Eureka fans are in luck. The second half of the current third season kicks off on the new day of Friday on July 10 at 9pm ET. But before the midseason premiere “Welcome Back, Carter” airs, the Sci Fi Channel (which will be rebranded Syfy by then) will give viewers two chances to see the eight episodes in the first half of the season all at one time.

Two Eureka 3.0 marathons are scheduled before the summer run begins: the first this Sunday, June 21, and the second on the July 10 premiere day. Tune in this weekend on the half-hour every hour from 9:30am to 4:30pm ET to catch the episodes in the original broadcast order:

• 9:30am: Bad to the Drone
  Anti-missile drones threaten Eureka during a test run and Corporate “fixer” Eva Thorne (Frances Fisher) arrives in town.
• 10:30am: What About Bob?
  Can The Fixer fix the situation when residents of Eureka’s sealed biosphere start devolving?
• 11:30am: Best in Faux
  Biomimetics is all the rage during Eureka’s Earth-shaking annual dog show.
• 12:30pm: I Do Over
  Carter has a Groundhog Day experience on Allison and Nathan’s wedding day, and the arrival of his sister Lexi (Ever Carradine) just adds to the fun.
• 1:30pm: Show Me the Mummy
  Global Dynamics hosts an annoying fame-obsessed archaeologist and his cursed Egyptian tomb, thanks to The Fixer.
• 2:30pm: Phased and Confused
  Carter takes on Captain Eureka, the town’s one and only superhero, whose deeds eventually lead to disaster, of course.
• 3:30pm: Here Come the Suns
  Zoe’s science partner Kylie accidentally creates a second sun, which can’t be good no matter how you look at the predicament.
• 4:30pm: From Fear to Eternity
  The Fixer knows the reason why when Zoe ends up in the hospital, but will she help save Carter’s daughter?

Note that the July 10 marathon will air in the same episode order, but from 8am to 4pm. A quickie sneak peek at Season 3.5 called Worst Death Ever follows, featuring bad-luck magnet Douglas Fargo (Neil Grayston, who also provides the voice for S.A.R.A.H.).

Tonight at 9pm ET, Sci Fi Channel will premiere the first of the two parts that comprise its latest original miniseries, the sword-and-sorcery saga Knights of Bloodsteel. Is it any good?

Well, perceptions of the miniseries’ quality depend largely on how you feel about Sci Fi Channel original movies in general. Viewers tend to either love ‘em or hate ‘em, with few opinions in between, and people who fall into the first camp are infinitely more forgiving of certain things that often irk the hell out of everybody else.

Let’s take the plot, which is both simple and fairly standard for a Good vs. Evil fantasy. When wicked Dragon Eye (Mark Gibbon, Stargate SG-1) becomes determined to take over the world, he enlists the quite hideous goblin Azenhawke (Gardiner Millar, Flash Gordon), his cruel second-in-command Swope (Peter Bryant, Dark Angel), and an army of merciless assassin Brood soldiers to set that plan in motion. Their task is to horde the supply of bloodsteel, a mystical ore found in the mining town Black Roc Keep, that delivers untold power to those able to extract it.

Equally determined to prevent Dragon Eye’s evil dreams from ever reaching fruition is respected elf sorcerer Tesselink (Christopher Lloyd, Back to the Future). To help stop the villain in his tracks, Tesselink gathers a ragtag bunch and sends them on their way to find the mystical source of bloodsteel called the Crucible.

The sorcerer’s recruits include Brood hater Serragoth (David James Elliott, JAG) and grifter Adric (Christopher Jacot, Eureka), both humans, along with scary-looking goblin Ber-Lak (Dru Viergever, Strange Days at Blake Holsey High) and butt-kicking warrior elf Perfidia (Natassia Malthe, Fallen).

The last group member is entirely worthy of the vampire-like eye teeth that elves sport on the made-up continent of Mirabilis. She draws much blood as her victims fall under her fighting prowess, one by one — or at least she would if the watered-down combat footage wasn’t so violence-averse and squeaky clean.

