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Jericho: Fallout

by Bob Sassone, posted Sep 27th 2006 9:04PM

Jericho, KS

(S01E02) Can I first say that, even before I saw the title of tonight's episode, that I totally guessed it just from looking at the previews CBS has been showing? It was either very predictable or I had a Dionne Warwick Psychic Friends Network moment.

This second episode was good. This isn't groundbreaking television. It's really more like just an old-fashioned suspense drama, but so far it's working.

But again with the stupid characters! Hey, hot blonde lady walking down the empty road with the gas container: if a police car from the town of JERICHO comes along side you and asks you where the latest gas station in JERICHO is, maybe you should think, "hmmm, maybe these guys aren't really cops." And why would the lady storeowner say to the kid "don't you remember what happened last night? Your momma's gone"? How the hell does she know what happened to his mom, except an "oh my God" on the phone message.

But they're building up the tension fairly well. I liked the deputy mayor's (the guy who looks like Edward Norton with a beard) speech to the bar patrons about how they'll die from radiation poisoning. Though I probably would have just walked out and said, "see ya, wouldn't wanna be ya."

The strongest parts of the show are the different types of characters (especially Hawkins, played by Lennie James, who might be one of the most intriguing characters on TV this season) in Jericho and the small-town feel they're building. I mentioned last week that it's sort of a 50s sci-fi movie throwback, and it is, and that's a good thing. It makes you wonder what exactly your town would do if the same thing happened.

The weakest part of the show? I guess it would be the whole question of where exactly they're going with this show. Can it sustain a whole season, and if it does, can it sustain a second season? This seems like more of a really long mini-series than a multi-season show. (Oh, and the whole fake cops subplot I could do without - what, a mushroom cloud and panic isn't enough? Glad they ended that standoff tonight.)

A lot of people are comparing this show to Lost, because it's about a group of people trapped in one area and they don't know what's going on. But it's a little more like Katrina: The Series, where a town is about to be hit by a force (in this case a radiation cloud from Denver) and they're panicking, grabbing stuff from stores, trying to find shelter, etc. It's a solid little show so far.

(By the way, I found out that one of the executive producers of this show is Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being A Wallflower.)

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Jess

The song, 'hold on' by jon turteltaub and david lawrence. is that the song played at the end of episode 2 "fallout" when Hawkins is putting pins in the states on the map that have been bombed?

December 15 2006 at 8:08 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Sephadra

The song is called "Hold On" and is written by Jon Turteltaub and David Lawrence. It is unreleased.

November 07 2006 at 3:31 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Shaun

Go back and watch the first Jericho episodes over at CBS and catch up on this great new series.

October 07 2006 at 10:20 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Kevin

First of all, life and death, I'll take my chances with the rats. Second, is this the only hospital in the world that is not short of space and trying to use every inch they have, especially a fallout shelter/basement. Third, I've never met a fireman who couldn't figure out how to set up lights. Forth, to the producers, give us a little more grit and a little less "Who shot JR" melodrama.

October 01 2006 at 8:51 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Allen

"I can't put people in here, there's no air in here."

And yet, the rats can live..............There must be just enough air for the rats.

October 01 2006 at 12:25 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
old drummerman

Anyone know the artist/song that played at the end of the show on 9/27?

September 28 2006 at 9:40 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Michael

Bryce - "Alas, Babylon" was also the first thing I thought of when this show started its run. Unfortunately, Jericho shows all the signs of ultimately becoming a pale imitation of this fine work.

First off, I see no way that this show is sustainable long term. The networks don't have the ability (or the guts) to keep the audience's attention that long with subject matter like this. Look at what happened to Threshold and Invasion last season. Both were Sci-Fi themed shows with potentially deeper story lines than what we can expect from Jericho. One show failed before the end of their season and the other just barely made it to the end of their freshman year run. Unfortunately for us - NEITHER SHOW WAS ABLE TO PROVIDE ANY RESOLUTION TO WHAT HAD HAPPENED SO FAR!!

I see the current TV audience as being somewhat jaded to this type of story line - I know I am getting that way. I watch each week but I am also subconsciously waiting for the hammer to drop and I'm getting to the point where I almost expect it now. This was one show where I drooled over the preseason ads. I wanted this show to succeed because I thought it was a great premise. Now that we have a few shows, I just don't see how they can get more than a season out of it and that's sad.

Going back to "Alas, Babylon" for a moment. This was not a long book because it was tightly written and well edited. There was none of the fluff and filler that we tend to get in modern day teledramas (fake police?? yawn). My interest level is waning already after only two shows - and I probably have more interest in this genre than the average viewer. I say, don't get too attached to this series. Based on past performances, I would think it is not long for this world.

September 28 2006 at 4:01 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Ann

I think we should all find out what kind of shelters our towns and cities have!
What happened to the Mayor?? I like him.

September 28 2006 at 10:57 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Gene

Re: "Alas, Babylon" -- from the beginning, I assumed that the producers had read it. "Jericho" seems like an adaptation of that book. The main character is basically the same -- a town native who left and came back, had been in the military, had an ex-girlfriend there that he left behind... 
We'll know for sure as the series goes on, but we've already seen an adaptation of the escaped prisoners, the sole shortwave radio, the salt... plenty of parallels to the book already.

September 28 2006 at 10:42 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
const

Much better than the pilot. I didn't find myself flipping the channels so much.

Hey TV Squad, are you going to reviews of the Unit? You don't return my emails on this. Is it too patriotic for you guys?

September 28 2006 at 9:34 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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