Jericho (2006 TV series)

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This article is about the CBS television drama. For the ITV drama, see Jericho (British TV series).
Jericho
Jericho's intertitle
StarringSee below
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes21 (list of episodes)
Production
ProducersJon Turteltaub, Stephen Chbosky, Carol Barbee
Running time43 minutes
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseSeptember 20, 2006 –
present

Jericho is a serial drama produced by CBS Paramount Network Television, with executive producers Jon Turteltaub, Stephen Chbosky and Carol Barbee. The show premiered on Wednesday, September 20 2006 on CBS.

On October 12, 2006, CBS issued a statement that it had ordered a full season of Jericho.[1] On November 8, 2006, CBS announced that the show would split its season, going on hiatus after the episode of November 29, 2006. It returned February 21, 2007, after a special recapping the first 11 episodes on February 14, 2007.[2] Lackluster ratings have prompted concern, as the show hit a new low in early April;[3] however, rumors continue to circulate about the show being renewed for a second year[4] and moved to a new night.[5] While the producers seem confident of a second season,[6] no official announcement has been made by CBS, and none is expected until the network's 2007-2008 lineup is announced in mid-May.

Synopsis

Template:Spoiler The storyline revolves about the residents of Jericho, a small, rural Kansas town, in the aftermath of a series of nuclear explosions across the contiguous United States. The series begins with a visible nuclear detonation of unknown origin over nearby Denver, Colorado, and a loss of power and modern communications, effectively isolating Jericho. Later, power is restored to Jericho by what is alluded to as the efforts of the U.S. government, but soon after, an Electromagnetic pulse (EMP) disables all electronics. Several themes addressed in the show regularly are the gathering of information, community identity, public order, limited resources, the value of family, and external and internal threats. The show features several mysteries involving the backgrounds of major characters, the perpetrators of the attack, and the extent of damage to the United States and its government.

The pivotal character is Jake Green, a 32-year-old prodigal son, who returns home to briefly visit his family before becoming stranded as a result of the catastrophe. After a tense reunion with his father, Mayor Johnston Green, Jake becomes a hero to Jericho by helping protect it and its residents. As Jake, along with his family and friends, work to help the town survive, they are completely unaware that one of their own residents, Robert Hawkins, knows much more about the attacks that took place than he is letting on.

Characters

Main article: List of Jericho characters

Jericho features an ensemble cast of characters, along with a number of minor and recurring roles. The series web site lists eleven cast members.[7] In addition, Alicia Coppola moved from a recurring role to a regular character in February 2007.[8]

Episodes

Main article: List of Jericho episodes

Clips from the pilot episode became free to watch on Yahoo! TV several weeks before the episode actually aired on television.[9] CBS is also showing the episodes on their website[10] after they air, although they cannot be accessed from outside the U.S. This is expected to continue throughout the season. CBS repeated the first three episodes on the Saturday nights following their original airings, as did Australia's Network Ten.

Each episode's opening title sequence is accompanied by an audio message in Morse code. The messages vary from generic references to cryptic clues, and are always related to the current episode in some way. In addition to these messages, in the second episode, Robert Hawkins received several additional Morse code messages through a radio that he was fixing.