Tidiness issues aside, if the plot turns you on, then you’re pretty much good to go. Just keep in mind that what passes for special effects during the miniseries, such as swooping dragons overhead, are predictably laughable in their obvious fakeness, and the script isn’t going to win any awards, either.

Still, the pacing is effective, with ample high-energy and fight-to-the-death segments interspersed between the dramatic, funny, and obligatory romantic moments. So, if Sci Fi Channel original movies usually do a good enough job keeping you entertained, then Knights of Bloodsteel probably will, too.

I was doing a little Googling recently and discovered that a piece I wrote in September 2007 (and hadn’t read since then, either) is the top result returned when people search for keyword phrases like “captioned tv shows” and “captioned tv shows online.” Shocker. Titled “NBC Gets with the Program and Offers Captioned Online Video,” the article discusses NBC‘s early venture into captioning some of its broadcast shows when offering them for Internet streaming.

Much has changed since then, including NBC’s implementation of closed captions (CC) online, which makes now a great time for an update on the topic. In the earlier days, the network’s CC functionality took the form of a pane of scrolling text on the right edge of the video player’s picture that could be difficult to keep up with and read. You also couldn’t see the caption text in full-screen mode because there was nowhere for the pane to fit.

NBC Today

Presently, NBC’s closed captioning is much more natural and closer to what some televisions display. The bright white and boldface text, for maximum contrast in most situations, sits at the bottom of the player and on top of the picture. Better yet, it stays in the proper position in full-screen mode, which takes the viewing experience with captions enabled to a whole ‘nother, more enjoyable level.

An additional and fairly new (I believe) development is the spread of closed captioned online streaming to episodes of shows that air on NBC Universal’s basic-cable network USA … if you watch them via the video-streaming website Hulu. Shortly after their most recent seasons ended, some (not all) installments of Monk and Psych turned up on Hulu with the CC feature added, although USA’s website uses a video player that doesn’t offer closed captions.

Currently, In Plain Sight has joined the party, too, but The Starter Wife and Burn Notice are still a no-go, as are all series that call NBC Universal’s other basic-cable network, the Sci Fi Channel (to be rebranded Syfy on July 7th), home.

ABC

Although NBC was the pioneer among the five major broadcast networks, two more have since joined its welcome campaign to stop discriminating against Web users who either require or just want captioned online video. I have no idea which one came first, but I know that both ABC and Fox now caption many of their online TV show episodes from the 2008–2009 season, and probably all of them in the case of ABC.

While I’m very happy — thrilled, in fact — that ABC has gotten wise, I’m not a fan of how its player implements captions. First of all, the text sits at the bottom of the player and the picture, in a full-length pane that only accommodates three rows of text. Second, the pane, and hence the captions, disappears in full-screen mode, a major no-no.

Worse, however, is the usage of the extremely annoying scrolling effect, which is made more frustrating by the fact that the caption text appears in different areas of the pane, presumably to correspond with the location of the speaker or the non-verbal sound noted in parentheses. Sometimes the text is on the left, sometimes on the right, and sometimes in the center.

At all times, though, the text is a thorough pain to follow, and the constant shifting and re-focusing takes a toll on the eyeballs very quickly. To the network’s great credit, however, it seems to caption all of its online episodes from 2008–2009 series, as previously mentioned, with the exception of those containing “bubble” or pop-up commentary, such as the enhanced encore installments of Lost.

FOX and FX

Fox Broadcasting is a different story. The company has added a video player to its Fox and FX websites with CC capability built in. But, the last time I checked, 99.99 percent of the episodes on the respective networks’ websites don’t even have the darn captions. When they do, the text is tiny, in a one-row rectangle beneath the player — thus, no scrolling, just lots of flashing — and disappears in full-screen mode. The text also isn’t boldface, which decreases contrast and makes reading it harder, especially given the small-sized font.

For acceptable captioning of Fox and FX shows, you have to surf over to Hulu, which has an infinitely better-quality video player anyway that shows captions in full-screen mode, too, similar to NBC’s player. Browse the TV series titles for the Fox or FX series you want to watch, and there’s a good chance it will include captioned episodes. The feature isn’t included with all series or even all episodes within a series, however.

