Watching Jericho

I’ve fallen completely in love with TV.com and its coverage of television shows such as Jericho. As I was scanning through their episode guides, I noticed that they’ve allowed user interaction (which, if you haven’t noticed, is one of the best things to me about the internet) by having users add in trivia bits from each episode.

For an example, for Episode 2, Fallout, someone has added that:

One of the books which was brought from the library is called “Our Friend, The Atom.”

Even though I’ve watched this episode a few times now, I’ve never noticed that before. I’ll have to keep my eye out for this and see if I can add my own impressions to the trivia. How about you?

While Jericho doesn’t seem to have made any of the “official” Top Ten lists, it seems to be making a dent in some bloggers’ Top Ten TV Shows of 2006, which of course, makes me very happy. I’d like to think that it’s because of the new TV show-smell (very similar to a new car smell, but with a slightly more metallic aftertaste) that people want to wait until they get the complete 22 episodes before adding it to an official Top Ten list.

in the open space puts Jericho in at Number Six on her list, pointing out that the biblical themes along with the open-ended questions keep her coming back every week. And while I’ve written and read so many things comparing the show to the Pat Frank book Alas, Babylon, she mentions one of the movies that I wore through a VHS copy of as a kid, Red Dawn as an obvious reference for the show, which makes my little Gen-X heart go pitter-patter.

David Staples also chimes in, putting Jericho in his “Most Enjoyed” section of his list, stating that his wife was the original fan of the show in his house, but the excellent writing is what drew him to keep up with the show. I have to agree, because the writing is what kept me watching past the first two episodes and what keeps me hooked beyond the initial apocalyptic story.

And, while not a blogger, Stephen King mentions Jericho while listing his favorite movies of the year, though it is just in passing. I’m going through his archives online to see if he talks a little more about the show, since I’ve let my Entertainment Weekly subscription lapse.

Would you have put Jericho on your Top Ten TV Show list for 2006? I would hope so, since you’re reading this, but I’d also like to know what it is that you’re watching for.

Jericho, television, Top Ten TV Shows, CBS, Stephen King

The Jericho Wiki has links and screencaps up for the episodes, including links to Ashley Scott Haven, a fan site for Ashley Scott (Emily Sullivan).

While I’ve found that some of the links aren’t working correctly, because it looks as if the fansite in particular has done some restructuring lately, some of the screencaps are of a decent quality. I’m particularly fond of the screencaps on the Wiki that show Hawkins’ basement map, along with the satellite images from his laptop, which some of the comments on the Wiki say that they show the damage from the bombs, though I’m not really sure if I’m seeing it on the images. What do you think? Can you see the damage on the satellite photos, or are people seeing things in them that aren’t really there?

Also on the Ashley Scott site, there are screencaps from different TV shows that she’s been on, along with an easier to navigate page that collects all of the sneak peaks and Countdown episodes that CBS has released. In fact, the Jericho section on the site is one of the more thorough fansites out there for the show, which I love to see. I don’t think that the lack of a lot of fansites on the ‘net is saying something about the show, but more to do with the fact that it’s so new along with the hiatus.

Jericho, television, Wiki, CBS, Ashley Scott, Emily Sullivan, fan sites

Over on the “Just for Fun” section of the Jericho Wiki, there’s a link up detailing the Music of Jericho. There you can find a listing of all of the music that has been featured on the shows so far, and with it being a Wiki, once you set up an account there you can add your contributions to the list. I noticed that no one has added anything for Episode 2, Fallout, which I’m in the process of recapping at the moment, which I feel the need to add information to.

Any suggestions that aren’t listed? Or are there any songs that you either adore beyond reason or despise beyond belief?

Jericho, television, Wiki, CBS, music

Someone has posted a map of the US on the Jericho Wikipedia entry, showing what cities have been destroyed. As anything on the ‘net that’s not “official” CBS property, this may be incorrect information, but remembering the map in Hawkins’ basement, it seems pretty good.

Jericho, television, Wikipedia, CBS

Have you ever wanted to ask the producers of Jericho your burning questions, but never expected to get a response? The Jericho Wiki is your answer. Their section, Ask the Producers, is where you can post your questions to the creative team, and once a week they will choose some questions to answer.

Up right now, they answer questions regarding the power of the EMP pulses and what the show has been influenced by (Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank) are some of the questions currently up.

