Clearly, the so-called “Jericho” Rangers don’t have any quit in them. Even though their show has been canceled by CBS a SECOND time, they have hopes of seeing it continue, perhaps on cable.

After reading my column last week on “Battlestar Galactica” and cult TV shows, including “Jericho,” I recevived several letters from “Jericho” fans letting me know that they’re fighting on. Here’s what one fan — Judith from Rochester, N.Y. — had to say:

Dear Chuck: … I read your article with interest and thought I’d let you know about our renewed effort to save our beloved series yet again. This time around, we’ve been busy writing letters to CBS Paramount, because they are interested in selling the series to another network, and the SciFi Channel, because they are interested in acquiring it.

Nancy Tellem at Paramount has been receiving all of our letters and phone calls and has, in fact, had her staff spend a week tracking and logging our calls; and the SciFi Channel has asked us to write to them if we were interested in having them pick up the series. How refreshing is this… to actually have the people who count the most ask to hear from us directly?

We were happy to oblige them of course and are hoping for a very positive outcome in this endeavor. I would appreciate it if you could find the time in the near future to write something about our current campaign. And, if you’ve never seen Jericho,  feel free to watch some of the episodes on the CBS.com/jericho site, just to get a feel for why we’re all so obsessed with it.

Jake and Emily prepare to say “farewell.”

Well, we could see this one coming. Next Tuesday’s episode of “Jericho” will be the series finale, according to CBS, which made it official today.

“Without question, there are passionate viewers watching this program; we simply wish there were more,” said CBS entertainment chief Nina Tassler in a statement released by the network. “We thank an engaged and spirited fan base for keeping the show alive this long, and an outstanding team of producers, cast and crew that went through creative hoops to deliver a compelling, high quality second season. We have no regrets bringing the show back for a second try. We listened to our viewers, gave the series an opportunity to grow, and the producers put a great story on the screen.”

“Jericho” fans seized the attention of the media last summer when they organized a passionate campaign to save the show from cancellation. The movement included bombarding CBS with thousands of pounds of nuts.

In a rare move, CBS brought the show back from the dead, but also essentially made it compete with one hand tied behind its back. The budget was slashed, some writers and actors were let go and the episode order was reduced to only seven. And while “Jericho” continued to enjoy passionate support from online fans, the broadcast ratings never did take off.

The producers, along ago knowing that they could be facing the end, shot two conclusions to the season. Fans will now see the one that offers more closure.

Here’s your TV Freak take on the season-opener of “Jericho.” If you haven’t watched, proceed accordingly:

First resurrection. Now reconstruction.

Yes, the show that dramatically returned from the dead, finally returned to the lineup last night and I could envision devoted fans across the country throwing “Jericho” viewing parties, where they, of course, snacked heavily on nuts.

And praise God, the lights are back on in “Jericho.” The rebuilding and recovery has begun under the watchful eye of gruff Major Beck. Mimi and Stanley talk marriage. People are actually happy.

Well, not everybody. Jake is seething over the death of his father and vows revenge on Constantino. There will be blood, he insists. Not so fast, says Beck, who has put down the clash between Jericho and New Bern and wants the boys to stop playing Army men or go stand in the corner. Read the rest of this entry »

Now that we’ve finally got a return date for “Jericho” (Feb. 12), we can start getting pumped up for the show’s abbreviated second season. As a primer, the CBS promo elves prepared a special “Jericho In a Nutshell” video that quickly wraps up the story so far and is narrated by a talking peanut. Yes, I said a talking peanut. Don’t believe me? Check it out for yourself by clicking here.

Anxious “Jericho” fans finally have a premiere date for Season 2 of their beloved series, but it’s undoubtedly later than they had hoped for.

CBS today announced that the apocalyptic drama will return to the schedule for its seven-episode run beginning Feb. 12.  Previous speculation had “Jericho” returning sometime in January. The new time slot for the show will be Tuesdays at 10 p.m.

The “Jericho” news came as part of a midseason programming announcement by CBS, which is obviously bracing for a lineup affected by the strike. The new-look CBS schedule will feature the first winter edition of “Big Brother” (Feb. 12), a new sitcom called “The Captain” starring Jeffrey Tambor and Raquel Welch (Jan. 28) and the return of “The New Adventures of Old Christine” (Jan. 28).

CBS also announced that the 16th installment of “Survivor” will get under way on Feb. 7.

Well, you knew it had to happen sooner or later. Someone has organized the first “Jericho” fan gathering/convention. It’s called “Jerichon” and it’s scheduled for Sept. 14-16 in Oakley, Kansas.

I’ve scanned the schedule and it doesn’t look like any stars or producers are showing up (as of yet), but they’ve got all kinds of events planned, including viewing parties, a golf tournament, bike ride and barbecue. Also: An array of workshops and forums tied to the series. One that jumped out at me was a whole forum built around the question of who’s the better woman for Jake — Heather or Emily? I’d like to sit in on that one.

Anyway, for more info, click here.

It took me a while, but I’ve learned that a fast-and-easy way to get clicks on your blog is to have the word “Jericho” in your post. So excuse me while I go crazy for just a sec:

“Jericho” … Skeet Ulrich … “Jericho” … Apocalyptic … “Jericho” … CBS … “Jericho” …

I know, a cheap ploy and I’m sorry, but these are trying times for TV critics and you gotta do what you gotta do.

