By Brandon Nolta

Next time I work at a high-tech facility, I’m going to make sure I poke around and see if I can find a 10,000-foot-deep pit in the basement. It seems like something that would be handy to have for several reasons (Layoffs? A thing of the past! Just line ‘em up and shove!), and such a device does indeed play a part in this week’s episode of EUREKA. Take notes, ‘cause there might be a quiz at the end of the review.

Due in part to the scientist-frying events of last season, Nathan Stark (Ed Quinn) is no longer in charge of Global Dynamics, the corporation/think tank that is the raison d’etre of Eureka. The DOD has pushed him aside in favor of his ex-wife Allison (Salli Richardson), the former DOD liaison and present object of Sheriff Carter’s (Colin Ferguson) unrequited affections.

Shortly after the official transfer of power and the 8-hour computer shutdown this entails — yeah, I didn’t buy it either — executive assistant and GD nebbish Douglas Fargo (Neil Grayston) finds an interesting doohickey in his pocket. Being one of those guys with a high IQ and no common sense whatsoever, he turns the damn thing on. Hey, presto! It’s a personal force field generator, one that tends to grow the field uncontrollably and feed off the user if no other juice is available. The last guy that used one had to be tossed down the aforementioned deep, deep pit with a nuclear weapon set on flambé to keep from destroying everything, like the world.

Meanwhile, Henry (Joe Morton), still obsessing about his lost love and nursing a deep grudge against Carter for daring to save the universe, finds evidence in old surveillance footage to make him think there’s a bunch more people that deserve some blame. And yes, everyone is still surprisingly attractive for a town full of über-nerds. This episode is a little light on ancillary characters — where the hell did Taggart go? — but it makes up for it by developing the relationships between Carter and Stark a little more, even forcing both men to tacitly admit they work well together. Plus, we get to see Allison evolve a little more, into the leader she is more than qualified to be.

While the development of relationships is a satisfying move, one hopes that the show’s creators don’t choose to do so at the expense of the sea of whack-jobs that make up the rest of the town. Quirk is one of EUREKA’s signature strengths.

Still, there are a couple of loose ends that need to be addressed, and soon. Is Allison gonna stay with Stark, or isn’t she? Is Carter gonna make his move on Allison or isn’t he? Who the hell does town head-shrinker Beverly Barlowe (Debrah Farentino) take her marching orders from, anyway? These are ongoing plot threads left over from the first season that the show should make a move on getting to, and do so without changing the loosey-goosey feel of the show.

Dark is good, but we’ve got enough dark and grim on the boob tube right now, and except for THE DRESDEN FILES, EUREKA’s really it for light-hearted TV on the SCI FI Channel at the moment. Still, judging from its run so far, there doesn’t seem to be any need for a deep pit just yet. See, I told you it might come back into play.