CBS has been heavily promoting this new drama (if you watched The U.S. Open, it was teased approximately 2000 times), and we gave our quick first impressions several weeks ago, but here's a little more about the show.
Basically, it's The Day After: The TV Show. A loner (Skeet Ulrich) goes back to his small hometown in Kansas, just to stay for the day, to finish some business, when some sort of nuclear (?) explosion happens in the distance, perhaps Denver. The town is completely cut off from the outside world. They can't communicate with anyone. But what worries is that one of the kids in the town was talking to his parents on the phone when the blast occurred. They were in Atlanta, and a blast happened there too. Or did it?
Besides the whole "nuclear war" plot, we have the personal stories of the people in the town that Ulrich has come back to. Ulrich's estranged father (the mayor of the town) and loving mom; the tough teen with the heart of gold; the school kids; former flames, former enemies, new faces in town.
We're starting to see more and more dramas take the Lost/24 route. Not different, standalone stories each week but an all-encompassing mystery that will unfold over the season. Will viewers really want to stick with a show like that, or are shows like Lost a fluke? And what if viewers just "sense" that a show will be canceled soon? They won't put any time into watching it, knowing the mystery will never be solved.
I think Jericho deserves a chance. It's not perfect by any means (I'm not convinced of Skeet Ulrich in the lead role yet, but he's OK, and it has Gerald McRaney - straight off that stagecoach from Deadwood - and Pamela Reed), but it certainly has an intriguing premise, one that certainly had me saying to myself at the end of the pilot, "hmmm, I wonder what's going to happen next?" Obviously, that's what CBS wants to hear from viewers. I just hope that they really run with the paranoia, 50's sci-fi aspect of the show, the small town not knowing what's going on. Is it war with another country? A nuclear accident? Aliens?
I'm sure some of these questions will be answered in later episodes. The show starts on CBS Wednesday, September 20, at 8pm. And we'll have more info on where you can see the show once it hits the web.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-11-2006 @ 2:59PM
Alan said...
The second explosion (heard on the answering machine tape) occurred in Atlanta. I think the first one was in Denver. I hope it is good, but it is too tough to tell from one episode.
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9-11-2006 @ 3:14PM
Bob Sassone said...
Ah, I think you're right Alan. I'll correct that.
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9-11-2006 @ 3:30PM
mike said...
Definitely looking forward to this show. Hopefully they have a plan for the show. Started to get the feeling Vanished on Fox does not.
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9-11-2006 @ 5:12PM
Steven Weinstein said...
www.jerichoforums.com. This will be a good place to talk about this show.
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9-11-2006 @ 7:27PM
Jay said...
I'm tivo'ing it but I just can't stand
another "Invasion" disaster.
WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE FREAKIN' ALIENS?
WHAT? WHAT? FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WHAT?
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9-11-2006 @ 10:50PM
erroneous_nick said...
I realize this'll never happen, but I'd be far, far more inclined to invest my time and interest in a new series if there were assurances it'd run for a full season. Yeah, it's crazy to even think of such a thing I know, but I apparently have a taste for quickly-cancelled entertainment. Jericho sounds like it could be good, but I can hardly stand the thought of getting involved in a show that'll get pulled just as it gets interesting. Or one that suffers in the ratings because some genius decides it would do better to show the episodes out of their intended order.
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9-12-2006 @ 9:46AM
evie said...
As for Skeet Ulrich as a leading man........he carried the short-lived tv series Miracles and was brilliant in it. I must also give kudos to Angus McFaden who was the other male lead -- he out brooded Skeet even!
I hear that Jericho gets better with each episode, so I agree, Give It A Chance!
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9-12-2006 @ 10:49AM
froggirl said...
erroneous_nick: I hear ya! I'm tempted to just record it on my DVR and not watch it until I hear it is going to last....Firefly, Invasion, Arrested Developement (add your favorite cancelled too early show here) Buffy? Never got into, that's why it lasted so long. ;)
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9-12-2006 @ 11:34PM
erroneous_nick said...
You know, froggirl, maybe we could start a business where networks pay us to *not* watch their shows so they become hits. I don't even want to think about my list of favorites that got the axe, like Firefly, John Doe, Miracles....
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9-14-2006 @ 12:21AM
strikerx98 said...
I'm dying to know what the song is that's played at the end of the trailer. Lyrics are, "Whisper to me, everything you see..." please!!!!
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9-14-2006 @ 8:54PM
strikerx98 said...
Found the answer, or someone found it for me more like. It's The Tories, Other Side of Time.
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9-17-2006 @ 1:59PM
jinzleftbuttcheek said...
I watched the first eppy and was very impressed with it. I think it will do extremely well. It might even give Lost a run for it's money.
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9-18-2006 @ 3:41AM
Harry said...
I hated watching this show. The best conflict they can come up with for the pilot of a series about an apocalyptic world is a stranded schoolbus carrying one injured girl? And why did the bus crash in the first place? Apparently for the same reason the prison bus crashed, which was no reason. These are not mysteries in the vein of Lost. These are mysteries in the vein of poor scriptwriting.
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9-18-2006 @ 6:21PM
David said...
I agree the show is very bad. The story is just too... lame.
The world is ending I want my kids, and that's it, end of episode. It was boring, and badly made with the acting of a rock.
The science is even worse. Cars wouldn't be working if nukes went off, neither would the power. Why did the power go out HOURS after the "attack"? I don't get it, and I doubt it will last. The only thing good is the timeslot because nothing else is on beside Bones.
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9-20-2006 @ 9:36PM
Jay said...
I just saw the first episode tonight also. Ok for those not paying attention the school bus crashed because it hit a deer. Didn't you see it right in front of the tire? As for the nukes and the cars? I wonder exactly how any of you would know what would work and what wouldn't IF something like that were to happen. The power outage was explained too. Overload from Denver. These shows are for entertainment, for our evening enjoyment, it's the damn people that annalyze every friggin detail to death that kill a show early. You want reality TV watch Big Brother or one of those other stupid "Look at me,I'm so arrogant and this one episode is gonna make me so famous" shows. Any ways I liked the show and think it has some good ENTERTAINMENT potential.
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9-20-2006 @ 10:44PM
In Kansas said...
yes the show was entertaining and with all the "stuff" that's on I'll settle for that. you have to overlook the fact that the writer didn't bother to look at a map of Kansas. we have to assume Jericho is in western Kansas. the land is flat but there are a few small hills and Mount Sunflower. I don't know how far away a mushroom cloud in Denver would be seen. forget Wichita, that would be maybe a 6 hour drive and the gal wouldn't be going there to get her finance, he'd have driven his own car. and forget Kansas City, no highway goes both to Wichita and Kansas City. It would be more realistic to be driving East on I 70 and see signs for Topeka and Kansas City. maybe turning off the highway to go south to the little town of Sharon Springs. and the airport should be in Hays.
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9-21-2006 @ 12:35AM
wenki said...
Does anyone know the name of the song playing on the radio at the start of the first episode? Thanks.
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9-21-2006 @ 1:17AM
Neb said...
The song at the beginning was by the Killers.
Does anyone know the name and artist of the song at the very end of the show?
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9-21-2006 @ 1:45AM
wenki said...
Neb,
Thank you so much...you're my hero. I wish I could help you with the last song. Was it the same song played in the trailer? If so it's by The Tories.
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9-21-2006 @ 2:10AM
wenki said...
Neb,
I did some searching and someone else claims the song was 'Run' by Snow Patrol. Hope it's correct. Good luck.
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