| Liftoff | |
|---|---|
| |
| Air date | July 11, 2011 |
| Written by | Bruce Miller & Jaime Paglia (Story) Bruce Miller (Teleplay) |
| Directed by | Mike Rohl |
| Episode guide | |
| Preceded by "O Little Town..." |
Followed by "Reprise" |
| Cast | Transcript | |
| ||||||
| Season 4 | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| Season 3 | Season 5 | |||||
Liftoff is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of Eureka.
Synopsis[]
An accident in the lab results in Fargo and Zane Donovan being fired into space in a sixty-year-old rocket with no telemetry or re-entry capability. Meanwhile, ANDY is having relationship trouble with SARAH.
Plot[]
We open Henry and Jack apparently getting ready for a wedding when they’re notified that there are “bridal issues”. We are faked out because it’s actually a wedding for Sarah and Andy instead of one of the human cast (mostly likely Jack and Allison) as we were supposed to believe. Turns out that Sarah has cold feet and the wedding is called off.
Cut to Fargo and Jo being interrupted by Zane in which Zane tries to extract information concerning his past relationship with Jo. Fargo steps in to defend Jo and threatens Zane with the mucus lab if he does not finish a past due project involving building an ion pulse damper. We then see Fargo playing in a decommissioned Mercury era command module. Zane comes in and informs him that he’s installed the ion pulse damper and proceeds to try to extort information from Fargo, inadvertently completing the launch circuit and shooting him and Fargo into space.
The rocket was supposed to be an unmanned test for the faster than light engine based on the bridge device. The standard counter-measures for an unauthorized launch is to bring it down with kinetic counter-measures, i.e. blasting it with space missiles. Zane and Fargo are alive in a capsule that has had most of its instrumentation ripped out, meaning no communication, no navigation, no propulsion. They act as a classic odd couple with Fargo incredibly being the optimist and working to solve the problems as they crop up and Zane alternating between being sick, morose, or pessimistic.
In Fargo’s apparent absence, Allison assumes the acting directorship of GD for the emergency and launches the missiles at the capsule. Jack realizes that the only place that Zane and Fargo could be would be on the capsule and runs in and self destructs the missiles without explaining why to Allison or Henry (which leads to some tense relationship moments between Carter and Allison). Jack then finds out that the capsule is on a collision course with the International Space Station. Meanwhile in the capsule, Fargo manages to get emergency life support online giving him and Zane approximately 6 hours of air. Fargo vents some of their oxygen to avoid the ISS and manages to squeak by it just scraping it.
Henry realizes that the only way to get the capsule back down is to use the FTL drive but before that will work they need to get the Boson Cloud Exciter. Fargo realizes the same thing that Henry did, regarding the use of the FTL drive. However, Zane informs him that it won’t work because the ion pulse damper that he “built” was actually borrowed from the Boson Cloud Exciter. This rendered the BSE inoperable and no one in Eureka knows about it. They try to communicate the lack of a pulse damper in the BCE to Eureka, but it comes in too late. Henry initiates the BCE it basically shorts out all electronics within Eureka and nothing will work for hours.
As Jack and Allison head out to Henry and Grace with the BCE, they’re intercepted by Jo with some horses. Upon meeting up with Henry and Grace, they find out that Grace has a shielded power supply deep underground that might still be operation and able to power the BCE for a very short time. This means that they need to get in contact with Fargo and Zane to coordinate the FTL jump. Jo heads out for the power supply while Jack and Allison try to find a replacement communications panel to communicate with Fargo and Zane.
Jo heads underground where she finds Andy whose power cell has survived the blast due to it being encased in a copper alloy. However, he is not 100 percent functional. Fargo and Zane develop an oxygen leak which brings their oxygen down to 55 minutes. Jack and Allison locate the panel but it’s non-functional. They also locate a phone and call NASA to see if they have one but apparently Mercury era tech predates anything they have on site. However, Carter gets them to bounce a phone signal to Fargo’s cell phone and all pertinent information is exchange with the obligatory cutting out and static masking Carter’s final instructions to Fargo.
Fargo and Zane have the FTL drive installed and perform a power test which causes an overload and a second oxygen leak which leaves Fargo to drop into despondency and Zane to take over getting them back home alive. Carter and Allison return to the BCE and inform Henry of the capsule’s impending lack of oxygen but find out that Jo hasn’t returned with the power supply. Jack takes off and finds Jo just as she and Andy are exiting the tunnel. Jo throws Andy over Jack’s horse and they take off. Zane gets the FTL drive back up and running but before they initiate Fargo tells him something about his other self and Jo. Henry starts the BCE, Fargo starts the FTL drive and they are brought to Earth safely at the cost of draining Andy’s power supply.
Everyone reunited, there are hugs all around. Zane calls Jo, Jojo (his nickname for her when they were an item). Jack and Allison talk about being in a relationship and working together at the same time. Andy and Sarah talk about their relationship and try to start fresh. Jo confronts Fargo regarding whether or not he told Zane anything at which point Fargo is whisked off to Washington for an emergency meeting. He meets the new head of the Senate’s Technology Appropriations Committee, Senator Mikela Wen , who tells Fargo they are going to investigate whether or not Eureka is worth keeping alive.
- Unedited summary from http://www.republibot.com/content/episode-review-eureka-liftoff-season-4-episode-11
Memorable Quotes[]
Zane: Hey, Lupo. Guess we won't get a chance to dance at that wedding after all.
Lupo: Hm.
Zane: That's probably better, though. You probably wouldn't be able to keep your hands to yourself, right?
Fargo: Don't you have work to do!? Say, an ion damper that was supposed to be ready, what, three weeks ago?
Zane: I'll get to it, Little Big Man. You know, you can't ignore me forever, Lupo.
Lupo: (to Fargo) Here's the, uh, overnight report. There was a micro-breach in the limitless sewage line. It tripped the bio-sensor. Nothing major, just (looking meaningfully at Zane) annoying.
Zane: You are so cute.
Fargo: Ion damper. Now. Or I'll send you back to the mucus lab.
Zane: Well. (leaves)
Lupo: Thanks.
Fargo: No problem. But you know, Jo, you're gonna...
Lupo: (holding up a hand) Fargo.
Fargo: You're gonna have to explain the engagement ring some time.
Lupo: Well I'm really hoping that he'll be transferred to the North Pole or, I dunno, shot into outer space. (smiling) That'd be nice.
Fargo: Engage.
Deputy ANDY: I'm on a horse!
Carter: We'll grab the I.E.G, plug it into the B.C.E and everything will be A-Okay.
Notes[]
- The music played while Fargo is first weightless in space is similar to "
- "Also Sprach Zarathustra" is iconically used in "2001: A Space Odyssey".
- Fargo says "Engage" before turning on the FTL drive; this is done in reference to a common line said by Jean-Luc Picard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation".
- Deputy ANDY's line "I'm on a horse" references the famous Old Spice commercial.
- The interceptor missile launch at 12:28 is U.S. Army footage of a Pershing 1A missile launch.