In the season finale of Season 1 ("Once in a Lifetime") [1], Henry Deacon, distraught over the untimely death of his girlfriend, Kim, travels back in time and saves her. The episode takes place four years in the future when everyone's lives seem to be idyllic. But then the fabric of time and space begin to unravel because of what Henry did. Eventually Sheriff Carter figures out what Henry did and has to go back in time himself to stop Henry from saving Kim. The verdict? You cannot change the past (at least in the fictional EUReKA universe) without destroying everything in existence.[2] The season premier of Season 4 ("Founder's Day") takes several of the main characters, sends them back in time (where they change a few things), and then brings them back again (along with a stowaway). Does the universe collapse? No. Are they even worried about it? No. Thus season four gives the creators of the show the chance to rewrite all of the characters that didn't travel back in time.[3]
My verdict: Despite the hokey premise of shaking up the show with the time travel gimmick, this is still a fun show to watch. They were able to explore some interesting scenarios as a result of the time travel: Henry Deacon comes back to discover he's married to a woman he'd only just met in the previous timeline and Jo comes back to discover that in the new timeline she and Zane (her boyfriend in the previous timeline) are bitter enemies. I was less impressed with Fargo being in charge of Global Dynamic in the new timeline.[4] I don't mind Zoe's general absence from the show (she's at college). My complaints are the same as usual: the science is often hokey (especially the technicalese) and I roll my eyes every time Sheriff Carter is the only one who can see the obvious answer to the problem. It's also getting to the point where we know who is the cause of the problem in that episode because they're the only new character.
Notes:
[1] Read my review of Season 1 here. See also my reviews for Season 2 (here) and Season 3 (here).
[2] They overlook the fact that what Carter did still changed the past, so everything in existence still should've been destroyed eventually.
[3] I kind of wish they'd brought back Stark as part of this. But Leann is glad that the Carter-and-Allison subplot finally gains some momentum.
[4] The fact that he goes from a bungling loser (who is the cause of most of GD's problems and dates an equally nerdy girl) in the previous timeline to a competent leader (who is the head of GD and has on-screen kisses with two different redheads) makes me think that Neil Grayston (the actor who plays Fargo) must've successfully demanded a more significant part, possibly directly precipitating the writers' decision to reintroduce time travel as a way to provide that.
My verdict: Despite the hokey premise of shaking up the show with the time travel gimmick, this is still a fun show to watch. They were able to explore some interesting scenarios as a result of the time travel: Henry Deacon comes back to discover he's married to a woman he'd only just met in the previous timeline and Jo comes back to discover that in the new timeline she and Zane (her boyfriend in the previous timeline) are bitter enemies. I was less impressed with Fargo being in charge of Global Dynamic in the new timeline.[4] I don't mind Zoe's general absence from the show (she's at college). My complaints are the same as usual: the science is often hokey (especially the technicalese) and I roll my eyes every time Sheriff Carter is the only one who can see the obvious answer to the problem. It's also getting to the point where we know who is the cause of the problem in that episode because they're the only new character.
Notes:
[1] Read my review of Season 1 here. See also my reviews for Season 2 (here) and Season 3 (here).
[2] They overlook the fact that what Carter did still changed the past, so everything in existence still should've been destroyed eventually.
[3] I kind of wish they'd brought back Stark as part of this. But Leann is glad that the Carter-and-Allison subplot finally gains some momentum.
[4] The fact that he goes from a bungling loser (who is the cause of most of GD's problems and dates an equally nerdy girl) in the previous timeline to a competent leader (who is the head of GD and has on-screen kisses with two different redheads) makes me think that Neil Grayston (the actor who plays Fargo) must've successfully demanded a more significant part, possibly directly precipitating the writers' decision to reintroduce time travel as a way to provide that.
They main factor in the Season 1 time travel destruction wasn't the time travel so much as the massive explosion from the Nexus at the point of the time travel. But then I'm supposing to try and make sense of the discrepancy.
ReplyDeleteOne possibility is a combination of the means and the reason. The first time they went back, only their minds went and they went to stop the reason they went back in the first place. Paradox. The second time they went back, not at their behest but because of Kevin's actions using a machine present in both time points and the intervening time. A thin thread but its something.