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« Jericho
September 27, 2006: Clouds Rolling In
Jericho's layers are unfolding like the thick onion that it is... slowly and stubbornly with a little sting to the eyes. I like the personal relationships sparking within the larger picture: the harsh, defensive marriage between Robert Hawkins (more on him later) and his wife; Eric Green's (Kenneth Mitchell) affair with the curly-haired bartender; Dale's concern for Skylar — who called him a "loser" in last week's episode. The Heather-Jake-Emily triangle, which has yet to be formed but is slowly brewing, has the most promising possibility of mixing old and new love and all the drama that comes with it. When Jake tells Emily he wants to keep her safe and she responds with "It's never safe around you," doors into the past are swung wide open.
Aside from the love stories within, I'm not sure how convincing the shelter process was. In those 90 minutes, the 1,000 Jericho residents were packed away in tight spaces, shut in with a mine explosion and able to gather enough food and drink for everyone? Despite the quick organization, I was shaken by the eerie picture of children jumping on beds, and dogs laying happily on the floor while chaos was happening around them — as if normalcy was trying to push its way through panic.
But what's more disturbing than disaster closing in on innocence was Robert Hawkins slowly pinning a map with thumbtacks: Denver. Atlanta. Chicago. Philadelphia. San Diego. And on and on and on... cities we didn't see. Who are you, Hawkins?
There's a lot to take in. I am captivated by the personal stories that are under this gigantic umbrella, but now the rain has come in and I'm waiting to see what washes away and what surfaces.
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Sep 28, 2006 2:13 AM
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I'm loving this show.
The scene I thought was awesome was the map-pinning scene. Not when we could see the map, but how we just kept seeing his hand reach in for more and more pins. That was a perfect scene.
I thought an odd thing about the Robert Hawkins scenes with his family was how he sent his son upstairs to get someone...sister? dog? whatever...why was the kid given access to the house when they were supposed to be sheltering in the basement? Very odd, indeed, and so darn good.
And if you're blogging on here about Jericho, you're probably a Lost fan also. I complained that tonight's episode was a recap, but my gosh! that was the best and most interesting recap ever. Sure got me in the mood!
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Sep 28, 2006 4:01 AM
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Spoiler Alert:
This is just my speculation only, but just wanted to mark it spoiler.
I think Jericho is being utilized as a Noah's Ark. Maybe Robert Hawkins is working for the government and is taking notes on people's reaction time in responding to the disaster and the after-effects, i.e. loss of electricity, communications, getting people into shelters, seeing how people will react when food and water has to be rationed, being cut-off from the rest of the world, the rebuilding process, etc. Robert seems to know a lot and have the right answers at the right time. The other cities on the map that were being marked could have had a nuclear blast that the government detonated themselves, in order to clean out these big cities and start all over again. Like, when God flooded the earth to clean it from sin and Noah, his family and all of the animals on the Ark were saved, so that a new world could be formed. Maybe Jericho is the world's Noah's Ark. There could also be other small towns like Jericho, who were spared, with people like Robert Hawkins placed there to smooth out the transition process. Perhaps, Robert and his family have been given inoculations that would protect them from the effects of the nuclear blasts.
Like I said, speculation on my part and way too much time on my hands. 
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Sep 28, 2006 8:19 AM
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Lady Bug,
The Noah's Ark theory is pretty good. I was sorta thinking the same about Hawkins. I think that he must be from CIA or Homeland Security, or top Government (Secret) dept. I think that the USA might have known of the possible threat of the A-bombs and sent him to Jerico. And like wise people to small towns.
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Sep 28, 2006 8:52 AM
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I hope those people with the dog took the dog with them! Haven't they learned anything from Katrina, you don't just leave an animal behind!
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Sep 28, 2006 9:36 AM
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Wonderful blog, Megan. I thought Emily's line to Jake was rather harsh (no matter what happened in the past), considering he had just saved her life. I was under the impression Mr. Hawkins got the info about the location of the bombs from the Morse Code message.
