Eureka! There be gold in that there TV show!

For years I’ve lived in a bit of a bubble- some of it by choice, most of it due to necessity. I don’t get out to movies often (those things are frickin’ expensive!). I don’t listen to the radio because everything sounds the same (my recent addiction to the broadway channel on my xm is different)(see my post on my eclectic mp3 collection). And I don’t get into too many new shows. I don’t have TV, cable or otherwise, and haven’t gotten decent reception for years… I live on DVDs and what can be found on the internet. So it kills me when people go crazy for a new show. Especially when that show doesn’t magically appear on Hulu etc to give me a chance to watch it too.

Plus, since I’ve spent the last… 6+ years in graduate school (and working horribly scheduled jobs) I really haven’t had the time to devote to seriously getting into new stuff. I usually add only 1 new show in the fall- more if several things I regularly watched recently ended.

The point is- when people were going crazy over some shows, I couldn’t watch them. And it gets a little annoying to have people constantly telling you that you should be watching something. Especially when it’s your mom getting annoyed that you called right during her favorite show, which you ought to be watching too, but can’t because you’re too poor for cable (also, not sure my mother understands the term spoiler warning).

Thankfully, stuff doesn’t last forever and DVDs/Netflix are pretty quick at releasing seasons. So… as we head into the winter hiatus for most of my shows and a nice winter break from school for me, I’ve been watching one of these highly touted shows- Syfy’s Eureka.

And now I’m kicking myself for not trying to find it earlier. Seriously. You should see the bruises I’ve given myself.

So here are some of the things that I’ve learned during my marathon-

Smart guys are crazy sexy. Trust me, I’ve always known nerds were hot- my momma raised me to go for the guys who could fix things- but dayum! Ed Quinn as Nathan Stark, an egotistical genius with an IQ the size of his ego is one tall drink of god-yes-hand-that-glass-over-I’m-a-thirsty-woman! (I hear he does a stint on True Blood… guess I need to borrow that from Emily…). And let’s talk about the N’s, shall we? Neil Grayston is such an adorable bumbling guy as Fargo that it goes beyond cute all the way to hot, with Niall Matter‘s bad boy Zane bringing it home. Why didn’t I listen to my mom all those times she told me to watch this show? And I can’t forget the rugged good looks and comedic timing of leading man, Colin Ferguson, as Sheriff Jack Carter… but I’ll get back to that in a minute.

Okay, yeah, most of my lady friends would’ve stopped looking at anything in this show after Stark entered a scene, but there’s more to it than the eye candy. Right? Yes. Phew. But… let’s not forget that eye candy.

Street smarts are sometimes more important (but just as sexy) than book smarts. Here’s where I touch more on Sheriff Carter… Carter is the odd man out in Eureka because he isn’t a genius. He’s just an average guy. However, it is that average piece that makes him so exceptional within the group. He has real world experience- something that most of the residents of Eureka lack. And he thinks outside the box. A rarity in this group until he shows up and asks questions. Plus, he’s the piece that allows the audience to have an explanation of what is going on- an important piece in a show like this.

The ladies are more badass than the men. Yeah, you heard me. First- the on/off boss of GD, Allison (played by the awesome Salli Richardson-Whitfield), is also a single parent to an autistic (until he’s not- it makes sense, not like adding a random child to aging series) teen and a newborn. Trust me, single moms with careers are badass tough as nails women. Next up we have Sheriff Carter’s daughter, Zoe (Jordan Hinson), who keeps Carter on his toes as well as keeps him focused on the people of Eureka rather than on the achievements GD can do. She’s the grounding he needs. Plus, she’s the rebellious teen who flip flops into a success. That’s the best kind of awesome (trust me, I’m proof- ask my mom). Then there’s Jo Lupo (Erica Cerra)- former special forces turned deputy turned head of security. She can and will take you down. And could probably kill you multiple ways with her pinky. I believe she could, too- the same way I believe Claudia Black can kick my ass on Farscape… tough and wiry and not flouncing around being “girly”, but both still hold on to their femininity. Even when Jo does go girly, I bet she could still kick Zane’s ass without getting her dress dirty. Just saying.

