Nice episode! This is what the show should be every week. Characters were used well, and the multiple threads of the story converged in a tidy way, really very pleasing. Who would have guessed that you could weave together robotic dogs, an underground volcano, a researcher who fabricates synthetic mucus in his laboratory, and a scientist who’s illegally fabricating something called “logic diamonds” in a coal mine?

We learned that residents of Eureka create robotic dogs and enter them in an annual dog show. We also learned that General Dynamics’ computers don’t have typical processors, but rather logic diamonds as their core. And as is not uncommon in Eureka –- and what’s really one of the nicest elements of the show -– it was Sheriff Carter, with his average intelligence, who put the pieces together to solve the mystery and also brainstormed a solution to save the town. (It’s a little hokey, but I truly enjoy this premise -– that it’s usually our “everyman” Carter, rather than a genius, who figures things out.)

Plus the “big picture” storylines advanced nicely. Zipping right along with the Allison-Nathan wedding plot, in this episode she went shopping for a wedding dress. And we saw more sneakiness from Eva Thorne: she roped Henry into doing some secret radiation testing for her, and he got all excited (as scientists do) when he detected something highly strange and rare called bariogenic radiation. I noticed that Eva told Henry she would be bringing corporate R&D people to Eureka for the dog show; to whose benefit is that, I wonder?

I can make only a few gripes, and minor at that: Although the mystery unfolded throughout the hour, it wasn’t in such a way that the audience could participate in solving it (which is always a nice treat when watching a show). And I didn’t really feel the urgency or immediacy of the pending volcanic explosion: the energy didn’t spin up as the show progressed. It kept a consistent pace and tone –- which was on the whole enjoyable (including some funny and some sweet moments), so the complaint will not affect my bottom line, which is that this one’s a good one.

Reviewer rating: 4 out of 5 S.A.R.A.H.s