Eureka: Season One

More often than not a summer replacement series on television is the second string of the network. The old paradigm for television used to be some 26 or so original episodes of a series followed by a couple of months of ‘summer reruns’. Now a series is blessed if it gets 13 original episodes so there are many more months to fill. Most of the networks bring out the ‘B’ list during the summer but not the Science Fiction Channel. They not only bring a refreshing series out during the summer it is definitely an ‘A’ list show, one aptly named ‘Eureka’. The premise is simple enough, a stranger in a strange land. A favorite theme in movies has been to take a simple savage and place him in the heart of the big city. It worked with flicks like Tarzan in New York or Crocodile Dundee but here the twist is novel. An average albeit bright law enforcement agent stumbles upon a small town filled with super geniuses. Here the story reverses the usual framework. Instead of the big city the strange land is a small town. It is not sophistication that separates our intrepid hero from the rest, it is IQ points. Once again the Sci-Fi Channel comes to the rescue with a series that is imaginative, well acted and crafted to near perfection. With the second season about to start Sci-Fi with Universal offers the first season on DVD.

As the first season starts U.S. Marshall Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson) is a man on a mission. He has a teenage girl in custody and is driving her back to face the consequences for some numerous infractions. The girl, Zoe (Jordan Hinson), sits cuffed in the back seat and seems to have more attitude than her situation would call for. The reason is simple; this is no random law man bringing her in. As it turns out Jack is her father. When their car gives in to mechanical troubles they are forced to stop in the Pacific Northwest town of Eureka. As a matter of protocol Jack checks in with the local Sheriff, Bill Cobb (Maury Chaykin) and his deputy Jo Lupo (Erica Cerra) in order to get a cell for Zoe to prevent her from running away yet again. As Jack looks around for a mechanic he begins to realize that there is something different about the town. He sees a boy of about eight writing with chalk on the sidewalk. This would be innocent enough but he is apparently sketching some advance math. Offhandedly he calls the boy Einstein, only to be told ‘I’, an Oppenhiemer, the Einsteins live a couple of blocks over.’ As Jack soon learns the town is a government sponsored haven for a bunch of super geniuses. Jack is pulled into the investigation of a local murder and upon the retirement of Sheriff Cobb takes over the post.

Most of the citizens in Eureka work for a government contracted think tank, Global Dynamics. The head of the installation is Nathan Stark (Ed Quinn) a brilliant scientist in his own right and in the process of getting a divorce from the government liaison, Allison Blake (Salli Richardson). It is Allison’s dubious function to help keep the town a secret and make sure the experiments are productive. One of the town’s leading citizens is Henry Deacon (Joe Morton). Outwardly he is a handy man and the town’s mechanic. In his overalls and cap a person would never suspect the truth that he is a super genius with every possible mechanical system. With such a large collection of barely stable egg heads in one location there is a dire need for some psychological oversight. This comes in the form of Dr. Beverly Barlowe (Debrah Farentino) who is charged with the mental health of the community. There are some incredible gadgets at work in this seemingly sleepy little town. For example, when Henry has to change a street light he doesn’t use a crane, he has an anti-gravity platform to float him up. Nothing is what is seems in Eureka, that that includes the people. Both Barlowe and Stark seem to have their own agendas and Jack is about one step behind finding out.

Deep inside of Global Dynamics is Level 5, a mysterious place that everyone seems to know exists but few are aware of what is actually there. It is this mystery and the hidden motives of some of the citizens that give this series its overall story. This binds the separate episodes together and keeps the audience wanting more. Without this plot point the series is set in the freak of the week format. Something goes wrong in the town and Jack uses his common sense to get to the bottom of things and save the day. Under lesser cast and crew this would become very pedantic real fast. Instead these are quirky stories where the every man, Jack, does better than the best minds in the world. This takes the series from a X-Files rip off to something unique and fun to watch. As the weekly episode unfolds you have to watch carefully to catch the clues to the bigger mystery.

The cast here is top notch. Colin Ferguson is excellent as Sheriff Jack. As well as trying to keep up with a town full of genius he has his share of female troubles. He has to contend with a rebellious teenage daughter, a lot of chemistry with the not yet divorced Allison and try to win over Jo who resents not getting promoted. He even gets flack from his house, Sara, an artificial intelligent building who is always trying to run his life. Ferguson plays his character in such a way that the audience can immediately identify with him. I have been a fan of Joe Morton for years and with good reason. He is one of the best character actors around. Here he is the go between, a super genius in his own right yet a real down to earth sort of guy. He can postulate about quantum physics one minute and have a beer and watch a game the next. Jordan Hinson is relatively new to acting but her performance here show great promise. She gives Zoe multiple dimensions instead of making her the simplistic teen brat most television series would have. Salli Richardson is great in her role. She creates chemistry with Ferguson that is a delight to watch. The audience wants them to get together but the writers are smart enough to let these fine actors tease us. She plays Allison as a witty professional who has the difficult job of keeping a lid on these weird people. Also showing up in the cast is Matt Frewer. This tall, gawky actor is always a delight to watch. He offers comic relief with his own unique form of antics.

Universal does it again with the DVD release of this entertaining series. The anamorphic 1.78:1 video is bright with a perfect color palette. The Dolby 5.1 audio is full and rich with just the right use of the sub woofer. There are also plenty of extras, over ten hours worth, to keep you watching. For the pilot episode there is a commentary track with the show’s creator Andrew Cosby and Colin Ferguson. There are also deleted scenes and out takes to enjoy. Most of the remaining episodes feature cast and crew commentary tracks and pod casts to help illuminate the viewers with behind the scenes facts and gossip. This is one to have. If you are a fan already you will want to review the first season before the second starts. If you missed this series first time out get this and catch up on one of the better shows offered for your summer viewing.

Posted 06/14/07