- Joined
- Nov 15, 2001
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- 5,321
- Real Name
- Neil Middlemiss
A mixture of drama, suspense, action, goofiness and playful misadventure make up the DNA of the Syfy Channel’s popular show Eureka. Throughout five seasons the small town full of geniuses has caused no end of potentially catastrophic disaster in the pursuit of mind-bending innovation and universe-understanding experimentation. Keeping it all running more-or-less catastrophe-free is the one non-genius of the town, the affable Sheriff Carter. Since its beginning Eureka has been playful but genuine – mixing science ideas with fanciful fiction to create one of the more enjoyable shows on Cable. Season 5 wraps things up somewhat neatly and, now that it has officially signed off the air, will be dearly missed by its fan base (of which I proudly belong).
Studio: Universal Studios
Year: 2011
US Rating: Not Rated
Film Length: 7 Hours, 23 Minutes
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH
Release Date: July 17, 2012
Review Date: July 26, 2012
“Alright…we’re connected”
The Show
3.5/ 5
It has been years since US Marshal Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson) stumbled across the small town of Eureka and soon became Sherriff. The original premise has seen a few major shifts which include an alternate timeline and more recently a time-jump to the past and back for the major characters where the world they now inhabit is different. Allison (Salli Richardson-Whitfield) is a respectable scientist with a Teenage son and young daughter, Henry Deacon (Joe Morton) is a genius scientist and handy-man married to Dr. Grace Monroe (Tembi Locke). In this alternate timeline, where most have generally settled into their new world paradigm, there are still a few things unsettled. Jo, the Head of Global Dynamics Security (the brain of Eureka) and mischievous hack wizard Zane (played by Erica Cerra and Niall Matter respectively), still haven’t figured out their new standing. The shifts in realities for the main characters has kept the show fresh and interesting, bringing new characters to the fore, such as Douglas Fargo – now the head of Global Dynamics), who continues his love interest storylines with Dr. Holly Marten, played by the lovely Felicia Day.
The Final Season
4/5
Season 4 ended with the Astraeus Mission – the first manned mission to one of Jupiter’s moons – coming to an unexpected end when it lands in a desert on earth rather than the intended destination elsewhere in our solar system. For those that haven’t caught up with the events of the final season I won’t spoil it, but suffice to say there is a deep and dangerous conspiracy afoot that has repercussions through the remainder of the series. Season five’s short season still finds time to explore scientific ideas - body switching, body snatching, wormholes and nanotechnology – and tease with the relationships between the key characters. Zane and Lupo still struggle to clearly express their feelings for each other, Sheriff Carter and Allison see their typical ups and downs, and Henry and Dr. Grace face a few set back’s in their quest to learn how to be married.
The series finale is both a neat wrap up for the show, cleverly bookending the pilot episode, and also more of a whimper than a bang. The experiment that shoots awry in the plot is fairly straight-forward, is routinely addressed, and not nearly enough of an emotional catalyst through which end of this series should be experienced. The years through which fans have followed Sheriff Carter – through alternate universes and jumps back and forth in time – simply aren’t adequately served by this closeout and a bigger, bolder finale still feels like it’s out there for us fans. Given the short time the crew had to write and shoot this episode (hearing of the show’s cancellation and the blessing of one more episode to close it out) I can be forgiving, but it does not alter the sense that a more fitting close has not been seen.
I have said this before about this show – which I am already missing – but for all its pulp plots mixed with nuggets of real science, the show always managed to be fun with a delicious blend of science, visual effects, laughs and some more seriously dramatic tangents. All of the familiar faces make it back for the finale and the season is brightened once again by the continued guest appearances of Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation) and Felicia Day (The Guild).
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The Episodes
Disc One
Episode 1: Lost
Episode 2: The Real Thing
Episode 3: Force Quit
Episode 4: Friendly Fire
Disc Two
Episode 5: Jack of All Trades
Episode 6: Worst Case Scenario
Episode 7: Ex Machina
Episode 8: In Too Deep
Episode 9: Smarter Carter
Disc Three
Episode 10: The Honeymooners
Episode 11: Mirror, Mirror
Episode 12: Double Take
Episode 13: Just Another Day…
The Video
3.5/5
Eureka Season 5 is presented in the original 1.78:1 aspect ratio of its broadcast on the SyFy Channel and is enhanced for widescreen TVs. As with previous sets, the image is clean and the bright colors come across quite well. This half season does come across a little darker than other Eureka sets, but that could be a product of watching much less DVD product and Blu-ray television and films becoming the expectation.
The Sound
3.5/5
Universal has provided another good Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack for this DVD release. The dialogue, localized in the center channel is presented at a good level and is crisp. The effects scenes, which have many low-hum bass and directional effects - especially when an experiment goes wrong -, are quite good. Overall this is a solid audio and matches the quality of previous season sets.
The Extras
3.5 / 5
Holiday Episode: Do you see what I see
Gag Reel (2:47): I love gag reels – watching other laugh uncontrollably almost breaks a smile my face.
Deleted and Extended Scenes: Available on each of the three discs, scenes cut from episodes a number of episodes including The Honeymooners and Just Another Day… (on disc three) which includes a little character moment between Henry and Dr. Monroe and a few moments from the finale without the VFX finished, Jack of All Trades and Ex Machina on disc two, and Lost and Force Quit on disc one.
Anatomy of an Episode – Jack of All Trades (17:05): A look at the creation and execution of the ‘body/brain swapping’ episode, including coming up with the concept, deciding upon the ‘transfer’ technique, directing the episode (Jaime Paglia served as first time director) and more.
Ode to Carl the Jeep (2:40): Sherriff Carter’s trusty jeep took a lot of beatings through the series and this special feature lets us relive them.
“This Song is on the House” (4:10): An original song created in ode to the smart house Sarah and Deputy Andy.
A Fond Farewell (3:27): Co-creator, crew and cast present and former give thanks to the loyal fans (aired at Comic-Con). This is short but particularly sweet.
Just Another Day… Commentary: A number of episodes through the series have come with audio commentary and each time has proven revealing and fun. This commentary provided by Co-creator/Executive Producer Jaimie Paglia and Executive Producers Bruce Miller and Todd Sharp is no different. Here they reminisce about the shows launch and offer up details on how they were told this would be the last season, how they begged for the chance to add an episode to close the series out and just how precious little time they had to craft the send-off.
Final Thoughts
It is sad to say goodbye to the fine folks of Eureka. Always brisk and entertaining, with far better than average visual effects, often clever little science-influenced storylines and likeable and loveable characters, Eureka was a hopeful and bright spot on the television line-up. To appreciate the show, newcomers will need to start from the beginning (and it is well worth it for you to do so). Fans of the show will need little convincing to pick up this last Eureka release.
Note: Once again the eco-friendly packaging is 100% recyclable and made from a combination of 55% post-consumer and 45% post-industrial paper fiber.
Overall (Not an average)
3.5/5
Neil Middlemiss
Kernersville, NC
