The End of Eureka
I am not really a fan of television – in fact, I don’t have either network or cable TV in my home. But I do have the internet, and therefore I can watch whatever I want whenever I want on Netflix, Hulu or Amazon.
Recently I’ve been enjoying science fiction TV series. I don’t like X-Files because Mulder always loses the evidence and Scully has to be re-convinced each episode. I do like Eureka. Last night I finished the series.
The Syfy Channel has offered us some great shows, but they always seem to cancel the ones I like best. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Eureka, although I recognize that scientists can only endanger the planet and be saved by a down-home sheriff so many times.
My favorite aspect of Eureka was this. Eureka showed us that intelligence comes in many varieties. Some characters have high IQs but no emotional intelligence. Our sheriff, Jack Carter, has only an average IQ but always manages to be the one to find the solution.
One thing I’m left wondering is this. Could the marriage between Allison Blake and Jack Carter really work over the long term? Sure, he’s great with the kids, and he’s brave and handsome. But, really? Carter’s IQ is 111. Dr. Blake’s is substantially higher. Do we believe that Allison will truly stay committed to someone so different than herself?
The issue of intellect and marriage made its way to our cultural forum recently when, on March 29, Princeton Alumni Susan Patton wrote an editorial, “Advice for the young women of Princeton: the daughters I never had,” published on the website of the Daily Princetonian, Princeton University‘s student newspaper.
Susan Patton’s advice to the women of Princeton was that they should find a husband at Princeton. Her reasoning was that never again in life would these women have such a field of worthy men from which to choose, and that highly intelligent women don’t do well with men of only average intelligence.
Obviously the feminist backlash against Susan Patton was intense. But the question remains. Can highly intelligent women be happy with men of lesser intelligence? There is a clear stereotype of smart men who choose flaky girls. But there doesn’t seem to be a stereotype of smart women who choose average Joes.
But maybe the point is this. Jack Carter isn’t an average Joe. He’s not a scientist, but he has a lot of other qualities that women want.
Another interesting aspect of the Blake-Carter marriage is this. Race (he’s white, she’s black) isn’t an issue at all. Granted, Allison is light-skinned, fine-featured and wears a weave. Would the story have still worked if Allison looked more like Henry Deacon’s wife, Grace?
Nonetheless, the subtle message of Eureka is this. Smart people don’t make race an issue. It’s another reason I really love Eureka, and am sad the series is over. How about a sequel, Syfy?
