9-11 p.m.
Tuesday, July 18
Sci Fi Channel

At first blush, "Eureka" looks like it could be an outpost in "The Twilight Zone." It's a small, perfectly ordinary town concealing a big secret. Ever since World War II, the government has made it a place where geniuses come to live and work on scientific breakthroughs, mostly to strengthen the nation's military might.

Yet for all its weirdness, you're more likely to see Andy Griffith lurking in the shadows than Rod Serling. "Eureka" isn't about ironic observations or universal truths. It owes more to Disney than to Serling. It has a calculated family appeal, two-dimensional characters, reliably happy endings and an aversion to taking anything too seriously. It can be pleasant -- even charming at times -- but not much more than that.

In the two-hour pilot, workaholic U.S. marshal Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson) is taking a scenic route as he returns his rebellious runaway teenage daughter, Zoe (Jordan Hinson), to her mother, from whom he is separated. Swerving to avoid a dog, Jack runs the car off the road. They seek repairs from Henry Deacon (Joe Morton), the genial genius mechanic of Eureka.

While they wait, they meet the eccentric but mostly friendly residents, including government liaison Allison Blake (Salli Richardson-Whitfield), who lets Jack know right off the bat that she has no romantic interest in him. In movies of this sort, that's like wearing a sandwich sign saying you're about to become the love interest.

In Eureka, the law is enforced by easygoing Sheriff Cobb (guest star Maury Chaykin) and his no-nonsense deputy, Jo Lupo (Erica Cerra), direct descendants of Andy and Barney. Here, however, Jo evolves a bit and befriends Zoe, who, it turns out to no one's surprise, is really a nice person under that angry hellcat exterior.

In fact, everything is pleasant in Eureka. Even after mysterious events turn the sheriff into an amputee, he returns at the end, Gumby-like, all smiles.

Writers Andrew Cosby and Jaime Paglia have tapped into an interesting concept but stopped short of making Eureka the fullblooded capital of weird science it could become. Without a harder edge, the weekly crises in Eureka will seem like little more than the wacky work of a nutty professor. It's fine to be mildly entertaining, but "Eureka" could have been more.

Director Peter O'Fallon does a nice job of integrating special effects and finding interesting angles. Production design conveys a complicated, scientific atmosphere without splurging on-set costs. But if its a thoroughly engaging and suspenseful show you want, you're not likely to shout "Eureka!"

EUREKA
Sci Fi Channel
NBC Universal Television Studio

Credits:
Executive producer: Andrew Cosby
Co-executive producers: Jaime Paglia, Karl Schaefer
Supervising producers: Dan Fesman, Harry Victor
Consulting producer: David Greenwalt
Producer: Robert Petrovicz
Director: Peter O'Fallon
Teleplay: Andrew Cosby, Jaime Paglia
Director of photography: Rick Maguire
Production designer: Richard Hudolin
Editors: Chris Peppe, Andrew Seklir
Set decorator: Troy Hansen
Casting: Mary Jo Slater, Steve Brooksbank, Stuart Aikins, Sean Cossey
Cast:
Jack Carter: Colin Ferguson
Allison Blake: Salli Richardson-Whitfield
Beverly Barlowe: Debrah Farentino
Henry Deacon: Joe Morton
Zoe Carter: Jordan Hinson
Nathan Stark: Ed Quinn
Jim Taggert: Matt Frewer
Jo Lupo: Erica Cerra
Douglas Fargo: Neil Grayston
Spencer Martin: Shayn Solberg
Warren King: Greg Germann
Sheriff Cobb: Maury Chaykin