the actual viewership for jericho is unique. viewers can not only watch the broadcast of the show... now they can tivo, dvr, and can watch full episodes online. because of the militant / covert nature of the show's premise, the "back story" was supplied online at cbs.com, which led to an d even more broad viewership online. in the first weeks of the season there was actually an alternate storyline online. this alternate route for programming hurt the broadcast ratings and in effect, the show's bottom line. cbs didn't know how to track it.
but it also demonstrated a new delivery system for jericho's somewhat younger audience... an audience that advertisers NEED.
there were rumours that the show was going to survive the cut, and even cbs execs initially said the show wouldn't cancelled. but when the networks got around to announcing their new fall line-ups a few weeks ago... jericho was cut, presumably at the last minute.
this brought on an immediate and passionate protest from jericho fans. i myself participated in a few online petitions.
here's the HQ of the protest... jericholives.com
check out how organized this protest effort has become.
these are the primary links found on the site.
Daily Campaign Missions Save Jericho Petition
Contact CBS Send NUTS Campaign
CBS Affiliates
Jericho Advertisers
Press Coverage Ammunition
Contact CBS Send NUTS Campaign
CBS Affiliates
Jericho Advertisers
Press Coverage Ammunition
Other SAVE JERICHO Fan Sites & Initiatives
- Bring Jericho Back - Result of the Fans successful Variety and Hollywood Reporter ad campaign
- Save Jericho - Viewer Demographic Database
very organized. somewhat like the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement during the 1960's. ok, i'm kinda kidding. it also reminds me of the "soul patrol" type of kinetic energy living within the hearts and minds of millions of viewers around the country. the irony isn't lost on me.
just as tens - maybe hundreds of thousands of people protested the cancellation of jericho - millions of people voted for their favorite potential american idol. americans have a an ongoing love affair with their televisions. a sense of ownership for sure.
look at this...
and this: their mantra...
At 2 p.m. on May 16, 2007, CBS announced its 2007-2008 primetime slate. Jericho was not on it. The network has decided that it wasn't worth the fight to re-launch it for a second season.
For over 2 weeks, Jericho's fans have been telling CBS its wrong. Over the past season Jericho, Kansas has become the place we faithfully visit every Wednesday night (and for some - on several additional nights during the week). It has become our second home.
This is where we make our stand!
We are tired of the networks (not just CBS) tossing aside quality programming. Most of us have never tried to fight for a TV show. But some thing is different about this one - It is like no show that has been on TV before. Throughout the year it has made us think - now it has made us stand up and say - ENOUGH! We're going to fight for this one.
they like to control their own destiny. be it script or reality oriented. this is especially true for guilty pleasure programming. jericho is my guilty pleasure (and apparently thousands of others).
americans don't care much for who's running the country, who's calling the shots overseas, our national debt... they barely care about eco issues. but if you get in the way of a mediocre show set in kansas after the u.s. has been nearly wiped out by nuclear bombs... then you are ASKING for retaliation and protest.
jericho is decently written, the acting is 80's quality drama... its not very realistic, the characters are well developed but relatively impervious to evolution... and there are no less than 5 different love/interest sub-plots to hold the interest of viewers who might not get the post-nuclear mid-west premise. fortunately, the town evolves as do relationships within the town... some things get better, some get worse.
the hero of the show, jake... is highly watchable. his love interest and high school sweetheart, who we like to call "doe-eyes" reminds me of a more attractive version of my own high school girlfriend. by the last episode of season one, she finally lived up to my aspirations for her, and joined the militia sent forth to defend jericho from its next door neighbors, the small town-turned city state, "new bern."
picture it... an impossibly hot blond, living in kansas, firing soviet issue ak-47's at people she used to attend football games with. fucking brilliant. and jake is no slouch either. he's shady and dare i say, sexy and i like the fact that they had the insight to write a hero who listens more than he speaks.
like i said... its guilty pleasure programming.
its kinda like red dawn actually.
but there's something about jericho that i have to watch. and its on network tv. the last show i was really excited about was the sopranos, but that's on cable, which is in a different country than tv network amerika.
this show is addicting. it brings out my well documented latent omega-man complex. that vibe of... no more authority... you can do it your way... but you have to take care of yourself. its the ultimate show on network tv if you are interested in self reliance and big what-ifs.
apparently jericho is getting another chance... which is great news considering the outrageous cliff-hanger of the last episode of season one. the network has ordered 7 more episodes.
so... ummm... do me a favor...
watch it?