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Surface Season 1 Episode 3

Episode 103

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8.7

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 10/3/05

The phenomena becomes more widespread as similar creatures wreak havoc on the coast of Texas. Laura gets more upset after she loses her job, while Rich still has a difficult time getting over the loss of his brother. Rich's situation gets worse when he starts to hear his brother's voice when he is near water. Cirko and Lee find that the creatures have been digging under the ocean bed, which could link them to global warming. Meanwhile, Miles discovers that it's not safe to raise Nimrod in the backyard when lightning strikes.moreless

Fan Episode Reviews (6)

Getting better and better each week.

10

By sfviewer, Aug 20, 2006

Laura loses her job, Miles starts to deal with his family over Nim, Rich starts hearing voices. The main characters start to deal with new realities in their lives. We delve more into their personal lives. The writers do a good job making the characters lively, even the supporting roles like savannah, phil and mile's parents have well written roles. They are integral to the story, not just mere decorations. The writers did this episode really well, it's so entertaining, I'm always waiting for the next episode. Surface is one awesome show, I can't get enough of it, I love surface!moreless
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Some interesting twists. Very intriguing, even moreso than before, but needs some touching up in the details.

9.0

By AAurora77, Feb 07, 2006

Ok, I'll admit I'm getting a little bored with some of the acting & dialog which is not the best I've ever seen in the world, but there was an intriguing twist to do with the creatures in this episode that I thought was really wonderful. They definitely have some great ideas with this series. But while some of the actors and dialog are good, there is still much left to be desired. I am still hooked though because the basic concept is extremely interesting and the show has enough redeeming qualities to make up for its faults.

I do enjoy this show more than most, as I really don't watch much TV, let alone feel upset if I miss an episode.. There are few shows I feel the desire to watch religiously. This has been intriguing enough to hold my interest so far overall and I am hooked. It has some brilliant ideas and is definitely unique. Hopefully they will continue to work on its weaknesses, because it really has great potential to be something amazing seeing as where they might be going with it in this episode!moreless
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This show is really finding it's feet and delivering some very unexpected plot elements without revealing too much too soon. Will be interesting to see exactly where it goes though. (WARNING POSSIBLE SPOILERS)moreless

10

By scifiguyuk, Jan 24, 2006

Surface is definitely picking up, and I look forward to seeing it every week. This episode adds a lot to discovering where the creatures came from and all but destroys the theory about them coming from outer-space. It is good to see the personal lives of the characters surface (*groan*) a little more, and we get to see a little more emotion (albeit not a WHOLE lot).

I was pleased to see Miles' story start to intertwine with the other two (well Rich's at least), but doubly annoyed by the fact that Rich's and Laura's have no connection. I know it they each have their stories and reasons for wanting to find out about the creatures but surely they would do better as a team, and after all they did together last episode, it would have been good to at least have a scene of them on the phone or something, to show that they are still in contact.

This aside, a great episode and we find out a lot more about the creatures as well as the characters. Miles' story is perhaps the one with the most emotional pull even if it is moving a little slowly, and Laura's is intriguing and it is clear they are trying to portray a strong, independent female character but as yet it's not being fully achieved. But give it time, there is definitely potential. Rich's story has good promise, but it wasnt put across in the best way and wasnt always clear. I also think that his character is being portrayed in a way that is hard to empathise with and and he is coming across as a little nasty sometimes. ie with his wife. I mean, sure he's lost a brother and wants to find out what killed him, but he's treating her like trash! Ok, maybe a little of an exageration, but he is definitely the least likeable character. Even Cirko, with his dodgy accent and devious ways is likeable in the way that you want to know what he knows, and to see what he will do next to stop others from finding it out.

To conclude, this episode is very well put together, with each of the individual stories given the right amount of exposure. A few questions answered but many more raised, lets hope Surface continues like this and doesnt blow all its mystery too soon.moreless
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Unlikable characters are killing this show for me

7.0

By russellbullock, Oct 19, 2005

This show isn't bad, but I can't get past how unlikable most of the characters are. The 3 main characters, Rich, Laura & Miles, are the only marginally normal people on the show. The families and coworkers of these main 3, however, are obnoxious to the point that I can't wait for scenes involving them to end.

Miles' family is the worst of the bunch. His materialistic mother and father (the father's inappropriate jokes to Miles were downright creepy) need someone to seriously slap them around and bring them back down to earth. His sister, Savannah I think her name is, is the most spoiled rotten whiny baby brat character since 90210. Please let her character grow or get eaten. Either would be fine.

Rich's wife is an annoying pain in the ass. I mean come on...give Rich a break. He watched his brother die tragically underwater. Give him the space he needs to come to terms with it for crying out loud. Every time he speaks, she starts rolling her eyes and acting like she can't believe he wants to pursue finding out what ate his brother. What the hell did he marry this witch for?

