"Eureka" Pilot (2006)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Peter O'Fallon

Writers:

Andrew Cosby (creator) &
Jaime Paglia (creator) ...

TV Series:

"Eureka" (2006)

Original Air Date:

18 July 2006 (Season 1, Episode 1)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Comedy | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

After a strange accident sidelines Eureka's sheriff, U.S. Marshal Jack Carter takes over the investigation into the mysterious phenomenon that led to the death of a resident. |

Plot Keywords:

Town Name In Title | Small Town | Place Name In Title | High Tech | Science Experiment

Cast

Colin Ferguson	...	Sheriff Jack Carter
Salli Richardson-Whitfield	...	Allison Blake
Greg Germann	...	Warren King
Jordan Hinson	...	Zoe Carter
Joe Morton	...	Henry Deacon
Erica Cerra	...	Deputy Jo Lupo
Neil Grayston	...	S.A.R.A.H.
Meshach Peters	...	Kevin Blake
Matt Frewer	...	Jim Taggart
Debrah Farentino	...	Beverly Barlowe
Maury Chaykin	...	Sheriff / Major William Cobb
Rob LaBelle	...	Walter Perkins
Gary Chalk	...	Colonel Briggs
Jennifer Clement	...	Susan Perkins
Shayn Solberg	...	Spencer Martin

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-14

Filming Locations:

Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

NBC Universal Television

Trivia:

The character Susan is reading 'Ervin Lazlo''s book 'Science and the Akashic Field: an Integral Theory of Everything' (ISBN #1594770425) in bed in the Pilot's opening.

Goofs:

Continuity: Jim Taggart's scar is seen on his left cheek on the pilot episode, but is seen on his right cheek all other times.

Quotes:

[about Taggert, who has just accidentally shot Vincent to get to a dog]
Marshall Jack Carter: Oh, yeah. He's stable.

Movie Connections:

References The Fugitive (1993)

Not too bad, not too good

The pilot for Eureka was watchable, had some good performances, a bit of interesting dialog, and maybe one or two interesting ideas. But considering the promising premise of a whole town full of super-scientists, I thought they squandered the concept terribly. So much more could have been done with the idea. Most sci-fi can be divided into stories that are science-friendly, and stories that are skeptical of science. The best sci-fi is invariably the former, but unfortunately the majority of commercial sci-fi tends to be the latter, and so is this show. The main science guy is an unlikeable jerk, and in a questionable effort to be realistic, it's all tied in with the military. The protagonist is a U.S. Marshall who's apparently supposed to be the voice of reason in this world of crazy science. The sympathy is clearly with him, whereas none of the scientists can really be trusted (except possibly Joe Morton's character, which is one of the few touches of real class this show has - another is cool soldier girl Jo Lupo).

Like I said, this show could have been a hell of a lot better. There's not much actual or interesting science in it, and nothing else is original either. I'll give it a few more episodes to improve, but if it doesn't, I'm gone.

6 out of 10.