By Lisa Christensen
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The cast of Eureka talks to the online press on the set of Global Dynamics. Photo by Eike Schroter/SCI FI Channel. |
Strap yourself in for a return trip to Eureka. It may be the same small town but in its second season the secrets are even bigger. The show effortlessly blends drama and comedy with quirky elements the SCI FI Channel is known for. The show is set in the Northwest town of Eureka Oregon, but this small town has a big secret. The government assembled a community of geniuses and their families to conduct top-secret research. In this town, strange occurrences are a fact of life.
Season two reveals more of the secret inner-workings of Global Dynamics, Eureka’s colorful and quirky residents and their intertwined relationships. An Awkward friction develops between Allison Blake (Salli Richardson-Whitfield) and her ex-husband Dr. Nathan Stark (Ed Quinn), when Stark is demoted and Blake is given his job as head of Global Dynamics. Life is upturned in the Carter “smart house” between Jack and Daughter Zoë (Jordan Hinson) when Jack’s ex-wife/Zoë’s mother (guest star Olivia D’Abo) show’s up in Eureka. Henry Deacon (Joe Morton) copes with the loss of his love Kim while Deputy Jo Lupo (Erica Cerra) finds herself the object of Fargo’s (Neil Grayston) affections.
MediaBlvd Magazine and a handful of other popular Digital Media sites were invited to visit the set and to talk with the cast, and several crew members from this popular show for the SCI FI Channel digital media tour June 26 – 27, 2007. The first set on the tour was Henry’s Garage, and all present were immediately struck with the level of detail that was evident in the set. The garage was strewn with random automotive parts, equipment, and repair manuals. Upon closer inspection, the manuals contained diagrams of sophisticated gadgets, and secret projects. Next up was a look at the Sheriff’s office where they were rigging for an exploding toilet gag to be featured in an upcoming episode. Again, the level of detail was amazing. Even knowing that the title of books, and papers on the desk would not be visible on screen, they were all correct and appropriate to the venue (even the sticky note with Jo’s phone number next to the desk).
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Neil Grayston (Fargo) demonstrates the features of SARAH to the online press. Photo by Eike Schroter/SCI FI Channel. |
Neil Grayston (Fargo) next met the group at the “Smart House”, where he showed off its inner workings and demonstrated the voice of “SARAH”. Upon entering the house, guests must pass though a room that looked a like a sun room (filled with exotic flowers and plants etc.) Grayston says that he didn’t think that the room had yet been used in the series, though this would be something to watch for in future episodes. All of the gadgets and special features of the house are operated manually in choreographed moves by crew members, as Special Effects Coordinator, Tim Storvick demonstrated. Some elaborate scenes may have 3 or 4 crew members scrambling around the outside of the set pulling cables, turning levers and moving walls and panels. The effect of the color change walls is achieved by shining colored lights on the translucent glass wall panels.
Next tour members viewed the newest of the sets… the massive 2 story Global Dynamics set. At the end of last season, there was an explosion at Global Dynamics killing Henry’s love interest, Kim. Henry tried to alter events in the past to save Kim by time traveling, but the altered time line was unstable and collapsing, forcing the sheriff to also return to the past and stop Henry. The destroyed Global Dynamics entry has been rebuilt into a beautiful and magnificent show piece, in the new set.
This was built in part to overcome filming difficulties with the original set. The new masterpiece is composed of several rooms that can be configured as labs; infirmaries, offices, or other needed spaces, wide hallways surrounding the main structure, and a grand rotunda. The Q & A panel with the cast members took place in this large rotunda area, and included Colin Ferguson, Erica Cerra, Salli Richardson, Joe Morton, Ed Quinn, and Neil Grayston. It was apparent that even at the early hour, the cast had a strong bond and showed great chemistry with each other.
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Kenn Gold, Lisa Christensen, and Angela Reed from MediaBlvd Magazine pose on the set of Cafe' Diem. Photo by Eke Schroter/SCI FI Channel. |
The final set shown was the popular off duty hangout, “Café Diem”. Part of the set was cordoned off for a special effect shot scheduled to happen later the day involving an explosion in the kitchen and expanding to the dining area upsetting chairs and tables along the way. It was fascinating to hear about the setup for the stunt, and how only a single shot at the three phase explosion could be done, so the crew was covering it from multiple camera angles at the same time.
Eureka is filmed at the Vancouver Film Studios, and is SCI FI Channel’s most popular show. Season 2 premieres July 10th, 2007
