Eureka – Quirky Genius

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.

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Innocence

Or rather the loss of it.

This is easily one of the most heartbreaking episodes of the show. Angel is gone; Angelus is back – and yearning for a good kill. And to break Buffy’s heart in the process.

Buffy goes from waking up alone, to worrying when Angel doesn’t contact her, to reeling from his cruel words, to realizing he’s now a soulless monster, to finding she’s the reason he lost his soul. All in about 36 hours.

(Quick sidebar here on a couple Angel vs. Spike soul issues. I’ve read several posts and comments wondering why Angel didn’t just go through the demon trials to get his soul back – he wouldn’t have to deal with this annoying curse and he and Buffy could be together. The main reason? Soulless Angel – Angelus – doesn’t want a soul. Angelus would probably be willing to go through the trials just to KEEP from getting his soul back. Look how hard he tries to prevent in later episodes of this season and in season four of Angel. Spike wanted a soul. That’s why he was willing to fight for it. And one brilliant post I read talked about why Spike got such blind devotion from Buffy in season 7. Love for Buffy had cost one vampire his soul, and that “I am poison” mentality echoed through Buffy’s relationships thereafter. But Spike’s actions changed that. Now, love for Buffy had caused a vampire to get his soul back.)

It’s surprising how many of the significant moments in this episode and the previous one involve water. Angel jumping in to save Buffy at the dock. Their escape from the factory (and what follows). Angel stumbling outside in the rain just before his soul leaves him. Their fight as water pours from the sprinkler system at the mall.

With the Slayer an emotional wreck, it’s up to the others to figure out how to save the day. And Xander comes through brilliantly:

Xander:  Whoa. Whoa! I… I think I’m having a thought. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s a thought. Now I’m having a plan. (The lights suddenly go out.) Now I’m having a wiggins.

Giles:  And we’re absolutely certain that, that Angel has reverted to his former self?
Xander:  Yeah, uh, we’re all certain. Anyone not feeling certain here?
Willow:  Giles, you wouldn’t have believed him. He was so… He came here to kill us.
Cordelia:  What are we gonna do?
Giles:  I’m leaning towards blind panic myself.

Cordelia:  This is great. There’s an unkillable demon in town, Angel’s joined his team, the Slayer is a basket case… I’d say we’ve hit bottom.
Xander:  I have a plan.
Cordelia:  Oh, no, here’s a lower place.

Willow also has a significant emotional journey in this episode, from finding out that Xander and Cordelia are together to gaining new respect for Oz.

Xander:  Willow, we were just kissing. It doesn’t mean that much.
Willow:  No. It just means that you’d rather be with someone you hate than be with me.

Oz:  So, do you guys steal weapons from the Army a lot?
Willow:  Well, we don’t have cable, so we have to make our own fun.

One thing that bugged me about this episode was that Spike was all fine with destroying the world, but by the season’s end he’s against it. Yes, it did seem to be more Drusilla’s plan while he was along for the ride, but it’s a little odd that his perspective would switch like that. Of course, the Judge’s version of the end of the world might have been nicer that Acathla’s. Or deep down, Spike knew that Buffy would stop the Judge (she’d always managed to pull out a win before). Or sitting around in a wheelchair for half a season gave Spike time to think of what things would really be like if the world ended. Or both times, it was all about Dru.

Spike:  Are we feeling better, then?
Drusilla:  I’m naming all the stars.
Spike:  You can’t see the stars, love. That’s the ceiling. Also, it’s day.
Drusilla:  I can see them. But I’ve named them all the same name. And there’s terrible confusion.

I think it was genius for the network to use this two-part episode, aired on consecutive days, to transition the show from Mondays to Tuesdays. (Hmm, looked it up to double check – yep, the show stayed in its Tuesday 8PM slot for the rest of its run. That’s when I watch NCIS now, which debuted the year after Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended. And when the show moved to UPN, guess what the WB replaced it with? Gilmore Girls. To think of all the drama I missed because I didn’t start watching live TV until 2009.)

