Jericho – today is the last ordinary day (CBS)
Who knew that Skeet Ulrich from The Craft and Scream can be a decent male lead in a TV drama? When this series was announced back in spring – about a small town dealing with the aftermath of a nuclear attack on USA – everything seemed compelling except for the little puppy-eyes skinny kid from teen horror flicks of late 90s. Strangely, after seeing a few episodes of this “what-if” show, I’m drawn to the character, and more importantly, to the little town itself. What could have been a tacky, cliched show packed with cardboard characters is an original, suspenseful entertainment week after week. Sure, it’s a Lost ripoff, but I see it as a vast improvement on the source material.
Jericho deals with the lives of dozens of people, living in a small community where everyone knows (or thinks they know) others, and secrets are rare. Everything turns literally dark in a very first episode where in a distance, the townsfolk see a nuclear mushroom cloud. Yes, the visuals are stunning, and the effects on the town are pretty immediate. The second episode deals with a radioactive rainfall, after that – lack of food and fresh water, and now the town is dealing with contact to the outside world. It’s all good post-apocalyptic fun. Doomsday movies have been around – some are full of effects, others – pondering philosophical questions (too many to list here, but you know the Armageddon, and Day After Tomorrow kinda fare). Jericho tries to provide a little of both – existential contemplation, fast action sets, time-ticker life-saving sequences, except on a larger scale.
It’s a show that covers dozens of characters – some are background, others – front and center. And it’s a show that spans a lot of time. It’s probably going to be difficult to tune in later on, but for now, it’s easy to follow. Skeet plays a son of the town’s mayor, who comes back home (after five years of absence), just hours before the entire US gets plunged into a chaotic mess. Of course, that mess doesn’t touch Jericho – no stampedes, no major road jams (the residents occasionally get a satellite signal of major cities being decimated – but this footage, although impressive, is kept to minimum). The town deals with smaller issues – like where to get gas to power its houses and hospitals; how quickly and effectively to put out three electric fires in different parts of the town, etc.
Think of it as smaller than Battlestar Galactica but better equipped than Lost. Every character’s life is important, and everybody (who has a plot line) has real, compelling motivations. Of course, there are a few mysteries – an African-American family that poses as new residents (but may have other plans); a few prison escapees on the run (smart copycatting of Prison Break, only without any development of the plot they’re simply mentioned now and again); strange video footage coming from foreign countries (“are they covering the nuclear attacks, or claiming responsibility for them?”)
Unlike Lost, these mysteries are kept to minimum, and usually resolved within an episode or two. The writers know how to hook you, but they also know when to move on to other hooks. Jericho after all is a small town, and for the most past, its residents have a small worldview. What could be well known to some is an eye-opening fact to others, and that provides enough character and plot development (for now).
The cast is huge – Lennie James, Kenneth Mitchell, Beth Grant, Brad Bayer, Gerald McRaney, Ashley Scott, Pamela Reed. Their “one big family” relationships work quite well, and it’s easy to connect with. Jericho may be a dark tale, about the end of the world, but it’s told with a very hopeful, and very positive light – without being sugary or idyllic. Just like in a family, there are bad days, and there are fights and casualties, but in the end, everybody wants to be closer, safer, surrounded by friendly faces.
As for the audiences, I’m just happy that I watch it because I care for the characters, and not because I’m frustrated with yet another mystery that never gets resolved. Are you listening, Lost writers?
