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A Town Called |
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Season Overview
Jack Carter - Colin Ferguson Allison Blake - Salli Richardson-Whitfield Zoe Carter - Jordan Hinson Jo Lupo - Erica Cerra Henry Deacon - Joe Morton Nathan Stark - Ed Quinn Douglas Fargo - Neil Grayston 
OTHER SCI FI COMEDIES Season 1 Season 2 Season 4 Season 5 OTHER SCI FI COMEDIES Chuck Red Dwarf Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy 3rd Rock From the Sun 
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Season OverviewThe scientists of the town of geniuses that is EUREKA returns to TV for a third season of bright, silly and thoroughly charming nonsense as more startling inventions threaten the town and the whole world. To begin with, all is as normal, but a new corporate slave driver (Frances Farmer) is introduced to provide a plot arc that runs through the episodes, but only reveals itself in the final episode From Fear to Eternity. Also introduced is Carter's pregnant sister to very little effect at all. Presumably there is some plan for that character is a future season. There is one major surprise along the way in I Do Over, but the rest of the wonderfully titled stories are the usual mix of silliness and action. EUREKA is an acquired taste, but for those who have it this third helping is very palatable. TopBad to the DroneA corporate performance expert has been drafted into Global Dynamics by the Department of Defence to sort out the problem that is a Town Called Eureka. On the day that she arrives, the test firing of a laser anti-missile system goes awry when one of the drone shows extreme advances in intelligence and sets about organising a rebellion amongst the other target drones. From the outset, it's business as usual in the craziest town in the continental USA. Zoe is starting her first day as a waitress at Cafe Diem and Allison might be getting back with Stark, but for everyone else things are pretty much as usual, which means totally, wonderfully unpredictable. The dialogue is as zippy and sharp as ever, flowing from the characters rather than the situation and bringing a goofy grin to the face on far too many occaisons. The excellent cast immediately confirm that none have lost their pin-sharp comic timing. Stand out, as ever, is Colin Ferguson as Sheriff Carter. Newcomer Frances Fisher gets a significant introduction as the corporate leader, but seems otherwise redundant. The other major character, Martha the drone, is nicely done with clear intelligence, but nothing so simplistic as speaking or justifying herself. The special effects occasionally fail to fly, but that's a minor complaint when everything else is firing on all cylinders. TopWhat About Bob?When a scientist goes missing in Eureka it's a worry, but when that scientist goes missing from a completely sealed artificial controlled environment, the mystery is all the greater. Carter and Allison Blake go inside the biodome to investigate, unaware that they have entered into the largest reality tv show in A Town Called Eureka. Henry is back, well sort of, and Joe Morton's presence is welcome. The set up is as smart as usual, the plot as thin as usual and the dialogue as zippy and fun as usual. There is a brilliant scene as Carter and Allison get to go through decontamination together and naked and the rest of the Eureka watching the unfolding events on closed circuit TV as some sort of deranged I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here is inspired. If you like EUREKA you'll like this episode, but if you don't then this won't convert you. TopBest in FauxIt's the annual dog show, but this being the town of Eureka the dogs are really robots and the prize is for the best, most lifelike one. When the top competitors start to explode, however, this proves to be a signal to a whole bigger and more dangerous situation brewing in the ground under the town. Only this show could come up with the wheeze of a dog show based on robot dogs, but that it segues so seamlessly into the larger story of advanced computer chips, volcanic upheaval, artificial mucus and tunnelling machines is tribute to the quality of the plotting. Dense or complicated it might not be, but it all hangs together beautifully. The quota of nice lines is as high as usual, the performances as polished and light as ever and the hints about the still-bubbling relationship between Carter and the betrothed Allison Blake are cemented in a lovely scene involving a self-sizing wedding dress. As ever, EUREKA isn't going to change the world, but it will make you smile. TopI Do OverIt's Allison's big day as she marries Stark all over again, something that Carter is