I’d heard Eureka mentioned a few times in passing as a good show, but it wasn’t until I heard that Felicia Day (of The Guild, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and Dollhouse fame) was appearing in several episodes that I decided to investigate further. Netflix had the first three seasons on instant play, so I mentally put it on my to-watch list.
When I started watching Warehouse 13, I heard that it had a number of crossovers with Eureka, so I began watching Eureka so I could have the crossovers in their correct places.
The premise of the show is a small town full of geniuses working in a secret government facility (and on their own projects at home in their spare time). A U.S. Marshall stumbles upon the town on the way back from retrieving his runaway teenage daughter, and helps out with an investigation. He’s rewarded with a “promotion” (which felt similar to the Warehouse 13 agents’ “promotion”) to the position of Eureka’s sheriff.
The double-length pilot episode was a little slow, but it showed the potential the series had. The following two episodes didn’t wow me, though. I think one of the reasons I’m not liking the show very much is that I generally dislike small-town shows. I prefer shows with close-knit teams or groups of friends than with gaggles of eccentric neighbors. Even the one small-town show I did enjoy, Gilmore Girls, I liked for the main group of characters and just ignored the others.
Another thing I dislike is the clichéd workaholic dad/rebellious teen dynamic. I’m guessing the show was trying to make them as everyday as possible to contrast with the rest of the town, but they just make me yawn.
And for a town that caters to the geeky side of the population, where are the twenty-somethings? We have gifted children and preteens, a main teenager, and plenty of adults in their thirties and forties, most of them parents. The deputy is probably in her twenties, but she doesn’t have much of a story of her own. I would expect there to be a lot more characters like the director’s assistant (loved his Sarah Michelle Gellar comment!), and I’m hoping further episodes of the show will rectify this.
As of three episodes in, this just seems like a quirky family drama, with the intelligence of the characters dumbed down and the science mashed into clichés. And it doesn’t help that I’m not familiar with any of the main actors. But I’ll give this a few more episodes (mostly for Warehouse 13 and Felicia Day’s sake) before I decide whether I’ll keep watching.
I hope you’ll give the show a few more episodes before you decide to write it off completely — I absolutely ADORE it, and over time it’s become one of my favorites (yep, right up there with Warehouse 13 and Sanctuary on SyFy). I’m already so bummed that next year is the final season! Oh well, it has had a good run IMO.
Eureka was really a good show. I started watching in the first season but fell off because I just didn’t have time. I’ve been catching up on past episodes at DISHOnline.com, from my TV provider/employer DISH Network. I have been catching up on a lot of shows there. They have thousands of movies and TV shows to view online any time. I hope you give Eureka more of a chance, this will be the last season.
I did enjoy the 4th episode more than the previous two (more twenty-somethings, no father/daughter stuff), so I’ll probably watch a few more episodes. I’m interested in how the artifact in section 5 ties in with the Warehouse 13 artifacts.
Yeah it definitely gets better after the first few episodes! I have one episode left in Season 1 and I find myself becoming highly addicted. I’m always laughing during them and when thee episode is over I immediately find myself wanting to press the play next episode button on Netflix. You should definitely continue watching!
Yeah! the pilot felt really slow. But I continued to watch because I was convinced that I would get better– I got hooked 5 episodes after.
It’s a drama/comedy show that stays fresh and interesting with it’s ScFi twists here and there.
🙁 so sad it got cancelled.. booo!
I just finished Season 4 and I am quite frustrated to have to wait until probably July for season 5. I love the characters and the interesting problems they face. They really shouldn’t have cancelled this show but I’m glad they know in advance that it will be the end, so we won’t have to worry about being left hanging!
I really hope you’ll give Eureka more time. We do get a very appealing 20something (Zane) and some really nice, in-depth, team-oriented problem solving. The relationships between Jack, Henry, Allison, Josephine, & Fargo are nicely drawn and there are some real surprises.
Eureka’s still not one of my favorite shows, but season 4 definitely stepped things up a notch. The time-travel aspect really intrigued me, and I’m enjoying the characters of Jo and Zane. I’m hoping to finish season 4 before the next one starts.
Katie,you were right about Eureka. After watching Warehouse 13 it was a little slow, but now I’m hooked.
Just finished all 4 seasons of Eureka on netflix. Wow, that was a cool way to end season 4. Put me in the mood to see “Lost in Space”. I just found out that season 5 will be the last. This thing really grew on me. Great show, hate to see it end.