The DoD did. That's the real reason they shut the place down.
Eureka: Final Season (Discussion, spoilers, etc.)
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You know, when all was said and done, I'm not sure what Global Dynamics and Eureka actually were. GD was referred to as a corporation with Eureka apparently as a "company town". But they didn't act like a corporation, ever. They didn't seem to have any owners or a board of directors or contracts with the government. They took their marching orders straight from the government and they were under the direct command of the military.
GD had to be a government installation, not a corporation, with Eureka as extended government living quarters. That's about the only way a "fixer" like Thorne could order Vincent to stop giving away free coffee, or the DoD could repossess the stuff in the town.
And yet civilians were able to wander freely into and out of town. They had the U.S. Marshal Service assign them a sheriff instead of getting one from the DoD. (Although that may not be fair; Jo and Andy were both government-issue. Carter was probably unique.) They had a mayor with enough autonomy and clout to be able to defy government orders. This was actually written into the town charter! And they had gadgets installed all through the town with no security at all, like the fusion-powered houses and Henry's garage.
Ultimately I'd say GD was alternately a government outfit, or a corporation that contracted with the government, as the plot demanded. Weird, eh?
GD had to be a government installation, not a corporation, with Eureka as extended government living quarters. That's about the only way a "fixer" like Thorne could order Vincent to stop giving away free coffee, or the DoD could repossess the stuff in the town.
And yet civilians were able to wander freely into and out of town. They had the U.S. Marshal Service assign them a sheriff instead of getting one from the DoD. (Although that may not be fair; Jo and Andy were both government-issue. Carter was probably unique.) They had a mayor with enough autonomy and clout to be able to defy government orders. This was actually written into the town charter! And they had gadgets installed all through the town with no security at all, like the fusion-powered houses and Henry's garage.
Ultimately I'd say GD was alternately a government outfit, or a corporation that contracted with the government, as the plot demanded. Weird, eh?
Well, it started off as a military base back in the 40s. Who knows how it evolved? Maybe it was sort of like NASA, a civilian agency under government control, but managed like a corporation. Maybe they just never thought it through completely. 
Yeah, I was wondering if I was the only one who noticed...
The driving in/out thing was brilliant.
So that WAS in the pilot? That would be so cool!
Thanks for the link, Mark! Yeah, there were differences, but what the hell!
Eureka/GD could be gov't owned but privately administered. JPL and other labs have that setup. JPL is (or was, not sure if things have changed) is a gov't lab administered by Caltech.
GD only had one customer and selling to any other customers was treason punishable by death or life imprisonment.
They didn't make any money because they didn't sell anything.
Now it's just a question of what the government did with all these inventions after GD was finished, because it certainly didn't trickle down to the public sector.
After old spice bought GD, they wouldn't be allowed to continue any Top Secret research that they had started under the old administration, or they'd be put in jail forever, and if the US Government just wanted to put everything into "Warehouse 14" until the future finally gets here, then who is their new primary customer going to be? North Korea? And again, that would be treason and every one would be sent to a secret underground CIA prison.
Although?
Wasn't season three about GD becoming profitable discovering new revenue streams?
They didn't make any money because they didn't sell anything.
Now it's just a question of what the government did with all these inventions after GD was finished, because it certainly didn't trickle down to the public sector.
After old spice bought GD, they wouldn't be allowed to continue any Top Secret research that they had started under the old administration, or they'd be put in jail forever, and if the US Government just wanted to put everything into "Warehouse 14" until the future finally gets here, then who is their new primary customer going to be? North Korea? And again, that would be treason and every one would be sent to a secret underground CIA prison.
Although?
Wasn't season three about GD becoming profitable discovering new revenue streams?
I'm sure they made some money from the product placements for Degree deodorant and Subaru.
Yeah, there wouldn't be any more Section 5, but otherwise it would be business as usual -- except they'd be operating in the private sector. They'd have to set up contracts with other corporations, and yes, with the government.
But they'd clean up. With the amount of talent they have at hand, they could command massive fees to ... do exactly what they did before. As I believe someone already pointed out, the government still needs them. The government really screwed themselves by letting Eureka go freelance!
But they'd clean up. With the amount of talent they have at hand, they could command massive fees to ... do exactly what they did before. As I believe someone already pointed out, the government still needs them. The government really screwed themselves by letting Eureka go freelance!
For myself, I have two questions for this series.
First, will Fargo and Holly be able to fully experience their relationship as they did before? I don't think it was answered whether or not her new body is fully functional, like a human body.
Second, what happen to the Astraeus project? I find it hard to believe that the American government and the military contractors would abandon such an expensive project after one failure. I would think they would improve the security, and attempt a second flight.
First, will Fargo and Holly be able to fully experience their relationship as they did before? I don't think it was answered whether or not her new body is fully functional, like a human body.
