Eureka (TV series)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Eureka | |
|---|---|
| Image:Eureka title card.jpg Eureka opening title card | |
| Also known as | A Town Called Eureka |
| Format | Science fiction |
| 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 | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States |
| No. of episodes | 25 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | British Columbia, Canada |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | approx. 44 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Sci Fi Channel |
| Original run | July 18, 2006 – present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
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[1], but to what extent this will be affected by the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike is unknown.
Contents |
[edit] 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.
Deputy 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.
[edit] Characters
[edit] 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 ADR 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.[2]
[edit] 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.[3] The season two premiere drew 2.5 million viewers, making it the top-rated cable program of the day.[4]
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.[5]
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!
[edit] 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.[6]
[edit] Production notes
[edit] Filming locations
| This section does not cite any references or sources. Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007) |
- Chilliwack, British Columbia – Downtown Wellington Avenue on April 12, 2006
- Duncan, British Columbia
- Ladysmith, British Columbia – 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 for the majority of the Global Dynamics building interiors, cafe interiors as well as the home of Sheriff Carter.
[edit] International distribution
[edit] Media
Universal released a 3-DVD set containing all 12 episodes of the first season in Region 1 on July 3, 2007. The design of the case is unusual in that it is biodegradable, with the disks stored in trays made from compressed potato starch.[citation needed]
The set contains "10 hours of behind-the-scenes extras" including deleted scenes narrated by Colin Ferguson (Jack Carter).[7]
[edit] References
- ^ Coming Soon - SCI FI Orders More Eureka and Truth. Coming Soon (2007-09-27). Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
- ^ Sci Fi Wire - Eureka Almost A Toon. Sci Fi Wire (2006-08-08). Retrieved on 2006-08-14.
- ^ Eureka Scores High. The Futon Critic. Retrieved on 2006-11-28.
- ^ Adalian, Josef. "Audiences discover 'Eureka'", Variety, 2007-07-11. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
- ^ "Not a whole lot to discover on ëEureka'", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 2006-07-18. Retrieved on 2006-07-20.
- ^ SCI FI CHANNEL SCORES 7 EMMY NOMS INCLUDING WRITING & DIRECTING NODS FOR 'BATTLESTAR GALACTICA'. The Futon Critic. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
- ^ Eureka - Bonus material for season 1 announced along with Menu artwork. TV Shows on DVD. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
[edit] External links
- Official Eureka site at Sci Fi.com
- Eureka at SciFipedia
- Eureka at the Internet Movie Database
- Eureka at TV.com
Eureka | |
|---|---|
| Characters | Beverly Barlowe • Allison Blake • Jack Carter • Zoe Carter • Henry Deacon • Douglas Fargo • Jo Lupo • Nathan Stark • Jim Taggart |
| Other | Episode list • Global Dynamics • Artifact • SARAH |
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Categories: Articles needing additional references from December 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since December 2007 | Eureka | Science fiction television series | 2006 television series debuts | 2000s American television series | Sci Fi Channel shows | Space: The Imagination Station network shows | Television series by NBC Universal Television | Vancouver television series | Television shows set in Oregon
