OK, the episode was really about two suns in the sky over Eureka, but let’s first give credit to the cute double entendre: Lexi learns she is having two sons (yes, pregnant with twins, both boys). (And really, her girth looks too small to me to be in her second trimester with twins; but OK, suspension of disbelief here.)
When there’s clever wordplay, I’m all in, and this was a good episode to commit to — really fun. We had a mayoral race to follow, and apparently everyone in Eureka gets really into local politics. We had some intriguing developments in Eva Thorne’s story, including her attempts to suppress town history (anyone else willing to bet she had the photos taken down off the walls at Cafe Diem because she’s in them, and I mean the ones from the 1930s?), the reveal of some long-dead bodies in the underground military facility, and Allison Blake’s discovery that the Department of Defense funded testing of fusion bombs in 1939, probably at that underground facility. We had weird science about fusion reactions that created the aforementioned second sun.
And we had a big plot play by Degree. Now, it wasn’t my favorite moment when slathering Degree deodorant on their bodies was the only way Sheriff Carter and Zane Donovan could withstand the heat of a pending supernova, but I will say this: at least the product push was presented within the usual parameters of the show. By which I mean, on almost every episode there’s a quirky scientist with some quirky invention that ultimately contributes to the plot resolution in some way. So at least it fits that profile. I’ve noted before that I think more pondering of this experiment is in order; I can’t say I’m a big fan, but I’m willing to wait to see how it works (or doesn’t) within the arc of the season and the spirit of the show.
Overall: Solid episode, tension grew, the story paid off. And an added bonus: What do you do with a beloved character who doesn’t really have much to do on your show anymore? You have the townspeople elect him mayor, so now he’ll be completely relevant. Congrats, Henry Deacon: when you win, we all win.
Reviewer rating: 4 out of 5 S.A.R.A.H.s
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I think you’re absolutely right, regarding the removed photographs. I find myself really disliking Thorne’s character. I suppose that means the actress is doing a fine job.
I know that product placement is unavoidable these days, but I think that I prefer shows that do it subtly as opposed to those that embrace it whole-heartedly. Smallville is one of the worst offenders (there was a whole episode devoted to Pete getting superpowers from having chewed kryptonite-infused Stride chewing gum), but I think with this season-long Degree campaign Eureka has now taken the lead. Whenever I see blatant product placement, I always think of the product placement bit in “Return of the Killer Tomatoes” (starring a young George Clooney!) Funny stuff.
Comment by danterner — September 23, 2008 @ 2:59 pm
Hooray, we were proved right about the photos last night, weren’t we? :-) And it’s funny that you comment how much you dislike Thorne … maybe the resolution of her story lightened that up a little for you?
Re: product placement, here’s the kind of things I’m pondering: Is it better to be subtle or overt? Do we get any benefits from this overt experiment, for example, fewer commercial breaks? (I don’t really feel that we’re seeing that benefit in this case, but I’d like to look into it.) Does it fit within the story of the show (and on this count, I guess Eureka is doing OK)? But yes, it still feels a little smarmy to me, I agree with you!
Comment by lisa — September 24, 2008 @ 7:19 am