Military TV, Television - Military Times

Sci Fi Channel strikes gold with ‘Eureka’

Strange things happen in the world of “Eureka.”

Time might bend or shift. People might float or fade or, on occasion, explode.

This is, after all, the Sci Fi Channel. We expect that.

A bigger surprise is personal: As the show starts its second season, a father-daughter feud has transformed.

“It’s one of my favorite relationships,” says Colin Ferguson, 34, who stars. “I’ve been really pleased that there is some thawing in my character.”

When “Eureka” began, Jack Carter (Ferguson) was a typical TV version of a federal marshal, stern and stiff.

His daughter, Zoe, living with his ex-wife, was a wild spirit. “She had the usual L.A. philosophy,” said Jordan Hinson, 16, who plays her.

She ran away and he retrieved her. Then, in mid-argument, they bumped into a town that isn’t on the map.

Created by the government, Eureka brims with scientists and experiments, many of which go awry.

Through a series of twists, Carter became the sheriff. Zoe is the “normal” one who spots flaws in her dad and others.

“She came into the town as the rebellious one,” Hinson says. “She’s developed into the voice of reason.”

Along the way, “Eureka” is sometimes funny, sometimes not: “One thing I like is that the humor doesn’t undermine the plot,” Ferguson says.

In last season’s finale, Henry Deacon (Joe Morton) had manipulated the time line to retrieve his late wife, Kim. We saw a future world where Carter was married to Allison Blake (played by Salli Richardson) and where Zoe was valedictorian.

Carter made him undo that, however. As this season begins only those two men remember the alternate time.

Meanwhile, Nathan Stark (Allison’s ex-husband, played by Ed Quinn) is losing his job as head of Global Dynamics, the research hub. Things are changing; people are exploding.

The early episodes give Zoe little to do, except for scenes at the beginning and end. “I’m a show-opener and closer,” says Hinson, who promised viewers will see more of her.

She and Ferguson are naturals for the roles. Like their characters, they know what being an outsider is like.

Ferguson was born in Montreal and lived in Hong Kong, England, Canada and the U.S.

His mother had married an international businessman, launching the journey. The biggest adjustment, Ferguson said, was Connecticut.

“I was 10 and I’d been in Hong Kong for about five years,” he says. “There were trees everywhere. I’m thinking, ‘That’s cool, but how do I get to somewhere?’ “

Later, he became a high school teacher, an assembly worker, a store-window mannequin. He planted 3,000 trees a day in northern Canada.

Like other outsiders, he became an observer. “I’ve always been very quiet,” he said.

Still, he was one of the original members of the Second City Detroit comedy group. (“It just sort of happened.”) He developed a droll style that’s ideal for “Eureka.”

Hinson made a single outsider leap: At 12, she went from El Paso, Texas, to Los Angeles.

“I was very raw,” she says. “That first year, I was just learning about the business.”

She had started in plays at 5. Her dad was a grocery-chain store manager. When the chain merged with another store the family followed her acting dreams.

She sputtered for a while before landing the lead in the Disney Channel movie “Go Figure.” She was Katelin, a figure skater turned hockey player.

This was nothing like the understated “Eureka” style, Hinson says. “People kept saying, ‘Make it bigger.’ “

She learned to skate — a skill she now rarely uses. And when she goes to a public rink, Hinson says, people recognize her. “Little girls go, ‘Katelin, Katelin.’ “

Maybe that will change now. She’ll go to sci-fi hangouts and people will go, “Zoe, Zoe.”

On the tube:

• What: “Eureka”

• When: 9 p.m. Tuesdays, starting July 10

• Where: Sci Fi Channel.

• Did you know? Olivia D’Abo, who was the older sister on “The Wonder Years,” shows up this season. She’ll play Zoe’s mom and Jack Carter’s ex-wife.