And his name, is Tag.1 Really, that’s the big story this week. And that alone made “Have An Ice Day” a must see for me. I’ve been a big fan of Eureka from the get go, but if there was one thing I could have changed along the way, it would have been keeping Tag around. He’s such a great character, and really adds a lot to the show. Instead, we got more Larry? Now, Larry certainly has his moments, but he’s no Tag. Anyway, it’s great to have him back. And the good news is that Frewer says he would like to come back for more episodes in the next season.
Now that we’ve welcomed back Tag…. Is next week really the big finale? Does anyone else think that this just doesn’t feel like the end of a season? It’s almost as if these last couple episodes have kind of been an afterthought, and it puts the show in something of a strange place. It’s still a fun ride, but it lacks a certain weight that we’ve become accustomed to.
Where is the artifact? Or the Eva Thorne reveal? Earlier it seemed like we were getting something along those lines with the signal. Having now seen how that played out though, it doesn’t really measure up. And even if it did, it ended about three episodes early to have the same sort of impact. Season three (or 3.5, whatever) isn’t really going out with a bang so much as it’s kind of fading into the sunset. Something’s missing.
I chalk part of that up to the writer’s strike. I think season four is when the show will have finally righted itself completely from that interruption. And I would also throw some blame on the ridiculous Syfy split seasons. I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again, split seasons suck. Still, I do think the writers could have done a better job bringing more of a big picture story into this last half of season three. It is a tricky balance, mixing the standalone elements with the ongoing story. But it’s something they’ve done well with in the past, and that makes the lack of it stand out here.
That’s not to say that the show isn’t still good. Eureka is still a fun town, full of great characters. It’s just not quite as good as we’ve seen it can be. There was still some good stuff to be had this week:
1See how I’m not making a Kimi Räikkönen joke? I think I’ve grown.
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Sep 12, 2009 @ 08:52 EST5EDT
Seconded–I laughed throughout the entire episode. I’d forgotten how much better and zanier the show was with Taggart. Instead we’ve been stuck with Zane, whose death was once again teased in this episode, yet was sadly unfulfilled. I didn’t think much of their continuing triangle, since Jo had chosen pretty clearly back then.
Liked the boring, routine traffic duty.
So much joy in that reunion scene that Carter and Taggart had to hug twice to really let it out. And I had no trouble understanding what Taggart said the entire episode, down to the walrus skivvies.
When will these geniuses learn never to say “that’s impossible” to Carter’s whacky theories?
Considering the resolutions of the Artifact and Thorne storylines, I’m all right with this season not having a major arc. And it seems that when a non-serialized show doesn’t have split seasons, we end up with even more filler.
Nice to see that Zoe retains the Carter gut instinct. And her scenes are more interesting now that Lexi isn’t around to enable her.
Next week: Martha’s back!
*POST AUTHOR*
You’re totally right about the reunion scene between Carter and Tag. So much joy, and a great example of how well they have done over the course of the series creating characters that the audience can connect with.
Now that Tag has made an appearance how about Lojack? I watched the pilot last episode and for some reason the dog entertained me.
Split seasons don’t bother me that much if we get more than just a half dozen episodes. I can’t believe that Eureka which started late (same goes for Leverage) is ending already.
I was thinking about the whole “runaway ice” thing…. didn’t it seem like it was heading VERY strongly in the direction of Kurt Vonnegut’s “Ice Nine”???