Eureka - "Blink" - S01E08 - 08.29.2006

[classicX]

Pretty good episode, but as usual, it raises more questions than it answers.

The main one being, does anyone else find the character "Stark" to be mind-numbingly boring?

I, for one, am tired of Section 5 being the "source" of every bad thing.

As far as the show, I like the exchanges between Carter and Zoe. I especially liked:

Carter: I'm just gonna be in the next room.
Dylan: Sure.
Carter: ...I have a gun, you know that, right?
Zoe: Dad!
Carter: It's loaded.
Zoe: Leave!
Carter: I'm just saying.
Zoe: Now!
Carter: I'm a pretty good shot.


One bit of good news though - It seems that Joe will be the focus of next week's show! I hope she gets out of the deputy uniform again. Is next week a ratings sweep?

[PJO1966]

This is fast becoming one of my favorites. I thought it was a great episode, but it was a little obvious that the boyfriend was the one who trashed the sherriff's house.

I don't find Stark boring at all. I love his subtle jibes.

[Jonathan_S]

The "science" is best ignored, but a very enjoyable show. (Hint: large objects moving at ~600 mph are not moving "too fast to see")

And of course Stark immediately takes the 'cooked' MPH into section 5 for further work.

[mrpantstm]

Again the humor in this episode was great. When Carter hit the kid with the baseball 'And never charge the pitcher when he has the ball.' :D :up:

On the other hand, the division between law enforcement and Global Dynamics seems forced to me. Eureka isn't just Global Dynamics, it's the town too. When weird things happen they seem too suprised. When odd things happen the sheriff shouldn't be kept at arms distance.

And didn't Zoe already start school? Tivo missed the first couple of minutes of the episode but it seemed like it was her first day.

[Idearat]

My favorite throwaway line ( paraphrased since I'm too lazy to re-watch )

Stark: "Competition is good, builds character."
Fargo: "Just ask Tonya Harding"

[ParadiseDave]

Ann saw the kid in the holding cell who was still juiced up and jittery. She said, "He reminds me of that show you used to watch... Max Headroom." She had no idea (until I told her) who Matt Frewer was. :)

There was a made-for-DVR moment at the end. You had to watch the wide shot of the town frame by frame to see the baseball flying down the street at "588" MPH.

[PJO1966]

Ann saw the kid in the holding cell who was still juiced up and jittery. She said, "He reminds me of that show you used to watch... Max Headroom." She had no idea (until I told her) who Matt Frewer was. :)

There was a made-for-DVR moment at the end. You had to watch the wide shot of the town frame by frame to see the baseball flying down the street at "588" MPH.


There was also a great DVR moment in the opening shot of the show... a sign prohibiting the use of hover boards. :D

[RunnerFL]

My favorite throwaway line ( paraphrased since I'm too lazy to re-watch )

Stark: "Competition is good, builds character."
Fargo: "Just ask Tonya Harding"


I believe it was "someone tell Nancy Kerrigan that".

[Unbeliever]

And didn't Zoe already start school? Tivo missed the first couple of minutes of the episode but it seemed like it was her first day.

I'm thinking this should've been the 3rd episode instead of the 7th. Carter's been there a while and didn't know about the weekly town meeting, and he was introduced to the town during it?

With more special effects in this particular episode I'm wondering if production issues re-ordered the air dates.

--Carlos "oh, you're so in right field" V.

[ElJay]

This is an awfully fun show to watch. There's a perfect level of camp and humor without destroying the show (Matt Frewer's accent notwithstanding.)

[Rob Helmerichs]

This is fast becoming one of my favorites. I thought it was a great episode, but it was a little obvious that the boyfriend was the one who trashed the sherriff's house.
Actually, I was fooled by the show's terrible science. I asked myself, "Well, how could super-speed have gotten him past the front door?" And I just assumed, "Lazy writers who don't care about science, that's how." There have been so many stupid science moments, it never occured to me that there could be an honest-to-gosh explanation for it!

