Saying goodbye to Eureka

Last year, my friend Amy told me she was moving from writing Leverage to writing Eureka. She asked me if I was interested in playing a scientist who was kind of a jerk. I said "yes" as fast as I could, and ended up playing Doctor Isaac Parrish for seven of the ten episodes in season 4.5. When season 5 was announced, I was invited back for more, and I said "yes" even faster this time, violating several laws of physics that I made up for the occasion.

Late last night, my Twitter exploded with people who were furious at the network formerly known as Sci-Fi for canceling Eureka. I figured that these people were talking about the news from last week, where we thought the show would have a six episode sixth season (that we would film in October), to end its run … but it was unlikely that dozens and then hundreds of people would be spontaneously upset about news that was a week old all in the same few minutes, so I did a little digging on the googles.

It turns out that the network formerly-known as Sci-Fi changed its mind, and took back the six episode sixth season. Eureka will have to wrap up season five and the entire series with the episode that starts filming on Thursday. I know they'll have to do some rewriting, so I'm hopeful that Bob Newhart is available.*

At this point, I know as much as you do, because I found out the same way you did. I'm trying really hard not to be upset with the network for issuing a statement to the press before the cast knew, so we wouldn't have to find out the way we did; as you can imagine, it isn't exactly easy.

Jaime and Bruce (the show's executive producers) called me shortly after the news broke, to thank me for being part of the show, and tell me how sad they were that it was over. I could tell that they were as shell-shocked as I was. I feel comfortable telling the public what I told them: I'm proud of Eureka. I think it's an incredible show, and while I'm sad for them to lose something they've been working on for so long, I'm selfishly sad that I won't get to work with this cast and crew any more. Eureka is a tremendously fun show to make, and from the very first time I set foot on the set, the cast and crew made me feel like I was part of their family. To have that taken away so soon after it began makes me profoundly sad; I can feel the loss in my heart and what would be my soul if I had one and wasn't made of pure beardstuff from the sixth dimension.

At the same time, I'm grateful that I'm sad, because if I wasn't, that would mean I never had any good times working on the show. You know that thing they say about loving what you do means it isn't really work? Well, I've been lucky enough to feel that way on four different shows for the last several years, and Eureka is the one I've been able to call home the longest.

Please join me in thanking Amy Berg, Jaime Paglia, Bruce Miller, Matt Hastings, Todd Sharp, all the Eureka Writers, and especially the cast and crew for letting me visit their town and work for GD, even if it was only for a short time. I've had a wonderful time, bringing a great character to life with actors I love and respect. I've made friendships that will last the rest of my life, and done work that makes me genuinely proud.

Goodbye, Eureka. I have been, and always will be #TeamParrish.

*Kids, ask your parents.

 

152 thoughts on “Saying goodbye to Eureka”

  1. I hate that you had to find out about a show cancellation from the ‘nets. Someone at the network formally known as Sci-Fi needs to look for the security leak. It is never easy to lose a job unexpectedly. I hope you will bounce back quickly and find another outlet for your acting.
    …and if they can’t get Bob Newhart, maybe they can get someone from St. Elsewhere.** There is Kevin to consider.
    **Kids, ask the parents, again.

  2. A great big thank you to all the cast and crew of Eureka. You guys rock!
    A great big FU to the former SciFi network for generally sucking and being dicks.
    If I didn’t find W13 strangely charming I would never look at that channel again.
    So, when will Wil and Felicia start the new actual SciFi network?

  3. So sorry to read the end of a show that I enjoyed watching with the whole family.
    THANK YOU, Eureka team! You made Entertainment happen at our house. Help us find you on your next projects!

  4. Wil, I’ve enjoyed seeing you on Eureka and I’m disappointed to see the show end its successful run. Unfortunately, the proliferation of pseudo-science shows like Ghost Hunters seems tp be the dierction the network is going to pursue. They’re cheap to make (how much does it cost for a night vision camera and a couple of knuckleheads to stumble around an abandoned building?) and they get viewers. There must be great satisfaction from being a part of a quality production though, and that’s how I see the show, its cast and crew, and yours and Felicia’s contribution.
    Good luck on your future projects and I’ll be watching for you.

