| E=MC...? | |
|---|---|
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| Air date | August 28, 2007 |
| Written by | Bruce Miller |
| Directed by | Tim Matheson |
| Episode guide | |
| Preceded by "Family Reunion" |
Followed by "Sight Unseen" |
| Cast | Transcript | |
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| Season 2 | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | |
| Season 1 | Season 3 | |||||
"E=MC...?" is the eighth episode of the second season of Eureka.
Synopsis[]
As an experiment that will recreate the first moments of the origins of the universe, the "Big Bang", goes terribly awry, the town's geniuses turn into morons, leaving the fate of Eureka in the hands of Jack Carter and an antisocial young ubergenius, Zane Donovan.
Plot[]
Allison wants to hire Zane Donovan, a brilliant young particle physicist, to help Stark and Henry research the universe's earliest moments using a Chaotic Inflation Device that can, essentially, re-create the Big Bang. Zane, however, has just been arrested for stealing 3.1 million dollars from the government. As a result, Allison orders Jack to keep Zane in custody until he proves that he can be trusted.
Jack locks up Zane and, at Lupo's suggestion, fits him with a high-tech tracking bracelet that can also deliver mild electrical shocks and activate a restraining field if the prisoner tries to escape. In response, Zane cheerfully makes mischief. He grosses Jack out about Vincent's grilled chicken, flirts with Lupo and hacks the sheriff's office computer from within his jail cell. He pauses in his antics only when, on a trip to Global Dynamics, he's awed by the Chaotic Inflation Device.
On schedule, Stark and Henry activate the device, which will take 24 hours to build up to the Big Bang. That massive explosion must be contained by layered particle fields, which Henry must monitor closely. The next morning, however, Jack finds Henry laughing at cartoons while the protective fields weaken. Allison and Stark are also goofing off. In fact, Jack discovers that most people at Global are acting like kids — and pretty wacky kids at that.
Only a few scientists still have brainpower, and none of them knows how to fix the collapsing containment fields. One, a veterinarian named Dr. Glen, determines that the affected scientists have critically low levels of G.A.B.A. — gamma-aminobutyric acid. Loss of this neurotransmitter can cause Alzheimer's-like symptoms. Because specific types of radiation can diminish G.A.B.A., Jack wonders if Zane tweaked the Big Bang experiment to emit such radiation. Unfortunately, he can't ask, because Zane has just used his technical brilliance to ditch the tracking bracelet and break out of jail.
Zane's genius, however, is no match for Jack's common-sense police work. Soon back in custody, Zane swears that he would never sabotage the Chaotic Inflation Device, because it's too important an experiment. Choosing to believe him, Jack urges Zane to act generously and save the day. Zane agrees, but with only 43 minutes until the artificial Big Bang occurs, there may not be time for him to fix the containment fields. Meanwhile, Dr. Glen proves that radiation isn't causing the scientists' mental decline. Even if Zane succeeds, Jack must still discover what's causing Eureka's epidemic of silliness.
Zane is able to devise a plan using the restraining bracelet to create another containment field around the existing failing one, averting disaster. Still, the silliness epidemic has not been fixed, so Carter and Dr. Glen head to the Cafe Diem to do some thinking. There, they have a revelation, after hearing Vincent mention that he was out of chicken. Glen and Carter both realize that all the affected personnel have consumed the chicken served at the Cafe Diem, and so they head to the farm where the chicken is produced. Sheriff Carter find that the farm grows chickens from stem cells, and that a G.A.B.A. inhibiting substance had been injected into them, therefore finding the cause of the silliness epidemic.
At the episode's end, Henry reflects to Stark how happy and unburdened he had felt while being affected by the G.A.B.A. inhibitor. Stark smiles and seems to convey that he thinks otherwise.
Memorable Quotes[]
- Zane: [while being arrested] Excellent response time. You guys take Lake Street?
- FBI agent: Went up by Lincoln Park. Less traffic.
- Carter: [about the price of Zane] Whoa! Twenty-five thousand for this guy?
- Zane: [to Allison] For thirty, I'll throw in dinner and a movie. But it won't go past second base. I'm not that kind of boy.
- Zane: Obsession with firearms can be a sign of unfulfilled sexual appetite. I'm not saying that's you, but if it is, I'm at your service.
- [Jo points a large gun at Zane]
- Zane: Whoa, whoa, whoa!
- Carter: Jo, Jo, Jo! Don't shoot the prisoner. Don't.
- Jo: How about I just wing him?
- Stark: This the new kid?
- Zane: Who you calling kid, Spartacus?
- Stark: Ooh, cocky, I like him.
- Carter: You would.
- Zane: I'm not eating that.
- Carter: What? It's chicken.
- Zane: Do you know how chickens are raised?
- Carter: Aw, don't, just let me enjoy my meal.
- Zane: Jammed together in a windowless warehouse, wading in feces until [slices hand across throat] they get decapitated, or pecked to death. [cheerfully] When you eat that chicken, you're eating all that hate.
- [cut to Carter shoving Zane back in his jail cell]
- Zane: Aw, c'mon, I have to sleep in here?
- Carter: At least you're not wading in your own feces. GD has an apartment for you, but you're a criminal, and you don't deserve it.
- Zane: You may think I'm a criminal, but my mom loves me and she wouldn't appreciate you insulting her boy.
- Jo: Okay, what do you mean, they're stupid?
- Carter: I mean, stupid. Like, like [acts 'stupid'] stupid. Stupid.
- Jo: Carter, you can't catch stupid.
- Zane: This may be my favorite conversation of all time.
- Carter: How you feeling? You feel dumb?
- Jo: No. You?
- Zane: How could you tell? [Carter and Jo both nonchalantly zap him] OW! Gah!
- Zane: There's only one thing I want from you, Jojo. A sandwich.
- Guy 1: Marco.
- Guy 2: Marco.
- Guy 1: Marco.
- Guy 2: Marco.
- Carter: Polo! One of you says 'Polo'. The game is Marco Polo! Go.[he walks away]
- Guy 1: Polo.
- Guy 2: Polo.
- Guy 1: Polo.
- Guy 2: Polo.
- [Finding Zane after he's escaped]
- Carter: You vacationed here when you were ten. Figured it's off the main roads, place to hide out for a couple days first.
- Zane: Well, I guess my FBI file's more detailed than I thought.
- Carter: Not in your file.
- Zane: Well, then that computer of yours must have an amazing predictive algorithm.
- Carter: Didn't use the computer. I called your mother.
- Zane: [starts laughing, then abruptly stops when he realizes Carter is serious] You called my mother?
- Zane: Please don't let me die in this crap town.
- Zane: What's the project status?
- Allison: Ah, well, everyone at GD wants to get their hands on the data.
- Zane: Big Bang whores, every one of 'em.
Trivia[]
- Henry, when his IQ drops, is watching Dexter's Laboratory instead of monitoring field strength. He also indulges in some wrestling, specifically TNA, given the six-sided ring.
- Allison utters the phrase, back-translated into Ancient Greek, "ἑν οἰδα ὁτι οὐδεν οἰδα," attributed to Socrates, and generally rendered as "I know that I know nothing" in English, when asked by Carter is she is smart again.