Mommy Brain

(Jericho was provided to me by Click Communications for the purpose of review.)

Jericho qualifies as Must-See-TV. I know, that’s an NBC phrase, and Jericho is a CBS series, but I can’t think of any other way to describe it. Kevin and I have been completely engrossed for the past several nights. We are on episode nine, and our sleep patterns are suffering because we can’t just watch one episode in an evening. Thursday night, we put in disc two, intending to watch one episode and then go to bed, and we ended up watching three and not getting to bed until midnight.

Jericho is a small town in Kansas, population around 5,000 people. The series starts with the mayor’s son, Jake, returning home from a long absence. He plans a quick trip home to visit his family, but all of his plans change when the entire town sees a mushroom cloud appear in the distance over Denver. The town then loses all power, all communication with the outside world, and has no idea what is going on. A few brief signals on the ham radio inform a newcomer to Jericho, Mr. Hawkins, that many cities were hit.

The best thing about this show is how it portrays what an immense crisis does to a town. Remember after 9/11, when it seemed that the crisis brought out the best in everyone? But then there were people who faked phone calls from survivors under the rubble, people who pretended to have lost loved ones in order to get money, scam telemarketing organizations asking for donations. Crisis either brings out the best in people, or it exposes the worst. This is brilliantly portrayed in Jericho, with a cast led by Skeet Ulrich, Gerald McRaney, Alicia Coppola, and Pamela Reed.

Jericho gained a fervent fan following, and when the series was cancelled after season one, the fans didn’t take it laying down. Based on a quote from the main character Jake in the season one finale, in which Jake says, “Nuts!”, fans sent over 20 tons of nuts to CBS headquarters. And for once, network executives listened to the fans. Jericho is expected back for seven episodes after the New Year, with a promise of a full third season if ratings go up. I’m hoping they do, because this is too good of a series to stop after two seasons.