Watching Jericho

Variety.com has a wonderful write-up of what CBS’s plans for the coming season, with the pick-ups and break-ups, with everything on CBS’s line-up, including Jericho.

Toughest decision facing CBS suits is what to do with “Jericho,” the spooky Wednesday drama that’s got a decent dose of buzz but just so-so ratings. Execs have been pleased with its creative direction, so it’ll be interesting to see how much patience the usually trigger-happy net has with a show it loves.

I’m hoping that patience does win out in the end, because I think that Jericho is a good enough show to last, especially if things like a long hiatus and coming back from that long hiatus to go head-to-head with American Idol aren’t in that future.

Read the whole article here.

Jericho, second season, TV, television, CBS

I”m still trying to recover from the plague, but I wanted to leave y’all with some the most interesting things out on the great interwebs.

• USA Today thinks that the networks are all at a loss when it comes to the ratings, Jericho included.
• Ashley Scott struts her stuff at the Grand Opening Of The Pearl Concert Theatre At The Palms
• The San Jose Mercury News says that Jericho’s one of the shows “on the bubble”.
• TV Guide has a great spoiler for the Season Finale (scroll to May 9th).

Jericho, TV, television, CBS

TelevisionPoint.com is reporting that CBS has sold V-O-D (Video on Demand) rights to German company ProSiebenSat.1-Group to show Jericho and other CBS shows on maxdome.de.

The video-on-demand portal ‘maxdome’ is a strategic cooperation between ProSiebenSat.1 Group and United Internet AG. It offers a large variety of blockbusters, comedy shows, series, sport an cartoons and can be purchased by subscriptions of different packages as well as by 24h-pay-per-view. Over 4000 Titles can be viewed on www.maxdome.de � just like a DVD � any number of times over the course of the purchased license period. Access is via a broadband internet connection either on a personal computer or, by using a set-top-box, on TV set. ‘maxdome’ is an open platform which can be used through all broadband services and is not limited to a specific mode of access.

While I’ve gone onto the maxdome.de website, I have no clue how to do anything other than order a beer in German, so can any of my readers help me out here?

And yes, I owe y’all a recap of last night’s episode, and if I can stay conscious for more than a few minutes at a time from the cold meds I’m currently on, I promise I’ll get it to you.

Jericho, ProSiebenSat.1-Group, Maxdome, TV, television, CBS

MediaWeek.com has an interesting interview with Carol Barbee, one of the executive producers for Jericho, and one of the most passionate cheerleaders for Jericho’s survival.

Carol Barbee, an executive producer on CBS’ Jericho, likened the structure of conspiracy shows to that of video games, whereby players win entry into more challenging tiers. “At the end of the season, there will be payoffs in terms of the mysteries that are revealed,� she said. But Barbee added those mysteries will “open up to the next level of mysteries.�

The article goes on to talk about how conspiracies seem to be driving serial dramas nowadays, and how it seems to be a sign of the times.

Go on and read the whole article here.

Jericho, Carol Barbee, TV, television, CBS

Last week, I was contacted by William LaRue of the Syracuse Post-Standard, of Syracuse, New York, to add a fan’s perspective to Jericho. He said that what caught his attention was that in Episode 1.13 - Black Jack, the map that they show for a moment at the Fairgrounds shows one of the new “governments” set up in Upstate New York, but debate has been raging as to where the actual base is located.

Well, yesterday morning, I got to see my 15 minutes of fame. I really enjoyed talking with Mr. LaRue, though I do wish that I hadn’t gone all “Valley Girl” with the “likes” in the quote that he ended up using. Though it is cool that I ended up in a couple of paragraphs in the article.

Here’s my contribution -

Amber Hansford, an Atlanta resident who runs the WatchingJericho.com fan site, says one reason she enjoys “Jericho” is the fact producers pack episodes with this kind of detail that rewards careful viewing and sparks speculation.

Some online fans debating the map have also raised questions about the accuracy of the show’s references to Kansas geography or its depiction of the medical effects of nuclear fallout.

