a town called Eureka
Finished Season 3.5 just in time...
* Can we please stop killing Kim? Once was sad, twice was heartbreaking, but three times is just... too much. I'm tired of tearing up watching Henry break down.
* Clip show episodes. Hate 'em still.
* That said, I was glad for the quick reminder of just how far Zoe has come in her time in Eureka.
* Zane is totally the show woobie, isn't he? Fargo gets abused more, but he's usually somewhat responsible for what happens to him. Zane just suffers prettily, I suppose, with the added bonus of how it affects Jo.
* I like Tess. A lot. She's spunky and geeky and occasionally dorky and she's unembarrassed by that -- or by her ambition. She's a good match for Jack, better than Alison, even, because she doesn't condescend to him the way Alison does. (And she does, just not as much as everyone else does, so she doesn't look as cruel.) Tess likes fun, Tess likes crazy stuff, and Tess will wander around in lumberjack shirts and jeans and she's not burdened by being the single mother of two children (one with special needs) with dead fathers. Alison has her children and her career and she loves what she has. She wants Jack, too, but she honestly doesn't have a whole lot of herself left over to give to him and that's at least partially by choice, but she won't admit it. Tess is a bit more up front than that.
* Lexi stopped annoying me, but I was relieved that she went away.
* Taggart! Worst Aussie ever, but I do love his flavor of batshit.
* Martha! Yay for continuity! Especially because they keep forgetting Kevin exists.
* I know Larry's the guy we're supposed to hate, but he'd work a lot better if he had one tiny redeeming feature. That's how Fargo developed -- he was the ass-kissing, self-absorbed toady whose inability to look beyond his own interests got him into trouble, but he was occasionally adorable enough that you didn't want him actually dead and eventually grew to like. Larry doesn't have that. Nor does he have any of the purpose or hidden heart of Thorne nor is he just flat-out a villain like Beverly. He's a cheap prop, basically, and we see far too much of him.
* That season finale was just crazy rushed for time and space. Come back from commercial break and six months have passed and they have to tell us so because otherwise, we'd never figure anything out.
The start of Season Four:
* I really liked Jack in this episode. His genuine glee at not being out of his depth -- "oh, hey, car parts I can recognize!" and baseball -- was just enough of a reminder at how well he takes it the rest of the time. Eureka is the town full of people who have more brains than actual smarts and all of those triple-doctorates tend to undervalue simple cleverness and intuition, which Jack has in spades.
* I was less hot on Alison, who had some strange words coming out of her mouth (very noble to not want to leave Jack alone in 1947, but she's got two kids in 2010 and normally has more faith in reproducing experiments to be able to come back and get him) and, as usual, was jerking Jack's heartstrings around. Especially since she knows about Tess.
* Jo... Jo rocked in 1947. Of course she was going to be dressed in men's clothing and brawling. She was very much herself in 2010, shooting herself in the foot with Zane because there is precisely one thing Josephina Lupo is afraid of and that's showing vulnerability. And she expected Zane to understand that and he usually does... when he's himself. Note to show: I will not forgive you if this relationship has ended permanently.
* Fargo was perfectly Fargo in both times. Including trying to get Jo to pee on the lock because he was afraid of what would (did) happen, despite him being the only one who has the possibility of aiming.
* Bravo for having Henry point out that he'd be less noticeable in 1947 dressed as a mechanic... and then nobody remembering that Alison is also 'colored.' And, um, there being no other black people anywhere that I could see. They dropped the ball in a few places on the period atmosphere, including never once indicating whose spies might be running around. But that would involve admitting that half of the science staff were probably fellow travelers. Eureka's never been too much for that kind of detail, so it wasn't so bad.
* Someone told James Callis that he was going to be in a pulp noir story. It's a pity they never told anyone else. Also, he was kind of... caricaturish. But. If he sticks around in 2010, he might be fun.
* Okay, as for the timeline changes. I have no idea if these stick or get undone next week, but no matter what, Henry had better remember that he and Jack have already undone one alternate timeline. Jack doesn't recall it all, but Henry should.
* As mentioned, I am not down with no more Zane and Jo. Just not. I would not be against watching Jo convince an untamed Zane that they're meant to be, though. Because Jo has never had to chase a guy -- Fargo, Taggart, and Zane chased her. And so did Julia. So, coupled with Jo's fear of vulnerability, watching her decide that getting Zane back is worth the risk would be fun.
* Giving Henry a relationship right after watching Kim die again... Yes, technically six months or so passed, but it was, like, three commercial breaks. I like the actress and the character seems spunky and I'm all for him tentatively giving it a go once things are returned to normal. He deserves happily-ever-after for once.
* Tess... whatever show Jaime Ray Newman was on got canceled, so technically she's free, right? I'm all for them bringing her back. See above.
* Was it just coincidence that we never saw how Fargo's present had changed? Or does he have the biggest changes of all in store? Because everyone else seems to have gotten some variation of wish fulfillment...
