Last Airing for "Jericho" Tonight on CBS

Well, it was bound to happen. The fanatically-followed but low-rated CBS show Jericho will air its last episode tonight at 10pm on the network, so bid it a fond farewell. The series was officially cancelled last Friday, and as we discussed on The Nose a week or so ago, you could see this one coming a mile away.

Still, it's always unfortunate and sad when a passionately-loved show bite the dust, but as I always say, it's probably amazing it got on the air in the first place. You can't say CBS didn't try, right? The show's bound to stay alive in reruns and on DVD, and probably fervid fan fiction. Good for Jericho; you weren't a hit, but you became a favorite. Bye for now....

Fighting the Battle of "Jericho"

As reported here on March 9th, CBS' Jericho is in trouble. Numbers are down -- and this week was no exception -- and fans seem to be girding up for another cancellation. The New York Times had a good article earlier in the week, and as TFN surmised, it doesn't look good for the phoenix-like show, which rose from the ashes only to...fall back down into them, it seems.

Of course, this has nothing to do with the merits of the show, how great it might or might not be -- probably certainly is, in this case -- but it's all about contemporary television. The quick meteoric rise is the trajectory of choice, especially if the vehicle is an expensive and ambitious hour-long drama.

I know CBS could keep this going, but what would they have at the end of it? Does Jericho have the legs to go 50 episodes? And then what do you have? 100 million dollars spent on a broken series? Even I don't like the math of that. How you make that up in the aftermarket? Too bad nobody much does exciting miniseries anymore...perhaps eight hours might have served Jericho's tale better.

And I'm speaking as somebody who isn't a regular viewer, which says something in itself. Normally I'd probably be all over this series -- is there something in amiss in the TV landscape that is keeping vibrant action drama down? Didn't seem to be a problem for Fox and The Sarah Connor Chronicles...is it that CBS seems an unlikely place for a show like this? On another network, might this have found an audience? I believe that viewers watch programs not networks, but perhaps that rule isn't always accurate in today's TV world.

I've always loved (and counted on, when I was programming) the support and devotion of rabid fans (and I've been a crazy devotee of countless shows) to get a show noticed, but you've got to have that real life momentum and critical mass, otherwise it's just a cult. And you can't run a business like that, no matter how cruel or idiotic or suit-y it sounds. I'd hate to be CBS right now, probably having to face the Jericho fans with bad news.

Hey, maybe everything will turn out all right! Go, Jericho! You're fighting the good fight!

100 Reasons to Watch "Jericho" Video

Well, I must say I'm almost convinced after watching this --



As one might have expected, Jericho, after its much-vaunted, fan-backed return from the dead, is still moribund. The ratings haven't been what CBS was hoping for, but it still seems to be on the schedule for now.

Clearly the show has much to love, so why aren't people watching? Honestly, I think the fans were lucky to have gotten what they did. Shows as weird/interesting/different/intelligent as Jericho aren't often successful, a few notable exceptions notwithstanding.

Let's hope that the video wins a few people over. Though of course there's the problem now of being able to catch up at this late date, and Jericho seems like one of those shows where a foundation has been built and woe to us who try to join in the middle. In any case, good luck to Jericho and it's a cute video!

You can find out lots about the show at the CBS Jericho website, as well as watch full episodes from this season, full episodes from last season and a whole lot more -- clearly CBS is doing the right thing and giving viewers everything they might need to get into the show. Good work with Jericho, CBS, but you're still blowing it by not having full episodes of The New Adventures of Old Christine!)

Jericho: The Return

For all those Jericho fans out there, and I am one of those, the wait is over. On February 12th at 10pm et/pt the eagerly awaited Season 2 of Jericho begins. Although only 7 episodes have been made (thankfully before the writer's strike), there would not be any if not for the efforts of the fans. The key word was NUTS, uttered by Jake in the last episode of Season 1, and that is what CBS got from the fans, tons and tons of nuts, or precisely, peanuts. A save Jericho movement started by Nuts for Jericho got enough fan support to send over 20 tons of peanuts to persuade the PTB to give us 7 more episodes. You can read a little more background about the cancellation and revival in this L.A. Times article.

For those who know nothing about Jericho and are intrigued by the fan fervor it developed, here are a few places to get you caught up with the rest of us. A good place to start is CBS where you can find everything from recaps from Season 1, promos of Season 2, fan blogs, photo galleries and most importantly full episodes of Season 1. You might also want to check out CBS' Official Fan Community . Jericho Season 1 is available on DVD and those of you with the Universal HD channel can watch the entire 22 episodes of Season 1 in full HD splendor starting Saturday 7 pm pt/10 pm et.

What initially interested me in Jericho was of course the nuclear bomb. I am a sucker for disasters of any kind; earthquakes, volcanoes, meteors, floods, you name it, I love them. But what kept me coming back were the characters and the complex plot lines. And the fact that one of the characters had a nuclear bomb buried in his basement kept the disaster theme firmly in place. Jericho is not like the usual post apocalyptic themed movie. There are no people running around in rags, no spike haired motorcycle mad men and no bomb worshiping mutants. What you will find are down to earth people trying to cope with the loss of electricity, food, communication with the outside world and basically everything they have taken for granted. This is a situation that you could conceivably find yourself in someday (hopefully not!), and that makes it something that you can relate to on a very basic level.