I was surprised (and pleased) to see how strongly Giles was on Buffy’s side, even when it meant turning against Jenny after she hid her past and motives for being there. (To be fair, she was pretty harsh to Giles after he hid his past.) It’s a little sad, knowing that she’d still be alive if Buffy had been able to kill Angel at the end of this episode. But the implications would be farther reaching that just that. If he’d been dusted as Angelus, would he have still been brought back somehow? It’s never mentioned that the First or the Powers That Be could do that, but it doesn’t seem out of their scope. And of course Wolfram and Hart brought back Darla, so they would have had both the means and the motivation (wanting him to fulfill prophecy) to bring back Angel, and if they used the same method, he would have come back as a human, which would have created a whole different set of issues.

Wow, this post went off on an awful lot of tangents – hope you don’t mind!

The closing song of this episode always makes me tear up a little. I have it on my iPod just so I can play it when I want to feel sad or am already feeling sad (the same with “Goodbye to You” and “Close Your Eyes”). I’ve heard complaints that the song doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the show, but just read the lyrics. They’re absolutely perfect for this episode (especially the last line):

Goodnight, my love, my moment with you now is ending…sleep tight, my love, goodnight, my love, remember that you’re my sweetheart.

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TV Show Personality Quizzes

For a different twist, and since this is a weekend post, I thought I’d try something fun. BuddyTV just followed me on Twitter, so I stopped by their site and tried out a few of their TV show personality quizzes. I thought I’d share the results here.

No surprise here, though I think I might be more of a Ted if this was more of an internal personality test with less lifestyle questions.

Yay – I love Hardison!

I got Jane the first time, but I think Maura’s a better fit.

I do see quite a few similarities in our childhoods.

Don’t think this is really me, but I love the show!

Hmm, I usually get Zoe on these.

But – she’s not coming back next season!

Not who I was expecting to get.

I’m so glad they didn’t cancel this show!

Hmm – think the description should be a bit more gender-neutral.

I had a sneaking suspicion that I’d end up with this result.

Yeah, this was a pretty easy guess too – but an awesome result!

This was a no-brainer too.

I’m definitely more of a season 1-3 Willow.

Just the character I would have picked.

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Inca Mummy Girl

Poor Xander. He always seems to fall for the wrong girls. This time, though, it’s hard to blame him. The mummy had everyone fooled that she was an innocent, sweet exchange student. And except for mummifying people to stay alive, that’s basically what she was.

One of the highlights of this episode for me was the introduction of Oz (Seth Green). I love how he notices Willow in her Eskimo garb, at a moment when she’s doing her best to be happy for Xander even while her heart is breaking. I wonder how the show would have been different if Oz stayed through season 4 and beyond. The episode also has the first appearance of Jonathan, who will affect events into season 7. I’m mostly familiar with Danny Strong as Doyle on Gilmore Girls. Looked up a bit of trivia on him – he tried out for the part of Xander, and also went to college (and was in school stage productions) with the George Hertzberg (Adam in season 4) and J. August Richards (Gunn on Angel).

Other than the introduction of two new characters and a sympathetic villain, there isn’t much remarkable about this episode. Even most of the dialogue seems to lack its usual sparkle, though there’s still a few good bits:

Xander:  What he lacks in smarts he makes up in lack of smarts.
Willow:  You just don’t like him ’cause of that time he beat you up every day for five years.

Buffy:  Oh! I know this one! Slaying entails certain sacrifices, blah, blah, bity blah, I’m so stuffy, give me a scone.

Oh, and since I keep bashing the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie, I figured should at least finish it. I’d only made it through a half hour in the past. And now that I’ve seen the whole thing, I can say with authority – it’s awful. The only thing I liked about it was the actor who played Pike.

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Supernatural – Pilot

It was only recently that I’d even heard of the show Supernatural. It popped up a few times on TV blogs and articles, and I gathered that it had a strong fan base. Without probing too deeply (trying to avoid spoilers!), I learned that two brothers, trained by their dad after the death of their mom, hunt all sorts of supernatural baddies.

The pilot introduces the Winchester brothers, Dean and Sam (played by Jared Padalecki, who I knew as Dean from Gilmore Girls, which made things a bit confusing). The entire episode was quite creepy, something I wasn’t expecting. Most of the speculative shows I watch involve vampires or superheroes, and fighting them means physical battles. As such, they tend to be more scary/suspenseful than creepy, but Supernatural’s pilot ranks right up there with the handful of episodes that were creepy (Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s “Hush” and Angel’s “Room w/a Vu” come to mind).

