Jericho

Starring: Skeet Ulrich (30 episodes), Lennie James (30 episodes), Ashley Scott (29 episodes), Kenneth Mitchell (27 episodes), Brad Beyer (26 episodes), April Parker-Jones (26 episodes), Alicia Coppola (25 episodes), Pamela Reed (24 episodes), Brad Stephenson (24 episodes), Gerald McRaney (23 episodes), Clare Carey (22 episodes), Richard Speight Jr. (21 episodes), Michael Gaston (20 episodes), Erik Knudsen (18 episodes), Shoshannah Stern (18 episodes), Sprague Grayden (18 episodes), Candace Bailey (18 episodes), Darby Stanchfield (16 episodes), Sterling Ardrey (16 episodes), Aasif Mandvi (8 episodes), Shiloh Fernandez (7 episodes), James Remar (6 episodes), D.B. Sweeney (5 episodes), Emily Rose (5 episodes), Joey King (3 episodes), Ned Bellamy (2 episodes), Ariel Winter (2 episodes), Titus Welliver (1 episode)
Directed by: Guy Norman Bee (3 episodes), Sanford Bookstaver (3 episodes), James Whitmore Jr (3 episodes), Jon Turteltaub (2 episodes),
Rating: TV-14
Genre: Action, Drama, Mystery
2006-2008

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1 - 2

Summary: The residents of a small Kansas town fight to survive after witnessing a mushroom cloud that erupts over Denver, Colorado.

Review:
Tim: When I think about "Jericho", I lament what could have been I loved the first season of this fascinating, thought-provoking show. What if you lived in a small Kansas town and were shocked to see a nuclear explosion wipe out Denver, far into the distance. What happened? Was it an accident? Were we attacked? Was Denver the only city destroyed? The possibilities and mysteries are endless and I loved watching this show to figure out the answers.

Unfortunately, ratings weren't where the network wanted them, so "Jericho" was canceled after the first season. The fans (myself included) rallied, inundating the network with pleas, 40,000 pounds of nuts (seriously), and the response got CBS to revive the show for a second season. Sadly, we got only 8 episodes before the show was canceled for real. A shortened second season was appreciated, but not nearly enough. I'm still so very sad this show was canceled.

The cast was very good, even if there weren't a lot of big names. Skeet Ulrich made a surprisingly effective leading man. It made me wish he was cast in these kinds of roles more often. He's really had a bit of a disappointing career, because he does have some talent. Next to Ulrich, Lennie James gave a tremendous performance. I loved him in this role and I wish he had more screen time. He was one of my favorite parts of this series. The rest of the supporting cast is good- it's a large cast and they all work fairly effectively.

I loved how "Jericho" was attempting to tell an exciting, believable story that felt firmly rooted in American history. I could almost see how the events depicted on screen would translate into American history textbooks. We see a second American Revolution and as the show ends, the hints of a second Civil War. It was incredible how the show looked to the past to tell its own story. As a history minor in college, this was right up my alley.

This is the kind of show I could easily have watched for 5-6 years. It's a shame we really only got a season and a half. It was fun and it was very different than anything else on television at the time. I did contribute to trying to save the show by sending CBS quite a few notes. That a small drop in the effort that gave us 8 more episodes. I'm happy about that, but I truly wish "Jericho" would have continued for a long, long time.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Series, We Recommend: Falling Skies, Under the Dome