Episode Report Card Jeff Long: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT View to a Microchip
By Jeff Long | Season 2 | Episode 10 | Aired on 11.24.2008
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.Sweet Jesus, I did not know what I was getting myself into. I, uh, am sure that I watched this show very closely and promise that the completed weecap will be, perhaps, less confused. This isn't one of those shows where you just tune in, is it? But, here's what (I think?) happened.
Sarah and Derek broke into the offices of Dakara Systems (their logo is three dots!) and stole their hard drives. John analyzed them but sees that they're intended for use by an AI. And, they need a huge server in order to run their programs -- which they don't have. Cameron searches for Chrome Artie in Ellison's yard, but naturally doesn't find him -- he's already at Catherine Weaver's.
Derek confronts Jesse about -- something? She says she's there to stop "her." I'm assuming she's talking about Cameron, because she talks about her being "metal." God forbid we use a proper noun in that scene. Later, he tells her that John is his nephew.
Ellison finds out that a transformer blew and trapped Dr. Sherman in an enclosed room with running servers. He overheated and died. He talks to Catherine who tells him that Dr. Sherman was working in Babylon, their AI program.
Sarah and Cameron meet with Alex of Dakara Systems and his son Xander, who is their lead programmer and, it appears, socially challenged. Alex and Sarah flirt about '80s music. Dakara Systems was intending to complete an AI program for the Air Force but they needed an infusion of cash in order to pay for some special microchip. Sarah gave them the money (it was everything she had, including diamonds!) and they passed it to a guy over sake. The chip he gave them was a phony and, despite Alex's protests, Sarah tracked down the guy they gave the money to and kicked his ass. Turns out he was an actor, hired by Alex. She kicked his ass too and he said that he was never going to finish the Air Force project in time but wanted to insure Xander's future (because he's a total misfit and he's afraid that he won't be able to survive without him).
John goes to Riley's house, with her foster parents and siblings. He gets skittish after she's a total downer and takes off. She sees Jesse later and tells her that she wants to go home. Jesse convinces her to stay and it's weirdly tender. Later, Riley freaks out on her foster mom and tells her that she's dead and is going to be a bleached skull. This inspires her to go to John's house and tell him that she rejects his rejection.
Ellison deduces that the AI program, or John Henry, killed Dr. Sherman because it didn't like what it was being taught and it hadn't been programmed to value human life. Later, Catherine takes Ellison to a room where Chrome Artie introduces itself as John Henry. Later, Sarah is in the bathroom and sees three red dots… ON HER FACE. She freaks out and breaks the bathroom mirror. Excuse me while I go scan some Pynchon for a breezy, simple beach read.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Hello everyone. I'm filling in for the excellent Daniel this week -- I'd like to say that I consider myself a fairly intelligent person, capable of picking up things rather quickly. HOWEVER, this shit is dense, no? In any event, I'll do my very best not to confuse you. Or piss you off.
Ellison is digging. Look there's a face. I think this may be a dream, which I know is a favorite of Daniel's. He brushes dirt away from the face and we see that it's Chrome Artie. And, Ellison wakes up. He grabs a gun out of his bedside table and walks to his window where he observes Cameron walking around his backyard driving a metal rod into the ground. That's got to be a great workout. He shines a flashlight outside and she looks at him and tells him to go back to bed. It's been mentioned in the forums -- this girl has beautiful hair. Ellison follows her advice.
Derek and Sarah get out of a really big pick-up truck and give their keys and a big tip to a grateful valet. Derek tells him to keep the truck running. I realize he knows the future and everything, but you would think he'd consider the environment and energy conservation. Saving the world can start small.
Upstairs at a place that is not a hotel, Derek picks the lock on a door. Once inside, Sarah confirms that it is the right place. It's Dakara Systems, which has as its logo those three damn dots. Derek looks at all of the computers and says that they should have brought John, but Sarah replies that you don't need to know much about computers to know how to jack the hard drives -- which she proceeds to do.
Back at the ranch, John is analyzing the hard drives. It's all vaporware. They have a design for an AI "to handle big problems." But, you would need a whole server to run it and they have nothing, well, even less now that Sarah has "lobotomized their desktops." John says that they have a plan, but their situation is akin to having a design for a nuclear weapon without the plutonium. Derek says blankly that Sarah is chasing phantoms and smudges on the wall. Sarah's not buying it. Since Dakara is working on AI and their logo is three dots -- well, the coincidence is just too crazy to be overlooked. Derek thinks that the three dots were fingerprints left by that "poor bastard while he was bleeding out in the basement." Sarah points out that everything that was on the wall has meant something and it's all blood.
Cameron enters and announces that Chrome Artie's body is not in Ellison's backyard. Then, she leaves. Derek tells Sarah that he's not suggesting that she stop looking, but this Dakara stuff is not the Turk. Derek leaves and John suggests that maybe Sarah has been looking "too hard." She snaps that if he's going to start picking on her too, well, don't.