Friday, August 01, 2008
Eureka is what in the trade is described as high concept. It takes the stereotype of the absent-minded, eccentric professor to a whole new level and inhabits an entire town with geniuses. The show revolves around Jack Carter the sheriff played by Colin Ferguson whose task it is to keep the place safe for creative genius. To enjoy this series you must like science fiction, cutting edge science fiction at that and be willing to suspend disbelief. Carter lives in a house in a bunker that responds interactively to his every wish, even if Sarah has a “mind” of her own.
One episode in particular has stood out in my mind as one that demands comment. It rifts on the cryogenics movement; bringing a scientist so suspended back to life after half a century. What happens to a man who is revived to a world that has changed so radically since his departure? How can he adjust to the history he has not experienced and to the concept that he is younger at this point than his own grandson? Having seen what happened in a parallel scientific movement we call cloning to Dolly the Sheep what happens next is not that far-fetched. Once revived Pierre Fargo soon starts catching up on the aging process he missed while in stasis and rapidly reaches a geriatric state. Both processes acknowledge the discovery that although Dolly was a newborn and Pierre had been in stasis half a century, their genetic makeup was still in an advanced state of deterioration. To date science has not discovered a way to overcome our cell’s built in auto-destruct mechanism that limits how many times they are able to replicate successfully. What happens philosophically and ethically to society in a world where people live forever is grist for another discussion. The implicatons for deep space human transport if the concepts brought forward were true is yet another topic.
If you like well-written Sci-Fi this show’s for you.
One episode in particular has stood out in my mind as one that demands comment. It rifts on the cryogenics movement; bringing a scientist so suspended back to life after half a century. What happens to a man who is revived to a world that has changed so radically since his departure? How can he adjust to the history he has not experienced and to the concept that he is younger at this point than his own grandson? Having seen what happened in a parallel scientific movement we call cloning to Dolly the Sheep what happens next is not that far-fetched. Once revived Pierre Fargo soon starts catching up on the aging process he missed while in stasis and rapidly reaches a geriatric state. Both processes acknowledge the discovery that although Dolly was a newborn and Pierre had been in stasis half a century, their genetic makeup was still in an advanced state of deterioration. To date science has not discovered a way to overcome our cell’s built in auto-destruct mechanism that limits how many times they are able to replicate successfully. What happens philosophically and ethically to society in a world where people live forever is grist for another discussion. The implicatons for deep space human transport if the concepts brought forward were true is yet another topic.
If you like well-written Sci-Fi this show’s for you.
# posted by garthmailman@gmail.com @ 9:41 am 
