Syfy gives fans a great holiday gift with this block of episodes. If you have never watched
any or all of these shows now is a good time to jump in because of the stand-alone nature of the episodes. Tune in tonight starting at 8pm on Syfy. Some minor spoilers in the descriptions below.
Eureka-“Do You See What I See”
Sheriff Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson) wants Christmas to be perfect for his family now that he and Alison have started dating. All Jack wants is that perfect Christmas morning with a touch of snow and fortunately for Jack he lives in Eureka where anything is possible.
Unfortunately for Jack he lives in Eureka where not everything always goes as planned.
The extent of technobabble that gets us to what goes wrong is quite elaborate; needless to 
say everything goes wrong. Instead of a nice, simple snowfall everyone in town is turned into a cartoon character. These cartoon characters are be effected by a holographic storybook which is being contolled by Jenna, Kevin and Zoe. The main cast of the show goes through several types of animation including Claymation, CGI and anime.
The Claymation segments really have that holiday feel to them harkening back to the days of Santa Clause is Coming to Town and Rudolph: The Red Nosed Reindeer. The snow-ninja or “sninja” as Jack calls it is so much cooler looking as are the characters themselves. I am partial to the anime style so I am a bit biased.
The episode is stand-alone as far as the series goes but the casual viewer may have some issues. A person cannot just jump in and know who is who and what their relationship may be to the other characters. The episode is amusing and great for fans of Eureka.
Eureka airs on Syfy, tonight at 8pm.
Warehouse 13-“The Greatest Gift”
Myka and Pete have plans for the holidays but first they have to retrieve Rudolph’s nose. This is no harder than any other artifact they have had to bag and tag. The retrieval goes relatively smooth and they return to the Warehouse. When Pete (Eddie McClintock) goes to place the nose in the Aisle of Noel he accidently comes in contact with Philip Van Doren’s Upholstery brush. Van Doren wrote the story, “The Greatest Gift” which is the basis for the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life.
Pete’s momentary brush with this artifact makes it as though he has never been born. When Pete returns from placing the nose he finds MacPherson (Roger Rees) in charge of the Warehouse. Pete must now find Artie (Saul Rubinek) and Myka (Joanne Kelly) and
figure out what has caused him to wink out of existence. Pete learns that Myka is working in Washington and that her father had died years before and Artie is in prison placed there by Myka.
Much like George Baily, Pete learns that his involvement with the Warehouse has touched the lives of so many including Claudia who is locked away in a mental institution. The team must break into the Warehouse, find the artifact and stop MacPherson before he can figure out what will keep the world without Pete Lattimer.
Like the other episodes in Syfy’s Christmas special block this is a stand-alone episode which takes place before the explosive season finale in which Warehouse 13 was destroyed. There is enough exposition in the episode that someone who had never watched an episode of Warehouse 13 can understand what is happening. The story is amusing but the It’s a Wonderful Life device is overused in movies and television. Though not an original approach to a Christmas story this episode is enjoyable. The cast of Warehouse 13 always delivers and this is no exception.
Warehouse 13 airs at 9pm on Syfy
Haven-“Silent Night”
The town of Haven is prone to supernatural happenings referred to as “troubles.” These “troubles” do not get time off for the holidays so strange happenings around Christmas shouldn’t come as a surprise, except when Christmas comes in July.
Audrey Parker (Emily Rose) former FBI agent has a sense when something supernatural has happened, which makes her a valuable member of the Haven Police. Audrey is the only one to notice that the town is showing its Christmas spirit a few months early. Not only is Christmas coming early but the population of Haven is slowly disappearing from existence. With all of her friends and townsfolk blinking out Audrey must find who is causing this before it too late to undo.
There is an excellent introduction at the beginning of the episode that serves to fill you in on the particulars of the basic story line of the show. So Even if you are not a regular watcher of Haven you can follow what is going on in the story. The story itself is one of those “feel good” holiday stories that serves to convey the value of friends and that family isn’t just the group in which you were born.
Haven, loosely based on the Colorado Kid by Stephen King is in its 3rd season. Haven airs tonight at 10pm on Syfy.
