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crack_van2009-12-01 02:49 pm
gwynevere1.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2009-12-01 02:49 pm
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Eureka: Fandom Overview
Overview Author's Note: This overview contains SPOILERS for all three seasons of Eureka and is IMAGE-HEAVY for dial-up users.
Eureka, Oregon, is your typical Small Town USA. It has a main street, a high school, one cafe, and the world's most advanced secret scientific research facility.
Wait? What was that last one?
Small Town, Big Secrets
The fictional town of Eureka was founded when Albert Einstein convinced President Harry Truman to create a place where the best scientific minds in the country (and, possibly, the world) could come together to research and to develop the technology of the future. The entire town centers around the research facility Global Dynamics (G.D.), funded by the Department of Defense. With a giant research facility, large budget (for the fictional town, not the show), and a population so focused on abstract scientific endeavor that it often forgets to consider the mundane and practical, wacky hijicks of the nerdest kind regularly occur: Alternate universes. Androids. Bodyswaps. Carjacking scorned cars. Clones. Comic nudity. Exploding robot dogs. Exploding mucus. Exploding explosions. Genetically engineered ferret infestations. Holograms teaching tai-chi. Human bio-luminescence. Spontaneous human combustion. Hysterical MPREG. Killer robot geese. Love pollen. Mind-controlling asphalt. Memory wipes. Psychotic, possessive computers. Random monkeys. Rebellious battle drones. Rebellious teenaged geniuses. Self-deploying sunglasses. Shared dreams. Time travel. Time loops. Virtually reality unintentionally becoming too real. Unintentional invisibility.
Basically, there's no such thing as crack!fic for this show, because the series itself is on so much crack.
In this community of exceptional individuals, the one person in charge of keeping things normal is the only normal person in town . . .
You Don't Know Jack
Jack Carter (played by Colin Ferguson) is the Sheriff of Eureka. A former U.S. Marshall, what Jack lacks in higher education, he makes up for in common sense (which is not so common in Eureka). While originally looked down upon as an outsider, Jack has become a respected member of the community. As the Audience Stand-In, Jack is often at the center of whatever charming apocalypse is threatening the town at the moment. While others get lost in the details, Jack is able to see the big picture. Jack also uses humor to defuse situations—including a self-deprecating wit. For example, when he learns that he scored an average 111 on an IQ test, he jokes that it's great that he scored over 100%.
Many of these world-saving adventures result in Jack taking his shirt off or losing all his clothes. We don't mind:
No, seriously, we don't:
Jack is 40-years-old and divorced but began a serious relationship with engineer and astrophysicist, Dr. Tess Fontana (played by Jaime Ray Newman) in Season Three. Tess left at the end of the seasonto be a witch with Mystique and Constable Benton Fraser to take a job in Australia but sent Jack a ticket to visit her for a booty call, implying that she's remains interested in continuing their romance. Whether Tess will return to Eureka from Eastwick remains to be seen, although in an interview, Newman did relate:
Jaime Paglia and Charlie Craig, the creators of the [Eureka], sent me an email when Eastwick got picked up, and they said, "We hope you get canceled. Love, Charlie and Jaime."
And, really, who wouldn't want to return to Jack? He's compassionate, considerate, funny, and quick-thinking—so much so, that your overview author cannot believe that one of her favorite television characters is a middle-aged white guy who likes baseball and beer.
The People In Your Neighborhood
With most series, I tend to like one or two characters (like Jack) and tolerate the rest – but, with Eureka, I love all the characters on this show SO MUCH . . .
Allison Blake (played by Salli Richardson-Whitfield) has an M.D. and two Ph.D.s in Exposition. Jack had a serious crush on her when he first moved to Eureka, but they now seem to have settled into being good, supportive friends. Allison began as the Department of Defense liaison to Eureka and eventually became the Director of Global Dynamics. One thing I appreciate about Eureka is the lack of gender!fail. No one ever asserts the trite that women aren't good at math and science or that they can't be leaders. Eureka is filled with female scientists who are treated as equals, including Allison, and her ability to lead is not called into question.
Several years pre-series, Allison's first husband died while she was pregnant with their son, Kevin Blake, who is autistic. The show touches on the difficulties of rearing a child by yourself while trying to have a career; however, being the "Single Mother" is not Allison's sole characteristic.
Allison is also very pretty:
I feel the need to mention this.
Henry Deacon (played by ubiquitous character actor Joe Morton) can do everything: master of ceremonies, mayor, mechanic, medical examiner, mentor, and minister. Henry is egalitarian; despite being a super-genius, Henry treats everyone with respect. He's never patronizing and doesn't act superior. Jack and Henry refer to each other as "best friends" in canon—fandom, of course, takes this as "shagging like bunnies." There's no description of Henry that I can give that is better than the one found in this meta essay by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sparkymonster:
He is an intelligent black man who doesn't die dramatically (like he did in T2), doesn't spend his time imparting earthy wisdom/advice to white people, hasn't "overcome" his background, and he isn't presented as the exceptional black man. Basically, he's not [a] magical negro, which makes me joyful.
