eureka s05ep14 Christmas special

Eureka
The title of the series, "Eureka", spelled out in semi-transparent letters, on a background of blue sky and clouds
Also known as A Town Called Eureka
Genre

Science fiction
Comedy-Drama

Created by

Andrew Cosby
Jaime Paglia

Starring

Colin Ferguson
Salli Richardson-Whitfield
Joe Morton
Jordan Hinson
Ed Quinn
Erica Cerra
Neil Grayston
Niall Matter
Matt Frewer
Debrah Farentino
James Callis

Opening theme "Eureka on My Mind"
Ending theme "Eureka on My Mind"
(seasons 1-2)
"Carter's Theme"
(seasons 3-5)
Composer(s) Bear McCreary
Country of origin United States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 5
No. of episodes 77 (TV episodes)
+ 8 (webisodes) (List of episodes)
Production
Location(s) British Columbia, Canada
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time 44 minutes
Production company(s) Universal Cable Productions
Broadcast
Original channel Syfy
Original run July 18, 2006 – July 16, 2012
External links
Website

Eureka (stylized as EUReKA) is an American science fiction television series that premiered on Syfy on July 18, 2006. The fifth and final season ended on July 16, 2012. The show is set in a fictional town in the Pacific Northwest called Eureka, Oregon. Inhabited almost entirely by scientific geniuses, most residents of Eureka work for Global Dynamics—an advanced research facility responsible for the development of nearly all major technological breakthroughs since its inception. Each episode features a mysterious accidental or intentional misuse of technology, which the town sheriff, Jack Carter, then solves with the help of town scientists. Each season also features a larger story arc that concerns a particular major event or item.

The series was created by Andrew Cosby and Jaime Paglia and was produced by Universal Media Studios. While initially lacking in critical acclaim, Eureka was a ratings success for the network, averaging 3.2 million viewers during the second half of season three.[1] In 2007, Eureka was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Visual Effects for a Series, and won the Leo Award for Best Visual Effects in a Dramatic Series.[2] In the United Kingdom the show airs on Sky1 and is known as A Town Called Eureka, although it is also shown under its original name on the BT Vision platform.[3]

On February 16, 2012, Syfy announced that the show's fifth season would premiere on April 16, 2012.[4][5]
Contents

1 Synopsis
2 Main characters
3 Episodes
3.1 Production
3.2 Filming locations
4 Crossovers
5 Reception
5.1 Ratings and viewership
5.2 Critical reception
5.3 Award nominations
6 Cancellation
7 Home video releases
8 In other media
8.1 Original soundtrack
8.2 Comics
8.3 Novels
8.4 Podcast appearances
9 References
10 External links

Synopsis
Jaime Paglia, co-creator of Eureka, at the 2011 Phoenix Comicon.

Eureka takes place in a high tech fictional community of the same name, located in the U.S. state of Oregon (Washington in the pilot), and inhabited by brilliant scientists. The town is operated by a corporation called Global Dynamics (GD), which is overseen by the United States Department of Defense. The town's existence and location are closely guarded secrets. In episode 5.06 ("Worst Case Scenario"), Jack is directed to place an EM field generator device at the center of Eureka's shield. The GPS coordinates given are 42°38′12.33″N 121°40′55.33″W, located in the Winema National Forest, 43 miles (69 km) north of the border between California and Oregon.

U.S. Marshal Jack Carter stumbles upon Eureka while transporting a fugitive prisoner (his own rebellious teenage daughter Zoe) back to her mother's home in Los Angeles. When a faulty experiment cripples the sheriff of Eureka, Carter finds himself quickly chosen to fill the vacancy. Despite not being a genius like most members of the town, Jack Carter demonstrates a remarkable ability to connect to others, keen and practical insights, and a dedication to preserving the safety of Eureka.
Main characters
Main article: List of Eureka characters

