Totally Frakked: Eureka And The Ice Funnel Of Death
Eureka
Title: "Unpredictable"
First Aired: 7/24/07
Eureka is supposed to be a small town, right? One wonders how small it can be, with the vast numbers of scientists who worked at GD until [fill in the catastrophic event] occurred. You can hardly walk without tripping over some out-of-work scientist, just waiting for his chance when Jack comes around so he can spout off his exposition.
The mystery of the week involves yet another of these out-of-work scientists; a weather whiz named Dr. Whitticus who built a great big machine meant to stop global warming which ends up being used for nefarious purposes by the local weatherman. Nothing like an ice funnel of death to get your weather show nominated for an Emmy, I guess.
Of course, in traditional "Eureka" style, this isn't the good bit. The real attention-grabber is the adorable blonde ex-Mrs. Sheriff Carter, who appears on the scene just in time to screw up Jack's game when it comes to Allison. It seems that the ex-Carters had a deal that Mommy Dearest would take Zoe when she turned 16, and Abby Carter is here to collect. Just in time for the surprise birthday party that Jack is planning, and the ice funnel of death.
Three episodes into the new season, the comedy is getting nice and sharp. Early in the episode, Jack is dropping Zoe off at school, and informs Zoe's friend Pilar that Zoe can't party with her friends for her sweet 16. When they're leaving, Pilar gives Jack a very (!) flirty over the shoulder wink, since she's in on the surprise party too. Walking up at that moment, Allison comments dryly, "I'll remember that when you're getting arrested on Dateline." Later on, when Jack is in the awkward position of being surrounded by Abby, Allison and Stark, you can't help but share Stark's wicked glee over Carter's discomfort when the upcoming surprise party is discussed.
Abby: "Jack and I won a Macarena contest when we were in Cabo once, remember that Jack?"
Stark *gleefully*: "I can't wait for the party."
If you're hoping for resolution on the issue of Abby plucking Zoe out of Eureka and making off with her, it's not going to come quite yet. Abby says she's planning on staying a week, so it looks like we might have Mrs. Carter and her adorable little overbite around for a while. In an interesting (and by interesting I mean obvious) coincidence, it appears Allison is having some conflict with Beverly over giving Henry a clean bill of mental health so that he can come back to GD. This is an interesting coincidence because Abby is also a psychiatrist, and Global Dynamics might be in the market for a new one. Jack's very pretty ex staying around town for a while might drive a bit of a wedge between Jack and Allison, eh? After all, we can't have our will-they-wont-they couple, ahem, willing in the beginning of the second season, that's just too soon.
In the background of all this family drama and raging weather, the meta-plot of the season continues to unfold. Stark sends Allison an anonymous email full of information about Kevin, who has been under surveillance for potentially sinister purposes. When Allison confronts Stark about it, he tells her that Kevin has a "connection to the artifact." No doubt we'll be hearing more about that as the season unfolds. Then there's Beverly, who's pushing back against Allison when she tries to get Henry reinstated. When Allison gets tired of Beverly's uncooperative attitude, she does what any new-CEO drunk on power might do; she overrules the psychiatrist, and puts Henry back to work.
The episode ends with Zoe's party. Nothing's decided yet on the homefront, but Zoe's a little pissed at both her parents over being treated like a collectible playing card rather than a teenager. Abby and Jack share an intimate dance -- not the Macarena, thank God -- and Abby tells him she's determined to take Zoe back to LA, but when they go "he knows where to find them." OooOoOoo.
Next week, it appears that "Eureka" is reenacting an episode of "Star Trek: TNG". That ought to be interesting.
Previously On MeeVee
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