Let’s just dispense with the A story in this plot: What starts as suspicion of paranormal activity becomes instead an inter-dimensional travel mystery as Sheriff Carter and General Dynamics’ new hire, Dr. Tess Fontana (played by Jaime Ray Newman), somehow cross into the Fifth Dimension and need to figure out how to get back. It’s a fun story, and I won’t try to explain the math/science behind it (spatial concepts, string theory, plus Eureka super-science); just know that you’ll find it entertaining.

Plus there are developments that move the mini-season’s overarching plot along (the aliens are coming!); I completely appreciate the building of a subtle yet solid story arc. We’ve had Henry making references to a “signal” (starting in the mini-season opener, 3.9, when he talked about an antenna array picking up something he couldn’t quite explain), and newcomer Tess has arrived via SETI (that’s Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence if it doesn’t ring a bell). Allison reveals that the mysterious and highly classified Section 5 has been re-opened (under Tess’s oversight), and this episode ends with Carter confronting her about these signals and what exactly GD might be preparing for (of course, she can’t tell him because Section 5 projects are above his clearance level).

For these aspects, plus its general lightheartedness, the episode gets a 4 (sorry to spoil the rating so quickly). I mention this because I debated marking it down due to the complete bungling of the B story setup.

The B story starts like this: Allison and Lexi go maternity shopping, and Lexi buys an odd maternity shirt (“Invis-Apparel”) that we’re supposed to believe is a great purchase because when you’re wearing it, you don’t look pregnant. I shouldn’t even have to write the rest of this paragraph: This is highly insulting, on multiple levels. First, if you know the character of Lexi you’d probably agree with me that she’s just the type to embrace pregnancy and motherhood and would LOVE to be and look pregnant. Why on earth would she purchase this maternity wear? Also, of course, this insults women in general, implying that women don’t want to look pregnant (fear of being overweight, I presume). I was really taken aback, and it jarred me out of the viewing experience.

The setup is important, because what happens in the episode is that Lexi’s abandoned boyfriend shows up — Duncan, the fellow she fled from when she learned she was pregnant. Yes, it’s key to the storyline that Lexi doesn’t appear visibly pregnant, forcing her to decide whether to reveal the pregnancy to Duncan. And when she does, I love his reaction; he is caught off guard, says he needs to think about this, and takes his leave. Lexi’s story is realistically unresolved.

But who among the Eureka brain trust couldn’t take 5 minutes to conjure up a better setup for this storyline? How’s this: Lexi is given the maternity wear to test out, and she makes it a funny experiment, a practical joke (she’s a playful person, right?) … and then Duncan walks in. Doesn’t that feel better, and in character for Lexi?

This fumble of the setup is perfectly bad TV writing; I feel compelled to conclude that Eureka needs a serious infusion of female creative advice. I’m not even trying to sound like a crazy feminist here, but that maternity-wear logic completely flops. The show’s creators are men, and recent episodes have been written and directed by men. No doubt women are in the mix somewhere: please, speak up, speak up! (Dear Mr. Paglia: I’m happy to submit my resume.)

In hugely good news, SyFy announced at Comic-Con that it will pick up Eureka for a fourth season — 22 more episodes ordered.

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