Sheriff Jack Carter, portrayed by Colin Ferguson, is a U.S. Marshal who reluctantly ends up as the sheriff of Eureka. Jack is consistently dumbfounded by the wonders Eureka produces, as well as its propensity to produce things that often threaten the entire town (or world). Despite being a man of average intelligence in a town full of geniuses, Jack's admittedly simple ideas and his intuition often save the day.
Zoe Carter (Jordan Hinson) (seasons 1–3, recurring in seasons 4–5), is Jack's rebellious teenage daughter. Unlike her father, she is intelligent enough to keep up with the town's residents. Yet, like her father, she possesses street smarts something lacking for most of the town's residents. She hopes to attend Harvard Medical School and become a physician.
Dr. Allison Blake, portrayed by Salli Richardson-Whitfield, is a Department of Defense agent who acts as the liaison between Global Dynamics and the federal government. Allison, unmarried, is also mother of Kevin, who has autism.
Dr. Henry Deacon, portrayed by Joe Morton, is the town jack of all trades and a brilliant scientist. Henry has ethical objections to the kind of research conducted at Global Dynamics, so he prefers to be employed as the town's mechanic. Henry's assistance is often invaluable in defusing the bad situations that are created by experiments at Global Dynamics.
Dr. Nathan Stark, portrayed by Ed Quinn (seasons 1–3), is one of Eureka's top scientists. He and Jack are frequently at odds, although both respect each other. On and off, he is romantically involved with Allison. He is modeled after Tony Stark, a Marvel Comics character.[6]
Josephina "Jo" Lupo, portrayed by Erica Cerra (recurring in seasons 1–2, regular in seasons 3–5), is Eureka's deputy sheriff. She is a former U.S. Army Ranger with a love of firearms.
Dr. Douglas Fargo, portrayed by Neil Grayston (recurring in seasons 1–2, regular in seasons 3–5), is a junior scientist,treated somewhat dismissively by his peers. Accident-prone, he often ends up a victim of the disasters befalling the town, and has caused a fair share of the problems. Grayston also provides the voice of S.A.R.A.H. (Self Actuated Residential Automated Habitat), the bunker home Jack and Zoe Carter live in.
Zane Donovan, portrayed by Niall Matter (recurring in season 2, regular in seasons 3–5), is a rebellious genius who is recruited to Global Dynamics. He allegedly caused a stock market crash, and agreed to work for GD as an alternative to imprisonment.

Episodes
Main article: List of Eureka episodes
Season Product Episodes Originally aired DVD release date
Season premiere Season finale
1 Eureka: Season 1 12 July 18, 2006 October 3, 2006 July 3, 2007[7]
2 Eureka: Season 2 13 July 10, 2007 October 2, 2007 July 15, 2008[8]
3 Eureka: Season 3.0 18 July 29, 2008 September 18, 2009 June 30, 2009[9]
Eureka: Season 3.5 July 10, 2009 June 29, 2010[10]
4 Eureka: Season 4.0 21 July 9, 2010 December 6, 2011 July 5, 2011[11]
Eureka: Season 4.5 July 11, 2011 March 27, 2012[12]
5 Eureka: Season 5 13 April 16, 2012 July 16, 2012 July 17, 2012[13]
Production

The series was created by Andrew Cosby and Jaime Paglia and is produced by Universal Media Studios. The season one original music was composed by Mutato Muzika; season two and beyond were composed by Bear McCreary. The executive producers of the current season are Paglia, Charles Grant Craig, and Thania St. John. While initially lacking in strong critical acclaim, Eureka has been a popular success, averaging 3.2 million viewers during the second half of season three.[1] In 2007 Eureka was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Visual Effects for a Series and won the Leo Award for Best Visual Effects in a Dramatic Series.[2] In the United Kingdom on Sky1 the show is known as A Town Called Eureka although it is also shown under its original name on the BT Vision platform.[3]

Characters from Eureka have crossed over to Warehouse 13 and vice-versa, and characters from Warehouse 13 have crossed over to Alphas, making the three shows sister shows.

It was announced on August 17, 2010 that the show had been picked up for a fifth season of 13 episodes.[14][15] Fan sites and a show writers' Twitter feed said on August 4, 2011, that the show had been picked up for a sixth and possibly final season of six episodes.[15][16] It was then announced on August 8, 2011, that Eureka would not get a sixth season, but it would instead be canceled after season five.[17] However, one additional episode of the fifth season has been approved in order to give the series a proper finale.[5] On February 16, 2012 Syfy announced that the show's fifth and final season would premiere on April 16, 2012.[4]
Filming locations

Chilliwack, British Columbia – Downtown Wellington Avenue Cafe Diem set all 5 seasons.[18]
Ladysmith, British Columbia – Downtown First Avenue, Roberts Street.[19]
Burnaby, British Columbia – Vancouver Film Studios for the majority of the Global Dynamics building interiors, cafe interiors as well as the home of Sheriff Carter.[20]