“I’m like, ‘You know, it’s a TV show,’ ” Hansford says with a laugh. “They (the show’s writers) are allowed to fudge some stuff.”

To make things even more interesting, right after this story was published, I got another email from Daily Sentinel newspaper in Rome, N.Y. (Thanks again, Nicole!) to get some more feedback about the article in the Syracuse Post-Standard, because Carol Barbee confirmed that the area shown in Black Jack is the Northeast Air Defense Sector, a facility at the former Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome. The article can be found here, and I hope I don’t sound too silly in it, either.

Read the whole article here from the Syracuse Post-Standard.

Read the whole article here from the Rome Daily Sentinel.

Jericho, interview, Syracuse Post-Standard, Rome Daily Sentinel, TV, television, CBS

Lennie James recently chatted with Janice Littlejohn of the Associated Press and discussed his audition for Jericho, stating that he had promised his friends that he wouldn’t tell the story any more, so I guess by telling Ms. Littlejohn, he wouldn’t have to anymore.

When British actor Lennie James arrived in Los Angeles early last year, he gave himself three months to get a gig. After three weeks, he’d been offered two.

“I promised my mates I wouldn’t tell the story again,� jokes James, who landed his role on “Jericho� after his first audition — almost unheard of in Hollywood.

I really couldn’t think of a better person to play Robert Hawkins than Lennie James, as he seems to really get involved with his character. Of course, listening to him speak in his natural voice, versus the American accent that he puts on with playing Hawkins seems a little out of place for our favorite undercover CIA agent.

Read the whole thing here.

Jericho, Lennie James, Robert Hawkins, TV, television, CBS

In trying to find out more information on Heather (without being too spoiler-like, go read my recap of Casus Belli for the reason why), I came across a wonderful interview on About.com where Sprague Grayden chatted with Rachel Thomas, though I can’t seem to find any date on it to tell me how old it is, though she does mention something about a “budding triangle” between Heather, Jake and Emily, so it’s most likely from before the winter break. It does have some great nuggets, though, especially when Sprague talks about playing “sweet” Heather.

“This is the first time I’ve really been able to play “sweet,” I’ve never really been asked to play “sweet” in the past. Even if I played “sweet,” it was always with a bad girl history, sort of a wounded cub thing and I love it, it’s fun. There’s something really challenging about playing someone as grounded as Heather. I think Heather represents the innocence of the town in a lot of ways. I think we’re going to see her grow up. I’m pretty sure she was raised in a religious background. She’s the grade school teacher in the town. She has a crush on Jake, she didn’t have a lot of friends in the town growing up.”

Read the whole article here.

Jericho, Sprague Grayden, Heather Lisinski, TV, television, CBS

Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund

April 16, 2007, will be remembered as one of the darkest days in the history of the Virginia Tech community and the world beyond.

To remember and honor the victims of those tragic events, the university has established the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund to aid in the healing process and generate financial support.

The fund will be used to cover expenses including but not limited to:

• Grief counseling
• Memorials
• Communication expenses
• Comfort expenses
• Incidental needs

If you plan to give, please click the link below:

Watch the full episode online

Opening Morse Code - ONE GOT AWAY

From CBS.com:
When Eric doesn’t return from New Bern with Stanley, Jake senses something is wrong. He gets Hawkins and together, they head to New Bern to investigate and end up uncovering a dangerous secret about New Bern’s plans for the future. Back in Jericho, a disagreement between Gray and Skylar over the salt mine leads to a confrontation that could ignite a war. Stanley is also shocked to come home to find Sean Henthorn living in his house with Bonnie.

Originally aired: Wednesday April 18, 2007 on CBS
Writer: Karen Hall
Director: Steven DePaul

Recap below the fold…

Jericho, Casus Belli, TV, television, CBS

(more…)

That sound you hear emanating from the Southeast? That was my girlish squeal of glee.

SyFy Portal has a wonderful (if true) rumor that CBS will be picking up Jericho for a second season, despite falling ratings since coming back from hiatus.

