Eureka – The Perfect Show for Nerds who don't want to admit it

Eureka offers the perfect blend of character, comedy, and techie that any nerd will fall in love with. And I don't mean nerd in any derogatory way. I'm talking about the person that loves gadgets, taking things apart, and having a sense of awe and respect for technology. But Eureka, a show about a small town in the Pacific Northwest, is a show that even the anti-nerd can enjoy.

Eureka, airing on SyFy, is a show about Jack Carter, a U.S. Marshall turned Sheriff. But Carter isn't a Sheriff in a normal town. Rather, he is surrounded by the best and the brightest scientists in the world that always seem to get into trouble (usually by almost blowing up the world).

Eureka offers an interesting combinations of nerd and cool, joining together two incredibly different ideologies to form an enjoyable TV series that can be supported by all type of viewers.




What makes Eureka a show that is enjoyable for everyone is Colin Ferguson's portrayal of the Jack Carter. Ferguson adds to Carter the perfect blend of sarcasm, brilliance, and comedy that makes the show enjoyable to watch week after week. Throw in the ability to live in a town full of autonomous cars, houses with feelings, and an endless stream of crazy gadgets and you get a wacky, nerdy show with characters that prevent it from being cast aside as not “cool” enough. Carter is not a scientist. Carter has absolutely not technological knowledge, and adds to the humor of the show when he has absolutely no idea what he is talking about. But he is by far a 'stupid' character. Unlike the scientists that fill Carter's town, Carter is good at reading people and fixing problems. While the town is full of people who are clouded by reason, Carter acts on his gut, a quality that makes him stand out in Eureka. But unlike most techie shows, where the only right way is to use reason, Ferguson's character stands as the man who can use common sense to help save the day.


Eureka still has significant appeal to the techie in the crowd. Each episode is centered around some technological problem gone astray, ranging from huge magnetic fields being rearranged to nanoids that are meant to repair living tissue on the loose. All the gadgets and technologies in the show fill the hearts of any techie, aching to be able to have gadgets like that of their own.

Eureka's ability to reach out to multiple audiences has proven successful. It was the highest series launch SyFy had ever had in its history, and continues to do well as it moves into its fourth season. If the writers of Eureka set out to create the perfect blend between tech and character, then they've struck gold!

-Patrick Costello