The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the episode ?Bad to the Drone? from the SciFi Channel series ?Eureka."

In an episode dealing with a missile defense system and killer drones, I conclude that the season premiere of "Eureka" was definitely a misfire.

And that is a shame. ?Eureka? is really beginning to show its age, and we are only at the beginning of the third season. Let?s hope this is a one-time blip on the radar screen and not an indicator of things to come.

This episode deals with a smart drone, named Martha, getting too smart and escaping control of Global Dynamics control. It turns out someone else was controlling the drone, so Sheriff Carter puts his investigative powers to work, picking up obscure clues and extrapolating them into motives that make little sense but get explained to us in minute detail anyway.

Well, the drone is growing up too fast, just like Carter?s 17 year-old daughter Zoe, who saves the day sharing her teen angst with Martha in a ?Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants? moment that is as silly as it sounds.

Note to writers: teen angst works much better with real live teens. Jordan Hinson fits the bill, but she is only half of the equation here. She does the best she can with this idiotic dialogue with a machine, which looks like a descendant of the Martian ships in the 1953 classic film adaptation of ?War of the Worlds."

Despite featuring the best special effects in the series? short history, as well as one of the coolest episode titles I?ve ever heard, this episode was simply too predictable and even somewhat boring. Not even the introduction of a new villainess could generate much excitement, in part because she was such a blatant stereotype of a corporate cutthroat that she possessed less humanity than the drones. The cast seemed to sleepwalk through much of this episode, perhaps because they?d been through this all before: many times.

There?s a fine line between familiarity and overexposure, and ?Eureka? may have finally crossed the line from the former into the latter. Every week scientists create something, it gets out of control, geniuses can?t stop it so Carter (the dumbest but most charming guy in town) must step in. Despite a few bumps in the road, and usually the breaking of the glass in the Sheriff's SUV, everything turns out just fine in the end. Despite all the geniuses in ?Eureka,? the formula never changes.

On the character development front, well, there isn?t really any development to speak of. The interaction between Carter and Zoe is practically the same as it was in the pilot episode. Jack is still mooning over Allison Blake, who is the object of Nathan Stark?s affections. Oh, and Stark and Carter hate each other. After three seasons of countless digs and one-liners, I think we all get that. And Fargo is still annoying and inept. Actually, I hope that one never changes.

While I have grown to hate the trend of killing off major characters in season finales, ?Eureka? may have played it safe a bit too long by avoiding cast changes. With few exceptions, the cast has changed very little since the beginning. Sure, Henry went bad (at least somewhat), and we see very little of Matt Frewer?s obnoxious and over-the-top Taggart any more (a blessing in this reviewer?s eyes), but the series has grown too predictable in both its plot development and character interactions.

What Worked

When the drones were flying over the city blowing things up, it really looked like a video game.

I love cross references to other science fiction work, and this episode contained at least two. Carter compared the situation in Eureka to ?War of the Worlds? and Zoe called Martha a Cylon.

What Didn?t Work

The dialogue between Zoe and Martha was trite and silly. Conversations between people and machines need to be handled very delicately on screen, otherwise they run the risk of being corny and over the top.

The procedural elements were quite tedious in this episode. The show works best when they focus on the science with the comedic elements mixed in science. The procedural elements need to be minimized.

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

?Bad to the Drone? was written by written by Jamie Paglia and directed by Bryan Spicer. "Eureka" stars Colin Ferguson, Salli Richardson, and Ed Quinn.

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