catholicsphere

Woo-hoo!

As a fan of Jericho, I am extremely happy to hear that CBS has decided to reverse its initial decision to renew the television drama.

CBS has yet to set a date for the show’s return, which will probably depend on how new series on the network’s fall schedule fare. In the meantime, CBS will rebroadcast some of the first season’s 22 episodes this summer. CBS Paramount Network Television, which produces the series, will release the first-season DVD on Sept. 25.

They have ordered seven new episodes. However, that will be the absolute end, unless fans come through and up the viewership.

While thanking fans for their passion, [CBS Entertainment President Nina] Tassler also had a few words of warning. “For there to be more ‘Jericho,’ we will need more viewers,” she wrote. “We will count on you to rally around the show, to recruit new viewers with the same grass-roots energy, intensity and volume you have displayed in recent weeks.”

I think you can count on that. But CBS is going to need to be consistent in its scheduling, instead of making shows seem like they’ve fallen off the face of the earth.

Last fall, “Jericho” regularly ranked first or second in that time period. In its initial weeks, it drew an estimated 11 million viewers each Wednesday, second to ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” results show, while regularly beating the Fox drama “Bones” and the NBC comedy “30 Rock.”

So, what happened? CBS dropped it for nearly 2 months with a mid-season line-up change, while other shows that it was handily beating were able to continue to build viewers. They must pick a time slot and stick to it — and then the fans will do the rest.

JERICHO is a drama about what happens when a nuclear mushroom cloud suddenly appears on the horizon, plunging the residents of a small, peaceful Kansas town into chaos, leaving them completely isolated and wondering if they’re the only Americans left alive. Fear of the unknown propels Jericho into social, psychological and physical mayhem when all communication and power is shut down. The town starts to come apart at the seams as terror, anger and confusion bring out the very worst in some residents.

If this sounds like another “doomsday” show … its not. It has more meat and teeth than that. It has good character development with enough mystery to keep you wondering and wanting more to be revealed. The show causes one to ask what they might do and how they would act in a similar situation. Would you isolate yourself and protect what’s yours? Or would you go out and try to help others survive the unknown?

There are an array of characters that represent a typical small town; some with “big town” experiences. Lots of facets and faces to this story.

Definitely a must-watch series.

[tags]cbs, jericho, television, tv, catholicsphere[/tags]