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« Jericho
September 20, 2006: We're Not in Kansas Anymore
Or are we? Jericho's small-town ways were completely turned upside down when they saw nothing like they ever had before.... And frankly, I probably wouldn't have stood so calmly on that rooftop if I were witnessing possible mass destruction, but the fear on that child's face was enough to convince me that the cast of this drama is just as intense as the story line. Nuclear explosions lit up the distant sky like a scene from Independence Day (well, not quite, but similar). A busload of children was stranded on a lone highway after hitting a deer. Parents panicked and the writers added the power outage in there for extra drama. And while Jake Green (Skeet Ulrich) thought he could make a quick return to his hometown to collect on some inheritance after being away for five years, he's stuck in town now that he rescued the busload of kids and used his mysterious life-saving knowledge to become the quiet hero. But just as any good pilot will, this one left me sitting here with many questions:
Where has Jake really been for the past five years? We're not sure what to believe as he fended off questioning neighbors with answers like, "The army." "Minor-league baseball." "The navy." Clearly he knows a little more first aid than the rest of us, as he saved little Daisy by inserting a device made of juicebox straws in her throat to help her start breathing again. And what did Jake do in his past that makes him such a failure in his father's (Mayor Johnston Green, played by Gerald McRaney) eyes?
Did Jake and Emily Sullivan (Ashley Scott) have a past relationship? There was something distinctively nostalgic in their reunion.
Who is Robert Hawkins (Lennie James)? This calm, new resident who claimed to be a former cop from St. Louis seemed to have all the answers when the town turned against each other. Why wasn't he panicking?
The only one keeping me calm during this maelstrom of uncertainty was mom Gail Green, who Pamela Reed plays with such poise that I'd want her by my side during any crisis.
So with all outside contact cut off, the news that there was another explosion in Atlanta — from Dale's (Erik Knudsen) eerie answering-machine message from his mom who was there — and the sheriff dead (after mistaking a bus full of angry inmates for the missing class trip), Jericho is definitely in for a wild ride. There's enough fire in this show's belly to last a while, and with Jake's brooding silence spiraling within the chaos, I'm holding onto my questions while it unravels. That... and all those dead birds on the highway in the last scene freaked me out enough to keep watching.
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Sep 20, 2006 10:09 PM
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I was surprised by how quickly I got into the whole storyline and the reaction by all the people seemed so real. I'm pretty excited to find out about all those unanswered questions; especially finding out who Robert Hawkins is, because the second he showed up on screen I got chills.
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Sep 21, 2006 12:05 AM
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Thanks for mentioning the dead birds at the end - i couldn't make out what was on the ground and it was bugging me trying to figure it out.
i am definitely going to keep watching - the pilot was awesome.
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Sep 21, 2006 8:47 AM
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I couldn't figure out what was on the ground either...dead birds? I really liked this show, reminds me of Lost in a lot of ways: isolation and the new order of the Jericho world. I didn't think Hawkins was creepy. I actually thought he was kind of comforting. He did seem to have an awful lot of crisis management knowledge. You all will probably laugh but this show gave me a pretty scary dream last night.
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Sep 21, 2006 9:29 AM
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yeah i didn't think Robert Hawkins was creepy either - i thought it was good that the town had someone with a clue to what is going on - i do think he knows more than he let on and i can't wait for it all to unfold.
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Sep 21, 2006 9:40 AM
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I really liked the pilot. Really. I expected to hate it, especially after the 'We aren't in Kansas Anymore' quips ad nauseum. I do wish that once, just once, a show that is set in Kansas would film on a set that looks like Kansas...not the dessert. Here is a tip...Kansas is green.
PS...it is not lost in translation that the new guy in town is from St. Louis adding more fuel to the already tense situation. The battle between Kansas and Missouri dates back to Quantril's Raid. I'd hope the writers have enought sense to realize what a key element that is.
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Sep 21, 2006 10:05 AM
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OMG this show is AWESOME! It had me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what was going to happen next. When the Sherriff went into the bus I was screaming RUN! After watching it, I felt just like I felt after watching the premier of Lost. This show has real potential and I hope it sticks around!!
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Sep 21, 2006 10:08 AM
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This pilot is a great example as to why i do not pay attention to reviews. Last night episode was very entertaining and the fact that Major Dad is in it is a bonus. It helped that i just finish watching his turn on Deadwood. I will be watching next week to see what happens. Hopefully the season can finish what the pilot has started.
