Eureka (2006 TV series)
| Eureka | |
|---|---|
 Eureka opening title card | |
| Created by | Andrew Cosby Jaime Paglia |
| Starring | Colin Ferguson Salli Richardson-Whitfield Jordan Hinson Joe Morton Ed Quinn Debrah Farentino Matt Frewer Erica Cerra |
| Country of origin | United States Canada |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 25 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Production locations | British Columbia, Canada |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | approx. 44 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Sci Fi Channel |
| Release | July 18, 2006 – present |
Eureka is an American science fiction television series set in a town inhabited entirely by geniuses. In the UK, it is known as A Town Called Eureka.
The Sci-Fi Channel has renewed Eureka for a third season of 13 episodes.[1] To what extent this will be affected by the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike is unknown, although co-creator and Executive Producer Jaime Paglia has stated that it could in fact result in a larger order than the original 13 as a way to "help offset the financial impact of the production push."[2]
Synopsis
Eureka takes place in a high-tech community, located somewhere in the Pacific Northwest and inhabited entirely by brilliant scientists working on new scientific advancements that frequently go awry. The town's location — indeed, its very existence — is a closely guarded secret.
U.S. Marshal Jack Carter stumbles upon Eureka while transporting a fugitive prisoner — his own rebellious teenage daughter Zoe — back to her mother's home in Los Angeles. When a faulty experiment cripples the sheriff of Eureka, Carter finds himself quickly chosen to fill the vacancy. Despite being only slightly above average intelligence — and thus arguably the slowest-witted resident of a town full of super-geniuses — Jack Carter's uncanny ability to connect what others in the town do not see has repeatedly saved Eureka, and indeed the entire world, from one would-be disaster after another.
The location of Eureka has never been explicitly revealed in the series. However, various hints and passing references imply that the town is situated in Oregon, near the state capital Salem. There is an Oregon state flag in the Sheriff's office and S.A.R.A.H. (Self-Actuated Residental Automated Habitat), the artificial intelligence that manages the sheriff's house, widens a search for Jack's love interest to the entire state of Oregon.
Characters
Episodes
The episodes of season one were not aired in the order intended by the show's creators. This is suggested by the episodes' production numbers which are displayed on the Sci-Fi channel's Eureka website next to episode titles quite often. There are some small inconsistencies when watched closely, but such inconsistencies are minimal and were intentionally controlled. In podcast commentaries with the show's creators and star Colin Ferguson, they confirm that the production order is in fact the order they intended the show to air, but the network executives changed the order to try and place stronger episodes earlier in the run as to help attract viewers. As such, the creators were able to make minor changes in editing and sometimes dub dialogue in later episodes (such as removing the explicit mention of Zoe's first day at school) to try to eliminate audience confusion.
Eureka was originally planned as an animated series.[3]
Ratings and critical reaction
The series's premiere garnered high ratings, with 4.1 million people tuning in. Eureka was also the top rated cable program for that Tuesday night, and was the highest-rated series launch in Sci Fi's fourteen-year history.[4] The season two premiere drew 2.5 million viewers, making it the top-rated cable program of the day.[5]
Critical reaction was mixed, with general praise for the premise, but overall middling reaction to the writing of the pilot.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
It's all very quirky. Too quirky, maybe, for an audience that is used to spaceships, robots, and explosions. Though every episode promises an "aha!" moment based in quantum physics and obscure scientific laws, this world is relatively flat, conceptually speaking, in comparison to the complexity woven into series such as Stargate SG-1 and Battlestar Galactica. This does not mean Eureka is a complete waste of time. Not at all. The characters are fun, Ferguson is believable and pleasant, the script is solidly constructed, and the visuals are slickly produced. All in all, it's a sweet series and probably not long for this world.[6]
The New York Post:
3 out of 4 stars
The New York Daily News:
With its playful new series "Eureka," set in the Pacific Northwest and telling the story of an outsider who comes to explore, and settle in, a remote town full of eccentrics, Sci-Fi Channel isn't just inviting comparisons to "Twin Peaks" and "Northern Exposure." It's demanding them. But co-creators Andrew Cosby and Jaime Paglia hold up to them pretty well. "Eureka" has a premise, a cast and a plot that make it one of the TV treats of the summer. The folks at Sci-Fi Channel clearly intended to reinvent the summer TV series here, and come up with something breezy and fun. And "Eureka" - they've done it!
Awards
Eureka was nominated for a 2007 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series. The other nominees were Battlestar Galactica (the winner), Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, and Rome.[7]
Production notes
The stunt coordinator was David Jacox.
Filming locations
- Chilliwack, British Columbia[8] – Downtown Wellington Avenue on April 12, 2006
- Duncan, British Columbia
- Ladysmith, British Columbia[9] – Downtown First Avenue
- Nanaimo, British Columbia – Ney Drive, Biggs & Townsite Roads
- Surrey, British Columbia – (Sullivan Heights Secondary School, Fraser Heights Secondary School)
- Victoria, British Columbia
- Port Moody, British Columbia – (Heritage Woods Secondary School) Exterior shot of Global Dynamics. The interior of the school has also been used as the school that Brian Perkins attends, on May 3, 2007.
- Ashland, Oregon – (City Hall) Interior and exterior shots of city hall
- Burnaby, British Columbia – Vancouver Film Studios[10] for the majority of the Global Dynamics building interiors, cafe interiors as well as the home of Sheriff Carter.
International distribution
DVD Releases
Season one
| Season One | ||||
| File:EurekaS1dvd-3d.jpg | Set Details | Special Features | ||
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| Release Dates | ||||
 United States
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 United Kingdom
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 Australia
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| July 3 2007 | March 24 2008 | Unknown | ||
A second season DVD has been rumored for release on July 15, 2008.[11]
References
- ^ "Coming Soon - SCI FI Orders More Eureka and Truth". Coming Soon. 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-09-28.
- ^ "Paglia: Could the Strike Result in More Episodes?". VisitEureka.net. 2008-02-09. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
- ^ "Sci Fi Wire - Eureka Almost A Toon". Sci Fi Wire. 2006-08-08. Retrieved 2006-08-14.
- ^ "Eureka Scores High". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 2006-11-28.
- ^ Adalian, Josef (2007-07-11). "Audiences discover 'Eureka'". Variety. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Not a whole lot to discover on ëEureka'". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 2006-07-18. Retrieved 2006-07-20.
- ^ "SCI FI CHANNEL SCORES 7 EMMY NOMS INCLUDING WRITING & DIRECTING NODS FOR 'BATTLESTAR GALACTICA'". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
- ^ "Chilliwack Film Commission: Who's Filmed in Chilliwack". Chilliwack Film Commission. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ "Ladysmith, British Columbia Film". Town of Ladysmith. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ "Vancouver Film Studios - Who's Been Here". Vancouver Film Studios. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ "Eureka - Look For It The 3rd Week Of June". TV Shows on DVD. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
External links
- Official Eureka site at Sci Fi.com
- Eureka at SciFipedia
- VisitEureka