So maybe these writers aren't as stupid as they seem... :D

[willbhome]

Great episode, but I agree it had the feel of an episode 2 or 3, not 7.

[mrpantstm]

I believe it was "someone tell Nancy Kerrigan that".

Yup.

Eureka doesn't seem to be the scientists haven one would think it too be. You sincerely have to struggly for funding, at least so it seems.

[Church AV Guy]

I don't even want to talk about the physiology of accelerating a human body like that. The friction generated in the muscle fibers would boil the blood and cook the meat. What I want to ask is, what would most fathers do if their teenage daughters started shouting "thong!" in a crowded restaurant? (Well, not shouting exactly, but saying very loudly so everyone could hear.)

I also want to know if Stark had really violated the double blind protocol, or if he just told Allison that he had done so, to avert her anger.

Either Frewer's accent has to go, or he does!

[PJO1966]

I keep seeing complaints about Frewer's accent.

[disclaimer: the following is just my opinion and is in no way meant to belittle the opinion of others]

To me, he's doing a fairly good Aussie accent. It's a bit over the top, but there are people out there who genuinely sound like that.

[Solver]

Too unreal! Can you believe any one talking to a sheriff like that and then just removing a mangled body and all evidence in the middle of a crime investigation?

[darthrsg]

I want the Sheriff's house, like, right now!!
"Beer me."

[Billyh1026]

At first I thought Ben Browder would've bn perfect for the role of the sheriff...still do. But, this guys doing a really good job with the humor the character has to dish out.

Max Headroom has got to go tho...he's a waste of film. They could've made such a better character for him than some faux-aussie big game hunter who show's up and contributes nothing to the scene....

[Rob Helmerichs]

Max Headroom has got to go tho...he's a waste of film. They could've made such a better character for him than some faux-aussie big game hunter who show's up and contributes nothing to the scene....
I hope we find out he's only pretending to be Australian. Because if he's supposed to be the real thing, that's as outlandish as, well, everything else on this show. :D

[zordude]

I'm thinking this should've been the 3rd episode instead of the 7th. Carter's been there a while and didn't know about the weekly town meeting, and he was introduced to the town during it?

With more special effects in this particular episode I'm wondering if production issues re-ordered the air dates.


Episode Air Date Prod#
Pilot (1) 7/18/2006 101
Pilot (2) 7/18/2006 101
Many Happy Returns 7/25/2006 102
Before I Forget 8/1/2006 106
Alienated 8/8/2006 104
Invincible 8/15/2006 108
Dr. Nobel 8/22/2006 105
Blink 8/29/2006 103
Right as Raynes 9/5/2006 107



Z

[sushikitten]

I hope we don't have another Firefly here (although Firefly was better...).

[7thton]

I thought it was a great episode, but it was a little obvious that the boyfriend was the one who trashed the sherriff's house.


Well, I was fooled. How do you figure it was him?

[mrpantstm]

Well, I was fooled. How do you figure it was him?

While I wasn't immeaditly sure, there are two clues that I now see that would have given it away.

1) He was under pressure just like the men from section 5. Trying to live up to his parents makes for a person looking for "help".

2) If the character has more than 5 lines, becomes involved with one of the main characters, he'll undoubtably be involved in the mystery so as to be taken care of (and out of the story) by the episodes end. :D

[Tangent]

Another clue that this should have aired at around #3 instead of #7 (before zordude spoiled the speculation with hard facts :D ) was that the sheriff was still raving about how cool the house was after asking for the beer. He stopped the whole "this is so cool/creepy" thing a few episodes ago...

[stark]

I love the show and characters. But, I'm not too sure I like the science is BAD storyline of every episode.

