SCI FI Digital Press Tour: Eureka
Popular Science Isn’t Just a Magazine
Wednesday’s Fourth of July holiday in the States was Eurekathon day for me. I had checked out the two-hour pilot when the show debuted last July, and I really liked what I saw. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one, either, because the quaint little sci-fi dramedy quickly turned into one of the Sci Fi Channel’s most successful original series ever. As it often happens, however, due to so many series to review and so little time in which to do it (for most practitioners, “blogger” is code for “a person with a job and other commitments who likes to write when possible”), I never made it back to the series to finish what I’d started. Good thing, then, that I have enough equipment to record all the stuff it sometimes takes me literally years to watch.
Now that I’ve experienced the entire first season, I can confirm that Sci Fi’s Eureka has what it takes to hold my interest. The show is the kind of whimsical, imaginative TV series where just about anything can happen. In the pilot, average guy and U.S. Marshall Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson) gets stranded in the quirky small town of Eureka following a car accident while transporting his wayward fifteen-year-old daughter Zoe (Jordan Hinson) from her latest delinquent escapade (impersonating a flight attendant). Soon enough, he learns that Eureka is actually a community of science geniuses, secretly assembled and housed by the U.S. government to conduct cutting-edge scientific research capable of keeping America at the forefront of technological innovation. Among the brainiac residents are the many expected oddballs and screwups, who live together with varying degrees of success and tension. When Carter is unexpectedly promoted to sheriff of the clandestine haven, he then becomes responsible for keeping order in a place where disorder—or at least weirdness—is often the news of the day.
The humorous and intriguing plots of each Eureka episode are a given, and each installment successfully delivers entertainment that actually entertains in an era when so much (reality) TV is stale, inane, and juvenile. I was familiar with stars Matt Frewer, Joe Morton, and Salli Richardson long before the show debuted. What I wasn’t expecting was how enamored I would become of those players with whom I had little or no history. There is not a miscast role in Eureka, even among the supporters and guest stars, a fact that makes the scientific mumbo jumbo and bizarre events that always play a major role much easier to swallow.
Just in time for Eureka‘s second-season premiere next Tuesday night (July 10) at 9pm EST, blogger Keith McDuffee has posted an excellent account of his impressions of the Eureka set visits during the recent SCI FI Digital Press Tour in Vancouver, Canada. His observations are those of a knowledgeable fan grateful for the opportunity to get a close-up look behind the scenes of a popular show, and they struck me because they seem like the types of things I would have noticed.
Equally enlightening is the two-part video footage featuring the panel discussion with cast members Colin Ferguson (Sheriff Jack Carter), Erica Cerra (Deputy Jo Lupo), Salli Richardson (Allison Blake), Joe Morton (Henry Deacon), Ed Quinn (Nathan Stark), and my personal favorite, Neil Grayston (Douglas Fargo). This coverage is recommended for people who have already viewed and like the show, as well as anyone who might be curious about all the good stuff they’ve been missing. After taking a look at the video clips, I have to note how engaging and genuinely amiable all of the participants from the series seemed. What a great group that I’m now even more eager to see back in action starting next week; there’ll be no recording and watching a year later this time around.
Related News: SCI FI Digital Press Tour: Stargate Atlantis
The second season of Eureka premieres July 10 on the Sci Fi Channel at 9pm EST
Eureka photo courtesy of the Sci Fi Channel
