Eureka
I’ve noticed something with Eureka. No, not how the first few shows after the long absence were pretty weak. Nor how it turned around slowly and finished strong. I mean, I did notice, but I noticed something else as well.
I noticed is a consistent anti-science and anti-scientists theme to the plots. Mind you, the plots have not changed much, so it’s more me thinking about the show (probably because I find it a little boring relative to prior seasons). It’s subtle, no doubt, often presenting fantastic ideas with gushing enthusiasm… just before someone dies. Then, of course, it’s up to the non-scientist to come up with a solution to save the day, save Eureka, and save the world.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Carter. He appeals to the engineer in me; he may not know what exactly makes something tick, but by golly he can sure come up with a use for it. But come on! I don’t personally know any scientists, and I certainly don’t want to imply they are incapable of making mistakes, or having blind spots regarding their work, but to a person every scientist in Eureka is a disaster waiting to happen. Henry excluded, of course, although he too has to patiently wait for Carter to have a flash of non-scientist-common-sense genius.
I guess Mary Shelley fears still echo with today’s script writers. Or at least Eureka‘s script writers.
And the scripts have become a formulaic, almost carbon copies of one basic premise… strange and nasty stuff begins to happen, people are mystified as to the cause, Carter starts to guess right and left, and the smug scientists take delight in deriding his lack of understanding and poor scientific vocabulary skills… until someone dies. Of course, Carter eventually hits on something, and then not only does everyone see it, but they all have ready made solutions on how to fix things by applying Carter’s layman’s insight.
Perhaps I am wrong; perhaps scientists are utterly myopic geniuses unable to see outside their tunnel vision. However, seeing as their very jobs entail thinking outside the box, to my mind they should be the ones coming up with the insights. Plus, after so many instances of Carter pulling their “No, can’t be my invention!” asses out of the fire, one would think they would flock to him at the first hint of any trouble, hang on his every word, and help him brainstorm. But that’s the other aspect of scientists prominently flaunted on the show… to a person they are arrogant and dismissive.
I’d be willing to bet most people who watch the show likely believe to be smart is to be arrogant, and that’s on top of being a danger not only to everyone around them, but all of humanity. Some may even cheer when the occasional scientist is hoisted by their own petard. Of course the show always ends with the administrator assuring everyone procedures are in place to keep that particular problem from happening again… but the audience knows; them pesky scientists will keep discovering stuff willy-nilly, thinking they are helping humankind, but they are just a Carter away from wiping us all out. They may have the best intentions at heart, and Nobel laureates they may be… but really, they should not be trusted with anything more complicated than a rock. Make that a small rock.
The show has always been formulaic with its A plot, B plot setups. The invention being discussed in the B plot will always be the one that’s used to the solve the big problem of the A plot. And most likely it will not reappear in another episode with another application.
I hadn’t really thought that the show was anti-science mostly because I never tried too hard to think about it. But you’re right. It is all about how crazy science will destroy the world and earth-bound non-scientific average joes will have to save it.
Oh, so THAT’S why I never liked the show. I did wonder. I saw a few episodes, was not impressed, but for the life of me couldn’t put my finger on why. But when I read this, it clicked. Thanks Mike.
True, Eureka is formulaic. So are most TV shows. The exceptions are the ones that are either great, or canceled within a few episodes. It is a classic Sci-fi formula – some tunnel visioned scientist creates something that goes out of control and threatens to destroy humanity. We’ve seen this in countless movies and TV shows. Eureka collects it all in one town.
The important thing to realize is that most TV characters are stereotypes. In Eureka, this stereotype is not your average scientist, but your Super-Genius Scientist. The Super-Genius Scientist is arrogant and tunnel-visioned. Henry is the exception that proves the rule. They are there to support the main formula -a fish out of water. The main character that does not belong and is in over his head, but still saves the day. We are supposed to identify with Carter, the average guy who can be a hero.
Isn’t one of the main points of Eureka that when you concentrate anything to much, even something like high-intelligence, you may eventually lose other beneficial attributes. It is like breeding a dog to be big but losing speed, or general health, or ferocity, or any other number of attributes.
Carter is an influx of fresh blood to re-administer that common sense that has been bred out of the Eureka community. And he is not stupid; as we know he has a perfectly average IQ, but was still able to excel at his job. Intelligence isn’t everything.
“…to a person every scientist in Eureka is a disaster waiting to happen.”
That’s because they’re HUMAN BEINGS. Sheesh.
Actually, no…every scientist in Eureka is NOT a “disaster waiting to happen”. Just the ones who ARE a “disaster waiting to happen”.
What’s the total population of Eureka? The show’s only been on for, what 3 seasons? How many scientists in total have been “disasters”?
How many of them are repeat disasters?
So, that having been established, isn’t that why these people are in Eureka in the first place?
And in the very first episode, wasn’t one of those scientists trying to leave town…but didn’t because the back end of his mobile home blew out?
“Dangerous Geniuses” make for Good Story.
Bring ’em on.
(And bring back Allie. That Barbie-doll chick is annoying. Oh, wait! She’s going to “Eastwick”? Yay!)
“How many scientists in total have been “disasters”?” . . . pretty much all scientist weekly featured on the show. And the guy trying to leave, if I’m remembering correctly, was the cause of what eventually almost did him in (I could be remembering wrong as I am old and too lazy to go back and check it out).
Anyway, as naive and simple-minded as I may appear, I do realize in movies and shows like Eureka one needs conflicts and dangers to hold the audience attention. A show about all the science working and everything being OK would be pretty boring for the average viewer (the ones who do not watch the Science or Discovery channel; you know, the ones who watch Ghost Hunters).
That said, I still maintain scientists are not portrayed in a good light (except for Henry). The are often deceitful, reluctant to take responsibility, and most uncaring of putting everyone else at risk for the sake of getting their ideas to work. But you are correct . . . in that respect they are like the majority of human beings. That’s where I get my lack of optimism for the human race, and my increasingly eremitic tendencies.
As far as the Barbie-doll chick, I thought she is a much better match for Carter than Allie. For a few shows there I feared Allie was getting back into Carter’s life. Bad news, that would have been.
But none of that matters . . . if Carter is really leaving Eureka, I give the place a week, maybe two, before everything is disassociated back to basic molecules, and the very fabric of the Universe is rendered back into non-existence.