Any television show pitched to “broaden the scope and appeal” of a given channel seems doomed from the start, but the Sci Fi Channel says just that about its new original drama, “Eureka” (8 p.m. Tuesday), and it’s not half bad. Plus, paired with the upcoming reality series “Who Wants To Be A Superhero,” in which 11 contestants attempt to convince comic book legend Stan Lee that they have what it takes to be a superhero (nice thighs? box office potential?), Sci Fi just might be on to something.
“Eureka” may reel in as many viewers as, say, “Battlestar Galactica” or “Stargate SG-1” because it’s set in contemporary times and on Earth — the Pacific Northwest town of Eureka, to be exact. Of course, nothing’s what it seems, yadda yadda yadda, because Eureka is actually a government-created and protected town of scientific and mathematical geniuses, assembled to conduct top-secret research, from the medical to the military. Think of a town full of Dr. Emmett Browns (“Back to the Future’s” mad tinkerer), and you can imagine the comic and chaotic possibilities.
But it’s not the predictable ordinary town/extraordinary circumstances that make “Eureka” click. It’s Colin Ferguson, an actor with soap-opera good looks, impeccable comic timing and a resume of sitcom misses (one word: “Coupling”). Ferguson gamely plays Jack Carter, a wry and foxy U.S. marshal who literally crashes into Eureka — car accident — and ends up working with the local police to restore order to the town when a physicist’s experiment goes awry. And when I say awry, I mean awry: Time is unraveling and the laws of physics are breaking down when Carter comes to town.
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With the world as we know it about to end, you’d think there wouldn’t be much time for romantic flirtations. You’d be wrong. There are a bevy of women — a sassy Department of Defense liaison, a sexy B&B owner/presidential psychotherapist and a stubborn deputy sheriff — swirling around Jack, and one can foresee the love triangles to come.
And everything’s not hunky dory. When you have genius, evil genius can’t be far behind, and the premiere episode hints at the bad guys (and gals), though we’re not yet sure whether they work for or against the government. So stay tuned. Because even though broader does mean more conventional, conventional these days is underrated. Sometimes a good-looking cop is enough.
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