Eureka: You Don't Know Jack

… in which Tess’s “story-catcher” for the Eureka time capsule project subjects the audience to the dreaded clip show and causes the town’s residents to start losing their memories. Meanwhile, Carter and Allison become trapped in Tess’s lab just before GD is scheduled to undergo a sonic cleaning.

Here’s what I wrote in my notes when this episode started:

Oh, crap. Is this a clip show? Yes, yes it is. Well, I guess that explains why SyFy aired it with the Season 4 catch-up marathon.

And I’m not sure much else really needs to be said on this one. Okay, okay. To be fair, this episode also featured the birth of Allison’s baby, which of course happened under less than ideal circumstances with an odd group of attendants. “This isn’t how I pictured things going.” “I know. Bad timing.” This event naturally led to some nice Carter and Allison bonding, but to keep things balanced, we also got a good Tess-Carter kiss and some quality memories of Stark and Allison together. I thought the latter was a particularly nice touch. In general, I’m not a fan of clip shows, but it was really nice to see Stark in the episode in which his daughter was born. Even if it was only reruns of moments we’d already experienced (and some of them quite painful). I miss Stark.

Other Thoughts

The assortment of clips chosen for this episode was really bizarre. Some of the extended clips were particularly odd choices. What was up with Vincent recounting his memories of the time Martha invaded Café Diem? “That’s the story you’re gonna tell for all posterity?” He must really have some lingering resentment towards Carter over the mustard incident.

Vincent: “You think Iron Chef is exciting? They got nothing on Café Diem.”

Henry (to Zoe): “So, here in Eureka, mistakes can lead to new directions. Sometimes the wrong path leads to the right path. So just give it time, and you will find your own path.”

I did really enjoy seeing the Senor Fargo dream from ‘Noche de Suenos’ again. Hilarious!

Carter (sighing heavily): “One more time. Allison, we are about to be vibrated to death. And not in the good way.”

Carter: “I thought I was gonna lose you there.”
Allison: “You’ll never lose me.”

Allison: “I’m really happy that you’re here.”
Carter: “I’ll always be here for you. No matter what.”
Nice reprise of their moment from ‘I Do Over.’

Allison: “So how far apart are they?”
Zoe: “About 90 seconds. I think you’re in transition.”
Carter: “How in God’s name do you know that?!”
Zoe: “Tesla’s sex-ed classes can be pretty thorough.”

Was Allison’s baby adorable or what? I’m not usually one to gush over babies (excluding my own, of course), but Jenna was a real cutie.

So, are we to assume that Zoe’s path is to become a medical doctor, or does she specifically want to be an OB/GYN?

Final Analysis: If not for the birth of Allison’s baby, this episode would be entirely disposable. Moving on.