Dr. Nobel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Eureka episode | |
|---|---|
| “Dr. Nobel” | |
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| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 6 |
| Guest star(s) | Antony Holland
Donna White |
| Writer(s) | Dan E. Fesman
Harry Victor |
| Director | Jeff Woolnough |
| Production no. | 105 |
| Original airdate | August 22, 2006 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Invincible" | "Blink" |
"Dr. Nobel" is the sixth episode of season 1 of the American science fiction television series Eureka.
[edit] Plot synopsis
After Fargo and Spencer accidentally activate a doomsday device, Jack Carter must help an aging scientist recover his memory in time to shut down the device before it destroys the world.
Nathan Stark tells Dr. Fargo that he is giving him a new position. He takes Fargo down to Section Four and presents him with an "office", which is really just an old, dusty storage room from the 1970s, evidenced by the lava lamp found on a desk. When Fargo and Spencer move a bookshelf, they discover a console, which Fargo mistakes for a stereo. After various attempts to turn it on, they both realize that the console has two keyholes. Spencer remembers that he just saw two keys in a desk they had previously moved, which they use in an attempt to activate the console. After a few seconds of silence a siren sounds.
Sheriff Jack Carter is seen on the street giving a citizen a ticket for a traffic infraction when suddenly a missile-like object breaks through the ground beneath him. He sees others around town, but Stark tells him that they are actually "silo-like" objects. Henry adds that these silos are capable of launching ion beams that Carter interprets as "death rays". It achieves this by shooting the beam at a mirror on the Moon, placed there during the first Moon landing, and reflecting it back to Earth. After searching through some old documents, they discover that the weapon is the brainchild of Dr. Irvin Thatcher (Antony Holland), a brilliant scientist during the Cold War who formulated the idea of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD). Dr. Thatcher is still alive and residing at the Eureka center for retired geniuses.
Carter goes to the senior center where Zoë is performing community service, and finds Dr. Thatcher. However, they soon discover that Dr. Thatcher is not exactly in his right mind, saying things like "Lefty tighty, righty loosey" (which actually turns out to be how the wiring panel is opened to the launch control panel). He then utters "Charlie, Tango, Lima", followed by "Wait, Charlie never tangoed in Lima". Obviously confused, Carter and Allison Blake return Dr. Thatcher home, while Henry and Stark attempt to cut some wires. This only reduces the time until the weapon fires from 20 hours to 7 hours.
Using an experimental mind probe device, Carter discovers that Dr. Thatcher's illness was caused by a mental breakdown when Dr. Thatcher was passed over for the Nobel Prize. Struck with an idea, Carter "borrows" Stark's Nobel Prize and stages an holographic Nobel Prize Ceremony in Dr. Thatcher's honor. With his psyche and confidence restored, Dr. Thatcher assembles his old team and manages to override the weapon. Unfortunately, because Henry cut the "blue wire", the deadman switch is activated and the weapon continues to count down.
Thinking quickly, Carter jumps into his Jeep and rams the weapon, knocking the laser out of alignment and causing it to miss the Moon. The Earth is saved from World War III, with the only loss being NASA's unlucky space probe Zephyr, orbiting Jupiter.
[edit] Trivia
- Despite being forced to give his Nobel Prize to Dr. Thatcher in order to help snap the old man's mind back into place ("Dr. Nobel"), Stark seems to have re-obtained it, as it is once again seen hanging from his wall later in the series ("Right as Raynes").
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| Characters | Beverly Barlowe | Allison Blake | Colonel Briggs | Jack Carter | Zoe Carter | Henry Deacon | Douglas Fargo | Jo Lupo | Nathan Stark | Jim Taggart |
| Other | Episode list | Eureka (Town) | Global Dynamics | Artifact |
