„I love science class!” is what one visitor to Eureka exclaimed upon seeing all the wonders that take place in this cozy Pacific Northwest town.
I love Eureka!! I wish I could live there, but alas, it is only a TV show. In fact, it is my favorite TV show. I like it better than Doctor Who, NCIS, Gilmore Girls, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. (Ok, the 1957 Zorro TV series with Guy Williams is still too close to my heart to be topped, but you get the idea.)
Mostly, Eureka is about relationships... whether it involves romance, or family, or holidays, or lunch at Café Diem, the local diner. That is what hooks you into this interesting town. Plus, there is plenty of laugh-out-loud comedy. After all, geniuses usually have personality quirks.
However, lest we get complaisant with the heartwarming aspects of this little town, hidden away in the Oregonian wilderness, it is the excitement and intrigue that takes center stage with each episode.
To that end, the show went through a transformation in its 4th season, when 5 of the main characters accidentally traveled back in time, to 1947, when Eureka was just a military base. Fortunately the reluctant travelers returned home, but the home they returned to was not quite the one they left. While most of the town was essentially the same, some of the people had different jobs or had developed different relationships, adding yet another layer to this complex town.
The scientific aspect of the show, meanwhile, remained unchanged. For example, in one episode, we learned about the effects a Higgs field has on gravity, when a Higgs Field disruptor caused the local bank to float away, giving new meaning to the phrase, “bank robbery.”
Naturally, the mission goes awry when an outside force diverts control of the spacecraft, sending it and the crew to…. who knows where???
So, we wait anxiously for the 5th season, which, unfortunately will be the last. In the meantime, however, we have been treated to a Christmas episode of Eureka, “Do You See What I See?” While the story wasn’t as entertaining as last year’s “O Little Town”,
genius !!
The characters in the town become animated, going from live action, through 4 animated forms:
the concept for Do You See was, (ok, I’ll say it…) pure The characters in the town become animated, going from live action, through 4 animated forms:
CGI
Hanna-Barbera style
Claymation
and Anime
with the characters acting as they would in those types of cartoons; as well as 4 other styles quickly thrown in for good measure (Peanuts, The Simpsons, SouthPark, and Scooby-Doo).
Plus there are a few guest stars, including the guy whom we met last year, who just may be the real Santa Claus.
The Moral of the Story is: Eureka is not Greek for ‘this bath is too hot.’