Zoe Carter (played by Jordan Hinson) is Jack's teenaged daughter. She began as rebellious but has become serious about her schoolwork and her future. She and Jack have a close relationship. She is intelligent and independent. Zoe is a genius, but, unlike most of the geniuses in Eureka, Zoe shares her father's common sense.
Nathan Stark (played by Ed Quinn) is a Nobel Prize winning mathematician and Allison's on-again-off-again partner. He's arrogant, condescending, and snarky. OK – he's an asshole – but a brilliant and surprisingly likeable one (like Gregory House or Tony Stark, after whom the character was named before the film made him cool again). Since Jack and Nathan have an antagonistic, banter-filled relationship, with a slowly burgeoning respect for each other, and have fought over the same woman, portions of fandom conclude that they must be having hot monkey love. Other sections of fandom think the obvious solution to the triangle would have been a Jack/Allison/Nathan threesome.
In Season Three, Nathan sacrificed himself to stop the space-time continuum from collapsing and destroying the universe. Fandom is in deep denial over this and expects him to stay as "dead" as most science fiction characters. About a month after Nathan's death, Allison discovered that she was pregnant by him and gave birth to their daughter, Jenna Stark, towards the end of the season.
"Good afternoon! My name is Jo Lupo, and I'll be saving your ass today!" Josefina Lupo (played by Erica Cerra) is Jack's deputy. Jo is one of the few non-scientific geniuses in Eureka, but she's still the best at what she does. She is an expert marksman and skilled hand-to-hand fighter. Jo hates small guns, big egos, and overly critical boyfriends. She and Zoe have a big sister-little sister relationship.
Douglas Fargo (played by Neil Grayston) is the geekiest geek who ever geeked. He likes Buffy the Vampire Slayer, MMORPGs, and sci-fi movies. His father died in a lab accident before Fargo could remember him, and his grandfather was cryogenically frozen alive in 1957. Hence, Fargo was looking for a father figure, which he found more or less in Nathan.
Fargo has gained confidence over the years and, in Season Three, actually has a girlfriend, Julia Golden (played by Leela Savasta -- on the left).
Zane Donovan (played by Niall Matter) has degrees in computer science, a white collar criminal record, and fantastic hair. When arrested for embezzlement, he was given the option to work in Eureka instead of going to jail. This arrangement lead to tension with the local law enforcement, until Jack realized that Zane's hacking had returned monies to someone who had them stolen from her by others in the first place. Zane allegedly also crashed the New York Stock Exchange.
He and Jo have been dating and appear to be in a committed relationship—if she doesn't shoot him someday soon.
Vincent (played by Chris Gauthier) is the owner of the one restaurant in town, Cafe Diem. Zoe works there part time. Vincent can be a temperamental artiste when it comes to his cooking.
Last but certainly not least . . .
Self Actuated Residential Automated Habitat or S.A.R.A.H. (also voiced by Neil Grayston) is Jack's smart house, built in an abandoned fallout shelter. She is nagging and overprotective of the Carters and sees herself as a substitute wife-mother. She was programmed by Fargo and may have been named after Sarah Michelle Gellar by the Buffy fan. It is implied that her AI was built on top of WOPR from War Games. No *seriously.* Basically, if you imagine the TARDIS with a voice-box, you have S.A.R.A.H.
My subtext comes out as text: The Fandom
VisitEureka.net is a great fansite, with news, transcripts, and screencaps, including all the screencaps used in this overview.
Eureka Fanworks is the fandom's main archive for fanfiction, fanart, and fan-made videos. Eureka Fanfiction Archive is the direct link for the fic.
On Livejournal:
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
eureka_newslttr - The Eureka Weekly Newsletter, collecting all related links from Livejournal and the web.
eureka_tv - a general interest community
eureka_tag - a challenge community, where authors write a tag, missing, or alternate scene to each week's episode
eureka_fanfic - for any genre of fanfic
eureka_slash - for slash and femmeslash fanfic
eureka_haven - for gen and het fanfic
eureka_icons - icon community
eureka_vids - fanvid community
eurekathon - a gen ficathon
eurekaficfinder - the fanfic finder community
marshal_science - community dedicated to the pairing of Jack/Nathan
starks_lab - community dedicated to the character of Nathan Stark
~~~~~
Eureka has been renewed for a fourth season. It's most recent timeslot was Fridays at 9:00 PM on SyFy (in the U.S.). Season One, Season Two, and the first half of Season Three are available on DVD.