  5. Sci-Fi… syfy… by any name a network that has always screwed it’s fans. Farscape? Weird quirky show with a small but fanatical fanbase chock full of that magic 18-35 demo of college educated men and women (yes, women that liked their space show) cancelled by sci-fi because… an executive didn’t like space shows. Let me say that again. An executive at SCI-FI didn’t like space shows!
    Flash forward a few years and they cancel Caprica and Eureka and SG:1 when it looked like it might have some life it in with new cast injections and SG: Universe which while a tepid BSG attitude and a Voyager retread story line was, like Caprica, slowly finding it’s way… Too bad. syfy needs bad copies of Brit shows about vampires and werewolves living in a flat downtown Real World style and a multi year deal with WWE wrestling (although looking at it every now and then I’m convinced it’s from another world).
    At least maybe now they can afford a sequel to Sharktopus!

  6. One version I’ve heard is that Siffy’s parent company has decided that the show isn’t profitable enough.
    As if any of the shows are going to be profitable once everyone leaves because all the good content is gone.

  7. So a DVR being tuned into a channel/show at time of airing and recording it is not counted toward ratings?
    I do recall hearing a big mess about this because American Idol scheduled their start/end time in such a way that the DVR’s would cut it off, angering people and forcing them to watch the show in real time…to improve ratings? I don’t watch reality shows, not much primetime, and I don’t have anything to go on other than hearsay. It never occurred to me to look into it further.
    If DVR’s affecting ratings (in a bad way) is part of the problem, I hope networks can get it straightened out because, frankly, I can NEVER watch TV shows when they actually air. Even if I could, I still record them so I can watch later while I work out or fold laundry, etc.
    Bleh.

  8. Wil, thanks for the post. I came to Eureka because of you. After you said you’d be guest-starring, I figured I’d start watching, and that happened to be when they were running a mini-marathon of 4.0. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t been watching the whole time! Now I’m all caught up and it’s the highlight of my TV week, so this is a big blow. I owe you my thanks for leading me to a wonderful show. Long live DVDs!

  9. I need:
    * A Portal Gun
    * Some white Portal Goo
    * A Full Moon
    * All the ‘Siffy’ program execs and VPs that cancelled Eureka all in a row in front of me.
    Make it so, internets!
    See, this is why we can’t have nice things @Syfy. Cuz… you haven’t been ‘sci-fi’ for awhile now. Just cancel the entire network, eh? Think of all the money you’d save!

  10. I know they’ll have to do some rewriting, so I’m hopeful that Bob Newhart is available.

    So, you’re saying that the last scene will be Wesley Crusher waking up from a bad dream?

  13. Shows that are DVR’d do count in the ratings, though not as much as if you sat down to watch it live. The ratings now not only do the ratings based on who watched it live, but also those who DVR’d it and watched it later, up to 7 days, which are considered the live +7 ratings. So if you watch a show on your DVR within the first seven days after it aired, it counts towards the ratings. If you watch it two weeks later, it doesn’t. And even those counted don’t count for as much, because folks fast-forward through the commercials on DVRs. So the advertisers don’t feel they really count. Even though studies have shown that people who do that still know what the commercials were for and about.

  14. I really wanted to give Colin a hug last night. And the entire cast and crew. But as I said to him, I’m so very grateful to everyone involved for having it around as long as it has been.

  15. I know I was one of the ones vent last night out of just sheer anger not only at the cancellation but at the horrible way it was conducted on the part of Syfy and the fact that the cast had to find out that way as well is just awful. I will very happily join you in thanking everyone involved in making Eureka as it has been one of my favourite shows for years now! I haven’t been able to see the new season 4.5 episodes since they aren’t airing in Canada till the fall but I’ve been hearing amazing things about the season and about your performance on the show. I know this will be a show I will deeply miss as it had such a unique charm and humour to it that I’m afraid I won’t find again after this show. So I am greatly looking forward to seeing Season 4.5 & Season 5. As well as looking forward to seeing your return on Leverage. The very best wishes to you and the entire cast and crew of Eureka

  16. Sounds like season 6 would be a great time for Netflix to get further into the production side of the business. Would they be able to buy season 6 if SyFy passes on it? Or, would the show just be done and dead?

