We’ve recently learned the season currently under production for Syfy’s hit show Eureka will be its last. Since the announcement, I’ve come across a lot of reticence to continue following the show, with a few people I know refusing to even watch the first season because of its cancellation.
This is difficult for me to understand. I get that you might want to wait out the pilot of a show, or even the first few episodes to make sure that the series is going to last long enough to tell a comprehensive story, but waiting to see if a show will be cancelled… Well, every show runs its course and is cancelled eventually.
I sort of wish I’d never invested my time in The Event or Jericho, but Eureka has been on for four seasons, and it’s still getting another before the end, so this is no time to throw in the towel.
Frankly, I think the network made a mistake in announcing the end of the series so early. It always hurts ratings when the audience knows the end is near no matter how far away that end is.
Also, I hope we get to hear from at least part of the Eureka creative team sooner rather than later, so the audience can get their take on how the story is going to finish up. I think it would give the audience a lot more confidence in the show to hear the writers say that they have made the appropriate plans to finish the series properly.
In the meantime it’s not dead yet, and there is plenty of show left. Sure, they may have lost a few viewers with their recent over-extended subplot, but the last couple of episodes have been a return to more interesting stories, even reintroducing the character of Beverly, whom we last saw a couple seasons ago mysteriously turning traitor to the town.
The most recent episode even saw the return of Zoë, who, while never a particularly likable character, is at least someone other than Jack who knows how to get things done. She also had it out with Jo, a much needed resolution, and one more person who knows about the time warp.
It also seems like the writers have changed focus a bit with the subplot as well. Every episode no longer begins with a recap of the time warp event, concentrating on the mission to Titan instead. Rather than fighting to escape this timeline, the characters all seem to be settling in, Alison is even back in charge of GD, although temporarily.
There are still, of course, the myriad plot holes and pseudo science, but that’s part of the charm of Eureka. It’s a quirky show, sometimes silly, and sometimes just dumb, but it has one of the most talented and entertaining casts on cable, including, now, Felicia Day.
Finally, there is a rumor floating around that Syfy has told the producers of the show they will be allowed one final episode after the end of the final season, this will allow them to wrap up anything which wasn’t closed in the season finale they just started shooting.
So, yes, I think the show is still worth getting into.
New episodes of Eureka air Monday nights on Syfy.
