I'm heading up to Vancouver later this week to shoot an episode of Eureka!

The SyFy (I know they're my new employers, but it still pains me to write that) Channel put out the following press release this morning:

Actor, author and blogger Wil Wheaton of the popular television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the classic film Stand By Me, has signed for a guest starring appearance on the 4th season of Eureka, one of Syfy’s most popular original series. The new season is slated to return to Syfy on Friday, July 9 at 9:00PM ET/PT.

In episode 403 of Eureka titled “All The Rage,” sci-fi fan favorite Wheaton plays the brilliant Dr. Isaac Parrish, head of the Non-Lethal Weapons Lab at Global Dynamics.  Parrish’s dry wit and superior attitude make him a thorn in Fargo’s (Neil Grayston) side — with potentially disastrous consequences. The episode featuring Wheaton is scheduled to air on Friday, July 23rd.

I've had the script for a little while, now, and I've been getting to know Dr. Isaac Parrish as I convert the words on the page into a person you'll see on television. I obviously can't go into any specifics, but I've had a great time developing his backstory, creating his relationships with the characters, giving him secrets and beliefs, and doing all the other parts of character creation that make being an actor so much fun.

As part of my homework, I spent the entire weekend watching DVDs and reading about the show on the Internets so I could understand the tone and see the characters in action … it wasn't a bad way to spend several hours, I tell you what. (In my professional opinion, time you currently spend watching a show that you hope will get better would be much more wisely spent watching reruns of Eureka.)

I'm not sure how much I'll be allowed to Twitter/Twitpic/blog from the set, but I'll keep notes like I always do and hopefully have something interesting to share when the show airs in July.

Enormous thanks go to my friend Amy Berg (who wrote The Two Live Crew Job and created my character Chaos on Leverage) who joined Eureka this season and found a way for me to visit it.