Aliens have come to Eureka. Maybe.
Carter: Okay, who gave Fargo a gun?
Are aliens real? Henry's assistant Spencer certainly thinks so, as movie night ends with his apparent abduction. He's not the only one, as some residents show signs of paranoia.
With a Senator visiting, it's up to Carter to figure out what really happened before things get astronomically out of hand.
Tropes
- Actor Allusion: The congressman in danger of being vivisected under suspicion of being an alien is played by Garwin Sanford, who played an alien in Stargate SG-1.
- Alien Abduction: Subverted. Spencer's alien abduction is revealed to be a delusion.
- Ask a Stupid Question...: When Carter and Jo are investigating Spencer's "abduction" and encounter a crop circle.Carter: What do you make of this?
Jo: Well, it's a crop... It's cut into circles... - Conspiracy Theorist: Temporarily, Jo, Taggart, Fargo, Spencer, and Malcolm. Justified as they are influenced by an experiment inducing paranoia.
- Occam's Razor: Invoked by name when Carter and Henry discuss the possibility of alien abductions. Unlike many examples, Henry explains the concept properly, using "the explanation that requires the fewest assumptions" rather than "the simplest." Carter still doesn't get it, but uses it later to convince Jo, Taggart and the others that they're not in their right minds.Carter: Henry, You don't believe in aliens, do you?
Henry: No, I believe in Occam's Razor. It's the basis for methodological reductionism.
Carter: Oh, Yeah. So, still dizzy...
Henry: Okay, so, given two equally predictive theories, you choose the one that has fewer assumptions. So, a tree falls after a storm. The first hypothesis holds that the tree was blown over by the storm. The second - rival hypothesis - claims that the storm forced an alien spaceship to crash into the tree. See?
Carter: Y-no. - Shout-Out:
- Spencer has posters in his trailer for The Mummy (1932), The Deadly Mantis and The Mole People.
- When asked who attacked him, Spencer points to the sky, as in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
- The gun rack Jo shows Carter is from Men in Black.
- Subliminal Seduction: Spencer pirates a yet-to-be-released alien invasion movie and bounces the signal off a GD satellite to play it on his home theater. The problem is that the satellite in question was used for hypnotic paranoia-inducing weapon experiment, meaning the film becomes this. Everyone who saw it while the signal was routed through that satellite slowly becomes convinced they're in an alien invasion conspiracy story.
- Talking Your Way Out: Carter manages to talk Jo & Co. into giving up their weapons and surrendering after he let himself get caught by them.
- Troubled Fetal Position: Spencer, after his apparent abduction.
