One of the most popular series on the Sci-Fi channel is not what you may think. Your mind most likely would say ‘Battlestar Galactic’ and that is a wildly successful series for the network. Their biggest draw for ratings is a odd little show, ‘Eureka’. With unbounded imagination, excellent writing, incredible acting and a smart marketing to back it all up this little series is a big hit for the network. The series has all the plot lines you could ever want in a television series. There is strange technology that is wonderful but often turns deadly. Then there are themes of espionage and intrigue. At the foundation for all of this are pure human dramas and the associated comedy. This series holds together far better than most of what is shown on TV today. The series began its life as a summer replacement series. Battlestar had ended its season’s run and the executives for Sc-Fi needed something to fill in the gap with original material. ‘Eureka’ caught on almost immediately. The second season, under consideration here, performed the same service for the summer of 2007. Now, that season is being released to DVD as a third summer gears up for season three. Although it may be a little too intense in some respects for the youngest viewers in your family this is something that teens and adults can watch and enjoy together. If you have missed the second season get it on DVD and watch it so you will be up to date as the third season begins to air.

A couple of years ago Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson) was a U.S. Marshal who stumbled into a remote small town in the American North West, Eureka. As he quickly discovered just about everybody in town, from the children to the eldest citizens are geniuses. Most work for a government sponsored think tank, Global Dynamics. Since he already knew the town’s secret he replaced the retiring sheriff for the town and soon became and accepted member of the community. The thing is Jack is not a genius but when some high brow experiment goes wrong, and they usually do, Jack’s quick mind and common sense is usually exactly what is needed to save the day. He is assigned a house that is mostly underground and run by an artificially intelligent computer, Sarah. She has a strong personality and looks after Jack like a mother hen. He lives with his daughter Zoe (Jordan Hinson) who has a history of constantly acting out and getting into trouble with her parents. Her parents are divorced and her mother lives on the east coast. The Carters are somewhat of outcasts to some of the town’s snobbier residents since they are of normal intelligence. In this season Zoe discovers that her IQ is extremely large even by the stellar standards of the town. Wanting to be as normal as possible Zoe hides this fact from everyone especially her father. The head of Global Dynamics, Nathan Stark (Ed Quinn) is forced to step down as chief administrator due to some dubious decisions. His replacement is his ex wife and former government official in charge of oversight, Allison Blake (Salli Richardson). Everyone in town is smart enough to see the chemistry between Allison and Jack although she still carries a torch for her ex in one way or another. She also has a son. Kevin (Meshach Peters). He is seriously autistic but seems to have a strange connection to a mysterious artifact kept in the most secret and secure part of Global, Level Four. Jack’s best friend is Harry Deacon (Joe Morton). Ostensibly he works as the town’s mechanic but he is a polymath that can figure out almost anything. Working for Jack as his deputy is Jo Lupo (Erica Cerra). She is an ex Special Forces operative who is as deadly as she is beautiful. Over the course of this season she bonds with Zoe as the big sister she wants and the female influence she needs. At the center of the town is the café that everyone goes to eat, Carpi Diem. He is fastidious, an innovative chef and the center of all gossip in town. The local zenobiologist, Jim Tagget (Matt Frewer) is a strange, very tall man who prefers the company of his unusual hybrid creatures to people. Assisting the head of Global Dynamics, first for Stark then for Allison is Dr. Douglas Fargo (Neil Grayston). He is never referred to by any title just simply as Fargo. He is a genius who resents being used as a company gofer.

At the end of season two Henry disrupted the entire time space continuum in order to prevent the death of the woman he loved. This threw the world, including Eureka, into an alternate reality where Jack and Allison were married and expecting a child. Jack realizes what has happened and when he gets Henry to correct it everything is back to normal. Jack and Allison never get together and Henry once again loses his love. Henry uses a device to erase Jack’s memories or the alternate time line to spare him the misery of lose and promises to use it on himself but doesn’t. Henry retains his memories of his happiness and resents Jack for taking it away. This drives a hidden agenda in Henry that persists for the season. Even in the normal timeline things don’t go well for the sheriff. His ex wife Abby (Olivia d'Abo) comes to Eureka and declares that she is taking Zoe back with her. Zoe is torn between a normal life with her mother and the growing relationship she has developed with her father. A potential love interest for Jo appears with the hiring of Zane Donovan (Niall Matter). Like anyone working in Eureka he is a super genius but he is a staunch individualist and nonconformist. He has a criminal past and flaunts authority every chance he gets. Naturally Jo is attracted to a bad boy like this. While the mystery of the artifact and a little spy drama slowly unfolds there is always the goofy story of the week. In one episode an accident results in Jack becoming irresistible to every woman in town. Fargo is desperate to be infected in that way. In another accident all the geniuses in town become morons over night leaving Jack to find a way to reverse the symptoms.

This series is just good old fashion fun to watch. With technology so important in all our lives now it is refreshing to see a series where regular guy with little more than common sense prevails where the super intelligent fail. The characters in this series are richly drawn and realistic. They are motivated by human emotions and desires and are readily identifiable with the audience. You make think this is a silly show from the strange devices that always show up each week far more than brains this series has heart. This season continues plot lines started in the first season and leaves us with a cliff hanger for season three. It perfectly messes episodic TV with continuing stories making this a much watch. The Sci-Fi channel has a winner here and this is one that demands to in your home.