[Rob Helmerichs]

I love the show and characters. But, I'm not too sure I like the science is BAD storyline of every episode.
Well, that's probably appropriate considering how bad the science is... :D

[Church AV Guy]

I love the show and characters. But, I'm not too sure I like the science is BAD storyline of every episode.
Well, the show isn't about the science. It probably shouldn't even be considered a sci-fi show. It is a fantasy show, and so you just check your science-o-meter at the door and enjoy.

[JoBeth66]

What they SHOULD have done was introduce the boyfriend for a few episodes *before* this. It was too Smallville-freak-of-the-week/Star Trek Red-Shirt-ish. Obvious the kid was going to be the "bad guy", I had it figured out from the coffee shop.

But I like this show. It definitely has potential.

[katbug]

I had figured it was the boyfriend too, just based on the fact that the bunker surely couldn't be penetrated without some king of Sarah Freak-out...she's too aware of everything going on in the house to let an intruder in unnoticed. Actually, I was kinda expecting her to say something about the visitor speeding around the house. Guess she's become a little less controlling (I would have at least said "Hey! No running in the house!".
His introduction to Zoe was a giveaway too. Why else would they make sure we knew that his father was a Nobel-Lauriet (sp?) in Chemistry and his mother was a Physicist? Yeah, it could have been small-talk, but there's usually a reason that they let us in on info about the characters (in this case, the pressure, but I also figured with that kind of background he would know how to "cook" the drug).

I love the little bits of humor thrown in when you're least expecting it, especially by the sherrif at the end of scenes...always dry and sarcastic and sooo much fun!

Matt's accent doesn't bother me. I don't even notice it, but I haven't followed him as an actor, so I guess it's just not as obvious to me. It might be a bad fake, but I've never paid enough attention to his character to know or care, lol. He's a pretty pointless character really.

[Graymalkin]

Why oh why is Sci-Fi Channel showing the episodes out of sequence? What possible good comes from that?

[Rob Helmerichs]

Why oh why is Sci-Fi Channel showing the episodes out of sequence? What possible good comes from that?
It doesn't seem to be the case here, but bear in mind that the production numbers are they order they were filmed, not the order in which they were intended to be seen. Often, episodes are shot out of order on purpose for various reasons (availability of cast, extra production time for FX, etc.).

[Anubys]

I keep seeing complaints about Frewer's accent.

To me, he's doing a fairly good Aussie accent. It's a bit over the top, but there are people out there who genuinely sound like that.

I worked very closely with an Australian guy for a while...he didn't sound anything like this...

a couple of problems I have with the kids:

1. seems scientists at Eureka marry other scientists with alarming frequency
2. seems that their children are also geniuses with alarming frequency. Smart people have dumb kids all the time!...

I expect the town to have at least 50% of its population to be of average/below average intelligence...but we're not seeing any of them (other than the Sherif and Joe)...

[Rob Helmerichs]

1. seems scientists at Eureka marry other scientists with alarming frequency
Alarming how? It's not unusual that somebody would want to marry somebody who understands them.
2. seems that their children are also geniuses with alarming frequency. Smart people have dumb kids all the time!...
But when the super-intelligent regress to the mean, they have a LONG way to go before hitting mean.
I expect the town to have at least 50% of its population to be of average/below average intelligence...but we're not seeing any of them (other than the Sherif and Joe)...
The town consists entirely of the think-tank and its support system. The population is not random at all.

[Bierboy]

Alarming how? It's not unusual that somebody would want to marry somebody who understands them.

But when the super-intelligent regress to the mean, they have a LONG way to go before hitting mean.

The town consists entirely of the think-tank and its support system. The population is not random at all.
Rob - Does this mean you are "repealing" your quote Anubys uses in his sig? :D

[Anubys]

Alarming how? It's not unusual that somebody would want to marry somebody who understands them.

But when the super-intelligent regress to the mean, they have a LONG way to go before hitting mean.

The town consists entirely of the think-tank and its support system. The population is not random at all.

of course, people tend to marry people like them...but how many people are "like them"? Warren Buffet didn't marry an investing genius...a scientist is just as likely to marry his secretary than his colleague...