* Can we please stop killing Kim? Once was sad, twice was heartbreaking, but three times is just... too much. I'm tired of tearing up watching Henry break down.
* Clip show episodes. Hate 'em still.
* That said, I was glad for the quick reminder of just how far Zoe has come in her time in Eureka.
* Zane is totally the show woobie, isn't he? Fargo gets abused more, but he's usually somewhat responsible for what happens to him. Zane just suffers prettily, I suppose, with the added bonus of how it affects Jo.
* I like Tess. A lot. She's spunky and geeky and occasionally dorky and she's unembarrassed by that -- or by her ambition. She's a good match for Jack, better than Alison, even, because she doesn't condescend to him the way Alison does. (And she does, just not as much as everyone else does, so she doesn't look as cruel.) Tess likes fun, Tess likes crazy stuff, and Tess will wander around in lumberjack shirts and jeans and she's not burdened by being the single mother of two children (one with special needs) with dead fathers. Alison has her children and her career and she loves what she has. She wants Jack, too, but she honestly doesn't have a whole lot of herself left over to give to him and that's at least partially by choice, but she won't admit it. Tess is a bit more up front than that.
* Lexi stopped annoying me, but I was relieved that she went away.
* Taggart! Worst Aussie ever, but I do love his flavor of batshit.
* Martha! Yay for continuity! Especially because they keep forgetting Kevin exists.
* I know Larry's the guy we're supposed to hate, but he'd work a lot better if he had one tiny redeeming feature. That's how Fargo developed -- he was the ass-kissing, self-absorbed toady whose inability to look beyond his own interests got him into trouble, but he was occasionally adorable enough that you didn't want him actually dead and eventually grew to like. Larry doesn't have that. Nor does he have any of the purpose or hidden heart of Thorne nor is he just flat-out a villain like Beverly. He's a cheap prop, basically, and we see far too much of him.
* That season finale was just crazy rushed for time and space. Come back from commercial break and six months have passed and they have to tell us so because otherwise, we'd never figure anything out.
The start of Season Four:
* I really liked Jack in this episode. His genuine glee at not being out of his depth -- "oh, hey, car parts I can recognize!" and baseball -- was just enough of a reminder at how well he takes it the rest of the time. Eureka is the town full of people who have more brains than actual smarts and all of those triple-doctorates tend to undervalue simple cleverness and intuition, which Jack has in spades.
* I was less hot on Alison, who had some strange words coming out of her mouth (very noble to not want to leave Jack alone in 1947, but she's got two kids in 2010 and normally has more faith in reproducing experiments to be able to come back and get him) and, as usual, was jerking Jack's heartstrings around. Especially since she knows about Tess.
* Jo... Jo rocked in 1947. Of course she was going to be dressed in men's clothing and brawling. She was very much herself in 2010, shooting herself in the foot with Zane because there is precisely one thing Josephina Lupo is afraid of and that's showing vulnerability. And she expected Zane to understand that and he usually does... when he's himself. Note to show: I will not forgive you if this relationship has ended permanently.
* Fargo was perfectly Fargo in both times. Including trying to get Jo to pee on the lock because he was afraid of what would (did) happen, despite him being the only one who has the possibility of aiming.
* Bravo for having Henry point out that he'd be less noticeable in 1947 dressed as a mechanic... and then nobody remembering that Alison is also 'colored.' And, um, there being no other black people anywhere that I could see. They dropped the ball in a few places on the period atmosphere, including never once indicating whose spies might be running around. But that would involve admitting that half of the science staff were probably fellow travelers. Eureka's never been too much for that kind of detail, so it wasn't so bad.
* Someone told James Callis that he was going to be in a pulp noir story. It's a pity they never told anyone else. Also, he was kind of... caricaturish. But. If he sticks around in 2010, he might be fun.
* Okay, as for the timeline changes. I have no idea if these stick or get undone next week, but no matter what, Henry had better remember that he and Jack have already undone one alternate timeline. Jack doesn't recall it all, but Henry should.
* As mentioned, I am not down with no more Zane and Jo. Just not. I would not be against watching Jo convince an untamed Zane that they're meant to be, though. Because Jo has never had to chase a guy -- Fargo, Taggart, and Zane chased her. And so did Julia. So, coupled with Jo's fear of vulnerability, watching her decide that getting Zane back is worth the risk would be fun.
* Giving Henry a relationship right after watching Kim die again... Yes, technically six months or so passed, but it was, like, three commercial breaks. I like the actress and the character seems spunky and I'm all for him tentatively giving it a go once things are returned to normal. He deserves happily-ever-after for once.
* Tess... whatever show Jaime Ray Newman was on got canceled, so technically she's free, right? I'm all for them bringing her back. See above.
* Was it just coincidence that we never saw how Fargo's present had changed? Or does he have the biggest changes of all in store? Because everyone else seems to have gotten some variation of wish fulfillment...