feeling just a little conflicted over. He has plenty of time to indulge the conflict as well as the day is repeating over and over and only he is aware of it. A time loop like this, if left unchecked, can wipe the whole town out of the space/time continuum. It's GROUNDHOG DAY in EUREKA and it's hard to justify such a blatant steal from elsewhere. It even has the nerve to use the shower scene from the film. What it doesn't do is fully explore the possibilities of the day, running through the same lines several times to little comic or dramatic effect. What it does do is come up with a climax that ought to be shocking but somehow manages to be so unexpected as to be surprisingly limp. TopShow Me the MummyWhilst Allison tries to come to terms with the loss of Nathan, the experts at Global Dynamics are opening a tomb shipped all the way from Egypt, despite dire warnings from the resident Egyptology. Before you can say Tutankhamun, the mummy revealed has disappeared and two people are dead. Fargo is also taken ill with an ancient disease, but this is a plague that could destroy all mankind. Apart from another witty title, this is the kind of stuff that this show does so well. The plot starts from a very shaky foundation (shipping a whole tomb out of Egypt to open under laboratory conditions just to make a TV show?), but takes the concept and runs with it to fashion a fun and quite clever story. Salli Richardson-Whitfield is called upon to do some quality grieving and pulls it off without bringing the show down thanks to the lightness of touch of the rest of the episode. EUREKA continues to be frothy, fun and totally disposable. TopPhased and ConfusedCarter's sister is getting a lot of attention from the men of Eureka, not least a masked would-be superhero. Zoe, on the other hand, has managed to get herself locked in an ancient military complex under the school and the air is running out. A rubbish superhero isn't a very original idea these days, but it does sit quite nicely within the format of the show and the quirkiness runs to body parts being left around as he passes through solid objects, which keeps the whimsy at bay. We also have the consistently excellent comic timing of the main players to ensure that the quality is maintained. TopHere Come the SunsThe three candidates for Mayor of Eureka are locked in combat when a second sun appears in the sky above the town. Initially enjoying the sunshine, the powers that be grow ever more worried as the sun refuses to burn itself out as it should have and starts emitting solar flares that indicate a supernova is on the way, a supernova that will leave a one mile deep smoking hole where the town used to be. Although the plot is pure EUREKA what is missing in this episode is the trademark wit and charm that we are used to. The script isn't as funny as usual by a long shot and the slow revealing of the plot arc surrounding new boss Frances Fisher detracts from the 'experiment going wrong' of the week story. And anyone who didn't see the outcome of the election coming a mile off was watching something else. TopFrom Fear to EternityZoe has contracted a disease from the underground bunker beneath Eureka that is ageing her at an accelerated rate and that will kill her in a few weeks. That same stuff is now on its way into the water supply and everyone will be infected unless Carter can stop it. Shame he's sealed in the bunker by an unbreakable instant cement. As an ordinary episode, From Fear to Eternity is a good one with a more convoluted plot than usual, but as a season finale it's a bit underwhelming. The fast moving plot puts the witty dialogue on the back burner and ties up all the loose ends that have been flapping about throughout the season. To be honest, they could have been all combined into one episode and nobody would have been any the wiser. The only real sign that this is the end of the season is in the bombshell that is dropped in the last line of the show. TopWelcome Back CarterOfficially fired as Eureka's sheriff by the Department of Defence, Carter is looking for another job. His replacement shows up and turns out to be a robotic simulation. The first case is one of simple falled trees, but then a satellite dish falls on the new sheriff and his car is flattened. Someone is targeting the new sheriff and gravity is their choice of weapon, which can only lead to trouble. EUREKA comes bouncing back from its mid-season break with a cracking episode that has everything that we expect from this show. It's lively, full of fun, witty, beautifully performed by its cast, has excellent but understated special effects and makes an hour's worth of quality entertainment from the slightest of storylines. Everyone is on top