FYI

One thing to keep in mind when looking for captioned TV shows online from the networks discussed above is that captions are occasionally delayed. For example, NBC and ABC both put episodes of many (or perhaps all) of their shows online the day after they premiere on television. Yet, sometimes it can take up to several hours — or days or even weeks, unfortunately — for the caption option to appear.

The same is true for Fox series, although it’s more common for some episodes to never have closed captions added. It seems the more popular or buzzed-about a Fox show is, the more likely it is that episodes at Hulu will have the CC option immediately. Hence, while Bones, House, Dollhouse, and Lie to Me have every episode on Hulu captioned the moment they’re available, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles not so much.

Finally, if you can’t find a captioned episode on the network website, try Hulu, and do the same if you check Hulu first and come up empty-handed. I’ve not a clue why the availability is skewed in certain instances, but it helps to get in the habit of visiting both the network and Hulu when closed captions are what you want. This paragraph refers to all of the networks discussed above, except for ABC, which isn’t a Hulu partner and doesn’t offer its shows there.

What About Those Other Two?

The present article includes no section for sister broadcast networks CBS and The CW, both part of the CBS Corporation, along with premium-cable network Showtime. That’s because they continue to not give a damn about viewers who rely on or want closed captioned online episodes of television shows for whatever reason. You won’t find any full episodes (or any other types of videos) captioned on either network’s website as of this writing.

Praise to Hulu

In conclusion, let me heap much praise on Hulu. I visit the website almost daily to find high-quality videos that look superb viewed on my laptop or my desktop, as well as embedded online. Then, there’s the ability to create custom clips from the videos offered and embed them, too. Heck, I even like the option to choose which type of advertising I prefer when asked.

As for the subject of this article, captions, if my memory is correct, when Hulu first went live, it offered only a few captioned episodes of one or so animated series — Fox’s The Simpsons comes to mind. Since then, captions have grown increasingly more prevalent and astronomically easier to identify when available.

Just look for the CC icon in several prominent areas. It even has its own column near individually listed episodes now. The current situation differs vastly from the original “guessing game” set-up, where the CC designation was only included on the player itself … after you clicked play and the video started streaming. Seriously.

I was skeptical of Hulu when it first launched not that long ago, but it has truly become a staple in my life. People in need of captioned online TV episodes should be equally thankful for the great job the site does filling the gaps in some networks’ online video inventories.

The Sci Fi Channel is firing on all cylinders on Fridays. Tonight at 8pm EST, the network will begin syndicating the 2005–2006 science-fiction drama Invasion, which joins an excellent lineup that includes the syndicated vampire cult hit Moonlight and the final episodes of fan favorite Battlestar Galactica.

Brought to us by Shaun Cassidy — the same man responsible for the Gary Cole thriller American Gothic, yet another genre series I wish had lasted longer — Invasion never took off the way it should have. This despite a fine cast featuring Eddie Cibrian (Third Watch), William Fichtner (Prison Break), Kari Matchett (ER), Lisa Sheridan (Journeyman), and Tyler Labine (Reaper), all of whom have moved on to other successful series or guest-star gigs, fortunately.

For the uninitiated, Invasion is a paranoid drama reminiscent of the classic movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers. After a hurricane hits a small town in Florida, residents gradually come to realize that something isn’t quite right. A little nosiness and a lot of investigating then reveals the observant people are correct — there’s a real reason why certain individuals have started acting very weird post-storm, and it’s a scary reason at that.

If you haven’t watched the series before, give it a try tonight. My only complaint is that the Sci Fi Channel is only airing these entertaining syndicated shows once a week. A few repeats in the wee hours sure wouldn’t hurt, so thank goodness I already have the DVDs.

Gee — this timing couldn’t be better. Just three days after Warner Home Video released the complete Moonlight series in a four-disc DVD set, the Sci Fi Channel will begin syndicating the show tonight.

As of now — a caveat you always have to add with the Sci Fi Channel, which loves nothing more than to play around with air dates and time slots without informing viewers — the extremely loyal legions of Mick St. John fans can get their Mick fix every Friday night at 9pm EST.