Seriously, though, “Jericho,” was one of the main topics of discussion today as CBS arrived at the press tour. I’m sure network entertainment chief Nina Tassler would have preferred to spend more time touting all of CBS’s adventurous new programming (especially since “Jericho” doesn’t return until midseason). Instead, she was hit with “Jericho,” “Jericho,” “Jericho” (Oops, sorry again).

Tassler talked about how she just couldn’t escape the passionate fans last spring during those anxious weeks after cancelling the show. While shopping in a camera store, she handed her credit card to the clerk, who saw the name and immediately blurted out “Jericho!”

And then he told her, “I just sent you an e-mail.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Summer reruns of “Jericho” begin tonight and it will be interesting to see if they can help expand the fan base of the show that was brought back from the dead by CBS. I’ve invited a co-worker and passionate “Jericho” fan, Ann Tatko-Peterson, to plead the show’s case. Here’s what she had to say. — CB.

More than 50,000 pounds of nuts convinced CBS. What will it take to convince you to give “Jericho” a chance, too?

CBS issued a rare reversal by ordering seven new episodes of the drama, which it canceled at season’s end. The network calls this a temporary reprieve — one final shot for viewers to prove “Jericho” belongs on the TV schedule.

CBS will grant a full stay of execution only if fan interest spikes. So, consider this a call (yes, even a plea) to give “Jericho” a try. Watch all of the episodes during summer re-runs. Check online for special clips and episodes. Buy the entire season on DVD when it’s released in September. Here’s what you will get in return:

A show with edgy suspense, minus the headache-inducing, multiple-scene format of “24,” and an evolving plot that has direction, rather than the untangle-it-as-you-go storyline of say “Lost.”
The show opens with prodigal son Jake Green returning to his hometown of Jericho, Kan. Before he can leave, a mushroom cloud appears on the horizon. Turns out nuclear bombs have leveled Denver and a handful of other major U.S. cities.

The town’s residents are left to fend for themselves, cut off from the rest of the world and depending upon Jake’s father (the mayor) and Robert Hawkins, the town’s newcomer who clearly has a few secrets. (We’d tell you more, but uncovering those mysteries is half the fun.)
What makes “Jericho” tick goes beyond the bombs. The show winds tension so tight, by the end of an episode, we’re practically sitting on the edge of our chairs.

In one episode, a town resident is killed. We know it’s coming (thanks to the promo). We are led into the darkness. We hear the music. But when it happens, the air is still sucked right out of us.

At times, the dialogue is a little too predictable and stilted. By episode four, this improves. Or maybe it’s just that the delivery is sharper and the actors have sold us on this small Kansas town.

Make no mistake, the actors make this drama work. Skeet Ulrich as Jake has enough intensity to make us wonder, “McDreamy, who?” Lennie James keeps us guessing about Hawkins’ questionable background and motives. And the women don’t just have pretty faces but also ample backbone. Pamela Reed, as Jake’s mom, reminds me of my own mother — short but packing a punch with one steely glance or cut-to-the-bone remark.

Unlike “Lost,” where the characters never go hungry despite being stranded, the residents of Jericho struggle. They go to war with themselves and their neighbors. The season finale ends in a hail of gun fire and with a terrorist zeroing in on Jericho.
It’s just one fine example of how the show keeps us coming back for more. The nuts sent to CBS are proof of that.

Give it one summer. Judge for yourself. And we’ll see you when the show returns with its midseason premiere of what we hope will last beyond seven episodes.

It has been a great week for “Jericho” fans and in today’s TimeOut column I reflect on the positive vibes that have emanated from CBS’s decision to give new life to the show.

Good vibes, however, were not what I got from watching and reviewing “John From Cincinnati,” the new HBO drama series from “Deadwood” creator David Milch. I’ve seen the first thre episodes of the so-called “surf noir” series and quickly concluded that it’s a great big mess.

That’s sad, too, because “John” essentially is the show that led to the extermination of “Deadwood,” one of the best dramas on television over the past few years.I know I should give the talented Milch the benefit of the doubt, hoping that his new series will eventualIy gel. But for now, I don’t care who this John from Cincy is. Bring back Al Swearengen!

“Jericho” fans can celebrate tonight. Their show has been given a new lease on life.

CBS announced today that the apocalyptic drama has been renewed for seven episodes to air in midseason. Whether the show lives on beyond that depends entirely on its ability to widen its fan base beyond the fervent few who bombarded CBS with nuts and cajoled the network to pluck the show from the cancellation graveyard.

“You got our attention; your emails and collective voice have been heard,” CBS entertainment chief Nina Tassler said in a letter to fans posted on the “Jericho” Website. “But, for there to be more ‘Jericho,’ we will need more viewers … 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.”

CBS has been flooded with packs of peanuts by incensed fans lobbying the network to renew the freshman series, whose season finale cliffhanger found the citizens of Jericho on the verge of war with a neighboring town.

According to TVWeek, the network plans to re-air the first season this summer, release the season on DVD Sept. 25 and hinted at online extensions to keep fans engaged until the show returns next year.

“Jericho” averaged a 2.8 rating among adults 18 to 49, according to Nielsen, though the ratings fell off sharply after its midseason hiatus. Upon its return, it went up against Nielsen Goliath “American Idol.” There’s no word on where it will be on the schedule when it launches its second season.