form with special mention, as ever, for Colin Ferguson whose Sheriff Carter holds the whole show together. Even the robotic sheriff is a great character and we wouldn't have minded seeing more of it had it not meant seeing less of Carter. TopYour Face or MineCarter goes in for his annual fitness testing, a regime of tasks that will test his body and mind to the limit in ways that only Eureka could come up with. Acting Sheriff Jo Lupo has just finished testing and she is acting somewhat erratically. A karaoke session where she kisses Fargo is the talk of the town, even though she was at Carter's home, asleep. Can she sort out what is going on without Jack's help. Step up Erica Cerra as the best deputy sheriff a sci-fi show ever had. Here she gets to play three characters, one being Jo as confused as hell, one being someone having fun as Jo whilst not knowing what the hell they are doing and the other being Jo as, well, Jo and all of them are fun. The standout moment is, of course, her performance of 'Making Whoopee' at the Cafe Diem karaoke night which is worth the price of admission alone. The subplot of Carter trying to work out how to "push the button" has a more than obvious solution that he takes a long time getting to, but is entertaining nonetheless. TopInsane in the P-BraneThere's a new woman in town and she's the new head of the ultra-secret Section 5, so when things start moving all by themselves, Carter dismisses the theory that it's all ghosts and finds himself locked in the fifth dimension. The plot of being just far enough out of phase with the rest of the world so that you can hear and see everything, but nobody can see and hear you is a standard one much used in science fiction shows, but this is EUREKA and it's all done with such wit, warmth and charm that you can't help but be drawn in and have fun along the way. The introduction of Jaime Ray Newman as Tess allows a frisson of attraction between her and Carter, something that has been missing from the show since Allison got married and got pregnant and is something that we'd like to see run. TopIt's Not Easy Being GreenThe staff of Area 51 arrive for the annual bowling match and Fargo's team end up green. Radioactive stuff is going missing and nobody knows why. Carter's sister sorts out her life with the father of her twins. The writer and director of this episode certainly know their ALIEN as they cheerfully rip it off for all that they can manage, along with THE BLOB. At one point Carter is sneaking through dark and strobe-lit corridors looking for a strange creature with a big gun and a motion tracking sensor. Like we said, ALIEN. Still, homages (or rip offs) aside this episode has green bowling teams, a terror called Spot and the usual amounts of charm, fun and witty repartee. If plot were all then this show would have sunk a long time ago, but it breezes on through dint of its own cheery nature. And long may that continue. TopIf You Build ItThe approaching signal from space becomes powerful enough to start affecting the young people of Eureka, manipulating them into building something, something very powerful. Also, new car fever sweeps the town leaving Jo and Fargo in conflict. The sort of plot arc that has been hiding behind the second half of this season finally comes to the fore with the story of the towers being constructed out of ordinary stuff including the kitchen sink (literally). With the usual witty script and charming performances, it builds up to a nice climactic twist that promises this is a story that's going to run. TopShip HappensThe ship that has arrived in Eureka is not alien in origin, but something that Henry and Nathan sent into space 20 years before. The artifical intelligence at the heart of the ship has survived by creating a human from a skin cell to store all its information in, a skin cell that came from Henry's late and beloved Kim. Unfortunately, the ship's protective instincts have also created a computer virus that affects organic computers. Of course, the human brain is also an organic computer. The less than intrusive plot arc moves on as the ship disgorges its passenger into Eureka. Of course, the main impact is on Henry who has to deal with the fact that it looks, sounds and moves like the woman he loved and lost, but isn't the woman he loved and lost. Carter also finds himself growing closer to Tess. The computer virus storyline proves to be somewhat superfluous as there was enough going on with the arrival of the ship and Kim, but doesn't overegg the souffle to the point of collapse. The script is perhaps less light and witty than usual, but there are still nice moments and some good one liners. TopShower the PeopleWomen who attended Allison's baby