As this pilot episode opens a scientist in the town of Eureka is conducting an experiment in his basement; something goes wrong. Outside town US Marshal Jack Carter is transferring Zoe, a teenaged prisoner to Los Angeles when something strange happens... they pass a car that Zoe is certain contains them! Moments later he swerves to avoid a dog and crashes. They walk into town to seek help. It is soon clear that Eureka isn't like other towns. The children study advanced physics and the garage owner is a former shuttle engineer. The scientist we saw in the opening is leaving town with his family but suddenly the back of his RV vanishes; a search party looks for his son but the boy is found by Jack. As it will be a couple of days before his car is fixed he settles in at the local B&B. Following further events, one which incapacitates the sheriff, Jack helps uncover what happened before the danger spreads beyond the town.
This feature length pilot immediately got me intrigued. While at this point it isn't clear which characters, apart from Jack and a few others, will become important in the ongoing series, it does serve to introduce many potentially important characters. As well as Jack there is the sheriff; his deputy Jo Lupo, who is tougher than she looks; garage owner, Henry Deacon; Dr Allison Blake, who works for the Department of Defence; and Beverly Barlowe, the B&B owner who also acts as the towns psychiatrist.
The story provided a really good introduction to the setting without feeling that it was all just set-up for the series that follows. That isn't to say there are no hints at things to come; there is mention of the highly classified 'Section 5' and near the end we learn a character is rather more sinister than one might initially suspect. It has some good twists and at times a macabre sense of humour... in one scene we see a dead cow standing in a field with a large chunk missing. I rather like the idea of a town were geniuses carry out cutting edge research that provides various sci-fi dangers! We do get one or two clichés, the most obvious being the military officer who wants to shut Eureka down but that didn't spoil my enjoyment. I can't say how the series will continue as I've only seen one, much later, episode before but on the strength of this I will continue watching.
This feature length pilot immediately got me intrigued. While at this point it isn't clear which characters, apart from Jack and a few others, will become important in the ongoing series, it does serve to introduce many potentially important characters. As well as Jack there is the sheriff; his deputy Jo Lupo, who is tougher than she looks; garage owner, Henry Deacon; Dr Allison Blake, who works for the Department of Defence; and Beverly Barlowe, the B&B owner who also acts as the towns psychiatrist.
The story provided a really good introduction to the setting without feeling that it was all just set-up for the series that follows. That isn't to say there are no hints at things to come; there is mention of the highly classified 'Section 5' and near the end we learn a character is rather more sinister than one might initially suspect. It has some good twists and at times a macabre sense of humour... in one scene we see a dead cow standing in a field with a large chunk missing. I rather like the idea of a town were geniuses carry out cutting edge research that provides various sci-fi dangers! We do get one or two clichés, the most obvious being the military officer who wants to shut Eureka down but that didn't spoil my enjoyment. I can't say how the series will continue as I've only seen one, much later, episode before but on the strength of this I will continue watching.