I'm just saying that there should be a lot more "normal" people that are spouses and children than we see...in this town, pretty much all the people are married to other geniuses and have genius children...

especially the children part is what gets me...children are just as likely to be like the idiot uncle than the genius mother/father!

no repeal of the sig is allowed...besides, Rob actually meant the opposite when he said that :p

[Rob Helmerichs]

Yes, I stand by that .sig remark. :D

[PJO1966]

I worked very closely with an Australian guy for a while...he didn't sound anything like this...




Just like we have different dialects for different parts of the country, so do Australians. He sounds like he's channeling the Crocodile Hunter.


Do I need to adjust my sig as well? ;)

[jking]

I worked very closely with an Australian guy for a while...he didn't sound anything like this...

By no means am I saying his accent is "good", but reading this statement made me think what if someone from Australia had previously worked with someone from Boston and then heard me speak (I'm from the South) and said that my American accent sounded fake because he had previously worked with someone from America and I didn't sound anything like him. :D

[PJO1966]

By no means am I saying his accent is "good", but reading this statement made me think what if someone from Australia had previously worked with someone from Boston and then heard me speak (I'm from the South) and said that my American accent sounded fake because he had previously worked with someone from America and I didn't sound anything like him. :D


Great minds think alike... :D

[katbug]

Geniuses are marrying geniuses more and more often in the real world as well and more often than not they do have genius kids. Research "Asperger's Syndrome" and you'd be surprised at how much more this is happening and the effects of it (my dd has AS and I met my ex-hubby in the Army...yep, both "MI", though I certainly don't claim to be a genius, lol).

[Rob Helmerichs]

By no means am I saying his accent is "good", but reading this statement made me think what if someone from Australia had previously worked with someone from Boston and then heard me speak (I'm from the South) and said that my American accent sounded fake because he had previously worked with someone from America and I didn't sound anything like him. :D
Well, Matt Frewer's accent sounds like his only experience with Australian accents came from watching Crocodile Dundee on cable late one night 20 years ago when he was drunk. And he thinks he remembers what it sounded like, but he's not entirely sure. And then half the time he forgets to do the accent anyway.

At least, that's what it sounds like to me...

[Anubys]

Just like we have different dialects for different parts of the country, so do Australians. He sounds like he's channeling the Crocodile Hunter.


Do I need to adjust my sig as well? ;)

I stand 100% by my comment in your sig :)

I would like to make an appeal for my favorite avatar to make a return...your original one with the bowtie :D

the Australian guy I worked with came from everywhere in Australia...so his accent incorporated the entire country...that's my story and I'm sticking to it :p

[Anubys]

Geniuses are marrying geniuses more and more often in the real world as well and more often than not they do have genius kids. Research "Asperger's Syndrome" and you'd be surprised at how much more this is happening and the effects of it (my dd has AS and I met my ex-hubby in the Army...yep, both "MI", though I certainly don't claim to be a genius, lol).

I don't disagree...I'm fairly smart and I married an equally smart woman...I fully expect my two kids to be smart or even smarter than me...while the odds that the children will be smart are good, there is a chance one of them will be dumb as dirt...it happens...

but I could have married a dumb girl (it all depends on the boobies! :D )...you don't control who you fall in love with to a certain extent...

all I'm saying is that a certain proportion of the population has to be average (we can argue about the percentage)...it is impossible for every single one of them to be a genius...

[PJO1966]

I stand 100% by my comment in your sig :)

I would like to make an appeal for my favorite avatar to make a return...your original one with the bowtie :D

the Australian guy I worked with came from everywhere in Australia...so his accent incorporated the entire country...that's my story and I'm sticking to it :p


:D

I'm sure your favorite avatar will return someday.

