EPISODE REVIEW: Eureka: “Welcome Back Carter” (Season 3, Episode 9)
Well the name of the network may have inexplicably and illiterately changed, but the song about bizarrely programming their shows remains the same. Tonight Eureka returns after a TEN MONTH break right in the middle of it’s already ludicrously-short 14-episode season. Seriously, what are we? England? We’re doing half-season-long seasons now? And taking nearly a year off between episode 8 and episode 9 so we can show more episodes of Ghosthunters: Paramus Motel 6 and WWF Roidmonster Rumble? Gah. Oh, also, “Syfy” can run three-minute long station identification spots, but the old Sci-Fi Channel ruling about shows only being allowed to have 15-second main title sequences remains in effect? What the frack? (Well, to be fair, this episode was in the can a good six months before the namesake was even a glimmer in Bonnie Hammer’s unemployed eye, so maybe they just didn’t feel like changing it in this one case, but still…) Ok, ok, ok, it’s no surprise that I’ve got a lot of issues with Syfy/The Sci-Fi Channel, but that’s for another day. For now, let’s get to the review:
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As you’ll recall from back when George W. Bush was still running for president, and John McCain was still considered a viable candidate, episode 8 ended when Carter screwed the pooch once again and got fired by General Mansfield, Dr. Henry Deacon was elected mayor (Against his will), and, oh yeah, everyone’s pregnant *except* the wayward teen daughter.
Tonight, we pick up with Jack interviewing with the Department of Homeland Security, looking for a new job. Back in Eureka, Lexi is preparing for the birth of her twins in a zero-gravity “Baby Aquarium” that her OB-GYN has developed. Zoe is expecting to be the new sheriff, but Dr. Blake tells her that in fact they’ve hired a new Sheriff. Back at the Sheriff’s office, they find a box. Fargo comes in and opens it up, and inside is the new sheriff - a robot. Zoe quits in disgust. The Robot comes out of the box, and he’s basically an old school Cylon, who instantly morphs in to a conventionally cliched “Android who looks exactly like a human in every way.” He’s called “Sheriff Andy.” (I admit I laughed at that.)
There’s a minor accident outside of town that involves Dr. Blake, so Jack goes to check it out - a tree fell on the road, and another one falls while they’re there. This is odd. Jack mentions this to Sheriff Andy, but Andy sees nothing odd about it, and as usual General Mansfield refuses to listen to anything Jack says. Andy comes by the house to talk to Jack (“Thanks for the assist!”) and Jack’s house computer notices wood chips on his boots that have genetic anomalies. Jack asks Blake who he should talk to about this, but she can’t tell him because he’s a civilian now, and their work is classified. She does anyway, though.
He and Zoe go to talk to a poorly-acted plant geneticist lady, who refuses to talk to them, but is obviously hiding something. Jack goes to inform Andy of this while the android is futzing around (Possibly literally?) with a big dish antenna. The antenna then falls on Andy and kills him.
Jack discusses this with Henry, and
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Comments
27 December 2008
24 min 13 sec
Uhm...yeah...sure! Soon as we can aford a stamp...
27 June 2009
37 min 36 sec
What! I'm not getting paid for the stuff I post man I told the wife that the check was in the mail.
27 December 2008
24 min 13 sec
Hey, everyone. We're still looking for someone to review this show when it returns. There's no money involved, but full credit goes to whomever volunteers, you get to peek behind the veil here at Republibot ("Veil" being more of a metaphor, it's really one of those bead curtain things), *AND* your words will be read by several hundred people a week!
None of which is as cool as money, I know, but still...ain't no money. Go for the fame.
If you're interested, or you think you know someone who might be interested, please contact us at three@republibot.com
27 December 2008
24 min 13 sec
...all that buildup for a simple "Use the Transporter biofilters" solution? Yeesh.
27 June 2009
37 min 36 sec
The artifact transfered it's energy into the autistic child of Nathan Stark and Allison. The energy is changing the kids dna so the cabal's agent in town the psychiatrist( I forget her name) tries to kidnap him. Henry stages a bogus bio emergency in the global labs causing the building to be sealed and himself Allison the kid and the psychiatrist are trapped in her office which descends to a special bunker hundreds of feet under the site. After a bunch of useless drama Henry uses an outlawed matter transporter to restore the kid's dna to normal.
I left a lot of filler out but that's the gist of what happened. They never really explained what the artifact was or where they found it, but it was the driving force to a lot of the sub plot in the first year.
27 December 2008
24 min 13 sec
Never saw any of those episodes, but I have seen at least half of the first season. I do agree the earlier episodes seemed more tonally consistent than the other stuff I've seen, but as I've probably seen far less than half of the series run, I'm not really qualified to issue a firm judgement.
So how did the alien artifact arc end?
27 June 2009
37 min 36 sec
The first year of the show was a little more hard hitting than it is now. It dealt with the dangers of technology as it becomes more and more advanced. The comedy came from having Jack a normal guy and a good old fashioned cop in a town full of Einstein's and Teller's. Their was a dark sub plot of the ancient artifact and the shadow forces trying to take control of it running throughout the first year. After the artifact ark was completed the show seemed to lose it's way and go for more comedy. It went so far as to become a hour long product placement for degree deodorant as they became a sponsor of research at global. There was even one episode where a new deodorant became one of the plot devices. So the show has lost its way and the network being the redheaded step child of GE/universal has not helped it one bit.
27 December 2008
24 min 13 sec
It's true. I don't think the network ever really had a clue, and no real long-range plans.
I don't think Eureka was ever meant to be taken seriously. It's basically an adventure-comedy built around a one note premise implicit that's dangling in a lot of SF shows. For instance, in Stargate there's "Area 51" where all the super secret stuff is done, and where all the high-tech alien stuff is done, along with the research on it. Other shows have similar places. The premise for this show is basically "What would it be like to live in Area 51." That's cute and all as a hook, but my real problem with the show is that it's never been quite as funny as it's reputation says it is. They can't seem to decide if they want to play it for laughs, or for drama, and merging the two doesn't always work so well on what I've seen of this show.
I thought this episode was kind of fun, though. Of course I haven't seen any of the other Season 3 episodes, so I don't have anything immediate to compare it to.
27 June 2009
37 min 36 sec
I have got around to watching the episode, dvr's are great so for the record I like Eureka and have watched it since it started. But now like Mark Antony I have come to bury not praise the show. Eureka has always had bad writing saved only by the characters and the actors that portray them. The show is chock full of continuity problems from one episode to the next and the science is well to put it bluntly is mostly bull shit.
I have always felt that Eureka was an American Hitch Hikers guide to the galaxy where the science was just a plot device for low key comedy and satire, with more time spent on developing the characters than the science. With that said this weeks episode was weak compared with most of this seasons shows, it seemed it was written just to get them out of the corner they painted themselves into with the firing of the sheriff. The robot was funny but did not make a whole lot of sense to me as to why the DOD would field test a combat model in a law enforcement role. Also the amount of control the DOD has over the town seems to change from episode to episode but that goes back to the continuity problems this show always seemed to have.
Over all I would give this one a C- it was not the worst episode to date but it was far from the best. And do not count on a new ark with aliens in it they have hinted at or started things before that they never followed up on. As to weather the network is going to continue this show after the next few months who knows I do not think they know what they are doing from one year to the next.