“LIFTOFF” AIRS MONDAY, JULY 11 AT 8:00 PM ON SYFY
It’s been ten months since the last season four episode of Eureka (there was a Christmas episodes, but that was an out of continuity, stand-alone episode), but new episodes finally resume on Monday, July 11. When last we visited the little town of science, Dr. Grant (James Callis) had transported himself and Sheriff Carter (Colin Ferguson) back to 1947 and we got to see some of the events of the season premiere anew. Once the duo returned to the present, Grant left town. Additionally, Zane Donovan (Niall Matter) discovered that Jo Lupo (Erica Cerra) had his grandmother’s wedding ring and he wanted to know why. It is still unclear what caused the timeline to be altered at the beginning of the season resulting in massive life changes for those who visited 1947, namely Carter, Lupo, Allison Blake (Salli Richardson-Whitfield), Henry Deacon (Joe Morton) and Douglas Fargo (Neil Grayston). While most of the group have good reasons to settle into their new lives, one or two are still uncomfortable.
“Liftoff” begins with a wedding. I’m not going to tell you who is about to get married, but it will be a surprise to long time fans of the show. From there we go to Fargo checking out a vintage space capsule that he and Henry have been renovating. When Zane confronts Fargo for info on what’s up with Lupo the two discover that the efforts to get the capsule back into space are a success. Yep, Zane and Fargo wind up in Earth’s orbit. Unfortunately, while the capsule has been outfitted with an experimental faster-than-light drive, things such as communications and long term life-support have not been added. On top of that, they are also on a collision course with the International Space Station. With air and time rapidly running out, the duo in the capsule and the folks on the ground have to figure things out, all without being able to talk to each other.
This is a superb episode. The script is by series writer Bruce Miller, based on a story by him and series creator Jaime Paglia, and is cleverly and tightly written. This is one of those stories where the characters have to think their way through the myriad problems that crop up and have to earn everything. There is no deus ex machina that saves the day here, just smart thinking, science and already established Eureka devices. It also happens to be both a dramatic episode and, at time, highly funny adventure as well. And in the end, someone discovers the little secret that Carter et al. have been keeping these many months. Also, in the finest “Where’s Waldo?” tradition, keep your eyes open for a very special cameo from the creator of the show, Jaime Paglia. Special mention should be made of Mike Rohl’s direction, especially the few scenes where Fargo and Zane are in zero gravity. While Rohl’s work on Defying Gravity probably helped prepare him for it, he still makes it look very believable. In all, this is a fine episode and a welcome return for Eureka. Thankfully, the wait until the next episode is only one week!
For more on the return of Eureka, check out our interviews with Erica Cerra and Niall Matter!