Eureka – Founders Day (4x01) - (Discuss – Grade | SPOILERS)

[Silvercrest]

The biggest WTF is that it makes absolutely no sense that Allison's son would lose his autism. The only way I can even remotely see that happening is that if the autism was the result of being exposed to some experiment that never occurred in the first place, or vice versa.

Oh, man... good point. That one never occurred to me when I watched it.

Maybe in the new timeline there was an experiment or new treatment that cured him. Or was that what you meant by "vice versa"?

This storyline needs a guest shot of Christopher Lloyd as a researcher on time travel.

 

[David cgc]

Maybe in the new timeline there was an experiment or new treatment that cured him. Or was that what you meant by "vice versa"?

It's not unprecedented. It happened in the Kim Didn't Die 2010.

 

[cylkoth]

The biggest WTF is that it makes absolutely no sense that Allison's son would lose his autism. The only way I can even remotely see that happening is that if the autism was the result of being exposed to some experiment that never occurred in the first place, or vice versa.

Oh, man... good point. That one never occurred to me when I watched it.

Maybe in the new timeline there was an experiment or new treatment that cured him. Or was that what you meant by "vice versa"?

This storyline needs a guest shot of Christopher Lloyd as a researcher on time travel.

Perhaps Beverly-gawds, I miss Debrah Farentino, somehow succeeded in using the Acoshi(sp?) field/artifact, and the side effect of healing Kevin stuck.

 

[Vendikarr]

The biggest WTF is that it makes absolutely no sense that Allison's son would lose his autism. The only way I can even remotely see that happening is that if the autism was the result of being exposed to some experiment that never occurred in the first place, or vice versa.

My thought on this is perhaps when Callis' character was removed from the timeline, a researcher he previously influenced took his research down a different path. A path that may have led to an effective treatment for Autism.

At this point we don't know if Kevin was never autistic. He may have been cured.

 

[lennier1]

Imagine what else might have been changed.
Maybe people never developed microwave ovens or they made a breakthrough that made cell phones more advanced by 10 years?

 

[1001001]

Loved it!

It will be interesting to see how much has changed, how they deal with it, and how long they stick with this alternate timeline.

5 Carters!!

 

[Snaploud]

Wow. Great episode. I'm really looking forward to the continuation.

Baltar is a great addition to the cast.

 

[Noname Given]

Well, yeah, I'm not talking about the time-travelling solar flares. I won't even try with that sort of thing. But you'd think they could get the real stuff right.

You CAN'T watch the show for 'scientic accuracy' - hell, even the premise infers they may have discovered some long held scientic theories to be 'wrong', etc.

Overall, I thought i was a fun episode; and I like how the ditched a large number the usual 'time travel' memes; such as everyone becoming 'wallflowers' for fear of changing history. I LOVED that Henry was more "It's so cool to back in time watching the start of the military camp that would become Eureka. Again, teh concern of changing time was there, but it wasn't an overblown imparative like it was in a lot of time travel stories.

Also, I didn't read any spoilers, so it was a surprise to see the 1947 scientist walk in (but I guess I should hav expect that as soon as Carter said, "Oooops, left my communucation device in my other jaket (that the 1947 scientist obviously had with him; and if he found the device, I'm sure couldn't resist taking a 63 year leap into the future.

One thing though - in the season where they had the (foiund to be immoratal) corporate shark take charge of Eureka; I thought she viewed an archival film of a early atomnic bimb test in gthe area labeled 1936 - thus, would that mean the military camp (and Eureka project) started much earlier than 1947?

Personally, I think Eureka is the best show to come of of the whole Sci-Fi Channel original series mess. It's always stayed fairly original, fun, and had interesting situations, and well written and somewhat diverse characters.

 

[Snaploud]

Watching the repeat I noticed in the begiining that all the store fronts were closed, for rent or have going out of buisness sales, not sure how they were when they returned from 1947, have to watch that part again.

