“I. Hate. You.” and why I. Love. Eureka.
I’m betting that anyone who’s had the great misfortune of hanging around this journal or its previous incarnation(s) have heard me talking about Eureka quite a bit already, but I love it, I in fact love it so much that I would characterize it “like a fat kid loves cake.”
So you have to try and take that knowledge with you when you click on the jump and find out how I felt about yesterday night’s season premier.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
It was AWESOME! AHHHHHHHHHHH!
Okay, okay, coherence. Part of what I think the magic key for my love for Eureka is its masterful surrealism. I have always disliked out-and-out scifi/fantasy because it was so far out of the scope of human context — fantastic, you can create a compelling story on Xaphro 7.b, but while you’re talking about post-apocalyptic alien civilizations, all I can see out the window is a slow drizzle from a low front traveling through the Southeastern U.S. People might argue the concepts and emotions are relevant, but I need a sense of place — and that’s where Eureka wins the powerball for me.
Eureka in all its weird, wonderful glory, starting the episode off with this wonderful amalgam of strange and total Americana: the community picnic…to watch the solar eclipse. The creepy, weird guy telling stories to kids…about phoenixes. Eating four alarm chili…and then setting on actual, four alarm fire. The arguments of fathers and daughters with the background of the talking house…it’s a perfectly seamless integration of reality and and ridiculousness, and I think that its lightheartedness here is really what makes Eureka money.
That said, yesterday’s closer for the previous season was brilliant, with all its character interaction and implied ramifications — the exploration of time as a changeable element, and who didn’t scream at the very end, when Henry smashed the memory modifier and went all Dr. Evil as Jack walked out of the workroom, thinking everything was everything? I loved the idea that Henry, after losing Kim twice, has finally snapped; I loved Jack’s awkward married/oh, wait, we’re not married moments with Allison (it’s amazing what having time rewinded four years and then erased can do for a relationship, you know?) (and corollary: amazing what the word “we” can really mean); I loved Zoe and Jo’s conversation. But more than anything, ya’ll saw this coming: I loved Taggart blowing up freshly ground skin grafts. I — folks, it’s true — I nearly fell off of the couch I shrieked laughing so hard when the camera panned to the side after he’d blown up a pile of people jelly — to Jo and Jack covered in human goo, to Jack saying, wait for it, folks, “I. Hate. You.” I just — I flailed. There were hand motions with no meaning. I had nothing. I was defeated. Eureka is the kung fu baby daddy of me.
Meanwhile, I have to admit that it doesn’t say terribly flattering things about me that during all of the crowd scenes, I was wondering if McKay and Sheppard were going to show up — and all the scenes with the driving through the neighborhood, and the mention of the Section 5 guys getting the nicest houses? All I could think was, “Well, yeah — McKay has a lake house!”
Also, in conclusion: way to totally import Rodney’s personal shield and give it to FARGO. God, this can only end in awesome.
Triskellita and I are psyched about this season, and if you haven’t already started watching, you should, and you can catch up with season one here, where it is streamed online. Happy watching!
FARGO. With the PERSONAL SHIELD.
I am awash in squee.
People might argue the concepts and emotions are relevant, but I need a sense of place —
I think this is why your AUs work. Your sense of place informs the transplanted characters, who in turn inform the setting. I’m always agog at how well they work.
I was UTTERLY all asquee with delight with this episode.
Eureka for the win.
who didn’t scream at the very end, when Henry smashed the memory modifier and went all Dr. Evil
Oh yeah, baby!
You and I…totally on the same page. Excerpt from my LJ post–
” And thanks to rageprufrock’s Eureka/SGA universe (Summer House, Shore Leave, and Sabbatical), I can’t get the possibility of John and Rodney just popping up randomly out of my head. Every house Jack’s passing on his drive I keep going “oh, that could be their house…that could be their yard…there’s enough room for a helipad back there!” And if you haven’t read that series already, do it now. They fit so perfectly together…And, hey, since it worked so well on SGA (Hide and Seek), why not use the same idea on Eureka next week? Personal shields, they’re just not for Rodney anymore :P “
After Eureka, I found myself in desperate need of SGA/Eureka fic and had to go dive around your old LJ for Summer House, Shore Leave, and Sabbatical. There should be more stories out there.
OMG, Pru! Do you have any idea where I can watch this season online? We don’t get it here in Canada until October! I can’t handle that kind of wait!
Please tell me you know something. I’m DYING here. Plus, I got heatstroke today, so I’m still a little confused and nauseous. You’ve gotta help a poor, sick woman. PLEASE?
Keep an eye out for that link where the episodes from season one are up, they update fairly frequently with new episodes, other than that, I don’t know, hon. SORRY.
Bless you. I am beside myself with the wait. And multiple me’s are NOT good.
Please you forgot to mention the best part — naked almost exploding Stark… sure it was Naked!Stark for basis cable (long pans and slightly blurry film,…) but everyone was staring at Nathan bits towards the end there - sure it was to save his life, but *sigh* naked!!Stark…
And actually I re-read your Eureka/SGA crossover stories as a gear up for the season premire - I was just like you and everyone else looking for ways of slotting various bits of your universe in to the show…I was actually wondering what happened to John and Rodney during the lost 4 years…
For everybody looking for a place to watch online:
http://www11.alluc.org/alluc/tv-shows.html?action=getviewcategory&category_uid=559
The quality is bad, but what can you do…
Bless you feanna. While I could not get the ep on iTunes, this site worked wonderfully. Hopefully they will update every week.
Thank you to everyone who has helped me!
I loved Jack thanking Beverly for coming over, obviously concerned for Kevin exactly as if he’d spent years raising him, and then Allison and Beverly giving him the stink eye for it.
Nathan is a little scary right now. If he’d wiped his memories he’d have done exactly what he’d done before all over again. But now he’s making the conscious decision to play out the cycle. He must be an incredibly lonely person to pin so much of himself and the fate of the world to one woman.
Also I squeed when Beverly met with the senator and it was Narim/Simon. I love seeing actors from other shows I love and I’m really looking forward to David Nykl’s episode(s).
*flails* I could only read the words, IT WAS AWESOME because I don’t any more spoilers than the crap synopsis SciFi gives us cuz a bunch of middle schoolers kicked me off of the ONLY CABLE TV to watch a FRICKING DVD, and my DVR refused to allow me to set it to save it because it was too far in advance *cries*
After this rant I finally sold out and scourged up my first ep of Eureka. AND YOU’RE TOTALLY RIGHT! It’s awesome! And Rodney should have totally been one of those creepy four year olds scrawling math formula’s on the sidewalk!