Crossovers

Eureka is part of Syfy's developing shared fictional universe, with several characters crossing over between series:

Global Dynamics researcher Douglas Fargo (played by Neil Grayston) from Eureka traveled to South Dakota to update Warehouse 13's computer system in the Warehouse 13 episode "13.1". Warehouse 13 computer wizard Claudia Donovan (played by Allison Scagliotti) subsequently traveled to the town of Eureka, Oregon to check out the technological marvels at Global Dynamics in the Eureka episode "Crossing Over". Fargo again appeared in the Warehouse 13 episode "Don't Hate the Player" when Claudia, Lattimer, and Bering traveled to Palo Alto, California to find Douglas beta testing a virtual reality simulator with the aid of a dangerous artifact. Additionally, Hugo Miller spent some time in the town of Eureka, departing with Douglas Fargo at the end of episode "13.1"; he returns in "Love Sick", commenting that, "every week [there] something seems to go 'boom'!" His presence there is off screen.
Reception
Ratings and viewership

The series premiere was watched by 4.1 million people, making it the top-rated cable program for that night; it was the highest-rated series launch in Syfy's fourteen-year history.[21] The season two premiere drew 2.5 million viewers, making it the top-rated cable program of the day.[22]

For calendar-year 2008 as a first-run, the series delivered 1.42 million viewers in the 18–49 demographic.[23]

The 3rd season premiere was viewed by 2.8 million viewers, and the season 3.5 premiere of Eureka earned 2.68 million viewers in its new time slot.[24] The 4th season premiere was viewed by 2.5 million viewers.[25] The 5th season premiere was viewed by 1.8 million viewers,[26] on par with seasons 4's closing episode One Giant Leap.[27] The 5th season closer Just Another Day generated 1.58 million viewers.[28]
Critical reception

Critical reaction was mixed, with general praise for the premise, but overall middling reaction to the writing of the pilot.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer:[29]
“ It's all very quirky. Too quirky, maybe, for an audience that is used to spaceships, robots, and explosions. Though every episode promises an "aha!" moment based in quantum physics and obscure scientific laws, this world is relatively flat, conceptually speaking, in comparison to the complexity woven into series such as Stargate SG-1 and Battlestar Galactica. This does not mean Eureka is a complete waste of time. Not at all. The characters are fun, Ferguson is believable and pleasant, the script is solidly constructed, and the visuals are slickly produced. All in all, it's a sweet series and probably not long for this world. ”

The New York Daily News:[citation needed]
“ With its playful new series Eureka, set in the Pacific Northwest and telling the story of an outsider who comes to explore, and settle in, a remote town full of eccentrics, Sci-Fi Channel isn't just inviting comparisons to Twin Peaks and Northern Exposure. It's demanding them. But co-creators Andrew Cosby and Jaime Paglia hold up to them pretty well. Eureka has a premise, a cast and a plot that make it one of the TV treats of the summer. The folks at Sci-Fi Channel clearly intended to reinvent the summer TV series here, and come up with something breezy and fun. And Eureka – they've done it! ”
Award nominations
Director of Center for Inquiry & IIG, James Underdown presents writer Ed Fowler with an award on August 21, 2010.

Eureka was nominated for a 2007 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series. The other nominees were Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, Rome, and Battlestar Galactica (the winner).[30]
On August 21, 2010, Eureka was honored with an award for its scientific, and critical thinking content, from The Independent Investigations Group during its 10th Anniversary Gala. The award was accepted by head writer Ed Fowler.[31]

Cancellation

On August 8, 2011, it was announced that Eureka would be cancelled after five seasons.[32] Syfy decided not to order a season six of Eureka: "But Eureka is not over yet. There is a new holiday episode this December and 12 stellar episodes set to debut next year, marking its fifth season and six memorable years on Syfy. The 2012 episodes are some of the best we've seen, and will bring this great series to a satisfying end. We are very grateful to Bruce Miller and Jaime Paglia, their team of incredible writers, and an amazing cast and crew who have consistently delivered a series we continue to be very proud of. We thank the fans for their support of this show and know they will enjoy its final season in 2012."[33]

With the announcement of the show's cancellation, a fan campaign on social media emerged. Thousands of fans protested what they thought was the network's decision.[34] Executive producer Amy Berg clarified that the decision to cancel the show was made by Comcast, the controlling partner at NBCUniversal, which owns Syfy.