Episode observations

  • Episode 3, "Four Horsemen":
    • Jericho has been established in the series as being on Interstate 70 and northeast of Goodland, Kansas. This would place it near Colby, Kansas, the only location on I-70 northeast of Goodland, but this location has not yet been definitively established. Despite the similarities in numbered routes, the map shown by CBS does not precisely conform to any known actual road configuration.[11]
      See also Mapping observations below.
    • The Air Traffic Control system collapsed during the attacks, and thousands of planes were forced to land with no assistance, on highways and in fields. With "10,000 planes in the air, and no place to land" (according to the Robert Hawkins character), some would have crashed, while others may have made emergency landings. The fate of most flights is still unknown. However, the airplane carrying Emily's fiancé landed safely in a Nebraska field, and he arrives in Jericho with other refugees at the end of Episode 11.
    • In the beginning of this episode, Hawkins is seen moving a barrel that appears identical to the nukes deployed by the terrorists from a storage unit into a truck. He is later seen securing it in his basement. Given the information provided in episode 12, that he was a driver intended to deliver a device but failed to do so, it is likely that this barrel is in fact the device he was supposed to deliver but never did. This is supported by "Sarah" using a Geiger counter on the device in episode 14.
  • Episode 4, "Walls of Jericho":
    • Hawkins learns from a co-conspirator that there is a traitor among their group—people who seem to have known about the nuclear attacks in advance and prepared for them. He then warns other members of his group through a secure computer in his basement that "We have a traitor. The rally point is no longer secure."
  • Episode 5, "Federal Response":
    • It is highly probable, based on the trajectory, that the ballistic missiles were launched from somewhere nearby, although it is not known if this is a retaliation for the initial attacks, for the EMP, or for some other purpose. (In reality, the closest ICBM sites are Minuteman silos in western Nebraska and eastern Colorado, less than 150 miles northwest of the supposed location of Jericho and controlled by F. E. Warren Air Force Base.) Judging from the video and using the Jericho map provided by CBS,[11] the missiles are headed eastward, since the people viewing the missiles are looking northward down Main Street and the missiles are headed to the right.
    • Hawkins accesses an information repository with the seal of the U.S. Department of State and a reference to the NSA. He looks at an "America Express" credit card before typing in his access code, "87oij9r". Hawkins learns Jake's passport has been flagged and that he made several trips between 2003 and 2004 to Central America, South America, and the Middle East; destinations visible on screen include Honduras, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Qatar, Colombia (again), Peru, and Guatemala.
    • The first three octets of the IP address that Hawkins types are "29.203.39". The 29 network is assigned to the United States Department of Defense.[12]
  • Episode 6, "9:02":
    • An electromagnetic pulse at the start of the episode damages most electronic devices in the town (as well as in neighboring Rogue River). Hawkins' laptop computer survives; he later tells his daughter that it is "ruggedized" for protection from such pulses, a design issued by the government. (Hawkins never specifically says he works for the U.S., or any other government.)
    • Hawkins is told by a co-conspirator using the secure connection that the conspirator has been "compromised."
  • Episode 10, "Red Flag":
    • 1970s-era Russian-built Antonov aircraft flew over Jericho, dropping food, supplies, medicine, and a generator from China. The parachutes used for the drop were later discovered to be modern US Air Force-issue, prompting questions as to who would be using such a combination of equipment. The aid packages contained leaflets with slogans like "Do not fight", and "China is your friend", and a picture of a smiling Chinese family.

Mapping observations

  • According to an "official" map of Jericho shown on the CBS website,[13] Interstate 70, State Route 83, and State Route 40 converge in Jericho; but in the real world, Interstate 70, U.S. Route 83, and U.S. Route 40 converge in Oakley, Kansas, which is 70 miles from the Colorado border. As well, according to the "official" map, a railway line passes through Jericho which approaches from the east and splits into a northern route and a southern route; in the real world, again, this occurs in Oakley, Kansas.[14] Although the people of Jericho witness a nuclear explosion "from the west", which is believed to have occurred at Denver and is clearly visible over a nearby mountain range, in the real world the Rocky Mountains are not visible from Kansas, or even from most of eastern Colorado.
  • The road on the CBS map depicted as an interstate highway (apparently I-70, although the resolution of the map makes this difficult to determine) does not appear to be a limited access highway. This situation is not permitted on the Interstate Highway System.
  • In the episode "The Day Before", Jake Green is seen passing a highway sign listing mileages to Jericho, Wichita, and Kansas City. This would be inconsistent with Jericho lying near I-70, as a mileage sign in this area would be more likely to list Salina and not Wichita, which is bisected by I-35. In dialogue and on the "official" map, however, Jericho has been depicted as being proximate to I-70.