I enjoy Sheriff Carter standing back and letting Jo be the one to take the bad guy down. He often stands back admiring the fight, commenting “she’s small but wiry” with great admiration. Seriously? That’s a great thing for young girls to see- not the fighting (I’m not encouraging violence, really) but the fact that he doesn’t muscle in acting like the big man who has to protect her. He respects that she can do her job and lets her. More points to him. But also to her- you know she kicked his ass at least once. 😉

The few other women who have lengthy visits to Eureka also don’t let me down. Tess, Lexi, and even Abby (oddly, all connected to Carter) stand up for themselves, get down into the dirt without freaking about their nails, and are intelligent and passionate.

Seriously? Eureka does a great job of given equal power to the women. I didn’t want to just focus on the pretty of the ladies- but I will note that each is beautiful- though in their own way and may not be seen as supermodel stunning. Honestly, I think the inner beauty and intelligence of the characters outshines the exterior.

I want to live in Eureka because the food looks great and life is easy. Yes, I did make my decision solely on the food. But good lord, Vincent does fun things- that are edible! Not like the fun things that get created on Iron Chef et al that look great, but you know aren’t because who really wants sardines in their ice cream. Thanks, I’ll pass.

So yeah, the food looks good. And the general everyday life seems pleasant and easy. I like the idea of a small town. Don’t think I’m quite ready for it though- I’m a city kid. Do you remember Pleasantville? I loved that movie. But the idyllic life was too good to be true. Wouldn’t it be nice for a few days though? A main street where you could find everything you need. A town where everyone knows everyone else. Someplace where the law enforcement is outnumbered by the populace and that’s not a scary thing. I think it’d be a nice place. Maybe someday. At least to visit.

Though… the downside would be that when technology etc makes life so simple that we don’t have to worry about things, what happens to us? I think Wall-E becomes a probability and that makes me sad. Not the adorable little robot romance part, just the fat, lazy, incapable of doing anything for themselves people part. Anywho… that’s unrelated to this post. Moving on…

I don’t want to be pregnant in Eureka. This is simply based on the insanity that happened around the baby shower gifts made for Allison when she was pregnant. That was some scary stuff- though the ideas behind the gifts made perfect sense. But… OMG! No.

Trying to improve on nature doesn’t always work for the better. Often the mishaps that occur are due to someone trying to create something that will make things better… but there’s a tiny miscalculation or it doesn’t mix right with something that they didn’t take into consideration. Yes, making synthetic water seems like a good idea until it happens to run through pipes that get irradiated accidentally… oopsie. Good intentions… bad execution… hilarious results. Well, hilarious to me. Probably less so to the characters, but they’re fictional so bring on my fun!

Guest stars rule! From bringing in guests from sister SyFy channel show, WareHouse 13 (which is on my list to watch eventually), to bringing in genre favorites Felicia Day and Wil Wheaton, Eureka has consistently raised the bar with its guest stars. Stan Lee even cameos in season 4. I recall his tweets on the subject. I understand them now. He was darling. (Have I mentioned lately that he touched me? There’s a post around here somewhere about it) It’s really a joy to see the guest stars joining for an episode (or more). They’ve all been well cast into characters that are as well written as the main series characters- without making them stand out (which I’ve seen happen with some shows- they make too much of guest stars and end up overshadowing the story or regular cast.)

Season 5! OMG! That’s all I have to say.

What’s the moral to this post? Well… maybe I should try harder sometimes to see a show when so many people I like are involved or it’s been recommended to me by trusted peoples. Of course, it’d probably be easier if I could afford cable. I mean, it’s tough enough to catch Leverage! But… I’ll work on it!

Tags: Actors, Colin Ferguson, Comedy, Drama, DVDs, Ed Quinn, Eureka, Fantasy, Farscape, Felicia Day, Geekery, Niall Matter, Reviews, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, SciFi, SyFy, Television, Wil Wheaton