Dear Eureka producers,

I really enjoy Eureka. Generally, watching the show is a pleasant way to spend an hour on a Friday night – engaging tone, good pacing, interesting characters, a dash of levity.

This episode, for example, was a fine one: the return of Henry Deacon’s unmanned exploration ship brings back 20 years’ worth of outer space data in a Kim container – not really Kim, but an organic computer that looks, talks, and acts like her. (Kim Anderson is Henry’s lost love; that story unfolded in a previous season.)

Henry’s unease is palpable (props to actor Joe Morton). He can’t figure out how to assess – or worse yet, work with – the computer-Kim. Character moments like this are the strength of the show, and Henry’s arc in this episode is great. Also, propelling other character storylines forward, Allison discovers that she’s having a girl, and Jack and Tess go on a meteor-shower-watching first date (their interactions throughout the episode are truly sweet).

The scientific mystery is that people are being electrocuted; apparently the cause is a virus from the spaceship’s organic computer, and now everyone in Eureka is at risk as the virus spreads from person to person. Henry estimates 12 hours before the whole town’s infected.

So here’s the thing: I’m sort of done with events that threaten to destroy Eureka entirely. Let’s please take a break from spinning everything up into THE END OF EUREKA (or sometimes the end of the planet, even). It’s just not necessary, especially in this case. Henry’s story was strong enough to carry this episode. Thrusting the general public into mortal danger is just fluff, and not even close to interesting when it happens every Friday night.

Let me plea for some focus on what you’re really good at – let’s face it, this show is driven by its characters, not its crises-of-the-week. I’d be quite happy with some character drama that advances the overall through line, or even just an unlucky accident that affects one or two folks. So I’ll keep watching, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you power down the threat levels.

Best regards,
Lisa

Reviewer rating: 3.5 out of 5 S.A.R.A.H.s