[purple6816]

The "science" is best ignored, but a very enjoyable show. (Hint: large objects moving at ~600 mph are not moving "too fast to see")

And of course Stark immediately takes the 'cooked' MPH into section 5 for further work.

And the camera's in his house would have been able to slow enough to see. You got to look the other way a bit. GREAT SHOW. :up:



I want the Sheriff's house, like, right now!!
"Beer me."



If you want one check this site out. http://www.missilebases.com/ I have always wanted to live in an underground bunker.

http://www.silohome.com/

[Anubys]

I just remembered something that bothered the heck out of me during the show: it sure was pretty easy to sneak a camera into section five :rolleyes:

also, the guard in front of the door for section five had a gun that could probably be best use against tanks! not exactly the kind of weapon to use in a small space...

[balboa dave]

I just remembered something that bothered the heck out of me during the show: it sure was pretty easy to sneak a camera into section five :rolleyes: Yeah, those remote controlled robot flies are so common. I've got two in my house right now :rolleyes: :D

[Anubys]

Yeah, those remote controlled robot flies are so common. I've got two in my house right now :rolleyes: :D

I'm watching you as we speak and...well...shame on you! ;)


:D

[drew2k]

Ignoring all the science issues, one line threw me. Did the boyfriend tell Zoe he had a 4.6 GPA? 4.6? Shouldn't 4.0 be the max? I guess in a town as advanced as Eureka they have to have a "higher" GPA scale than normal!

Another great line and delivery from the Sherif when he used Henry's pen to put the corpse on the MPH freaks' table at Global Dynamics. "Subtle enough for you?" :)

[drew2k]

I just remembered another great moment from the episode:

Sheriff Carter, holding the crash dummy's head: "Hey, why does this look so much like me?"

Henry: "It's generic."

Carter scowls.

:D

[Bierboy]

Ignoring all the science issues, one line threw me. Did the boyfriend tell Zoe he had a 4.6 GPA? 4.6? Shouldn't 4.0 be the max? I guess in a town as advanced as Eureka they have to have a "higher" GPA scale than normal!...I work at a college, and, at some schools, the GPA scale goes 0 to 5.0. Most, however, use the more traditional scale of 0 to 4.0.

[cheesesteak]

I ant to be Henry when I grow up.

[Rob Helmerichs]

Ignoring all the science issues, one line threw me. Did the boyfriend tell Zoe he had a 4.6 GPA? 4.6? Shouldn't 4.0 be the max? I guess in a town as advanced as Eureka they have to have a "higher" GPA scale than normal!
There are places where an A+ goes above 4. Grade inflation and all...

[drew2k]

I work at a college, and, at some schools, the GPA scale goes 0 to 5.0. Most, however, use the more traditional scale of 0 to 4.0.There are places where an A+ goes above 4. Grade inflation and all...See ... that's just something I never knew, and why I love TCF - I learn something new every day. "Knowledge is power!"

[Fl_Gulfer]

My Papa told me If you don't learn sumptin new every day you might as well wear a hat, so you use your head for sumptin./

[katbug]

My Papa told me If you don't learn sumptin new every day you might as well wear a hat, so you use your head for sumptin./
lol, I love that!

[Hunter Green]

Whether smart people marry smart people or not is not really the point. If you spend 18 hours a day in confined quarters in a secure facility in an isolated town engaging in intensive research, how often do you get out to the singles bars? People marry the people they get to know well enough to marry, and often they get to know them well enough because they have a lot in common, the things that bring them to the situation in the first place.

[sushikitten]

There are places where an A+ goes above 4. Grade inflation and all...

And there are places where if you take advanced-level courses, an A is worth 5.0 instead of 4.0.

[katbug]

besides, I'm sure all the "red-headed step-children" (in this case, kids with an average or lower IQ) are immediately sent off to live with relatives outside of Eureka, which I guess is better than being locked in the basement somewhere... :o

[Agatha Mystery]

My high school gave an additional 0.02 for every honors class that you took. They were cumulative. So I graduated with a 4.32 IIRC.

