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March 25, 2008
"Jericho" Comes Tumbling Down
Tonight was the final episode of the television series "Jericho." This show has had one of the most interesting runs I can remember. The year it premiered, it was one of the first new series given a full season. The premise was extremely promising - how do the people of a small town in Kansas deal with a nuclear attack on America's major cities?
At first, the series was a bit cheesy. It became the Skeet Ulrich show, with his character, Jake, playing the hero in every episode. Then the series took a long hiatus. After it returned, the show got much better and storylines about the conspiracy behind the attacks and a war with a neighboring town took center stage. The last episode of the first season hit all the right notes - emotional, action-filled and plot-heavy.
So, of course, CBS canceled it.
It took a letter-writing and nut-sending campaign by fans to resurrect the show. CBS suits gave it a seven-episode second season. "Jericho" fans like myself were hoping the writers would use that time to continue the story they told in the first season while opening the door to future seasons. Did they?
Well...almost.
Series finale spoilers below.
In many ways, the second season of "Jericho" has been very good. The war with New Bern was resolved, with the potential for future storylines. The conspiracy plot was continued, with some interesting twists...but overall, it's been a bit disappointing.
The first season celebrated the 'can-do' spirit of America - the ability of Americans to endure under the most difficult of circumstances. This season seemed to show that when the chips were down, Americans would side with pretty much anyone in charge. It stretched credulity a bit too much - a corporation controlling the western states, a new constitutional convention that eliminated the second amendment, the military falling under the control of a guy who declared himself president and printed new history books and created a new flag.
Somehow, it just seemed too much, too soon. And the parallels to the current administration and the war in Iraq were a bit forced and felt tacked-on and detrimental to the story. The final episode tied up the loose ends, but didn't quite explain how Americans and the military fell so quickly under the rule of a corporate-controlled government. I'm willing to suspend disbelief, but only to a point. The writers of the second season went overboard, and ratings suffered as a result.
Still, Texas as a sovereign nation that helps decide the fate of the country?
Awesome.
Posted by slublog at March 25, 2008 11:00 PM
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Comments
First off, it wasn't just the Skeet Ulrich show, Major Dad was the hero when Skeet wasn't. They got a little soap opera-like before the break.
It did get better after, who doesn't like a well thought out conspiracy? hence the action and the New Bern stuff.
then they had the ax hanging over them for the next season, they almost got it, but thankfully they had 7 episodes to finish it up.
"Somehow, it just seemed too much,"
in your own words, no kidding.
As writers they had to condense a plot line which could have continued the rest of the series for who knows how many years into 7 one hour episodes.
I never saw the parallel with the current administration you saw.
Posted by: coldmexican at March 27, 2008 09:59 PM