TV Review: Eureka 3.6 – Phased and Confused

Posted by Kevin Carr (kevin@filmschoolrejects.com) on September 10, 2008

Eureka, SciFi, Airs Tuesday 9/8c

The little town of geniuses continues to get in trouble with their intellectual and experimental exploits. Sheriff Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson) tries to keep the town in order while raising his 16-year-old daughter Zoe (Jordan Hinson). Recently, more family drama came into Jack’s life when his pregnant sister Lexi (Ever Carradine) blew into town, dispensing her own parental advice.

Episode: “Phased and Confused” (Season Three, Episode 6)

Synopsis: Jack’s sister Lexi seems to be causing a stir in town as most of the single male population has taken a shine to her. She also seems to be the target of affection of an incompetent superhero patrolling the town of Eureka. Meanwhile, Zoe and her friends are trapped in an underground bunker.

Review: It seems that the beginning shows of new seasons are often plagued by new characters – both good and bad. The two new characters in Eureka this season are Eva Thorne (Francis Fisher) and Lexi Carter. Thorne has some mystery behind her, being sent to Eureka with the cover of a downsizing CEO. However, she’s searching for something that pre-dates the history of the town and hints at a nuclear program prior to the Manhattan Project. We get a peek at the past she’s chasing because the secret lies in the underground bunker where Zoe and her friends are trapped. Lexi, however, is becoming increasingly annoying as a new character. Her free-spirited attitude can be fun, but her undermining of Jack’s role as a father to Zoe is simply annoying. Sure, she’s spunky and attracts everyone from dorky Douglas Fargo to Captain Incompetent, but her know-it-all nature is starting to wear thin… and she’s only been in the show for three episodes. Likewise, Zoe’s quiet boyfriend Lucas (Vanya Asher) is quickly turning into the genius-borderlining-on-idiot for flipping the switch that causes the gang to be trapped. This episode held up two types of stories: the technobabble mystery (i.e., detecting the superhero and discovering the connection to Thorne’s secret project) and the genius soap opera (i.e., all the drama between Jack and Lexi… and the rest of the men in town). I prefer the technobabble side, myself. I had hoped we’d lose a bit of the soap opera when Nathan Stark disintegrated into a billion particles two episodes ago. Still, the show remains a lighthearted romp through a science fictiony little town. I’m still watching.

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Did you watch Eureka this week? If so, feel free to discuss below.

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