Even better, thus far it looks like the series is going to air in proper order, giving newcomers the chance to learn why longtime followers are so darn passionate about the show. I’m personally going to enjoy seeing stars Alex O’Loughlin, Sophia Myles, and Jason Dohring each week again. But, please, Sci Fi Channel, don’t go switching things around — or taking the series off the air all together — before the entire first and only season gets a complete run-through.

The first episode up tonight is the series premiere “No Such Thing As Vampires,” during which we meet the core group of characters: Los Angeles-based immortal private detective Mick St. John (O’Loughlin), intrepid Internet reporter Beth Turner (Myles), and Mick’s confidant and fellow vampire Josef Konstantin (Jason Dohring). Good times.

As if fans need any reminders, Sci Fi Channel’s Battlestar Galactica returns tonight at 10pm EST with “Sometimes a Great Notion,” the first of eleven episodes remaining in the show’s fourth and final season. Keep in mind that the midseason premiere is several minutes longer than the standard hourlong format, so be prepared to stick around until the very end.

In the meantime, various sources of essential information about the show follow. Pick and choose to get caught up, get spoiled, and get psyched.

• Newly independent Sci Fi Wire has a brief exclusive sneak peek at the BSG team on Earth. Just as we last saw before the hiatus, it ain’t pretty. In fact, it’s pretty darn bleak.

• Read Star-Ledger TV critic Alan Sepinwall‘s non-spoilery review of the midseason premiere — and, yes, he’s very, very pleased.

• SyFy Portal sends out a frank call back to Earth for reimagined-series creator and executive producer Ronald D. Moore.

• Preview/Review plot highlights from Battlestar‘s third season at Entertainment Weekly.

• Check out all ten parts of the must-not-be-missed Gaeta-centric webisode series The Face of the Enemy via Hulu‘s excellent online streaming video player.

• Ain’t It Cool News provides a host of moderately spoilery “Sometimes a Great Notion” spoilers for those who like to know what they’re getting into beforehand.

• Finally, visit Sci Fi Channel’s official Battlestar Galactica website for everything BSG, and then some.

It’s hard to believe that when Battlestar Galactica returns, the stellar sci-fi series will present the final episodes of its run. At least we fans now know when to begin the last stages of simultaneous celebration and mourning: January 16 at 10pm EST, according to Entertainment Weekly.

At that time, BSG will begin the second half of its fourth and final season. When we last saw our favorite intrepid space cadets (no funniness or disrespect intended), they had just gotten the shock of their lives. Yes, there really is an Earth, but what a frakkin’ mess it is!

I can’t wait to see how that shocker unfolds as the series winds down. If BSG‘s past is any indication, however, I think viewers can be confident the show will go out with an intergalactic bang. All we have to do is remain patient until the New Year.

UPDATE: And right after I published this post, the October 16 official announcement from NBC Universal, parent company of the Sci Fi Channel, arrived via email. It reads in part:

Final Episodes to Begin January 16, 2009

NEW YORK — October 16, 2008 — On Friday, January 16, 2009 at 10PM ET/PT, SCI FI’s critically acclaimed drama series Battlestar Galactica will return with the remaining episodes of its 4th and final season. The 10-week run will culminate with the series finale on March 20th.

Picking up from last June’s jarring cliffhanger — the Colonial fleet and their new Cylon allies led by Admiral Adama and the Galactica crew discover Earth to find it a barren nuclear wasteland — the finale season promises to be rife with drama, action and revelation.

It’s time for more paranormal shenanigans when Sci Fi Channel’s popular reality staple Ghost Hunters returns tonight at 9pm EST for its fourth season, followed at 10pm by the relative newcomer Destination Truth, which launches its second season.

I had the opportunity to sneak a peek at the premieres for both series, and I’m happy to report that fans of each show can look forward to more of the familiar perplexing investigations audiences have grown to expect.

