... Does that statue usually look like that?
Jo: We just became the richest town in the world!
Henry: Well, that's one way to look at it. Gold is a soft metal, so it doesn't bear the same weight as steel, so our infrastructure could be collapsing. We'd be rich, but dangerously unstable.
Jo: Like Paris Hilton?
Henry: Well, that's one way to look at it. Gold is a soft metal, so it doesn't bear the same weight as steel, so our infrastructure could be collapsing. We'd be rich, but dangerously unstable.
Jo: Like Paris Hilton?
Eureka is living the dream; metal is turning into gold! Unfortunately, that's a bad thing. Will the town of the future have to look to the past for answers? An irascible town sculptor with an interest in alchemy certainly thinks so.
Tropes
- Actor Allusion: Eureka's resident artist Christopher Dactylos is played by Michael Shanks, who played Adventurer Archaeologist Daniel Jackson in Stargate SG-1. Dactylos is an alchemist who thinks the past has more answers than science is willing to admit (a very Danielesque opinion), and at one point refers to Atlantis as a real place. Also like Daniel, his fringe theories have earned him scorn from the more mainstream scientists until he's proven right.
- Blessed with Suck: Metal turning into gold is really bad for the infrastructure. As Henry points our, gold is a soft metal that doesn't bear the same weight as steel. The town is already in danger before it's revealed there's another part to the process: the gold will rust away to nothing.
- Cliffhanger: Jack is summoned back to GD by Henry, who tells him that the metal-eating bacteria mutated again before being destroyed, and are now flesh-eating. As Carter speaks to Stark, Henry brings Beverly into Allison's office, which is locked down and drops down an elevator shaft as part of the security lockdown.
- Knight Templar: Beverly. She does what she believes is necessary in order to keep mankind from abusing the powers of the Artifact.
- Multiple Reference Pun: When Nathan applies the counter formula to Zoe's bracelet as a test, and it works, he smirks and says "Eureka." That is the name of the show and the town, but it is so named for the legend of Archimedes, finally discovering the solution to a problem and crying "Eureka!" meaning roughly "I've got it!" The reason Archimedes cried "eureka!" was that he had been given the problem of determining if an irregularly-shaped crown was made from pure gold, this problem had been unsolvable previously, but Archimedes seeing water displaced when he stepped into a bath led him to realize this could measure volume, precise measurement of weight was already known and together those data would account for density, which is what the crown problem called for. Thus, Nathan is saying "eureka" in response to solving a previously unsolvable problem involving irregular objects and gold, all elements of the famous Archimedes story. Knowing Nathan, this was almost certainly intentional on his part. There's also a granite statue of Archimedes (in the bath, of course) near the bronze statue of Pythagoras which had turned to gold.
- Wild Teen Party: Played with. Zoe wants to hold a small gathering of friends while Jack is away over the weekend. Jack is concerned, especially after discovering that this small gathering includes boys. He refuses, but finally allows it after Jo offers to supervise. He's less than impressed when Jo and Zane are the worst-behaved of the bunch.[Carter finds Jo and Zane making out in the closet]
Carter: What are you...You're supposed to be watching-!
Zane: Well, I was watching her and she was watching me, so...