Eureka, Oregon, is your typical Small Town USA. It has a main street, a high school, one cafe, and the world's most advanced secret scientific research facility.
Wait? What was that last one?
Small Town, Big Secrets
The fictional town of Eureka was founded when Albert Einstein convinced President Harry Truman to create a place where the best scientific minds in the country (and, possibly, the world) could come together to research and to develop the technology of the future. The entire town centers around the research facility Global Dynamics (G.D.), funded by the Department of Defense. With a giant research facility, large budget (for the fictional town, not the show), and a population so focused on abstract scientific endeavor that it often forgets to consider the mundane and practical, wacky hijicks of the nerdest kind regularly occur: Alternate universes. Androids. Bodyswaps. Carjacking scorned cars. Clones. Comic nudity. Exploding robot dogs. Exploding mucus. Exploding explosions. Genetically engineered ferret infestations. Holograms teaching tai-chi. Human bio-luminescence. Spontaneous human combustion. Hysterical MPREG. Killer robot geese. Love pollen. Mind-controlling asphalt. Memory wipes. Psychotic, possessive computers. Random monkeys. Rebellious battle drones. Rebellious teenaged geniuses. Self-deploying sunglasses. Shared dreams. Time travel. Time loops. Virtually reality unintentionally becoming too real. Unintentional invisibility.
Basically, there's no such thing as crack!fic for this show, because the series itself is on so much crack.
In this community of exceptional individuals, the one person in charge of keeping things normal is the only normal person in town . . .
You Don't Know Jack
Jack Carter (played by Colin Ferguson) is the Sheriff of Eureka. A former U.S. Marshall, what Jack lacks in higher education, he makes up for in common sense (which is not so common in Eureka). While originally looked down upon as an outsider, Jack has become a respected member of the community. As the Audience Stand-In, Jack is often at the center of whatever charming apocalypse is threatening the town at the moment. While others get lost in the details, Jack is able to see the big picture. Jack also uses humor to defuse situations—including a self-deprecating wit. For example, when he learns that he scored an average 111 on an IQ test, he jokes that it's great that he scored over 100%.
Many of these world-saving adventures result in Jack taking his shirt off or losing all his clothes. We don't mind:
No, seriously, we don't:
Jack is 40-years-old and divorced but began a serious relationship with engineer and astrophysicist, Dr. Tess Fontana (played by Jaime Ray Newman) in Season Three. Tess left at the end of the season
Jaime Paglia and Charlie Craig, the creators of the [Eureka], sent me an email when Eastwick got picked up, and they said, "We hope you get canceled. Love, Charlie and Jaime."
And, really, who wouldn't want to return to Jack? He's compassionate, considerate, funny, and quick-thinking—so much so, that your overview author cannot believe that one of her favorite television characters is a middle-aged white guy who likes baseball and beer.
The People In Your Neighborhood
With most series, I tend to like one or two characters (like Jack) and tolerate the rest – but, with Eureka, I love all the characters on this show SO MUCH . . .
Allison Blake (played by Salli Richardson-Whitfield) has an M.D. and two Ph.D.s in Exposition. Jack had a serious crush on her when he first moved to Eureka, but they now seem to have settled into being good, supportive friends. Allison began as the Department of Defense liaison to Eureka and eventually became the Director of Global Dynamics. One thing I appreciate about Eureka is the lack of gender!fail. No one ever asserts the trite that women aren't good at math and science or that they can't be leaders. Eureka is filled with female scientists who are treated as equals, including Allison, and her ability to lead is not called into question.
Several years pre-series, Allison's first husband died while she was pregnant with their son, Kevin Blake, who is autistic. The show touches on the difficulties of rearing a child by yourself while trying to have a career; however, being the "Single Mother" is not Allison's sole characteristic.
Allison is also very pretty:
I feel the need to mention this.
Henry Deacon (played by ubiquitous character actor Joe Morton) can do everything: master of ceremonies, mayor, mechanic, medical examiner, mentor, and minister. Henry is egalitarian; despite being a super-genius, Henry treats everyone with respect. He's never patronizing and doesn't act superior. Jack and Henry refer to each other as "best friends" in canon—fandom, of course, takes this as "shagging like bunnies." There's no description of Henry that I can give that is better than the one found in this meta essay by
sparkymonster:He is an intelligent black man who doesn't die dramatically (like he did in T2), doesn't spend his time imparting earthy wisdom/advice to white people, hasn't "overcome" his background, and he isn't presented as the exceptional black man. Basically, he's not [a] magical negro, which makes me joyful.
Zoe Carter (played by Jordan Hinson) is Jack's teenaged daughter. She began as rebellious but has become serious about her schoolwork and her future. She and Jack have a close relationship. She is intelligent and independent. Zoe is a genius, but, unlike most of the geniuses in Eureka, Zoe shares her father's common sense.
