Giving Eureka a Second Chance
By stephanie - Sunday, August 13th, 2006
I hated the Eureka premiere, which was bloated and boring as all get-out. That said, I felt it had potential, and if they were successful in creating a science-fiction version of Northern Exposure, then they might have something with Eureka.
So I finally got around to watching episode two, which was already light years ahead of the premiere. The plot itself was a bit predictable; it’s the comedy I enjoyed. Not being constrained by excessive exposition, Eureka as a one-hour show was finally what it should be: light, fun, and quirky.
Marshall Jack Carter has now become Sheriff of Eureka (there’s no mention of what happened to the old sheriff…it appears he just disappeared in between the time Jack left and returned for Walter’s funeral). Jack is really the guy who makes the show work, as he serves as the “fish out of water” who is constantly responding to all the sci-fi strangeness around him with the quick one-liner.
Jack now has a house – run by an A.I. called S.A.R.A.H., whose sexy feminine voice has actually been done by the male Doctor Fargo, the home’s creator. (This makes for some fun jokes in the episode.) The house has an attitude; when Jack doesn’t return home in time for the dinner S.A.R.A.H. has created, he’s locked out. The solution? Jack apologizes to the home, giving it a fond caress on the door.
I liked episode two enough to continue watching, so we’ll see how it goes. The funnier they make this, the more fans they’ll get. We’ll see if the show holds up and if it lasts through a season.