2006-2007
Can't wait for the apocalypse? This CBS series isn't exactly about the end of the world "? just the chaos that ensues following a nuclear attack.
The first episode premiered with a bang, purportedly a nuclear blast from Colorado. The show is set in the fictional town of Jericho in northwest Kansas.
Shot on a shoestring budget, "Jericho" relies on plenty of cliffhangers to drive the chronological plot with bits of pieces of vague details. It's been described as "Lost" meets "The Day After," and that's accurate "? with just a twist of the apocalyptic cheese-fest "Red Dawn."
Skeet Ulrich, the poor man's Johnny Depp, is the Jericho mayor's son. His brother (Kenneth Mitchell) looks like Peyton Manning with a beard, almost as if casting required facial hair to diffuse the distraction.
Viewers learn that communication in Jericho is as sketchy as Ulrich's career. Shadowy conspiracies surface regarding what was responsible for the detonation of nuclear devices in multiple American cities. Residents shift into survival mode, quibbling over the essentials like foodstuff, generated electricity and salt.
This boxed set with extras serves as a basic primer for the series, which is slated to resurrect next year. After CBS canceled it, a grassroots campaign motivated CBS suits to air new episodes starting in January 2008.
"?Rob Collins
