O Little Town is a Christmas special out of time - It could happen just about any Christmas within the Eureka series, which is a good thing. With all of the reshuffles and reboots to Eureka at the season and/or midseason breaks, it's nice to have a story which utilizes all of our characters without the soap opera style melodrama plot element.
There is a crisis of the week, plenty of comedy (including Colin Farrel's wonderful physical comedy), and lenty of heart so that it qualifies as an episode to enjoy during the Christmas season. The supporting stories include a Secret Santa, Vince's attempt to provide the town with a fruitcake that won't be mocked, Jack and Zoe trying to get home for the holidays, Allison REALLY loving the Christmas season, and (perhaps best of all) Taggart and his study of Santa-ology. The story unfolds in a leisurely manner and the viewer never doubts for a minute that the crisis will have tidy resolution (it IS Christmas after all). Is it ground-breaking sci-fi? No. Is it a fun way to spend Christmas with our friends in Eureka? Absolutely.
For all Christmas specials of ongoing series television, the important questions to ask at the end of the day are 1) Did this episode support or increase my Christmas spirit? And 2) Would I watch this episode on its own next Christmas? If you can answer with "yes" to both questions, then the episode is a success; and O Little Town is a success.
There is a crisis of the week, plenty of comedy (including Colin Farrel's wonderful physical comedy), and lenty of heart so that it qualifies as an episode to enjoy during the Christmas season. The supporting stories include a Secret Santa, Vince's attempt to provide the town with a fruitcake that won't be mocked, Jack and Zoe trying to get home for the holidays, Allison REALLY loving the Christmas season, and (perhaps best of all) Taggart and his study of Santa-ology. The story unfolds in a leisurely manner and the viewer never doubts for a minute that the crisis will have tidy resolution (it IS Christmas after all). Is it ground-breaking sci-fi? No. Is it a fun way to spend Christmas with our friends in Eureka? Absolutely.
For all Christmas specials of ongoing series television, the important questions to ask at the end of the day are 1) Did this episode support or increase my Christmas spirit? And 2) Would I watch this episode on its own next Christmas? If you can answer with "yes" to both questions, then the episode is a success; and O Little Town is a success.