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Sep 21, 2006 10:13 AM
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I was very hopeful about the premiere, but I had no idea it would be as involving, exciting or nearly as interesting as it turned out.
While I loved The Class, Justice and Kidnapped, Jericho is my second favorite new show right after Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. And that is high praise indeed.
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Sep 21, 2006 10:50 AM
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I do wish that once, just once, a show that is set in Kansas would film on a set that looks like Kansas...not the dessert. Here is a tip...Kansas is green.
That depends on what part of Kansas you're from. The eastern part - near KC, etc. is green and slightly hilly. The western part is flat, arid and can be quite desert-like. My extended family is from southwestern Kansas. Garden City to be exact, which is only a few hours from Denver. (It's west of Dodge City.) It's flat as a pancake and sandy - like a beach with no ocean. It has very few trees and the only hills are sand hills. I am assuming that if the townsfolk. could see the mushroom cloud that they were in the western part of the state - which would make the scenery somewhat accurate. (Although there were no fields of corn or wheat, no windmills, buffalo or anything.)
Other than that, I LOVED the pilot and hope CBS gives it a fair shot. I'd hate to invest the time only to have it canceled like Threshold.
The cast was excellent and part of the show's appeal for me. Great premise. Sort of a cross between Invasion and Lost.
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Sep 21, 2006 11:05 AM
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Although the dad's speech towards the end of the episode bordered on way-corny, the rest of the show was terrific... including the music! I've loved Skeet Ulrich since Scream and I hated to see Miracles cancelled a few years ago. Hopefully Jericho gets a shot to stay on the air for a full season!
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Sep 21, 2006 11:15 AM
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I thought it would be too dark but I watched it because of Skeet and it ends up being my fav of the new season right behind Studio 60 (because of Skeet). I really enjoyed it - cliches and all. I hope it makes it.
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Sep 21, 2006 11:25 AM
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I was suprised by how much I really, really enjoyed this show. The hour went by so fast! I also loved the way they used the Goo Goo Doll's "Better Days."
I hope this show sticks around. I'd hate to be burned again, like I was with "Invasion."
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Sep 21, 2006 12:16 PM
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I liked the show. I felt bad for Dale listening to the answering machine tape of his mother over and over. I almost cried for him (I am pregnant so I may be a little over emotional here lately). And then when he said she was in Atlanta I almost fell out.
I was getting a little bit of an Independence Day vibe. And also The Stand by Stephen King.
I don't know about the Hawkins guy. The first time I saw him, I didn't really think much of it. But the second time when he was talking to the fire chief, I thought it was a little weird.
Also, the ex-girlfriend (I assumed - the blonde girl) I think (if I remember this right) that she was going a different direction. Like they say the explosion towards Denver and she was going to Wichita. (I don't really know anything about the geography of Kansas so feel free to correct me) so I thought that the birds falling out of the sky which could be caused by huge amounts of radiation up there meant that there had been another explosion in that direction.
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Sep 21, 2006 12:33 PM
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While I enjoyed the pilot and the premise well enough to keep watching at least for now I do have some issues.
First of all this is a "small" town. I don't think so. I've been in many "small" towns and have yet to come across one with a full time sheriff and more then 1 part time deputy, yet I thought I saw at least 4 or 5 deputies in this "small" town.
Second it seemd they eluded to a rich section of town in the conversation between Jake and Emily Sullivan. Not many "small" towns have what I would call a rich section.
I would say Jericho seems more like a step above a "small" town. It is still small enough that they at least don't seem to have independent power generation. At any rate these first 2 points are minor issues for me.
Third, the Emily Sullivan character manages to get in her car and drive off without noticing the mushroom cloud everyone else seems to notice or the panic many are experiencing all over town like at the gas station? I hope they aren't making her a stereotypical dumb blonde who's always getting into trouble.
The last one, and this one is more of a how are they going to reasonablly explain it, could be a big issue. It will be interesting to see how the keep from dying from the comming fallout. I'm no expert on the matter, but it seems the fallout radiation would make the area uninhabitale for a very long time, certainly longer then the lifetime of everyone in the town. I mean first of all the fallout would poison their water supply and the soil, so no water and no growing food.
I will be watching again but they better have a believable way of getting out of this fallout problem and no hiding in a mine for a few days or something like that isn't going to cut it for me.
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Sep 21, 2006 12:52 PM
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