Primal:
Written by:
Story by : Karl Schaefer & Martin Weiss
Teleplay by : Martin Weiss & Johanna Stokes
Directed by: Colin Bucksey
Original airdate: September 12, 2006
Airing number: 9
Synopsis:
Jack and Jo bring Lowjack into Global Dynamics so that Taggart, working there as their cryptobiologist and part time vet can help him using his nanoids, which when combined with Carl Carlson’s regenerating research, can heal the dog to perfect health with just a little time. Unfortunately, Taggart is less than careful and accidentally leaves the canister of nanoids open so the episode can happen. They escape and end up killing a GD worker named Larry who has to go into the crawl spaces of the project to fix something else.
Allison serves Stark with divorce papers, wanting to move on and Stark agrees, though he is clearly angry about it, as his emotions appear on a screen behind him, monitored by a new invention of Fargo’s called the Mental Mouse.
Allison calls Jack in to help find Larry, and he along with Taggart, finds his mangled body. Taggart reveals his nanoids escaped and are likely using Larry as a fuel source to repair and replicate themselves, noting that they can only be controlled by low frequency waves. The nanoids then take over an angry and saddened Stark’s body, who was using Fargo’s Mental Mouse, to subconsciously look up articles on fame, wealth, and power.
The nanoid Stark goes to Allison and kisses her, and then becomes more aggressive but Jack shows up and blasts him with Taggart’s pulse gun, a gun they used earlier when the nanoids recreated a copy of Lowjack and tried to attack Jack and Taggart.
Another nanoid Stark ends up going to the security office and deactivating the EM shield, the only thing stopping the nanoids from leaving the facility. As an army of Starks leave GD and start walking into the streets of Eureka, Jack comes up with a plan to stop them. Stark, unable to control the nanoid Starks due to his ego stopping him, has to watch as Jack and Allison start dancing, and then kissing. As Stark tries to deny that it’s bothering him, his subconscious is clearly working overtime and becoming jealous. The nanoid Starks sense this and turn around and quickly hurry back to GD, attacking Jack and Allison and pulling them apart. Zoe and Spencer then activate Spencer’s super powerful subwoofer, something he invented for the big finale dance, and the low bass frequencies disrupt the nanoids and cause them all to be disabled.
At the dance, Jo dances with Taggart and Allison dances with Stark, seemingly forgetful of any character development made earlier in the episode while Jack sadly watches.
Advanced Research:
Lorena and John Bobbitt were a couple, married on June 18, 1989, whose relationship received international press coverage in 1993 when Lorena severed John's penis with a kitchen knife while he was asleep in bed; his penis was successfully surgically reattached. Lorena, an Ecuadorian immigrant, alleged that her husband John, a bar bouncer and former U.S. Marine, had raped and abused her for years. John was charged with rape later that year but was acquitted and subsequently starred in two pornographic films. The next year, Lorena was acquitted of assault by reason of insanity and went on to start a foundation for domestic abuse victims and their children. The couple divorced in 1995.
The Security Technician was played by Rukiya Bernard. She was also in 12 of the 33 episode series Yellowjackets, and 28 of the 65 episode SyFy series Van Helsing playing Doc. Most recently you may have seen her in Hallmark’s The Chicken Sisters with Wendie Malick and Lea Thompson (families feud over generational conflict between rival fried-chicken restaurants Mimi's and Frannie's, dividing the town as loyalties are tested. Objective: resolve longstanding rift; unite community through shared love of fried chicken).
There are a lot of shots, both background and close up, where you can tell they filled the shot out with random men with beards who kind of and not at all resemble Stark.
H.O.U.S.E. Rules:
Written by: Harry Victor
Directed by: Jeff Woolnough
Original airdate: September 26, 2006
Synopsis:
As Jack attempts to do his job, he is overruled by Stark and Allison supports Stark’s decision. Feeling like he can’t actually DO anything, he debates leaving the town, even looking at homes elsewhere in the world, even citing Henry wanting to leave as further proof it is the right decision. He takes a sick day and relaxes at home, with a pizza guy delivering him some food, but is interrupted when Stark, Allison, Henry, Fargo, and Beverly, arrive at the bunker, all having arrived pages from Jack to get to him asap for various reasons. When Jack sends them away, SARAH refuses to let them out because Eureka is facing immediate disaster: disharmony amongst the inhabitants and that each person in the room is important to Eureka’s future, revealing that she paged them all. Jo and Taggart, out having a paintball battle, arrive late to the bunker and can’t get in. Jack tells them that everyone is fine inside, but ends the call by calling Jo “Josefina”, which alerts her that something is wrong and she and Taggart try to find another way in.
As the group starts talking, they start sniping at each other about things that have been going on. They attempt to find a backdoor, but Fargo reveals he did not actually program in a backdoor. Henry reveals that he is leaving because the town has become focused on results instead of discovery, with Stark countering that someone has to produce results so they can get funding FOR discovery. After some more bickering, they come up with the idea to try and blow the power grid and take SARAH offline, but unfortunately, it powers up SARAH’s original programming code called BRAD, a military interrogation AI which stands for Battle Reactive Automatic Defense that Fargo built SARAH on top of. BRAD divides the group up into soundproof cubicles and begins using interrogation techniques to get them to break, such as turning up the heat in some cubicles and the AC in other ones. BRAD also takes action against Jo and Taggart trying to get in via the underground tunnels.
Henry tells Stark that of all his students he felt that Stark could have done anything to further science, but instead just furthered his career. Stark tells him he brought Henry into Eureka despite his unwillingness to work within the systems. He explains that it’s not a perfect system but he believes they do more good than harm, saying that Henry leaving makes him part of the problem and not the solution.
Jack tells Allison that he chose his job to make a difference but he doesn’t feel he can do that in this town. Allison says he made a difference for her, and the two get flirty, deciding to hug each other to stay warm as the AC blows at freezing temperatures. When Fargo sees them, he gets Beverly to hug him, and Stark realizes that BRAD’s system will release them if he sees that the group has reconciled and surrendered. The cubicles are opened and they are all safe, but Beverly unintentionally alerts BRAD to their subterfuge and he activates Phase 3, extracting oxygen from the room.
They find the house’s power source, a nuclear generator, safe and clean but unable to easily be deactivated.
As they begin to feel tired from the lack of oxygen, Henry apologizes to Stark and they reconcile. They hear Jo and Taggart and use more code to get them to break the pipes below and stop the evacuation flow of oxygen. Afterwards, Jo and Taggart start kissing.
Back in the house, BRAD sees Zoe approaching the house and targets her with his outside weapons, but Jack starts hammering at the generator with his baseball bat. Eventually the generator conks out and the back diesel generator kicks in and SARAH is returned as the main Ai. SARAH opens the door and lets Zoe in but SARAH still won’t let them leave.
Jack says he thinks SARAH is angry about something and works out that she was afraid of being left alone, after having a history of programmers who left her. They all make commitments to stay and SARAH relents.
Advanced Research:
What is the mascot for Choco Yums?
The Pizza Guy was played by Michael Coleman, best known for playing Happy on Once Upon a Time. He was also the voice of Yolant Kent in Mobile Suit Gundam, Sunspot in X-Men: Evolution, Idasa in Dragonball Z, and did voiceover work for the American dubbed version of the anime Infinite Ryvius as well. He also appeared in episodes of Stargate and Fringe.
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