  17. When I read your post on Google+, I was shocked. I love Eureka. Just the other night my dad and I were talking about how Eureka and Warehouse 13 have a long life span of episodes, where as Alpha’s is limited… And of course, they cut one of the good ones.
    Seems to be typical. No one wants the shows that make you think and really capture imagination. No, we want to watch something that’s been done a million times before. Alpha’s is the XMen, Mutants, and countless other tales of that group of people with gifts that are popping up in the world, some good and some bad, and the people who work to stop them…. Been there, done that.
    I will miss Eureka. I loved watching it and looked forward to each episode. I enjoyed seeing you on it [love the beard]. And I wish all the actors on it the best in future endeavors.

  19. Or why SyFy will cease to exist. Reality pseudo science TV and rastling DO NOT make a Science Fiction Channel. *sigh*
    It will make my choices on Monday a lot easier. I can get work done in the evening.
    PS What ever show they put on at 10pm on friday doesn’t exist in my brain. I won’t watch the wrestling and 10pm is when the hubby goes to bed and watches news. So if I forget to fight for a show, it doesn’t get turned on. And heck, I wasn’t watching SyFy before that time.

  20. So sorry to see the show go. I started watching it again because you were on it. It’s rare that I watch a show while it’s still on the air. It’s a lot of fun, and I will miss it.
    +1 on the Bob Newhart ending.

  22. I’m really sorry to see the show go. I’ve been a faithful fan from the beginning, even before SciFi, er Syfy, or Sciffy, started jerking the fans around by changing the schedule so much. It has been so much fun to see one of my favorite people in the world, Wil Wheaton, join the cast and play a jerk that I actually like. I’m really looking forward to the rest of season 4.5 and season 5. I will cherish every minute of it!

  23. My family enjoys Eureka, and has done so since its premier. The show’s been even more enjoyable to watch since you joined it. I’m definitely sorry that Bob will have to wake up soon.

  24. It’s like selling you a 16 oz drink for the same price you used to pay for a 20 oz drink, meanwhile they try to hype the “new bottle design.”
    The current “half-seasons” are more like quarter-seasons. To me, a full season is 22 episodes, minimum. This “air 6 and see you in 6 months” thing really doesn’t let a show get any traction with the audience, IMHO.

  25. Wow! I’m completely floored… sad as it is, this is the first I’m hearing about this and it’s very upsetting news indeed. Eureka & Warehouse 13 are the last 2 shows I watch on SyFy and Eureka has quickly grown to become my favorite of the two! 🙁 This season has been amazing and I firmly believe they’re cutting it before it’s prime. So sorry you had to find out the way that you did, but I wish you and all the cast & crew best of luck with the new projects you take on – I’m sure I’ll be watching!

  26. To be honest, I’d given up on Eureka half way through season 2 because both Stark and the artifact pissed me off. Then, halfway through Season 3 I heard more and more people raving about it, I tuned in and it was awesome so I caught up on DVD and *cough*bittorrent*cough*. Since then the series just went from strength to strength, the writing got better, the characters were deeper, I loved the timetravel timeline and it was obvious that everyone had a lot of fun making the series.
    As this is a bit more visible than twitter, I would like to thank everyone involved for providing much needed entertainment and distraction in this often so dreary world and it’s disheartening to see that not even the producers have the tiniest opportunity to make the network bigheads change their decision.
    How many Eureka episodes can you make from the budget of one shitty Sharktopus film?
    Again, thank you for the ride and I hear on twitter how everybody is having a blast making the last few episodes. Go #TeamEureka.

