she was in the conversation and was willing to listen. And we just have struck up a great friendship. So to have her play my mom seems completely natural. Although she’d of had to been like four when she had me, which you know, we’re going to have to overlook. Suspension of disbelief, we’ll call it.
This season you’ve had Kate Mulgrew play your mother and you also had Jeri Ryan playing your ex-wife. What was your reaction when you found out who Pete’s family was going to be in terms of the casting? Were you surprised?
EDDIE: I mean, I never watched VOYAGER. I just never did. But I knew of Kate Mulgrew and I definitely knew of Jeri Ryan. I mean, you don’t have to be a STAR TREK fan to know who Jeri Ryan was. Plus, I actually did a show called SHARK a couple of years ago. It was with James Woods and she played an attorney on that show. So although we didn’t work together at that time, we were in the same room together. So I had that going for me. And then I mean, when I found out that a sci-fi icon was going to be my ex-wife, I told her when I saw her for the first time I just said, “Do you realize that my stud cred has just increased like 10-fold?” And then when I found out that a Star Fleet Captain was my mom, I just thought that that was so awesome; and it just turned out that both ladies were really cool and good to have around. So yes, I feel like I’m in pretty good company in that regard.
Allison Scagliotti mentioned she’d quite like to see her character go dark for a time, not permanently, but for a time. What sort of changes would like to happen to Pete? Not necessarily for just one episode or for a whole season, but for an arc of a few episodes?
EDDIE: I want Pete to change just as we humans just in real life as we change, we grow. But any drastic changes? I love what they’ve done with the character. I love the fact that Pete can be insanely childish and silly sometimes — and he loves that about himself — and then he also is incredibly brave and strong and loyal and loving. I mean, for me, I get to play all of things. I get to play comedy, I get to play drama, I get to play action, I get to play romance. And to me that’s the perfect combination. . . . I just think Pete is putting on. He’s just having fun. He likes to pull Myka’s strings. He likes to pull Artie’s strings. He likes to get everybody going and everybody kind of riled up. And apparently it’s worked with the fans too. I mean I think people love Pete or hate Pete because people who want to see, “Hey, he’s supposed to be a Secret Service Agent so he should be more serious.” And that will never be my character — I hope. But I would never go to the writers and ask them to do anything differently in regards to the character. I would just say, “Please continue to make me all the things that you’ve made him so far.”
It seems like Pete’s 6th sense for danger hasn’t been as noticeable this year as it has in the past. Is that because Myka’s picking up on it as well?
EDDIE: I don’t know, we just talked about it because we just found out that his mother also has vibes. So, there’s some deeper meaning to it like Pete just didn’t end up as a Warehouse agent, it’s been in the plans from when he was very young. His mother was a Warehouse agent. She has vibes. I don’t know, I mean it’s not heavily written into the script. The vibe-thing for Pete, which again I think that it comes and goes because otherwise it just gets stale. Kind of like Jinks with his, “You’re lying” thing. If you hit it too many times, it just gets old and stale. And again, I think it’s a credit to Jack Kenny and his ability to write a well-balanced show; and that’s in respect to drama and action and romance and comedy.
Will we be seeing Jinks in the finale?
EDDIE: Yes, yes. He’s not gone. As it stands right now it looks as though the Warehouse people have shut down all his credit cards and everything. They basically are trying to erase him. So it looks as though he may be joining Walter Sykes and the gang. I can say, “However it plays out.” I mean, I just was doing an ADR session yesterday and I was talking to the mixers and I was like, “So how were the last two episodes?” and they were just like, “They’re the best episodes of the series.” They’ve really raised the stakes this year here for the last two episodes. So I’m looking forward to seeing it. I haven’t seen any of it, so I can’t wait to see it.
Will the finale be a cliffhanger?
EDDIE: I hope so. Like last year’s cliffhanger to me wasn’t really necessarily a cliffhanger. To me a cliffhanger is like the damsel is tied to the railroad tracks, the train’s coming, the guy’s racing to get there, “What’s going to happen next”; not, “Oh no, one of the characters left.” And I kind of thought it kind of ticked a lot of people off. I remember like getting a lot of twitters about, “I’m not going to watch the show if Myka’s not going to be on there. No way, that’s uncool.” And I get it. It’s like, “What? That’s the cliffhanger? One of the most loved characters is just walking away?” So I would say that this year they definitely have again, upped the stakes in that regard. And I think people may be shedding a few tears on this one.
So somebody might not make it back?
EDDIE: Maybe.
How much of the relationship with Pete and his mother will come into play in the future?
