(S02E08) This collective brain drain episode was definitely something different. If you're familiar with the BOFH, then I'd say that the new character of the week was the Bastard Particle Physicist from Hell. While he's coming to town, our favorite egg heads are busy reconstructing the big bang. I definitely liked the plot, but things were a bit circular later on.
If you're familiar with my primary blogging gig, you'll understand why I enjoyed the show a bit more than other might have. I'm going to rate a few of the hacks and tricks that came up in the episode.
- Using a TV remote to get online: Without a soldering iron and some spare logic chips, it's pretty unlikely that anyone could modify a TV remote to modulate the right signal to gain keyboard control over an IR port. IR-DA.
- Ordering a pile of stuff online: doable, but almost no-one actually delivers by the next morning. Not to mention that delivery guys usually won't deliver things to jail cells.
- Using the sheriffs personal information to get the master key for the cell: doable, but no-one would actually deliver to the guy in the jail cell.
- Acting interested to get details about the handcuffs: classic social engineering. You'd be surprised at how many people are willing to hand out crippling information.
I certainly spent most of the episode thinking that the experiment was the cause of the drain. Having Henry be the first to show signs certainly had me leaning in that direction.
The giant chicken grill was awesome, despite the low quality that SciFi in SD delivers. Thanks to the monster grill, it was the first thing that popped up in my mind once the Big bang experiment was ruled out as the cause of the brain drain.
I was a little disappointed that they used the remote hand cuffs to solve the latest problem. In Star Trek, they tended to pull random technology out of nowhere, so at least they take some time to introduce the technology. Screen time is tight, even for a one hour show, but I'd love it if they'd get away from the trend of featuring the techno solution in the first act, only to bring it back out to solve the second.
I honestly wondered if Henry was about to admit to Carter that he'd erased his memories. When he told Carter about Beverly, it was a surprising twist. I wonder if Henry's manipulation the situation or actually feeling guilty. I hope that they'll stop stringing this sub-plot along soon. Maybe it's also a method of keeping the episodes in order. Sometimes the network does have a tendency to swap things around.
One last thing. The crazy chicken cloning lady was just awesome. It was totally unexpected, and brought out a good point. Just how organic is 'organic food'?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-29-2007 @ 9:10AM
Busty said...
"I realize this must be the way you feel all the time" I really wish that the people of Eureka could see that there are different types of intelligence. Given how often Jack saves them you'd think they would lay off the cheap cracks.
I did enjoy how just plain cute Allison became when dumb.
I also wondered when we might be able to grow meat the way the chicken lady did. An intersting idea.
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8-29-2007 @ 10:00AM
Joe stalin said...
Growing meat is a piece of cake! Just add pron!
Sorry.
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8-29-2007 @ 11:06AM
Thomas said...
S02E08
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8-29-2007 @ 11:13AM
webby said...
Do you know who played the crazy chicken cloning lady?
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8-29-2007 @ 1:21PM
John Heltsley said...
As to the issue of handcuffs materializing out of nowhere as "new technology to handle the issue", I agree that most sci-fi shows tend to just create new tech for the issue of the day, and it is annoying.
That being said, I'm willing to overlook the tech appearance in this case. Why? Because this is the first time Carter's ever really needed to keep a leash on someone. Oh sure, he's thrown a few people in the cell, but no one he's been worried about. And this is a convicted felon, too, which hasn't happened in Eureka before.
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8-29-2007 @ 3:01PM
BigTed said...
There's no way you could legally label cloned chicken parts as "organic chicken." The rules for what is or isn't organic are a little strange, but they're not THAT strange.
Also, if people were acting dumb because their brains were deprived of GABA, they'd also be acting hyperexcited and anxious. One of GABA's main functions is to create calmness and relaxation.
But those are just small quibbles -- this show is always enjoyable despite any plot holes. And I especially like the fact that it features smart, attractive women in smaller roles (like the vet in this episode) who aren't just put there to serve as a potential love interest for one of the main characters.
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8-30-2007 @ 7:51AM
Discosis said...
"Also, if people were acting dumb because their brains were deprived of GABA, they'd also be acting hyperexcited and anxious."
That pretty much fits with the characters in the background (hyperexcited, jumping around everywhere) and the foreground (Alison's anxiousness about fixing the big bang experiment).
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8-31-2007 @ 11:11PM
achestee said...
The subtle writing on this show is overlooked. I'd been waiting for the "GABA" pun after that 'word' first came up and...there it was: when Carter was in the chicken lady's "coop," he said: "GABA....Hey". Ramones fans of the world, rejoice.
There's a level of predictability with this show (i.e. the problem of the week will always be solved), but it's the character development and interaction that are without peer on TV today.
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