What Is It About Eureka?
I've always felt that the corner of the world where I come from--the real Northern California--is some strange nexus for freaks and geeks of all stripes. Not just because I was born there, or because it's a hotbed of marijuana agriculture, but because things seem to happen there that don't or can't happen anywhere else.
Of course, you could probably say that about any corner of the world, but certainly there can be few other places on the globe where you can find such a rich combination of redwood rainforests, hidden coastal nooks, Sasquatch sightings, Native American tribes, and violent prisons.
Seems like I'm not the only one who thinks so, either. You're all probably familiar with films like Return of the Jedi and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (surely one of the most redundant titles in movie history), both of which were filmed in the area. But lately there has been a real growth spurt in popular culture products set in the area where most of my mother's family lives.
Eureka, California, in particular, seems to be a healthy breeding ground for creative endeavours. Take a look at this press release for a proposed television series:
SCI FI Channel has given a green light for production of 13 hours of a new original series, Eureka, a drama about a seemingly ordinary town whose residents lead extraordinary lives. The order includes a two-hour pilot for the series, which will star Colin Ferguson, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Greg Germann, Joe Morton, Debrah Farentino, Maury Chaykin, Matt Frewer and Jordan Hinson, the network announced.
Eureka is set in a picturesque Pacific Northwest town that is shrouded in secrecy, a community of scientific geniuses assembled by the government to conduct top-secret research, where anything can happen. And does.
The series is executive-produced by Andrew Cosby (Haunted) and co-executive-produced by Jamie Paglia; production is slated to begin in January 2006 in Vancouver, Canada, for a summer 2006 premiere. Peter O'Fallon directed the pilot. In it, federal marshal Jack Carter (Ferguson) wrecks his car in the town of Eureka while transporting a teenage fugitive. Stranded, Carter quickly discovers that Eureka is not all it appears when a child vanishes in the catastrophic aftermath of an accident caused by a creation of one of the town's eccentric residents. Instinctively, he inserts himself into the investigation, working alongside the town's sheriff (Maury Chaykin) and an agent from the Department of Defense (Richardson-Whitfield). As the case unfolds, Carter is let in on one of the country's best-kept government secrets: Eureka is a haven created for the world's greatest minds to live, work and create. But, unknown to most, mystery, conspiracy and long-simmering secrets lurk just beneath the surface of this seemingly idyllic town.
Ooooh, pretty spooky, huh? Maybe the creepiest aspect of this show is its misguided attempt at giving the guy who played Max Headroom a regular series.
But this is not the only sign that Eureka has become the new Taos. Check out this essay from Josh Emmons, who not only grew up in Eureka, but has now written his debut novel about it.
I feel a sense of estranged pride in seeing the town where my grandmother lived for many years make good. (My most vivid memory of her old house there--a beautiful Gold Rush/Victorian-era-style construct--is of puking on her back porch after eating a lone peanut I found sitting at the bottom of a green glass bowl on a bookcase in her sitting room. Like many others, I learned on that day never to eat stray food found in the home of one's grandmother. But I digress.)
But for general spookiness and inexplicable human behaviour, Eureka has nothing on Crescent City, a smaller town about 85 miles up the Redwood Highway. Any head worth his stash knows that CC is where the real shit goes down, even if you disregard the shenanigans at Pelican Bay, what some wags have deemed America's most violent prison.
More on that later, perhaps.
Of course, you could probably say that about any corner of the world, but certainly there can be few other places on the globe where you can find such a rich combination of redwood rainforests, hidden coastal nooks, Sasquatch sightings, Native American tribes, and violent prisons.
Seems like I'm not the only one who thinks so, either. You're all probably familiar with films like Return of the Jedi and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (surely one of the most redundant titles in movie history), both of which were filmed in the area. But lately there has been a real growth spurt in popular culture products set in the area where most of my mother's family lives.
Eureka, California, in particular, seems to be a healthy breeding ground for creative endeavours. Take a look at this press release for a proposed television series:
SCI FI Channel has given a green light for production of 13 hours of a new original series, Eureka, a drama about a seemingly ordinary town whose residents lead extraordinary lives. The order includes a two-hour pilot for the series, which will star Colin Ferguson, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Greg Germann, Joe Morton, Debrah Farentino, Maury Chaykin, Matt Frewer and Jordan Hinson, the network announced.
Eureka is set in a picturesque Pacific Northwest town that is shrouded in secrecy, a community of scientific geniuses assembled by the government to conduct top-secret research, where anything can happen. And does.
The series is executive-produced by Andrew Cosby (Haunted) and co-executive-produced by Jamie Paglia; production is slated to begin in January 2006 in Vancouver, Canada, for a summer 2006 premiere. Peter O'Fallon directed the pilot. In it, federal marshal Jack Carter (Ferguson) wrecks his car in the town of Eureka while transporting a teenage fugitive. Stranded, Carter quickly discovers that Eureka is not all it appears when a child vanishes in the catastrophic aftermath of an accident caused by a creation of one of the town's eccentric residents. Instinctively, he inserts himself into the investigation, working alongside the town's sheriff (Maury Chaykin) and an agent from the Department of Defense (Richardson-Whitfield). As the case unfolds, Carter is let in on one of the country's best-kept government secrets: Eureka is a haven created for the world's greatest minds to live, work and create. But, unknown to most, mystery, conspiracy and long-simmering secrets lurk just beneath the surface of this seemingly idyllic town.
Ooooh, pretty spooky, huh? Maybe the creepiest aspect of this show is its misguided attempt at giving the guy who played Max Headroom a regular series.
But this is not the only sign that Eureka has become the new Taos. Check out this essay from Josh Emmons, who not only grew up in Eureka, but has now written his debut novel about it.
I feel a sense of estranged pride in seeing the town where my grandmother lived for many years make good. (My most vivid memory of her old house there--a beautiful Gold Rush/Victorian-era-style construct--is of puking on her back porch after eating a lone peanut I found sitting at the bottom of a green glass bowl on a bookcase in her sitting room. Like many others, I learned on that day never to eat stray food found in the home of one's grandmother. But I digress.)
But for general spookiness and inexplicable human behaviour, Eureka has nothing on Crescent City, a smaller town about 85 miles up the Redwood Highway. Any head worth his stash knows that CC is where the real shit goes down, even if you disregard the shenanigans at Pelican Bay, what some wags have deemed America's most violent prison.
More on that later, perhaps.
posted by Chazzbot at 10:45 AM
1 Comments:
The mention of the Gold Rush makes me think there must be a link between Eureka, California and the Eureka Stockade of Ballarat.
It looks like Eureka, Ca. was founded in 1856 which is 2 years after the miners rebellion (such as it was). Seems like ample time for a man or group to head to a new field and start again.
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