SCI FI'S `EUREKA' A LUCKY, QUIRKY FIND.

Byline: David Kronke Television Critic

Outside of crime procedurals or medical shows, not a lot of TV series offer intelligent characters meant for viewers to embrace. Sci Fi's cheeky new show ``Eureka'' is cluttered with them, upping the aggregate IQ of the TV universe a few dozen points.

It concerns the small Pacific Northwest town of the title. To the outsider, it appears sleepy and bucolic but is, in fact, populated with eccentric brainiacs working for the government, developing all manner of gizmos, many of which result in inadvertent if routine explosions around town.

Into this Eden-with-landmines stumbles rough-around-the-edges U.S. Marshal Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson) and his (naturally) rebellious teenage daughter Zoe (Jordan Hinson). (We also see, early on, how the series will end, should it come to a natural conclusion.)

Carter befriends Henry Deacon (Joe Morton), a space-shuttle engineer who moonlights as the town mechanic. He'd like to befriend Allison Blake (Salli Richardson-Whitfield), the Department of Defense liaison between the town and the federal government, not so much Jo Lupo (Erica Cerra), a local deputy whose search for a boyfriend is undermined by the fact that she can wallop the sense out of just about any guy in the area. Local shrink Beverly Barlowe (Debrah Farentino) -- whose clientele extends beyond the town's jittery geniuses to the highest reaches of the government -- seems fond of him, but her every move appears to have a hidden agenda.

Other local masterminds who may or may not be forces for good include Warren King (Greg Germann), who runs the top-secret development center, math whiz Nathan Stark (Ed Quinn) and wacked-out dogcatcher Jim Taggert (Matt Frewer), though he prefers the term ``biological control specialist.''

Eureka is chockablock with bizarre special-effects-friendly anomalies -- the bridge to Eureka's think tank appears to have collapsed, which causes Carter no small amount of consternation when Allison drives him across it. When Jack in a panic asks if he's in Area 51, she replies, her voice dripping with disdain, ``Please. ... They wish they had our security.''

In tonight's two-hour premiere, a local inventor has, purposefully or not, disrupted the laws of physics, which threaten, yes, the known universe. Next week, a ``memory inhibitor'' wreaks havoc with the locals.

Somewhat sagely, the series has cast actors associated with past sci-fi films and programs. In general, the cast responds to the material with verve and wit. Ferguson, in particular, puts a nice spin on his line readings, imbuing them with a amused incredulity. Not many people could sell a line like ``Let's not shoot the crazy, end-of-the-world machine just yet,'' but Ferguson manages the job handsomely.

David Kronke, [phone]

david.kronke(at)dailynews.com

EUREKA - Thee stars

What: A U.S. marshal accidentally wanders into a small town populated by quirky geniuses.

Where: Sci Fi Network.

When: 9 tonight.

In a nutshell: Drolly entertaining.

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Photo:

Colin Ferguson stars as U.S. Marshal Jack Carter in Sci Fi's ``Eureka,'' at 9 tonight.