One Utah

For this post only, I’m going to take the liberty of digressing from real-world to fictional fiasco. Though it has received little attention compared to the right-wing fantasy “24,” there is one show on TV that tries to take a semi-realistic look at what might happen to us if Dick Cheney’s nightmare comes true and the world’s most dangerous terrorists get access to the world’s most dangerous weapons.

The post apocalyptic story of “Jericho” begins on an early autumn afternoon when sixteen large American cities are destroyed by terrorists with nuclear bombs, but that’s not what it’s about. The story is about how people in a small town in Kansas try to keep going after transportation and communication are mostly cut off, and modern conveniences like electric power, telephones, television and the Internet stop working. The state and federal government can’t be relied on, the president and most of Congress are dead. FEMA is barely functioning.

As Executive Producer Jon Turteltaub explains, all information we receive will be from the point of view of the characters in the story. “How does an event like this change your life? What would the average person do?”

In the first half season of episodes, the inhabitants of Jericho had to cope with chaotic (sometimes melodramatic) situations, radioactive fallout, refugees, shortages of food and medicine, and threats from criminals and a mercenary company called Ravenwood that claims to be working for the federal government. An EMP (electromagnetic pulse) from an unexplained ICBM launch rendered everything with a circuit board useless, including newer automobiles. There’s no news– only rumors about what’s happening in the rest of the country. There’s a hint that the attack may have been a reaction to America’s reckless foreign policy, but who was responsible?

Conflicts arise, as Mayor Johnston Green’s leadership is challenged and law and order begins to break down. People act selfishly and/or irrationally. Paranoia spreads. Meanwhile, there is a stranger in town, Robert Hawkins, who claims to be an undercover FBI agent but seems to be connected to some unknown conspiracy. He had advance warning of the nuclear attacks, and took his family from Washington, DC to Jericho.

While the writing on this show is uneven, and there are several soap-opera-like subplots, most of it is believable enough to keep me watching. The kids still go trick-or-treating on Halloween, and the municipal elections are held on schedule. Emily had plans to get married before the bombs went off, and a month later her fiancé is still missing on what was going to be her wedding day. Her best friend tries to cheer her up with a familiar cliché but comes up short: “it’s not the end of the world… Oh, right, that already happened.”

The cast includes:

• Skeet Ulrich as Jake Green
• Gerald McRaney as Johnston Green
• Pamela Reed as Gail Green
• Ashley Scott as Emily Sullivan
• Lennie James as Robert Hawkins

“Jericho” isn’t nearly as original as the Best Show on TV, “Battlestar Galactica.” But this post-apocalyptic series might be more accessible for non sci-fi fans because the story is set in the here and now.

A recap episode will be shown this Wednesday, February 14, followed by a resumption of the story next week. CBS has the 11 episodes aired so far available for viewing on their website, plus a parallel series of webisodes called “Countdown.”

Wikipedia is an excellent source of information about “Jericho.” CBS also has its own Jericho wiki.

This entry was posted Sunday, February 11th, 2007 at 10:33 am and is filed under 4th Estate (Media), Disaster, Entertainment, This Blog. Both comments and pings are currently closed.