Lady Bug, I know it's a fictional show, but that is the most depressing theory ever! I like Lisa's, where the government just knew of a possible threat, better. I guess we'll find out. Eventually!
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Sep 28, 2006 9:57 AM
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Just the anticipation of watching this show gives me cold chills. From start to finish it's a nail biting experience. It even made me ask my husband where the duct tape is around here.
At times people were moving so slow I actually found myself yell, "HURRY UP" at the screen.
The only thing that bugged me was that it looked to me like that whole dang town could have fit into that huge house of Skylar's.
I got more of a feeling from Hawkins that he might be in the witness protection program or something with his family. I do think he's associated with the government, but he looked too upset while listening to the Morse Code to have been in on some master conspiracy. The pin scene was unbelievably unnerving.
I'm not sure anything that gets into my head this much is a good thing. Invasion and American Gothic did it and look what happened there.
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Sep 28, 2006 10:02 AM
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wow what a show.. I was screaming at the TV for everyone to hurry up already.. do we think Jake was military? He seems to have a lot of specialized knowledge - medical and demolition..
thoughts ??
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Sep 28, 2006 10:02 AM
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I'm wondering if Jake was a jack-of-all-trades. His family made him seem a little drifter-ish in the first episode, so he could have had a few jobs over the years. Some construction experience here, a little first-aid training there....
And Hawkins - I'm starting to think he is what he says - an ex-cop from a big city with some post 9/11 training. I think the reason he kept the morse code message to himself was timing - the mayors wife was obviously upset in that scene - so he probably didn't want to add to the problem - why cause a panic when everyone is already on edge?
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Sep 28, 2006 10:18 AM
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Those pins were the most frightening things I have seen! I was grabbing the couch every time another pin went in, especially when we didn't see the cities that the pins hit.
I like the Noah's Ark theory, especially since one of the pins we did see went over D.C. and into Philly. Could be possible. Really like the pace of this show - they aren't going to give anything away too fast!
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Sep 28, 2006 10:35 AM
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Argh, I missed it! And CBS doesn't seem to be reairing it this week. Is there anywhere to download the episode online?
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Sep 28, 2006 10:36 AM
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You can watch full episodes of many CBS shows, including Jericho, on-line at cbs.com. (I must add that on-line posting of shows is such a great idea!)
So clearly the pins on the map came from information obtained over the radio - but is anyone else curious about the fact that the nuked cities didn't include the "usual suspects" like New York or D.C.? The show did at least two "fake-outs", panning the camera to L.A. and D.C., for example, but then shifting to San Diego and Philadelphia... just wondering if anyone else noticed that.
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Sep 28, 2006 11:00 AM
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My only problem, with a town the size of Jericho, wouldn't Emily have known that those guys weren't police officers. I mean, she probably knows the officers, at least by sight, especially since she grew up there. And the guys in the trunk knew her. that bugs me. The rest was great. I am so liking this show!
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Sep 28, 2006 11:00 AM
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I really like the show. I am still not sure of Jake's past. With the first episode, I thought maybe he needed the money for med school, but now I am not sure. He does seem to have all the skills needed. I also think there is more to the Robert Hawkings person. That will be interesting to see how it plays out. As for Emily not knowing the cops, it is possible. I am from a small town of 4,000, and there are city cops that are more recognizable, but the sheriff and deputies work the whole county, and some times are from the other towns, and you may or may not know them.
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Sep 28, 2006 11:19 AM
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I do believe that Hawkins is with the government. The pin scene was incredibly unnerving. It seems more realistic to me that the pins didn't end up in the "usual suspect" cities like NY, Los Angeles or DC. I really like the fact that the writers are trying to portray actual emotions, like when Emily froze after killing the fake cop. It's nice not to see someone act like a normal person would and not like killing someone is something that happens to them everyday. By the way, where was the deaf girl's brother? He was in the town when the bomb went off, but he never showed up during the episode.
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Sep 28, 2006 11:43 AM
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