  27. Just found this:
    http://SaveEureka.com/
    Welcome everyone,
    The reason you are here and reading this is, of course, a sad one.
    After the confirmation of a short sixth season last week, we recently learned that SyFy decided to cancel Eureka all together.
    The fans will not stand for it and we will rise up in protest.
    So join the forum, give us your suggestions and hopefully we will be able to make a difference.
    Keep an eye on the website as we will gradually be adding pages.
    What you can do for now, besides registering at the forum, is:
    Follow SaveEureka on Twitter or Facebook.
    If you have twitter, then please, sign this Twitition
    Also if people are willing and able to help out with moderating the forum and website, let me This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. know.
    Thank you,
    Kris, your friendly neighborhoud webmaster

  29. Danm, My boys and I just marathoned Eureka on Netflix.
    The fact of the matter is that whom ever is running Syfy seems hell bent on making it just another cable channel. A channel with nothing to distinguish it from the hundreds of other bland channels that get forced on you with the package purchases that the cable companies stick us with.
    I don’t believe that they have any interest in Science Fiction as a genre. Syfy management would gladly become the Reality TV channel overnight if they could pull it off. That way the productions costs are in line with the production values (nearly non existant). That seems like want they are willing to spend anyway.
    At least Eureka has a heads up and will be able to close the show properly for the fans ans actors. SGU was not afforded the courtesy of closure.

  30. Gaaah, one of my favourite shows, decides to get Even Better by bringing you and Felicia in and then gets cancelled. I’d be all face-palmy only I’m too busy banging my head on the desk.
    Feel terrible for you and everybody else involved in making such a great show.
    Seriously: Hulk smash syfy.

  32. They still have one left for me – Warehouse 13 – and when that goes, SyFy will have nothing that appeals. And just when they finally had 2 shows on in a row that I actually enjoyed…

  33. So sad about this. Especially since here in Canada, we haven’t even started the latest season. It’ll be different knowing it’s the last one and that it won’t end the way they wanted it to.

  35. I just had to tell my husband about this. Was not looking forward to this all day. Eureka is his favorite show and he waits all year to watch it. It is also one of those rare shows on at 8 that we can watch with our kids and not worry about what they are going to hear or see. The bonus is that we all enjoy watching it! We are all sad that yet another great show that is entertaining in a non-crude, non-rude but light hearted and funny and still in a genre we love has hit the chopping block. This pretty much means that BBCA will be our goto for SciFi shows it seems.

  36. Love the Newhart reference, but I really hope we don’t find out the entire town was some sort of AI experiment and nothing but a blip in S.A.R.A.H.’s database.
    I also hope we get to see you all in something else very soon. (Maybe Eureka: SGU?)

  38. Having just caught up late with Eureka, E.G, watched it from the start to catch up to the point Parrish appears ( seriously after the Phoenix Comicon panel with Jaime and yourself I had to) Show was responsible for the best set up for a joke re “the Ex files” re what Dr Grant hallucinated about that was a real screen re-decorator. ( Not seen any of five yet so maybe I should say, by me to date)
    NBC aka no bloody clue can mess up showing the Olympics, can’t cover the NHL Winter Classic properly or handle a red-headed comedian.That they lack the imagination to find a way to keep arguably the best show they possess running isn’t a surprise though it doesn’t make it any more sad.
    Thank you to all Eureka’s creators,craftspeople and actors for what you were able to and look forward to enjoying your new work.

  39. Just like the real life GD (General Dynamics), an unexpected Reduction In Force for Global Dynamics has occurred. Your RIF came only after a couple of years. Mine came after 31 years. It definitely makes one feel a bit helpless when the bean counters make the decisions.
    I imagine it also means that Cafe Diem will likely have one more year in San Diego, if that.

  40. As I said to Rogers on Twitter earlier, how about having Colin show up as a nameless sheriff tracking down a rogue scien^H^H^H^H^Hhacker? It would be worth it just for Hardison’s expression when he cracks that database and figures out what Cha0s’ day job is.
    In my head, Leverage and Eureka have always been in the same continuity anyway.

  41. After I was introduced to Eureka some time ago, it became one of my favorite shows. It seems that the smartest and best shows on television, the ones that I become most attached to, are killed off before their time while mindless reality shows and anything with crappy simpleton writing and awful soap opera like actors/actresses go on and on and on. I would like to see some other television station (I’m looking at you AMC) pick up Eureka and allow it to continue but I don’t see that happening. I would like to say thank you to you and all involved with this show. It will hold a special place in my heart long after it is gone.