Second, what happen to the Astraeus project? I find it hard to believe that the American government and the military contractors would abandon such an expensive project after one failure. I would think they would improve the security, and attempt a second flight.
I don't see why they wouldn't try to re-do the Astraeus mission. The ship IS still there and there was nothing wrong with the technology. But hey - it's been less than a year since the incident. Wouldn't surprise me if they took their time before trying again - although admittedly it took them less than a year to get the mission going in the first place. :P
Mark
Mark
Time for a Kickstarter project.
Area 51.
Eureka, Warehouse 13 and Alphas are all in the same universe and we WANT Stargate to be included... Anything else?
Eureka, Warehouse 13 and Alphas are all in the same universe and we WANT Stargate to be included... Anything else?
What absolutely beautiful ending to a wonderful show. It was the pitch-perfect, lighthearted finale that I hoped Eureka would get. Everyone got great closure and I shed some tears here and there, I'm not afraid to admit. I was thrilled to see Zoe one last time, pleasantly surprised to see James Callis show up and save the day (but, man, his accent was awful this time around), and the Beverly storyline was finally tied off (honestly, I don't really care anymore who she worked for). The final scene was a fantastic bookend to the series. I wish the show could continue and I will miss it dearly, but I'm thrilled that it goes this wonderful ending.
That would be fun, but it would mean that while the scientists of Area 51 know all about the Stargate program, the ones at Eureka have no clue. They seem to have no idea that the Air Force is using alien tech. Why go to the trouble of building the Astraeus when the crew could hitch a ride on the Odyssey or the Apollo?
Its a tax write-off.
I've waited a few days after seeing the episode to comment and, overall, I was happy with what we got. As another poster said, I'm a fan of the "life goes on" series finales, rather than the "the show's ending, everybody is going off in separate directions" finales. Not that there aren't good examples of the latter, it's just that I think it takes more time to set up valid reasons why people are headed off to different chapters of their life than to shoehorn that into the last episode. I guess I view a television series as a "window" into the life of the characters and I'm usually more satisfied with the thought that I may not be able to see into these characters lives, but at least I have an inkling of what they are doing.
As illustrated in this episode, having the characters go their own separate ways would have been difficult to manage. Case in point: Jo and Zane. Without Dr. Old Spice's last minute intervention, I think the most likely case would have been for Jo to be in DC and Zane to be at MIT and for them to have a long distance relationship.
Then there's Carter and Allison. I think the show did a good job of showing that Jack "belongs" in Eureka. His previous life was a mess due to a job that wasn't suited for him (which lead to a failed marriage and a delinquent daughter). I'm not saying outside of Eureka, he couldn't have worked on being a better husband/dad, but I get the sense he won't have to work too hard in Eureka, because he belongs there.
Fargo going off with Holly is a good example of a character moving on. While he may have performed admirably, he was never really suited for being the head of GD. To me, it was more of a "shock factor" thing about this timeline, and I'm not saying it didn't provide for some character growth, but ultimately, it could only have lasted so long.
Henry and Grace need stability, the type of stability Eureka provides (I am aware of the irony there, but I meant emotionally). At this point, even with all that's happened to them in and because of Eureka, I think them moving away and trying to start a new life would be something that, again, would cause more problems than it would solve.
Leaving most of the characters in Eureka also opens the possibility for a continuation, like Smallville, Season 11, especially since Eureka co-creator is a co-found of Boom! Studios, which published two Eureka mini-series already. I guess Cosby doesn't work for Boom! anymore, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have pull.
As illustrated in this episode, having the characters go their own separate ways would have been difficult to manage. Case in point: Jo and Zane. Without Dr. Old Spice's last minute intervention, I think the most likely case would have been for Jo to be in DC and Zane to be at MIT and for them to have a long distance relationship.
Then there's Carter and Allison. I think the show did a good job of showing that Jack "belongs" in Eureka. His previous life was a mess due to a job that wasn't suited for him (which lead to a failed marriage and a delinquent daughter). I'm not saying outside of Eureka, he couldn't have worked on being a better husband/dad, but I get the sense he won't have to work too hard in Eureka, because he belongs there.
Fargo going off with Holly is a good example of a character moving on. While he may have performed admirably, he was never really suited for being the head of GD. To me, it was more of a "shock factor" thing about this timeline, and I'm not saying it didn't provide for some character growth, but ultimately, it could only have lasted so long.
Henry and Grace need stability, the type of stability Eureka provides (I am aware of the irony there, but I meant emotionally). At this point, even with all that's happened to them in and because of Eureka, I think them moving away and trying to start a new life would be something that, again, would cause more problems than it would solve.
Leaving most of the characters in Eureka also opens the possibility for a continuation, like Smallville, Season 11, especially since Eureka co-creator is a co-found of Boom! Studios, which published two Eureka mini-series already. I guess Cosby doesn't work for Boom! anymore, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have pull.