Nathan Stark (played by Ed Quinn) is a Nobel Prize winning mathematician and Allison's on-again-off-again partner. He's arrogant, condescending, and snarky. OK – he's an asshole – but a brilliant and surprisingly likeable one (like Gregory House or Tony Stark, after whom the character was named before the film made him cool again). Since Jack and Nathan have an antagonistic, banter-filled relationship, with a slowly burgeoning respect for each other, and have fought over the same woman, portions of fandom conclude that they must be having hot monkey love. Other sections of fandom think the obvious solution to the triangle would have been a Jack/Allison/Nathan threesome.
In Season Three, Nathan sacrificed himself to stop the space-time continuum from collapsing and destroying the universe. Fandom is in deep denial over this and expects him to stay as "dead" as most science fiction characters. About a month after Nathan's death, Allison discovered that she was pregnant by him and gave birth to their daughter, Jenna Stark, towards the end of the season.
"Good afternoon! My name is Jo Lupo, and I'll be saving your ass today!" Josefina Lupo (played by Erica Cerra) is Jack's deputy. Jo is one of the few non-scientific geniuses in Eureka, but she's still the best at what she does. She is an expert marksman and skilled hand-to-hand fighter. Jo hates small guns, big egos, and overly critical boyfriends. She and Zoe have a big sister-little sister relationship.
Douglas Fargo (played by Neil Grayston) is the geekiest geek who ever geeked. He likes Buffy the Vampire Slayer, MMORPGs, and sci-fi movies. His father died in a lab accident before Fargo could remember him, and his grandfather was cryogenically frozen alive in 1957. Hence, Fargo was looking for a father figure, which he found more or less in Nathan.
Fargo has gained confidence over the years and, in Season Three, actually has a girlfriend, Julia Golden (played by Leela Savasta -- on the left).
Zane Donovan (played by Niall Matter) has degrees in computer science, a white collar criminal record, and fantastic hair. When arrested for embezzlement, he was given the option to work in Eureka instead of going to jail. This arrangement lead to tension with the local law enforcement, until Jack realized that Zane's hacking had returned monies to someone who had them stolen from her by others in the first place. Zane allegedly also crashed the New York Stock Exchange.
He and Jo have been dating and appear to be in a committed relationship—if she doesn't shoot him someday soon.
Vincent (played by Chris Gauthier) is the owner of the one restaurant in town, Cafe Diem. Zoe works there part time. Vincent can be a temperamental artiste when it comes to his cooking.
Last but certainly not least . . .
Self Actuated Residential Automated Habitat or S.A.R.A.H. (also voiced by Neil Grayston) is Jack's smart house, built in an abandoned fallout shelter. She is nagging and overprotective of the Carters and sees herself as a substitute wife-mother. She was programmed by Fargo and may have been named after Sarah Michelle Gellar by the Buffy fan. It is implied that her AI was built on top of WOPR from War Games. No *seriously.* Basically, if you imagine the TARDIS with a voice-box, you have S.A.R.A.H.
My subtext comes out as text: The Fandom
VisitEureka.net is a great fansite, with news, transcripts, and screencaps, including all the screencaps used in this overview.
Eureka Fanworks is the fandom's main archive for fanfiction, fanart, and fan-made videos. Eureka Fanfiction Archive is the direct link for the fic.
On Livejournal:
eureka_newslttr - The Eureka Weekly Newsletter, collecting all related links from Livejournal and the web.eureka_tv - a general interest communityeureka_tag - a challenge community, where authors write a tag, missing, or alternate scene to each week's episodeeureka_fanfic - for any genre of fanficeureka_slash - for slash and femmeslash fanficeureka_haven - for gen and het fanficeureka_icons - icon communityeureka_vids - fanvid communityeurekathon - a gen ficathoneurekaficfinder - the fanfic finder communitymarshal_science - community dedicated to the pairing of Jack/Nathanstarks_lab - community dedicated to the character of Nathan Stark~~~~~
Eureka has been renewed for a fourth season. It's most recent timeslot was Fridays at 9:00 PM on SyFy (in the U.S.). Season One, Season Two, and the first half of Season Three are available on DVD.
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http://gin200168.livejournal.com/59121.html (http://gin200168.livejournal.com/59121.html)
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May I point out SARAH's twitter account? (official in-character but only active while the show's airing)
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ETA: also, I am tagging this entry so you can tag your future posts.
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Great! Thank you!
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does that mean there is actual Jack/Henry fic i ship them like crazy but it seems like everyone writes Jack/Nathan
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I may have made a chart, but let's pretend I'm not *that* dorky.
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Yep, this show is awesome!
"Good afternoon! My name is Jo Lupo, and I'll be saving your ass today!"
Great quote choice.