Moon rocks did 9/11! Directed by Donna Deitch, I might as well stop there, as she directed single episodes of Eureka, Bones, Grey’s Anatomy, and Heroes, as well as a handful of Law & Order: SVU and Private Practice. “Try, Try Again” writer Charlie Craig returns for his second of five episodes, joined by fellow producer and writer of “Unpredictable,” Thania St John. Both are best known for their producer and writing roles, with Craig working on Pretty Little Liars and its sequel series, while St John worked on Unnatural History and Roswell.

If I continued to act like I got 111% on my IQ test, I’d have been talking about “God is in the Details” instead, because I originally clicked on that today. Upset that his baby girl won a car the other week in the science fair, Jack orders Zoe to drive to school and not pick up anyone; no foppy-haired young men, no friends, no one, and focus on the road. Cue her hitting something invisible and Jack being upset as he’s already trying to figure out the disappearance of material from the pharmacy. Given it is Eureka’s pharmacy, you know it’s got the cure for cancer.

Someone or something is invisible and is doing some shady stuff. It is an episode of Eureka that is fun but serious, the perfect tone for the show. What else did you expect? If you’re also expecting Carter not to (quite literally) dip his hand in something that’s a bit toxic and cause the ticking clock mechanism of typical Eureka writing, you’re in the wrong spot. I suggest going back to “Pilot” and working your way forward again. What I’m saying is, “Sight Unseen” is a very prototypical episode of what I think of when I think of Eureka.

So while Zoe is crashing into something that is sight unseen, Jack is flirting and banging the town’s dry cleaner in his head. I’m sure if he did this back in LA, he’d be chatting up a 72-year-old Korean woman who’s owned the business since before M.A.S.H. was popular. However, that’s not what is important; what would be important is the fact that Eureka’s pharmacist has the cure for just about everything, including the common cold, but something else went missing.

Listen, I’m not one for conspiracy theories, aside from that one about Randy Savage being a secret surface-to-air missile, but if the US government could cure the common cold, there is no way that’s getting released. SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, sure, but the common cold is something that some psychopath would charge $850 for just so you could get the first pill or first shot. Then it is $3600 per pill/shot, I’m sure. Don’t lie, you’re thinking the exact same thing!

Anyway, back to the episode at hand: Zoe is driving to school when she picks up some foppy-haired little wannabe Jonas Brother and eventually hits something unseen. Jack is pulled away from the disappearing pharmacy business to deal with her. Then he’s pulled away from that to deal with a dog barking up a tree, and soon enough, he’s nearly snogging the dry cleaner after her place was hit by the IRA. When you look at the details of the episode, it is just a bit middle-of-the-road. Very much “this happens then this happens, so this happens as a result, until this happens.”

“Sight Unseen” isn’t a very complex or significant episode of Eureka, especially with the whole mystery this time out revolving around Nathan asking Henry to trust him. The idea is to implicate Stark as Beverly’s co-conspirator. Hold on while I grab this pillow, curl up, and fall asleep at how boring and uninteresting this entire mystery plot is. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, and I’ll say it about this episode in particular, the interesting sci-fi nonsense of the town is more interesting.

Turns out a spook, the spookiest of spooks, as the episode reiterates, and some others were working on invisibility, until 9/11 happened. I’m not joking, that’s the line Allison uses: “After 9/11, [invisibility research] was shut down along with miniaturization and teleportation.” To sedate my editor, who might feel uncomfortable about my “Moon rocks did 9/11!” line, is that the episode also establishes that Moon rocks have the isotope Al-26, which is required for the chemical compound to create invisibility. Guess who’s a chemist and has been rubbing the stains on the inside of Jack’s pants?

I don’t want to say that it is Eureka at its finest, because in reality, I had forgotten about the invisibility episode until I sat down to watch it. However, I wonder why that is, “Sight Unseen” is everything I like Eureka to be. Jack punches in the windshield of Zoe’s car which she borrowed from Linda Carter, cutting himself and getting the chemical compound in his bloodstream, causing him to go invisible and become radioactive. That’s the ticking clock element I was talking about: a Eureka staple without the problems of Chris Chibnall.

So why do I maybe not remember it as much as “I Do Over,” “Phased and Confused,” “Founders’ Day” and “A New World,” “Do you See What I See,” and of course “It’s Not Easy Being Green?” I just don’t think there is anything memorable about it, including Callie (the dry cleaner) eventually going on a date with Jack. Jack being see-through should be memorable, though, right? “Sight Unseen” is an odd one that does almost everything right, albeit a bit of dragging Nathan through the mud, yet I honestly remembered “Family Reunion” a little more.

Ultimately, “Sight Unseen” doesn’t have anything particularly troubling or too boring about it; it’s certainly enjoyable for what type of episode it is and I’d watch it again on a rewatch, but will I remember it? Probably not. The Zoe storyline feels like 2000s nerds finally feeling confident just before Marvel blows up, but I’ve seen worse power trips in that regard from writers. Really, “Sight Unseen” is something you’ll watch and say it was fine, but hardly call it the best episode, and you’ll hardly go back to it knowingly.

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Eureka “Sight Unseen”

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Moon rocks did 9/11!
• A few fun ideas that make a decent, fun weekly Eureka adventure.

Cons

• Zoe's romance plot.
• A bit forgettable, oddly enough.