A source tells SyFy Portal that CBS is expected to pick up “Jericho” for a second season, although it may move to a new night when fall rolls around. The show has had a tough time against competition such as “American Idol” on Fox this spring after its return, but the network has shown nothing but promise for the show, giving it a full season order when some thought it might be heading to the big one-season place in the sky.

I’m terrified that this is only a rumor, but I’m still holding out hope that it’s true, because whenever I hear anyone associated with the show is so wonderfully passionate in regards to the show. I do like the fact that they are saying that if when it does get renewed they’re looking at moving the show to another night so they don’t get the American Idol issue again.

Read the whole article here.

Jericho, Second Season, rumors, TV, CBS, television

Well, with A.K.A.’s “big reveal”, we do have some of the “Who” solved in regards to Who Dropped the Bombs, as Ellen Gray points out in her article for philly.com.

Meanwhile, on CBS’ “Jericho,” we’ve learned - at least I think we’ve learned - that someone from the Department of Homeland Security was behind the nuclear devastation of much of the United States.

Oh, and that western Kansas is some kind of fallout-free zone. In case you’re looking to move.

While I don’t have fond memories of my time in Kansas (you can read about it at my personal blog, if you’ve got the time), the fact that it does seem to be a “fallout-free” zone is a little more appealling to me.

Read the whole article here.

Jericho, conspiracies, TV, CBS, television

CBS Networks has announced that they are the first network to sign with the new service, Joost, which is a On-Demand Broadband TV service which will launch soon, though you can use the Beta now.

Broadband TV start-up Joost has scored a major coup, netting a deal with CBS to add the entire CSI franchise to its service, plus a string of the US network’s other hits including NCIS, Numb3rs and Showtime Boxing.

The partnership marks another major vote of confidence in Joost, set up by Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, coming soon after the company signed up Viacom in February.

While I’ve not used their beta version yet, it will be nice to have another outlet to be able to catch up with Jericho on the internet.

Joost Site here.

C21Media article here.

Jericho, Joost, Broadband TV, TV, CBS, television

TV Squad has a wonderful review of Wednesday night’s episode, A.K.A., of which I’ve still only gotten to see a smidgen of. Their description of the episode can be summed up in two words, “Beef Stew.” Not sure what I’m talking about?

Beef Stew. That’s what I call an episode like tonights. Plenty of great information to sink your teeth into. Let’s get right to it.

Now I’m even more upset that I can’t seem to get my Tivo to respond, or to keep my neighbors from scamming enough of my wifi bandwidth to make watching the episode online a viable option.

Read the whole thing here.

Jericho, A.K.A., TV Squad, TV, CBS, television

It pours… My Tivo is currently in ICU as of last night, due to some kind of glitch that has made it impossible for me to do a somewhat live recap of the show. I’ll have to wait until CBS posts the full episode sometime today to be able to watch the episode.

Meanwhile, check out Television Without Pity’s got a great recap of One Man’s Terrorist up, and Boxxet has, as always, some of the best information about Jericho out on the ‘net, with a wonderful interface for user input.

Hopefully I can either get my Tivo fixed, or I’ll be using the full episode feature thanks to CBS tomorrow night.

Robbie Thompson, who wrote the upcoming episode of Jericho, Episode 18: A.K.A., was recently interviewed by Emiliana Sandoval from the Detroit Free Press, where he talked about his growing up in Michigan, working with the writers of Jericho, and tonight’s episode of Jericho.

Thompson says the “Jericho” writers feel like a family.

“It’s such a collaborative medium. Everyone wants the show to be as good as it can be. This is the most fun I’ve ever had. It’s like getting paid to go to camp.”

His boss asked him whether he wanted to write Episode 18, and he jumped at the chance.

He wrote it in Ferndale, at his girlfriend’s house, during the Christmas break.

Read the whole thing here.
Watch the Sneak Peek here.

Jericho, A.K.A., TV, CBS, television