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As Sheriff Carter on the Syfy series “Eureka,” now in its fourth season, Colin Ferguson is the kind of guy I’d like to be: a manly man but a technological doofus who the ladies nonetheless find endearing and sexy. Seriously, Carter is the kind of doofus you wouldn’t mind owning up to if real life came with the charm and earnestness with which Ferguson embues the role. COLIN FERGUSON podcast excerpt: "Carter and Allison still have problems. It's not a done deal: 'They're dating, so the show is over.' Everybody was saying if you hook them up, it's the death of the show. But critically, and by the numbers, it was our best season ever." “Eureka” is one of the great hidden gems of all cable television. I caught a few minutes of it early in season three for the first time while switching channels in the kitchen one night and was hooked by a contentious discussion between Sheriff Carter and his kickass deputy, Jo. Shortly thereafter, my wife ordered the show on Netflix and we watched every episode with my son until we caught up. It is one of our favorite all-time shows and one of the few TV programs around which we will all rearrange our schedules. Until you see an episode, this may sound crazy, but “Eureka” is kind of an earthbound “Star Trek: The Next Generation” with streaks of “Moonlighting” and “The Big Bang Theory” thrown in. When it crossed over with another SyFy network favorite, “Warehouse 13” a few months ago, we were in heaven; I keep hoping NBC can figure out a way to let it eventually cross paths with the tech nerds of “Chuck.” “Eureka” is back for an all-new Christmas episode on Tuesday, December 7th at 9 p.m. We can’t wait! Colin Ferguson •