EDDIE: As I said earlier, I really don’t know what’s going to happen next. And that’s in life and even when I’m at work. They come to my trailer and I’m like, “Oh, do I say things in this scene?” And Joanne always wants to beat me. But I don’t know that I’ve talked to Kate about coming back. And I don’t think that they would have approached someone like Kate Mulgrew to have her be on the show if they didn’t plan on keeping her around a while. So I think that definitely we’re going to see more of Kate. Right now she’s got the Caloti bracelet on so she is in charge. Everything rests on her at this time, so she’s been very active in the finale. And yes, Kate and I have so much fun together. It really is effortless to work with her. So I look forward to the time that I get to do that.
It seems like some of Pete lines are ad-libs? Do the writers come to you for topics or pop culture things that you’re into, because they just seem so natural?
EDDIE: Well, yes, I guess I do throw stuff in there. For instance, in Season 1 during the episode “Duped,” I was walking down the hall talking on the Farnsworth, and when I got to the end of the hallway I said, “Kirk out,” and then closed the Farnsworth. And Ben and Derrick, the writers are kind of looking at each other like, “Hey I don’t know, are we allowed to say that? Get on the phone. Can we say that? Can we say, ‘Kirk out?’ Are we allowed to say ‘Kirk out?’” So I like to do stuff like that. I mean I just saw a thing on there today when this episode that’s coming up, and I’m getting beat on and I was like, “Hey you, that’s my tennis elbow,” because he’s like hitting me right in the elbow. And I’m like, “Hey, that’s my tennis elbow,” and then I was like, “I remember I kind of threw that in there and they kept it.” So sometimes. But I’d say the most improvisational stuff that ends up staying is if I have an idea I’ll go to Jack and say, “What do you think about this there? Can I button this scene with this line or can I finesse it with this or that.” It’s very collaborative. He tends to beat my idea, which means he’ll take something that I have that is moderately funny and then he’ll go, “What about this?” and I’m like, “Oh now that’s really funny.” And so usually he’ll take my kernel, my seed of funny, and turn it into a giant oak of hilarity.
Have there been any that have been artifacts that were ‘a little more difficult to work with,’ either physicality-wise or just story-wise?
EDDIE: You know, I remember the ferret because it was taking little bites out of me and stuff like that. And like trying to go up my shirt, which normally I’m okay with, but it was in front of a mixed crowd there. But I don’t know, I haven’t really had any artifacts that I’ve been like, “Oh my God, really?” When we were doing the H.G. Wells time machine, even though I was kind of laying there with this helmet thing on, it was a little uncomfortable but I mean, come on man — I’m making a TV show that has my name in it and so none of it is that difficult. It’s all really fun.
WAREHOUSE 13 received some of the highest ratings ever this season. Do you feel that the bar has been raised? Are there ways that you feel the show’s continuing to improve with each season?
EDDIE: I’ve said wholeheartedly that I think this season has been the best season of the series so far. They always say it takes a show a season to find its legs. Like if you go back and you watch an episode from the first season of CHEERS or the first season of FRIENDS or the first season of SEINFELD, I mean they barely resemble the show that people really know and love and remember. And that’s based on a 22 episode season. And since we really only get 13 episodes per season, really it’s 12 because the Christmas episodes don’t count, we’re really just starting our second season. So I think the show has really found itself. The writers have really kind of zeroed in on what makes the show work. And so, yes, I think the show just gets better and better. And I don’t know how they’re going to do it this next season.
What do you feel it is about the show that continues to attract viewers?
EDDIE: Well, what my wife likes about the show is that it has a lot of “heart.” It’s really a family show. And what a great time in our history to have a nice family show. I mean if you look around, name a family show that’s on the air right now, like one that everybody can sit down and watch. I don’t know too many. So the fact that the young guys and gals can sit and watch it, and the parents can watch it, and it doesn’t talk down to the kids, and it’s not too juvenile for the parents. Although some people think Pete is overly juvenile. But there are people like that in life. And I think Pete is just awesome. I love playing Pete. It’s the funnest thing. He’s the funnest character I’ve ever had the privilege of playing. So I think the reason people stick around is because they can relate to the characters. It’s really, the Warehouse team is a family — they have become a family.
Do you have any idea what’s going to happen in Season 4?
EDDIE: That’s another one of the things, as much of a surprise as it is for the fans it is for me as well. I mean I try not to know too much about it because I love being able to show up and read the first script and just go, “You guys are insane!” So I’m kind of along for the ride as well as the fans, so it’s cool. 
To see what surprises the writers have in store to shock-and-awe the fans, be sure to tune in for the 2-hour season finale of WAREHOUSE 13 on Monday, October 3rd at 9PM on Syfy. Catch up on past episodes you may have missed for free online at clicktowatch.tv
Tiffany Vogt is a contributing writer to TheTVAddict. She has a great love for television and firmly believes that entertainment is a world of wondrous adventures that deserves to be shared and explored – she invites you to join her. Please feel free to contact Tiffany at Tiffany_Vogt_2000@yahoo.com or follow her at on Twitter (@TVWatchtower).