Ghost Hunters begins the night with a visit to Buffalo, New York’s Iron Island Museum. It looks just like a too-big house to me, but the structure is actually a converted church where the dead and departed seem determined to remain. Head investigators Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson arrive on the scene with their trusted TAP team and van-load of equipment for another one of those nighttime stakeout sessions. Afterwards, they give their client a thorough account of their intriguing discoveries, so get ready for some very disconcerting audio material.

Next, so-called truth-seeker Josh Gates does a similar routine with his own team of investigators and equipment, but with a much more exotic flair. They first travel to gorgeous Queensland, Australia — a vacation in itself — in search of Yowie, probably more familiar to many people as the one and only legendary Bigfoot. Just saying the name makes me laugh out loud and think, “Aw c’mon! Get real!” But investigate they do, with earnestness.

Then, Team Gates is off to even more exotic Malaysia to get the inside goods on an abandoned mosque that reportedly houses an evil spirit. How do we know the place is haunted? Well, the spirit has a penchant for doing eerie things like turning lights on, although the building has no electricity.

I admit that would freak me out a bit, too, and if nothing else, I’ll always envy people who get to visit places like Australia and Malaysia during their myth-busting adventures. How do I get a paying job like that?

Ghost Hunters‘ “Iron Island” premieres at 9pm, followed by Destination Truth‘s “Yowie/Haunted Mosque” at 10pm.

Wow! That’s the sound that was heard throughout the Eureka-verse at the end of last night’s fantastic and completely shocking Groundhog Day-inspired episode “I Do Over.”

The question today is did Nathan Stark, Allison’s would-be husband for a second time, really disintegrate into nothing in that booth while trying to get time back on track? And just hours before their wedding? Harsh.

Nathan definitely isn’t my favorite character on the show, but I enjoyed having him in town to verbally spar with Sheriff Jack. Their scenes together were often the funniest of all, even when they were short.

As much as it hurts to admit, I’m really going to miss Nathan now that he’s not around. So, I’m hoping the series has something up its sleeve and will bring the stuck-up scientist back before season’s end.

Watch Nathan pull his disappearing act again in the clip below. It’s weird, isn’t it, seeing him supposedly dead and gone? There has to be more to this…

Tonight at 9pm EST, the third season of Sci Fi Channel’s most fun series to date, Eureka, opens with the typically clever episode “Bad to the Drone.” What’s in store for viewers?

Well, if you’re a longtime fan of the show, as I am, all of your favorite regular characters are back, along with a new one who might have a lengthy slog ahead of her before she comes anywhere near earning the title of Miss Popularity.

That newbie is crisp corporate clean-up woman Eva Thorne, played by Frances Fisher (Titanic), who arrives in town to take over the Top Dog position at Global Dynamics and set things right at Eureka’s epicenter of scientific advancement, hence her quickly assigned nickname The Fixer.

Whether or not a bit of corporate housekeeping is her only agenda remains to be seen, and the details of Thorne’s ulterior motives, if she has any, will probably unfold slowly throughout all or most of the season, à la the infamous bed-and-breakfast owner and shrink Beverly Barlowe (Debrah Farentino).

The main disaster of the episode — there always is one, right? — takes up much of the plot as Sheriff Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson) searches for a rogue attack drone named Martha. The runaway weapon just happens to have something akin to a personality, and it’s not a happy one either.

At the same time, the frustrated sheriff has to cope with the parallel personality change in his maturing teenage daughter Zoe (Jordan Hinson), who’s now starting a waitress gig at the local eatery Café Diem to complement all of the developments that freaked him out last season.

Then there’s Carter’s jailed best friend Henry Deacon (Joe Morton), whom the sheriff dutifully visits as the prisoner waits for his trial to begin regarding that little biohazard alert he caused at the end of the second season.

Eureka is always a bunch of fun to watch, and this episode continues that trend. However, if you’ve never sampled the show but are curious, don’t let the fact that this is the third season scare you away.

Sure, it helps to know what’s what and who’s who in advance, but if newcomers pay attention to the opening “Last Time On Eureka” montage, everything that happens afterwards is fairly easy to follow, right down to Allison Blake’s (Salli Richardson) response to Nathan Stark’s (Ed Quinn) marriage proposal that stunned her and viewers on the second-season finale.

The Verdict: A-