with regards to the whole Eureka sherrif always saving the day i think they are trying to point out that sometimes scientists tend to overcomplicate the solution, where as he tends to find a very simple solution.

my personal favorite has to be the stargates, i have always wondered about the scientific accuracy of the show and really haven’t found much about it.

Well, they say it seems a lot quicker your first time.

THEY say that…

Must. Get. Back. To. Work.

It’s nice to know that I’m not alone in my suspension of disbelief and enjoyment around Fringe.

…unless it’s really egregious in which case, there will be some yellin’ at the TV.

@!astralProjectile — Unfortunately, the fictional town of Eureka in the TV show is in Oregon (and has less lumber schooners, I’d imagine). That’s not to say that Eureka, CA isn’t worth a visit, though.

”
Town of the Week, Eureka, California. This week’s town is a port city located near the extensive preserves of the world’s oldest trees, the Coastal Redwoods. Eureka, on Humboldt Bay, is the county seat and principal city in Humboldt County, California. Eureka is a Greek word meaning “I have found it,” and is the official motto of California. Eureka was a major player in the historic west coast lumber trade, with 140 lumber schooners operating in Humboldt Bay. Eureka is the site of hundreds of Victorian homes including the Carson Mansion. The Carson Mansion on 2nd and M Streets is perhaps the most spectacular Victorian in the nation, is a museum and was built in 1884. Old Town Eureka, the original downtown center of this busy city in the 19th Century, has been restored as a lively arts center. Old Town has been declared an Historic District by the National Register. Eureka’s livelihood has long been tied to salmon fisheries and oyster farming. On January 9th, last month, a Richter magnitude 6.5 earthquake occurred about 33 miles offshore of Eureka. The quake was described as a “jumper”, imposing mostly vertical shocks from the ground, leading to broken windows, overturned shelving, and loss of architectural detail on a number of historic buildings. Injuries were described as minor. Eureka has a population of more than 42,000 people. Major employers include College of the Redwoods, County of Humboldt, and St. Joseph Hospital. Known as the “Queen City of the Ultimate West”, it is our Town of the Week, Eureka, CA. “

@15 Also agree with Jeremy. I really object to “The scientists endanger everyone with their recklessness and only the clever non-scientists can save us” seems to be the recurring theme, from what I’ve seen. It doesn’t sit well. This aspect creeps into many poorly made SF shows, and it doesn’t sit well with me either.

Eureka is fun, AND it makes some people think along lines they might not have in the first place. Maybe one or more of them (me, for instance) will look up stuff online when a plot device is something I haven’t read about or thought about before then. I get to learn something new.

When you watch a show like that, where the science has yet to reach reality (and that’s ALWAYS what happens on that show), you HAVE to suspend belief for it to be fun.

And that show is definitely fun.

The added benefit of shows like that is that there are kids out there watching and enjoying the show and getting turned on by science. In the U.S., that’s a great thing, because our society doesn’t promote science and math education enough. Shows like Eureka, just like Star Trek (and tell me how much of the science Kirk and his crew used was doable or even believable), bring new people to science who might have never considered it as a career or even a hobby.

If science FICTION did not exist, I don’t know what I’d be doing today, but I can tell you, I would have had a very boring and frustrating childhood. Maybe even adulthood.

@Jeremy – The idea behind that particular plot device is that, just because someone is smart (or brilliant or whatever), doesn’t mean they have common sense, and sometimes common sense is important to solving a problem. It’s the whole idea of, “it takes a team to make things work”, that one person can’t think of all possible outcomes because their life perspective limits each and every one of us.

While Eureka strains the concept, it’s a good lesson for us all to learn. Drink a beer and relax. Enjoy the show.

Taking the ^h to mean ‘backspace,’ thereby changing the title of the post to “Advisor to the plan stars” refers to Kevin Grazier being a science advisor on Battlestar Galactica. Y’know, where they had a plan.

What’s my prize?

I must not be a geek, then…

I’ve started watching Fringe because the wife & girls like it (because of the Dr. Walter Bishop character), but I’m not sure I’m able to suspend my disbelief. I’ll keep viewing it for now and withhold judgement for now…

*shudder*

It was one of the strangest & (emotionally) saddest things that I have ever seen in many years of watching TV SF.

*Warehouse 13 is basically a ‘let’s get weird for comedy’ show, so the ‘realism’ is more ‘open’ with techno-babble, though I am a Nikola Tesla fan, so can accept “Sanctuary” as well.

J/P=?

At least Star Trek and Stargate tried to be scientifically accurate. Fringe doesn’t even bother. It reminds me a lot of the recent Star Trek movie, which I liked. They needed red matter as a plot device for the story to work but they didn’t even bother explaining what it was. J.J. Abrams seems to have a lazy streak when it comes to plot development.

And, I can only think of integrals when you say Riemann…
Manifold would be a surface (closed surface, perhaps?)…
11-dimensions would be string theory…

Therefore? I guess KCS probably had it right with “knot.” My dork credentials must be short today.

And how many of your readers know what a ^h is?