Recap / Eureka Founders' Day

Eureka, circa 1947.

Carter: You sure this is not some sort of science-geek-ren-faire thing?
Allison: Well, either we are both having the same delusion or we are really stuck in 1947.

During the Founder's Day celebration, Jack, Allison, Fargo, Henry, and Jo somehow end up in 1947, in the middle of the army base that existed before Eureka was founded. They must find a way home before they change history or get caught.

Tropes

• Accidental Time Travel: Jack, Henry, Jo, Allison and Fargo travel back to 1947, through no fault of their own.
• Actor Allusion: Dr. Trevor Grant is not the first chain-smoking, whiskey-drinking, womanising scientist to be played by James Callis.
• Big Damn Kiss: Between Jack and Allison, to "I'll Be Seeing You" at the army base's dance as they go back to 2010.
• Call-Back: Watching Jo beat the tar out of half a dozen soldiers, Carter summarises the situation.
  Carter: She's small, but she's scrappy!"
• Call-Forward: The soldier Allison defibrillates with Jeep jumper cables is important later.
• Celebrity Paradox: At no point in the season does Fargo, who quotes Battlestar Galactica (2003) near-constantly, notice that Dr. Grant looks an awful lot like Dr. Gaius Baltar.
• Chekhov's Gun: After Jack is picked up by Dr Grant in his car, he doesn't realise he's back in time and comments on the baseball game thinking it's a recording, accurately predicting the score of one historical (to him) player. Later, when Dr Grant hears a news program discussing the match outcome, he realises something genuinely strange is going on.
• Fake-Out Make-Out: A supply clerk walks in on Carter and Allison while they're stealing him a uniform. Carter says they're doing "inventory," with air quotes. To be fair, with him half-dressed it's probably the only excuse that would work.
  Supply Clerk: Yeah, you and half the people on the base. Save it for the dance!
• Foreshadowing: Carter and Dr Grant switch jackets to avoid Carter being recognised as the presumed-spy who was arrested earlier. As the gang prepare to travel back to the future, Jack and Allison realise that Jack's phone was in his jacket. The focus is understandably on Jack potentially being stranded, so no one pieces together that Dr Grant does have the phone, and could end up in the future with them...
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: Early on, Carter stands in front of a display of photos of the town founders. Just above his shoulder is a photo of a suited man with a fedora pulled down over his eyes, which on a second viewing is clearly Grant.
• Inspector Javert: Major Ryan is convinced the strange people who've turned up on his base are spies, although you'd think spies would be better at blending in. Not turning up naked or causing explosions, for a start.
• Monochrome Past: The 1947 parts have a sepia tone
• Naked People Are Funny: Fargo was naked when he travelled back.
• Oh, Crap!: Allison is confronted by Major Ryan and asked where Carter is. Looking over his shoulder, she sees Carter climbing a satellite tower to make an adjustment.
• Rejected Marriage Proposal: Sort of. Jo freezes when Zane proposes, which he takes as rejection.
• Rule of Funny: Fargo is Naked on Arrival in 1947. This happens because the time travel happened while he was changing after getting coffee on his Founder's Day costume. Fine. But why did getting coffee on his jacket force him to remove his entire outfit, including underpants? So he could be Naked on Arrival, of course.
• Shout-Out:
  • Fargo claims he landed in the past the same way Terminator did. Jo doesn't believe him.
  • Fargo activates the magnesium he and Jo are breaking the prison lock with by peeing on it... with unpleasant consequences. Later, Jo says, "He stepped up," referring to Joey offering to pee on Monica's jellyfish sting in Friends.
• That Came Out Wrong: Allison, when talking to Dr. Grant.
  Dr. Grant: We have a woman in custody, she needs her injuries treated, and there's this naked kid, needs some clothes.
  Allison: I would be happy to take a look. [Beat] At the injuries, not the naked kid.
  Dr. Grant: Glad you clarified that.
• Time Travel: Jack, Henry, Allison, Fargo and Jo travel back to 1947. Jack, Henry, Allison, Fargo, Jo and Dr Trevor Grant return to 2010.
• Timey-Wimey Ball: Despite the gang having clearly changed the past, the apocalyptic side effects from Once in a Lifetime don't appear to happen.
• Wham Line: Combined with Wham Shot as the final scene has the gang realizing how their actions have affected the timeline:
  • Carter returns home to discover Tess, who appears to have been living there for some time and realizes they never broke up.
  • Allison comes home to find Kevin speaking normally with no signs of autism.
  • Henry finds a strange woman in his garage who hands him a wedding ring.
  • Jo tells Zane she'll marry him...only for his mocking reply making her realize they've never dated.
  Zane: Me? Marry you? [Snorts, goes back to his magazine] In what universe?
• Wham Shot:
  • When the gang reunite after returning to 2010, Jo points out the Archimedes statue, which is bronze when they remember it being granite. They realise if that is different, other things could be too.
  • At the very end, someone greets Vincent, who compliments them on their 40's costume. The two chat a bit, and the stranger mentions that he's looking for Allison Blake. The camera pans up to show that Dr Grant time travelled with the gang.
• Yank the Dog's Chain:
  • At last, Carter and Allison decide to get together...then Carter discovers he never broke up with Tess.
  • Jo overcomes her fears to accept Zane's marriage proposal...then learns in the new timeline, not only have they never dated, but as far as he's concerned, they hate each other.