Genre: Sci-Fi | Comedy | Action

Air Date/Time: July 18th, 2011 at 8/7c

Network: Syfy

Creators: Andrew Cosby and Jaime Paglia

Director: Matt Hastings

Writer: Amy Berg

Eureka stars Colin Ferguson (Sheriff Jack Carter), Salli Richardson-Whitfield (Allison Blake), Joe Morton (Henry Deacon), Erica Cerra (Jo Lupo),Neil Grayston (Douglas Fargo), and Niall Matter (Zane Donovan). Co-creator Jaime Paglia and Bruce Miller are executive producers. The series is produced and distributed by Universal Cable Productions.

Summary: Eureka seems like any other cozy, Pacific Northwest town, but is actually a secret community of geniuses assembled by the government to conduct top-secret research. What they’ve unwittingly created is a place where anything imaginable can happen … and does. New and returning fans won’t want to miss the big changes in store for everyone in Eureka after a cataclysmic shift turns their lives upside down.

Here’s that episode we’ve been hearing about for a while now. Not Just Another Day in Eureka. Or how about Eureka Welcomes Felicia Day Day. She is adorable, her character is adorable, and she plays it adorably. If you are filled with geek love for one of our favorite gingers, this is the episode for you.

If “adorable” is bothersome to you, you may want to, oh, be multitasking while you’re watching, so it doesn’t irritate you. I’m not really sure that this series needs “adorable” as it has very little if any edge anyway, but it’s Felicia Day so I was okay with it.

Besides the “adorable” I will also warn you that at least one of the effects is a bit below standard, even for Eureka, whose effects are often “cool” but rarely “amazing.”

This was one of those episodes that sci-fi fans are familiar with; the kind of episode that you want to watch again once you get the answer to the mystery of the day, because then it all makes much more sense. In fact, I would have given this episode a 3 of 5 stars about three-quarters of the way through, but by the end it was mostly back up to the usual Eureka 4.

Let’s just say, this may seem like an oddly written episode but wait it out, and plan on watching it again. If you’re a fan of the show, it will be worth it. If you’re not a big fan, you may find the episode a little frustrating. On the other hand, this show has never pretended to be Lost or Fringe, so don’t overthink it and don’t expect huge revelations; this is Eureka, my friends. It’s sci-fi cozy, and it’s fun, so you’re meant to relax and enjoy.

But the biggest, and when it comes down to it, the real substantive problem with the episode was that it was missing what made the first half of the season (the Callis part of the season) so great: the camaraderie. Throughout most of the episode there was little camaraderie, and therefore little real chemistry (no science joke intended). That lack was necessary for the plot but maybe that means it shouldn’t have been a Eureka plot. Hopefully this will be the only time it happens for the rest of the season, or the rest of the series for that matter unless they somehow find something that works even better than the chemistry to make this show its best.

Regardless, it was still a Eureka episode so I’m still going to like it, because I like geeky smart characters and quirky towns. If I awarded half stars I might downgrade this by a half, but I’m willing to commit to this rating and will hope that it’s earned in a more solid manner next week.

I give Eureka Episode 412 “Reprise” Four Out of Five Stars.