Jericho, television, CBS

Have you ever heard of the Watchie Awards? Neither had I, until I came across a mention of Jericho on the Chicago Tribune site.

The go figure award: Who knew that “Jericho,� a Midwest-set thriller about a post-nuclear society, would be one of the few serialized dramas from the fall roster to find a following?

Jericho, Watchie Awards, television, CBS

Keep your eyes peeled on the official Jericho site on December 27, because they’ll be adding a new clip of Hawkins and “unknown questioner” then.

From CBS.com:
Curious about Hawkins? We captured part of a webcam talk between Hawkins and an unknown questioner. Next week, you’ll get some answers from Jericho’s enigmatic resident.

Jericho, Hawkins, television, CBS

CBS has released more information on the Mystery Woman on their site.

From CBS.com:
Shortly after the blasts, the subject was involved in an auto collision en route to St. Louis, Missouri. When an unidentified man pulled her from her wrecked car, she was disoriented and appeared to have a concussion.

So, we know that her name is Sara, and that she’s a cop from St. Louis, which is where Hawkins is saying he’s from to the general public. When she shows up in the Spring Season, will she out Hawkins as a fraud? Since he’s established a secondary story with Gray, saying he’s an FBI agent, will that cover stick, and will Gray stand up for him? Or, is she in on the deal with Hawkins, and will support him? I adore all the speculation, and it’s keeping everyone interested in the plotline while they’re on hiatus. You can post your guesses over at the wiki entry devoted to the Mystery Woman.

Of course, the first thing that I noticed is that she and I share a birthday, so now y’all know when to start sending me gifts.

Jericho, Mystery Woman, Sara, television, CBS

iFMagazine.com has an exclusive interview with Skeet Ulrich about Jericho and goes into detail about how hard it was for him to get into character without having the backstory on Jake Green to help him when he started filming the series.

iF: How much has been decided about how your character’s back story will be parceled out over the rest of the season?

ULRICH: I’ve been told the whole back story, but as to how they are going to reveal it, I don’t know how that was going to play out. We went over and over about what it was going to be and there were things to hold.

Read the rest of the interview here.

Jericho, Jake Green, Skeet Ulrich, interview, iFMagazine

Now that I’ve finally gotten a chance to post my first recap of the Pilot episode, I thought that I would post the link for the Insider’s Commentary for the Pilot.

While I generally don’t end up watching any of the commentary for the DVDs that I watch, this was something that interested me because it’s not so often that you get this kind of detail from the beginning of a project. You can see that they genuinely care about the show, which is refreshing from some of the other commentaries that I’ve watched before.

Jericho, CBS, commentary, episode, Pilot, TV, television

Watch the full episode online

From CBS.com:
After mushroom clouds appear on the horizon, 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. Jake Green, the prodigal son of the town’s mayor, becomes a reluctant hero when a school bus crashes as a result of the explosion.

Originally aired: Wednesday September 20, 2006 on CBS
Writer: Stephen Chbosky
Director: Jon Turteltaub

Recap below the fold… forgive the length, but there is a ton of stuff going on in the first episode.

(more…)

While I do have a livejournal account, I don’t generally use it other than to comment on my friends’ blogs that have accounts there. But I do love icons, maybe it’s just the artsy part of me coming out. Not that you have to use these for livejournal, there are a ton of places like forums and such that you can use them at. Just remember to take a look at any of the Terms of Service that each icon maker has, because everyone has different things that you are and are not allowed to do with their icons.

• 007: House/Jericho
• Ruins of My Sanity
• Jericho Icon Goodness!
• Stony Places

Jericho, icon, TV, television

There’s a new Sneak Peak up on the CBS site, this time of how Hawkins got his family from D.C. to Jericho. The thing that I found most interesting was that she mentions something about Hawkins not being allowed within a certain distance of the house, which says she went to the point of getting a restraining order against him.

Can’t wait until February for new episodes? Have you gone through all of the Jericho Wiki and still want more?

Or, if you’re like me, you just can’t help yourself and go in search of fan fiction for anything that catches your attention, and fanfiction.net doesn’t have a listing for Jericho yet, someone was kind enough to set up the Jericho Fan Fiction site. It’s been set up on a phpBB forum, so you can just read some Jake/Heather stories, or Stanley/Mimi stories, or Multi-Character Fics.