  42. Thanks for this, good sir. The PTBs at the network formerly known as Sci-Fi have proven time and again how far removed from reality they are. This, unfortunately, is another prime example of it.
    Why kill one of your best performing shows *that you own*? Eureka has been a fun and quirky show since the beginning and I’ve stuck with it over many other “original” series the network has produced. Do we really need a cooking show? Or, more wrestling on what’s supposed to be a *science fiction* network?

  43. My letter to SyFy and their CEO, just sent:
    Canceling one of your most popular series? Seriously?
    Look, you’re going to get a lot of letters about this, so I’ll make it short. As of today, I will be noting who all of the advertisers on your network are as I watch the last of the shows I like prior to their cancellation. I will make it a point to not patronize those advertisers and I will take the time to write them and tell them, just as I’m writing to you and telling you. It’s that simple.
    I will tell my friends to do the same and pass this word on.
    It will become a meme (you know what a meme is, yes?). It will go viral. And your advertisers will get the message: you do not represent the science fiction community and in the rare cases that you actually give us something we like, we reward you by buying the products your advertisers are selling. When you fail, we use the power of our dollars to bring pressure upon you. You’re in this business to make money and we’re in it to be entertained. One cannot survive without the other, and it *is* a two-way street.
    Best of luck.
    Christopher Ambler

  45. I’m trying really hard not to be upset with the network for issuing a statement to the press before the cast knew, so we wouldn’t have to find out the way we did; as you can imagine, it isn’t exactly easy.
    Back, in 2004, my huge international bank merged with another huge international bank. Our particular center was in San Diego, and was a sister site to one in Florida. The other bank was based in Phoenix, so we knew almost immediately that the new bosses (somehow they were all from the other bank, even though the other bank was smaller than us) would lay us all off and move our center to Phoenix. We used to joke that we’d find out on accident on our weekly conference call with the National Loss Executive. It turns out we were right. The call went something like this:
    Anonymous speaker: …when we close down San Diego.
    *We all look at each other. There is awkward silence on the line.*
    Another anonymous speaker: San Diego is on the call.
    *More awkward silence.*
    It really sucks when everyone else knows you’re getting laid off except you. Sorry Wil. 🙁

  46. And ScumFi does it again. I-Man, Farscape, the list goes on. Great shows in the (gasp) SCIENCE FICTION genre, that have been killed prematurely by the geniuses what worked for a, supposed, science fiction network.

  48. I have a sad.
    Just googled it after I checked twitter and read so many tweets regarding Eureka.
    What a shame.
    And it makes me soooooo angry again, that there are so many fans ´round the world like me who don´t have any chance to be counted in the ratings because there is now way to watch it live or download promptly on a paying and legal way.
    We have to wait for DVD or (late and not counting) Downloads or hope that it will be shown at tv in our own country. Or become a pirate.
    Gah! Get angry ´bout that evry frakking time.
    But beside that:
    Nice work everyone involved in the show. It was a fantastic ride and hours filled with fun. Big, big THANK YOU ALL for that.

  49. I am so glad that Eureka, Alphas, and Warehouse 13 (and the unnamed spinoff featuring HG Wells) are all in the same universe. This way, even though Eureka is gone, I can still have the faint hope that I’ll see you and the other members of the cast making guest appearances in other shows.
    Long live Eureka!

  50. The news of the cancellation, especially given that SyFy only had to commit to 6 more episodes, is just plain stupidity. I became concerned when Sci-Fi changed its name to that dreadful mis-spelling, wondering if they were trying to deliberately re-market the network away from all that geeky technobabbly nonsense. Seems I was right, as slowly but surely they have slipped away from sci-fi, and given us…erm…wrestling!
    It will be a shame to see Eureka go, but we can live in hope that some of our favourite characters may see life in the connected shows (Warehouse 13 for example)…well, until the inevitable cancellation of that too.
    SyFy…you SYuk!

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