The pilot featured Life and Fairly Legal’s Sarah Shahi. The acting and effects were above par, and it contained enough of a hook to make me want to watch the second episode. The only thing that didn’t ring true was Dean’s comment to Sam that they made a great team. Their teamwork wasn’t impressive at all in this episode – they seemed to just stumble onto things individually. (A bunch of shows come to mind that have much better teamwork in the pilot episode that ultimately brings the characters together to form the show – Leverage, Bones, White Collar, Burn Notice . . .) But I’m guessing this improves with future episodes. I’m looking forward to what a regular episode will bring.

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TV Trends – Online Fandom

This post about online TV show fandom caught my attention – mostly because of how many shows I love are on the list! A university student surveyed more than 3,000 people to determine which shows have the most ardent fans, as far as online activity goes. The survey was only for shows currently on the air (if they did ones that have been canceled, I’d wager Firefly as #1), and the results were:

1. Supernatural
2. Castle
3. Smallville
4. Community
5. Hawaii Five-0
6. Chuck
7. Bones
8. Leverage
9. The Vampire Diaries
10. Fringe
11. Burn Notice
12. Glee
13. Mad Men

I thought I’d take a look at each of them in turn.

1. Supernatural

I really don’t know much about this show at all, other than it stars Dean from Gilmore Girls, and I’m guessing it fits into the speculative genre. I’m kind of curious now.

2. Castle

One of my favorite shows ever – consistently good in every way. I love that it’s about a writer. I love that it stars Nathan Fillion and that Firefly references pop up all the time. I feel that if someone took all the TV shows I love and found one that encompassed them all, Castle would be it.

3. Smallville

I’ve always been more of a Spiderman rather than a Superman fan. I did enjoy the main character’s acting on movies I’ve seen him in, but I never had a chance to watch the show. However, after finishing watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, I watched a couple of James Marsters’ (Spike) Q&A sessions. He has a reoccurring role in Smallville and he talked about the story of Superman being a Christ story for an atheist world. That really interested me in watching it and with No Ordinary Family and The Cape being likely out of the picture for next fall, I’m looking for a good superhero show. I plan to start watching it soon.

4. Community

This little half-hour show is just hands-down funny. I loved it from the first episode, and while I don’t think the second season is quite as strong as the first, Abed will keep me watching for many years to come.

5. Hawaii Five-0

The main reason I don’t watch this show is that I’m watching too many crime dramas already. Since it airs in the same time slot as Castle, there was little chance I’d watch it live, and since it’s on CBS it’s harder to catch up on old episodes (I’m a big Hulu fan, especially when it lets me watch the whole current season). I did watch one episode in the middle of the season when there wasn’t a new Castle – I thought it was good, but not great.

6. Chuck

Action, humor, romance – what more can you ask for? Oh, just Jayne from Firefly. I sometimes let to-be-watched episodes of this show pile up when I’m busy (usually in a lull between several cliffhanger episodes), but I always watch them eventually. I’m a bit surprised that a show this well-liked is consistently on the bubble for renewal.

7. Bones

Thanks to Netflix having all back seasons, once I recover from my Buffy/Angel David Bornanaz deluge I plan to check out this show. Despite it being yet another crime drama, I’ve heard good things about it.

8. Leverage

Another one of those rare shows that’s “practically perfect in every way” and that I’ve loved from episode one. The concept of modern-day Robin Hoods, the tight-knit team of great actors, engaging plot, witty dialog, and explosive action. If you’re not watching Leverage you’re really missing out.

9. The Vampire Diaries

I’ve only caught half an episode while waiting for another show to start, but I wasn’t impressed. If I start to go into vampire withdrawal I’m more likely to try out True Blood instead.

10. Fringe

This is another of those “waiting for a chance to try” shows. I’ve heard it’s good, but not much else.

11. Burn Notice

Love this show, for three reasons. 1. Michael. 2. Sam. 3. Fiona. Easily one of my favorite summer shows, and more consistently good than even Psych.

12. Glee

I’ve watched 10 or so episodes. Love the music, hate the soap opera.

13. Mad Men

I’ve heard it’s good, but I haven’t heard anything that compels me to watch it.

 

So, out of the shows I’m not watching yet but thinking about, which do you think I should watch?

Supernatural, Smallville, Bones, or Fringe?

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