Everyone surrounding Laura pretty much sucks. I hope that this doesn't turn into a total government conspiracy cover-up thing cause its been done before...and currently is still being done on more shows than I can count on one hand. I'm still not entirely clear on why she is being black-balled. She had first hand contact with the creature they are investigating. She is a qualified scientist. What the hell? Why go to the trouble of ruining her life and making an enemy of her. Bring her on board and let her help!

The story has promise, but overall, the obnoxious characters are really killing it for me. I really hope they shape up or get eaten....and fast!moreless
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Hoping for another great episode I was left wanting more... and not in the good way.

6.0

By -Chappy-, Oct 07, 2005

So far the thing about Surface that has made it, for me, a compelling show is the action. The thrill, which I understand is often just cheap non-plot related side sequences, is what keeps me so engaged in the story. And hopefully the principal characters will get more involved in the action as the story progresses. But Ep3 (still waiting on those episode names…) falls far short of either of the preceding installments.

I was disappointed that there really wasn’t much depth (pardon the pun) to this episode. Maybe though the lack of extraneous special effects can be seen as a blessing in disguise. With everything else stripped away we can see really obviously how the dramatic elements try just a smidge too hard and end up looking contrived, and that the dialogue really is fairly unrealistic. These characters seem just a bit too good hearted, and I still haven’t found anything really tangible to connect with Lake Bell’s character on. I don’t want to go so far as to say she’s unlikable, but this entire episode was frustrating.

We should’ve learnt more about the character, we should’ve moved the mystery along, answered some questions and asked some more. The ‘fire’ elements could pan out in future episodes, but for now it just wasn’t enough. This episode unfortunately fell short in every way possible.

I’d guess that maybe they simply don’t have the cash for excessive postproduction costs every episode, and that’s fine. Honestly, that’s ok. However if your main characters aren’t doing, or learning anything to further the story what is the point at all. This show has potential, I hope it doesn’t let us down.

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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Ian Anthony Dale	Davis Lee
Jay R. Ferguson	Rich Connelly
Lake Bell	Laura Daughtery
Leighton Meester	Savannah Barnett
Carter Jenkins	Miles Barnett
Eddie Hassell	Phil Nance

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Jennifer Badger	Kadee	Guest Star
Lucinda Carmicheal	Secretary	Guest Star
Monica Williamson	Conf. Goer #1	Guest Star
Victoria Staley	Heather Connelly	Recurring Role
Caroline Kent	Emily Connelly	Recurring Role
Shishir Kurup	Dr. Krishna Singh	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- Both Miles and Rich visit the fictional website HiddenBiology.com.
  
  Rich logs in as "Spearfish" and chats as "Spearfisher". Miles chats as "Miles101".
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QUOTES (4)
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- Sylvia: Is that age appropriate behavior?
  Ron: Hmm?
  Sylvia: All that time in a playhouse.
  Ron: They're making a fort. Boys make forts.
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- Rich: Oh! And guess what, girls? They're gonna teach us how to make a plaster casting track. You know, that's the thing you put... Plaster casting track.
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- (Referring to Miles' attempts to train Nimrod)
  Phil: Dude, he's going to spark knock you out and eat your face.
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- Miles: Do you know of any other animals besides the electric eel that shock?
  Ron: Other than your mother?
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NOTES (3)
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- Original International Airdates:
  Denmark: April 16, 2008 on TV3+
  The Netherlands: June 9, 2008 on Veronica
  Czech Republic: January 27, 2013 on Prima COOL
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- Miles communicates with Rich via an internet chat room. Aside from the series finale, this is the first and only time the Miles storyline intersected with one of the other characters' storylines.
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- Locations in this episode:
  Lake Travis, Texas
  Wilmington, North Carolina
  Berkeley, California
  New Iberia, Louisiana
  Southeastern Cryptozoology Conference (Houston, Texas)
  Port Arthur, U.S. Navy Base (Bangor, Maine)
  Sausalito, California
  Berrong Institute of Oceanography
  Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone National Park
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ALLUSIONS (3)
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- The man at the cryptozoology conference describes his encounter with the sea
  monster as making "a sound [he] would not want to hear twice in [his] lifetime."
  
  This is an almost identical quote from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"
  about the sound of a UFO.
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- Miles learns how to train Nim by watching the "Emily" episode of National Geographic's The Dog Whisperer
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- Rich describes the impressions he's receiving as "...something wonderful...". These are the same words used in the movie 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984) by Dave Bowman (Keir Dullea) to describe the events unfolding in orbit around Jupiter.
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