In the beginning: I saw one store with a close-out sale, and one store had a 20-50% off sale. I didn't catch anything else.

At the end: I don't think we got a good look at any of the storefronts.

 

[Guy Gardener]

I saw the "sale" signs but my consideration was: isn't everything free in town paid for by the government and the shopkeepers are just hobbiests having a lark?

Though didn't the little bad, Eva(? Saw her on the Good Guys last night. Her eyebrows were drawn on asymmetrically. Oddly distracting.), make them start paying for coffee last year? If everything went from "free" to "pay" overnight, then it's no wonder everything is going out of business with the fall of local socialism.

No, that policy was reversed as a terrific injustice by the end of the episode. Wasn't it?

Nevermind.

 

[Silvercrest]

I saw the "sale" signs but my consideration was: isn't everything free in town paid for by the government and the shopkeepers are just hobbiests having a lark?

Though didn't the little bad, Eva(? Saw her on the Good Guys last night. Her eyebrows were drawn on asymmetrically. Oddly distracting.), make them start paying for coffee last year? If everything went from "free" to "pay" overnight, then it's no wonder everything is going out of business with the fall of local socialism.

No, that policy was reversed as a terrific injustice by the end of the episode. Wasn't it?

Nevermind.

Reversed or not, I never understood that decision. Aren't Cafe Diem and the other businesses privately owned? Cutting costs at GD is one thing, but what gives her the power to tell private citizens what they can or can't do?

 

[Guy Gardener]

I doubt they're privately owned. The entire place is top secret evil empire stuff. At best they could lease property, but i doubt even that if Eureka has even half lack of entitlements as people living on a military base might have to put up with trying to run an independent business while having to... Quark on DS9 didn't pay rent. The Federation were very generous landlords.

Besides, every one in Eureka can be shipped off if they aren't useful or lose their security clearance so it's not like you would want to give any one that impermanent any sort of property rights that they might dig their heels in when they're being dragged away.

I never understood how Carter's sister was so easily allowed to move into Town sucking up the limited resources that should have been devoted to some scientist drone working towards inventing the future.

 

[Silvercrest]

That's the sort of thing I mean. People come and go freely, they have a town charter with a mayor who can apparently overrule the decisions of GD and the military, and so on. They act as if Eureka is simply a bedroom community for GD, not an extension of GD. If this was a "company town", they'd have a security chief, not a sheriff.

Let's put it this way. If the businesses in town are administered by GD (or whoever owns GD), they're also supported by them. Similar to the PX on a military base. Have we ever seen anyone go out of business? I can't remember. If we have, doesn't that mean they are (were) a private business?

 

[Snaploud]

So, what would be your game-plan after stepping into a new timeline?

Steps for me:

1) Find out any major changes in my life.

2) Find out if I've altered the geopolitical system positively or negatively (get a copy of history textbooks and start studying, etc.)

3) Find out if it's possible to change the timeline back (as well as the possible dangers of trying to make the change back).

4) Make a list of any advantages/disadvantages I might have in the new timeline (what I know that they don't, what they know and I don't).

5) Figure out if it's possible for me to gain my alternate time-line memories and/or learn about the minor changes in my life.

Everything would be suspect (from grade school education onward).

 

[Guy Gardener]

I'd want to know what the frakk this "stargate" thing was every one kept mentioning?

The jewler kept fargo's dad's engagement ring in the back for 30 years.... Company town or not, I doubt they have the... is it likely that every one in town earns hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars a year depend ing on their research and the importance of their research that... they build robotic dogs for fun.

Is Eureka a gated community of Billionaires and Carter?

 

[Silvercrest]

If it is, they'll just laugh the next time someone mentions budget cuts.

 

[Guy Gardener]

They don't use oil.

Then of course if they are now in the Stargate Universe, then Bush's war on terror which destroyed the global economy (busfare has doubled in the last 5 years.) never happened.

So oil is stil cheap.