[katbug]

I wish my high school had done that! I wonder how colleges and scholarship committees take that into account, with some schools giving extra points and some not.

[phox_mulder]

Just watched this last night, yes, a wee bit behind.

I knew the boyfriend would be part of it as soon as he said he was interning at Global.
Still, when the house was trashed, I didn't even think it could have been him.

I knew the tape recorder would be used in either FF or RW to decipher what the speed freak was going to say, c'mon, tape recorder in a Pen MRI, Housefly Spycam town?

I hope the writers visit forums such as these:

Matt Frewer, in a future episode, reveals he isn't a "big game hunter", and isn't Australian, claims it was a phase, and reverts to his normal speaking voice.
There were hints in this episode.
When they were looking at the trashed tree and he was babbling on about BigFoot, he said something like "I saw this in the brush in Africa", and Carter says "ya right" or "whatever", Carter's on to him.


phox

[LordFett]

Anyone else notice Stark's inability to pronounce Methylphenidate? He kept saying "Methylphenidrate." At first I thought, ok maybe it is a derivitave of Methylphenidate, but then he also called it MPH.

[Anubys]

Anyone else notice Stark's inability to pronounce Methylphenidate? He kept saying "Methylphenidrate." At first I thought, ok maybe it is a derivitave of Methylphenidate, but then he also called it MPH.

um...no...I'll take a guess that you're the only one :p

[LordFett]

um...no...I'll take a guess that you're the only one :p
Maybe because I work in a medical research lab and we have been doing a ton with MPH (ritalin/concerta).

[katbug]

I'm a medical transcriptionist and I've got to say that I'm relieved that none of the docs have used that term yet. They're hard enough to understand as it is, then throw that med in there and wish me luck! lol

[TiVoShanan]

heyya!

Everyone at Eureka is a big fan of TiVo. They contacted me through the newsletter to let me know.... and offered some time with the star. So.................................

Next newsletter, hoping to include a "CouchTime" interview with Colin Ferguson to capture his TiVo profile. Just thought I'd let this thread know. :)

Thanks!
shanan

[PJO1966]

heyya!

Everyone at Eureka is a big fan of TiVo. They contacted me through the newsletter to let me know.... and offered some time with the star. So.................................

Next newsletter, hoping to include a "CouchTime" interview with Colin Ferguson to capture his TiVo profile. Just thought I'd let this thread know. :)

Thanks!
shanan

*swoon*

[katbug]

Awesome! Can't wait to see it. Be sure to tell him about this forum and that we'd love to have a personal visit. ;0) Hey, gotta try, right?

[Anubys]

Awesome! Can't wait to see it. Be sure to tell him about this forum and that we'd love to have a personal visit. ;0) Hey, gotta try, right?

can he bring Joe with him? ;)

[Bierboy]

can he bring Joe with him? ;)
You DO mean Jo, right? I, personally, would rather not have Joe come along.

[katbug]

Shanan: Just wondering...you mentioned that it would be in "the newsletter". Which newsletter would that be and would you be posting it here as well?

[Anubys]

You DO mean Jo, right? I, personally, would rather not have Joe come along.

Yes...Jo...sorry...all this talk about male hunks gets rattled me! :o



Edit: even grammar my messed up is!

[Joules1111]

Can anyone explain why the TiVo info screen blurb on this episode said "Zoe is introduced to Allison's son"? I distinctly remember seeing that, yet it never happened.

[TiVoShanan]

Shanan: Just wondering...you mentioned that it would be in "the newsletter". Which newsletter would that be and would you be posting it here as well?


The TiVo Newsletter... Do you not get that?
You can sign up at tivo.com, but you should get it automatically as a regular subscriber.

[katbug]

Hmm...never heard of it, but am rushing to find it now. Thanks for the heads-up!! ;0)

Just signed up. Awesome!!