I happened to catch some of the new season of Eureka, a SyFy original show that predates the phonetic spelling years, and I was quite impressed to see that such an intellectually sounded show, though more theatrics than real science, has lasted on television for as long as it has. Collin Fergueson portrays the town sheriff, and is perhaps the most "normal" person in the fictional town of Eureka, where everyone is either a genius or something greater, and is the main character of the series. Though this season so-far has been leading up to the events of the cast going to the Saturn moon of Titan, it hinges on the verge of the space program shutting down in real-world America.
I'm sure someone has talked about this already, but maybe we can learn a few things from this season of Eurkea, in-that space travel is still a vital importance for the economic, and social aspect of American culture. Though we no longer have a space program, nor do we even have a space shuttle left that will launch from NASA, American astronauts will be hitching rides on Russian shuttles to the International Space Station for now on, this being the best-case scenario.
I enjoy Eureka, it's a great show, that plots the "dumbest" character (Collin Fergueson's Sheriff Character) against a horde of super-geniuses, that always seem to have something terrible going wrong, yet the dumbest character seems to always trump the scientists, doctors, and engineers in a down-to-earth common sense that others seem to miss. Fergueson's character seems to always find a way to solve the issue, if not have the issue solved through some interaction with the rest of the egg heads, and this shines a light far greater in our world today. When we have super geniuses dealing with powers even they might not fully comprehend, it always seems the guy that may not even have a Ph.D somehow comes in and rectifies the situation with a bit of common sense, and simplistic laymen's thinking.
This wrings true here as well in the situation with NASA, and the space programs shutting down. How come I, not even being in the same realm of a rocket scientist realize that NASA shutting down is not only bad for us economically, but bad for morale of the American psyche? We believe, though I feel most of us seem to hate America more than praise it these days, but yet still pretend to believe we're the greatest country on Earth. How come now, we give up our hopes of the future by not allowing them to pursue their dreams. Seems when you ask a kid in the future they'd rather be, I'm sure they'd most likely say a political scientist, or manager of a Denny's over being an astronaut, scientist, or doctor.
Sure, space is expensive, and it does run up bills, but what do we prove to the rest of the world when we say our children are so "dumb" that they couldn't even ride on a Russian space shuttle? We are losng innovation because Americans are too spoiled with all the good things we've been allowed to own. Living in this country, even at the minimal, is still better than living in most third-world nations at the best ability.
So when I watch the farce that has become the show Eureka, and I must say I always felt the show was an underrated achievement, I can already see other "science" or "nerd" shows being an even greater failure in years to come. An example would be another of my favorites, the "Big Bang Theory", which placates to Physicists, chemists, and psychologists, humoring those who have actually learned something in their time at university. Fraiser was another show that pitted minds against one another for the sake of intelligent comedy, and what do we see now? Well, the Generation of Jackass, Survivor, and other reality shows, not discluding the likes of Jerry Springer, are finally grown-up to the point of controlling the entertainment media to the point that if even any intelligence is allowed, it has to be dumbed down with some form of perverted sex joke, or an intellectual fart joke.
When I think of shows like Eureka, I think of shows that stem a bit above the stupidity, maybe not-so-much as Big Bang Theory, but it is entertaining, original, and up until NASA was cut, relaistic for authentic Science Fiction precursing Science Fact.
I am a Sci-Fi buff, and when I see shows like this, it makes me feel good to have something I can relate to on the tele, but let's face it, nerds are always going to get the short-end of the stick. I feel for nerds, I really do, and most people do not understand them, nor will they ever get a grasp of why they're so much smarter, and why they're more likely crazier than the rest of us. To let it be said, because it must be, nerds are simply disliked, they're not "cool" and they lack the common sense the rest of us normally have because they've not lived long in the real world. When given scholarships, grants, loans, etc. it's hard to understand how working for a living meant working until you were sore, doing what you hate in order to survive. I don't envy anyone, or hate anyone for their choices, but as Eurkea, this NASA shut-down, and the Big Bang Theory can show us, for every egg head, you need a dumb ass to equal out the factors, because you'll always need common sense in place of sheer intelligence
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