colin ferguson

As I've learned from the comments on this blog and elsewhere, fans of the Sci-Fi Channel's Eureka are incredibly devoted and loyal. So this good news is for them.

The cable network has given the thumbs up for a third season of the sci-fi comedy, according to a press release that came into TVS HQ. They've ordered 13 more episodes of the show. The third season will start filming in Vancover in early 2008 and will debut next summer.

(S02E02) The beginning of the show suffered a bit from post-season premiere setup, but things got back on track pretty quickly. Allison's taking over Global Dynamics; Stark is heading out the door; and Fargo is... well, Fargo. Seeing Jack and Zoe at home definitely helped set the tone and bring back last season's ambiance.

Aaaand we're back with part two of the Eureka panel discussion at the Sci Fi Digital Press tour in Vancouver. I've got to say that I'm very glad we got the DVDs of these panels, not only so I can share them with you but because I can check them out again myself. In some respects you can kind of take these things for granted, then I step back and realize that these guys came out and took time to sit down and talk to us, the fans. You can still check out the first part of this video.

Enjoy the rest of the panel video below!

Eureka! Ahem... Wahoo! I got the Eureka panel interview DVD working, and was able to get the first part embedded for you below. I was definitely impressed by the energy and commitment of the cast and crew for this show, and Neil Grayston was awesome enough to have taken the time to show us around the "smart house" set and even give us a demonstration of his SARAH voice (you'd have to know the show to know what I mean).

Thanks to Colin Furguson, Erica Cerra, Salli Richardson, Joe Morton, Ed Quinn, Neil Grayston and Mark Stern for putting up with us sci-fi geeks.

Once again, I'll be posting more on this and the others shows we visited in the coming days. Look for part two of this panel video later today.

2006 was a good year for television, but then all years are good years for television. Nostalgia often makes us think that things were better way back when, but I wouldn't trade my hundreds of channels of digital cable for the three networks on the rabbit ears for anything. Even the somewhat obscure channels like The-N (South of Nowhere), GSN (High Stakes Poker), and IFC (Henry Rollins Show) manage to bring some good stuff to the table. Of course, things are never all rosey, but we'll get to that later. First, some of the best things about TV this past year.

NBC's handling of Studio 60 and Friday Night Lights - Many of us, myself included, are quick to jump on the networks when they dump a show just a few episodes in. So it's worth acknowledging that the network has been more than patient with these two shows. Many shows that have come before them have been blown right off the schedule for generating similar ratings. Studio 60 kicked off their season with ratings that declined week after week and, honestly, Friday Night Lights just never had any ratings to begin with. I really hope their patience pays off and audiences find these shows. They both deserve to see a second season.

Good news everyone. SciFi has announced that Eureka will be coming back for a second season. They have ordered 13 more episodes which are set to begin production in the spring. The series will return with all new episodes next summer. Based on the numbers, this was a slam dunk decision for the network. According to the press release, Eureka is SciFi's highest rated, most watched show of 2006. Not only that, it outperformed the previous year's time slot average by +175%. The detail that really surprised me though... Tuesday's Eureka finale beat the CW's Veronica Mars premiere in males 18-49 and males 25-54. Confirmed to be returning for the second season are Colin Ferguson, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Joe Morton, Jordan Hinson, Ed Quinn, Debrah Farentino and Matt Frewer. I'm a little disturbed that they didn't mention Erica Cerra there, but hopefully that's just an over-site.