I watched the first episode of SciFi’s new series Eureka, and I have to say, it was pretty awful. It was very clear to me that the producers came up with a concept and characters first, and then wrote the screenplay for the first episode afterwards. In several cases, characters, character traits, and plot turns bore no significant role in the story told in this first episode. They were seemingly added only as needed exposition for the series.
For instance:
- The dog catcher and the omnipresent dog. What the hell was that all about except to introduce a character in the series?
- The psychoanalyst cum innkeeper has the hots for the the marshall/innkeeper. That subplot had no bearing on this episode. It was clearly included as exposition for the series. Let me guess, they’re going to be romantically involved
- Marshall suddenly decides, with no motivation, to follow the dog into the forest. What do you know, he sees burned trees and cows (important to show’s concept and plot of this episode). What an amazing coincidence!
In addition to that, the portrayal of the relationship between the marshall/sheriff and his daughter was just abyssmal.
I don’t think I’ll be programming my DVR to record the weekly episodes of Eureka.