A few days ago, Hulu posted the first season of Eureka, and I've been checking it out. I finally jumped on board in Season 3 and found the show quite entertaining, so I was excited to get the opportunity to see the show's beginnings. This is really delightful. I'll admit, there are certain elements (performers, mainly) that don't work for me, but overall, I have to say, this is a sweet little show. The guy who plays the sheriff plays his part very well, and the character does a good job of embodying the audience's perspective. The plots are just close enough to believable tech to not set off my oh-come-on alarm, but are just wacky enough to be fun. All those goofy gadgets you wish existed get the chance to come alive via Global Dynamics' R&D division. Characters/actors I could do without: Stark - The character itself is necessary, but the actor is so DULL. He looks like he's sleepwalking. Zoe - I want to hand the child a makeup removal cloth and tell her to scour her eyes. From what I remember of her in later episodes, her whiny typical teenage angst mellows out over time. Taggart - Okay, WHO told Matt Frewer he could do an Australian accent? *shudder* I hope the character dies a heart-tugging, horrible death so I'll feel guilty for hating him so much. I'm on the fence about Beverly. I LOVE Deborah Farentino thanks to Earth 2, and she's had her moments so far. But she's also coming off as rather plot-device-y. I'm interested to see how she makes her exit as well, since I know I didn't see her character OR Frewer's in Season 3. So yes, I'm late to the party. I've seen the first 9 episodes, and I've been well-entertained so far. I'd love to hear about the show's beginnings. How did you feel about the first season? Did you love it right away, or did it grow on you?
I'll try once to bump this and see if anyone's interested. If not, I'll let it die. Two additional comments: The theme music is cute and really suits the show. Colin Ferguson is a hottie. Discuss! Or, you know, not.
I didn't hate Taggart. Sometimes I wouldn't mind stuffing Fargo into a particle accelerator, though. It seems that they had a stretch where the show was following their forumla too closely: Carter investigates problem and thinks it is one thing and then it turns out to be something else. I think season 3 they've really hit their stride, but I still think the other seasons are pretty well established (unlike STNG).
The first season is the best. After this season, the show's developer Andrew Cosby left, and the new showrunners have taken the show in different directions that haven't worked as well. The second season started off well but deteriorated by the end, and the third season so far has been mediocre, with too many characters and threads having been dropped and the new ones not being as engaging. One of my least favorite changes since S1 is to Jo. She started out as a slightly cliched "tough babe" character, but was still strong and engaging, and when she let her hair down (literally and figuratively) and showed how gorgeous she really was, it had a real impact. But starting with the second season, she's lost her teeth and has become defined almost solely in terms of her romantic relationships and her allure to the men around her, which is much more stereotypical for a female character.
Colin Ferguson definitely makes the show, both on his own and in his easy chemistry with Joe Morton. Speaking of whom, "Henry" was also a great part of S.1, but he became a little too unlikeable in the second season, thankfully pulling back in S.3. I also wish they would figure out what to do with Carter's love life. I think he had a great thing going in the first season with the tension between him and Allison, which was also screwed up by the triangle with them and Stark in S.2; when they brought in the dry cleaner, I thought, "Hey, she's cute and they have a great relationship," and then she just vanished! At this point, I think Carter's only continuing relationship is with S.A.R.A.H. I hope when the show returns, they drop the blatant in-show advertising - that really tainted the experience for me.
^^Ohh, yeah, the Degree ads were beyond obnoxious. They've actually had in-show product placement from the start, but in the first two seasons it was comparatively subtle, the Cisco Systems logos showing up on their videophone screens all the time. That was a product placement that actually made sense in context and so it didn't overwhelm the stories. But working a deodorant into the stories made no sense. And the most offensive part was the episode where Zane's "experimental" super-deodorant functioned like it was shown in the commercials and protected him and Carter from the heat of the miniature sun. It was so obvious that that whole episode was dictated by the makers of Degree to serve as an hourlong commercial for their product. And it was doubly stupid because antiperspirants do not work that way! They don't protect you from heat, they interact with perspiration to turn it into a gel that blocks your sweat glands.
A friend has loaned me this and I'm going to check it out in the next week or so. I'll chime in then but it looks interesting.
Honestly, this is the first role outside of Max Headroom that Matt Frewer played that didn't annoy the hell out of me. I think Stark is supposed to be dull. His personality is geared more toward business than it is toward social interaction. If you notice, he even seems annoyed by other geniuses. He has a personality of young Victor Von Doom, where power is his main focused goal and he looks down upon others because he believes he has no equal. Beverly and her exit is a bit of a disappointment but I let you judge for yourself. Henry's personality change in season 2 is understandable, considering he's lost the love of his life 3x within the show. Loosing someone once is bad enough, 3x and I'm surprised he didn't buy a gun. He was under more grief than anyone should have to handle. Sakrysta, I'm glad you're enjoying the show so far and I hope none of our opinions taint you views of it going forward. I'm still find it a very entertaining show.
^Not at all. As I said, I started watching with Season 3, which seems kinda "duller" than this first season has been. The ONE time I've liked Stark so far was in the episode "House Rules" where he gets it from Henry for squandering his genius in management. I liked his response, that his presence in a position like that was what allowed all the other geniuses in Eureka to pursue their theories and projects so freely. For ONCE I found Stark relatable. I'm kind of interested now to see where Season 2 takes him, because what little I saw of him in Season 3 had me scratching my head - "WHY is Allison marrying this walking monolith?" Taggart is growing on me ... slightly. I still think his attempt at an Australian accent is HORRID and makes him virtually unintelligible. The character is turning out to be more quirky fun than I initially thought him to be. I just wish they'd made him American instead of a Steve Irwin clone. I have nothing against Aussies - I just find his approximation of the accent unbearable. How can anyone hate Fargo! He's adorable! Funny how the ads kinda blew by me, even the Degree ones. I can understand why they're annoying to a lot of people, but they haven't really bugged me yet.
I completely agree with you about Stark's moment in "House Rules". That scene really struck a cord with me too. Near the end of season two he shows deep compassion for Allison & her son. I think once you see those moments, you might understand what brought the both of them together because you're already seeing what drove them apart. Fargo is such a loser, he is adorable. I loved him in "Purple Haze". BTW, what is Vincent a genius of? Is he a culinary arts guru?
^I don't know, but I also find his character absolutely adorable, and would like to see more of him. Not too much more - a character like that works best as seasoning, not main course. But I do like him.
I agree. I kinda find his overly flamboyant nature a bit much at times, so not too much is just right. I hope I'm not in the wrong by saying that? I don't wish to come off as homophopic.