shower are drowning in confined spaces far away from the nearest source of water. Whilst Carter tries to deal with that situation, Henry is faced with the knowledge that the clone of Kim is deteriorating and downloading the data that she is carrying has to done quickly, but the process will destroy her. EUREKa dips its toes intot he waters of drama with the two stories running in parallel in this episode. The most obvious source is the relationship between Henry and Kim's clone. It's a relationship that could have run a little longer in order to deepen it before the inevitable break-up and Kim's deterioration is sudden and clumsy, which is a shame, but it still leaves Joe Morton with some strong emoting to do. The other source of drama is the manner of the deaths. Whilst the scientific basis might be suspect there can be no doubt that drowning is not a peaceful way to go, and when Carter learns that Tess, with whom his relationship is growing, is the next victim that makes the drama all the more personal. This is all leavened, however, by the usual level of wit and charm that we have come to expect. TopYou Don't Know JackTess has come up with a project to fill a time capsule full of memories of life in Eureka, memories that come direct from the minds of those recalling them. The period when General Dynamics is shut for sonic cleaning is a perfect time for people to give their memories. Unfortunately, a problem means that anyone using the memory globes is having their own memories wiped and one of the victims is the only person who can shut down the cleaning process before it turns the trapped Jack and Allison into piles of gently quivering jelly (or something like that). This is a ‘flashback’ or, more accurately, a ‘repeat’ episode where old clips are used to fill in the time inside a framing story device. Using old footage is, of course, much cheaper than filming new stuff and such episodes are not unusual, but are usually unwelcome. You Don’t Know Jack at least has a stronger framing story (OK the memory globes are pretty rubbish, but the town forgetting and the sonic cleaning countdown are all pretty well done) and the newly-filmed stuff is up to the usual level of wit and warmth. Unfortunately, this shows up a particularly poor choice in flashback footage used, many of the sequences being unremarkable or cut too short to be effective. This is, in effect, the poorest episode that the show has ever produced, being only midly diverting for devotees and pointless to anyone who hasn’t been following. TopHave An Ice DayIt's Tess's first day as the acting head of Global Dynamics and she is responsible for taking delivery of the longest single core of ice ever taken from the antarctic ice. It's been brought by an old friend who appears to have caused a rift between Zane and Deputy Jo. Personal issues, though, take a back seat as ice starts to take over the whole building. If it can't be stopped then Eureka might be ground zero for a whole new ice age. After the disappointment that was You Don't Know Jack, EUREKA bounces right back to form with another episode that is light on plot, but overflowing with charm. For once we can't suggest that it's full of warmth since the main subject is coldness and ice, but it marks a welcome return for Matt Frewer as Taggart, the crazy Australian zoologist. It's like he never went away. It's fun, it's frothy, it's full of those surreal moments of fun (a mile long truck) that are EUREKA. It's also the penultimate episode and boy are we going to miss it. TopWhat Goes Around Comes AroundThe end of the world is nigh. Well about 2,000 years nigh anyway, but in Eureka the end of a whole lot of other things is a great deal more nigh. Zoe has a chance to go go Harvard medical school, like now. Tess has a new job lined up, in Australia. Also, a new north pole just opened up over Eureka and is threatening massive destruction on a global scale. It's the final episode of Season 3 and it doesn't disappoint. There's no real cliffhanger to speak of, but Jack's world is left at a point of change, as are many of the other characters, and that is as big a threat to the world of EUREKA as any other. The balance of the show is a delicate thing and any large change could shatter it wide open. Not in this episode, though, as Sheriff Carter has to hand over control of his motor functions to Tess in a very funny scene where he like a badly controlled puppet as he tries to fight to save the town. This is wonderfully played by Colin Ferguson. Fargo also gets some fun moments and a close encounter with some cooking implements. EUREKA is finished. Let's hope it's back soon. We'd miss it if it wasn't. Top |
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