Plot points

The attack

According to episode "A.K.A.", the attacks destroyed twenty-three known American cities. The bombs used in the attacks were brought in by the U.S. government. After the Soviet Union fell, neglected military and the satellite republics started selling their nuclear stockpiles on the black market. So the Central Intelligence Agency started an operation — "Operation Red Bell". The objective of the project was to obtain that material by any and all means necessary, but a few years before the events of the series a shipment disappeared on its way to the Department of Energy storage compound in Oak Ridge.

Those warheads were converted into twenty-five 20-kiloton devices, which were disseminated to extremist cells active within the United States. It was a cross-section of domestic militia, anarchists, and religious fanatics — terrorist groups that would never ordinarily collaborate, ideologically or politically. The only thing that connected them was the desire to take down the federal government of the United States. The entire plan was orchestrated by someone with deep resources, an ability to coordinate diverse groups, and by all indications, an American.

After someone tipped off the terrorists about the government's knowledge of the plot, they moved up the timetable for the attacks.

As described in the episode "The Day Before", the attacks were to take place simultaneously, using the 20-kiloton nuclear devices hidden in 55-gallon oil drums, at 8:05 p.m. EDT, during the U.S. President's emergency address to Congress on Tuesday, September 19.

Darcy, the wife of the Robert Hawkins character, states in the episode "Casus Belli" that 30 million people were killed outright in the attacks.

Cities reported as attacked

Cities are identified within the show as having been attacked, mainly through a series of maps maintained by a number of characters tracking the destroyed cities.

In the episode "A.K.A.", it was stated that there were twenty-five explosive devices. Twenty-four cities are identified as being attacked, however it is also known that Columbus, Ohio ("The Day Before"), New York City ("Long Live the Mayor") and St Louis, Missouri ("The Day Before") were targeted. It is not known if the error lies with the initial number of explosive devices, or incorrect knowledge of the characters on the show.

The attacked cities are listed below, along with the episodes in which the references to the city are made.

Sources:

  • Episode 1 ("Pilot") - Jericho residents witnessed the explosion in Denver. Later, Dale Turner listens to a voicemail message from his mother in Atlanta.
  • Episode 2 ("Fallout") - Robert Hawkins' map in his basement is seen for the first time. He is seen marking cities with push pins.
  • Episode 3 ("Four Horsemen") - Part of a Chinese news broadcast is seen on the television in Bailey's Tavern. A map of the United States is shown with some cities marked with red dots. The cities are marked with Chinese characters in the approximate locations of Atlanta (亚特兰大), Chicago (芝加哥), Dallas (达拉斯), Denver (丹佛), Los Angeles (洛杉矶), New York, San Francisco (旧金山) and Seattle (西雅图). All of these apart from New York are corroborated with evidence from future episodes.
  • Episode 6 ("9:02") - Robert Hawkins' map in his basement is seen again, found by his daughter. Further cities are marked with push pins.
  • Episode 7 ("Long Live the Mayor") - Gray Anderson returns from his travels with further news about the attacks, mentioning Lawrence, Washington D.C., and New York.
  • Episode 13 ("Black Jack") - In a visit to the Black Jack Fairgrounds, a map is seen with attacked cities marked with red dots.
  • Episode 14 ("Heart of Winter") - Robert and Sarah Mason visit the 'Old Man' where there is a map on the wall similar to the one in Robert's basement.
  • Episode 18 ("A.K.A.") - Robert's basement map is seen once again, with additional cities marked.
  • Online Video Segment - In the "Ask the Mystery Woman" online video segments [1], Sarah mentions both the Baltimore and Washington D.C. blasts.

Some facts stated on the show contradict other evidence:

  • Episode 3 ("Four Horsemen") - On a cockpit voice recorder recovered by Jake Green, pilots are heard discussing mushroom clouds "somewhere in Texas", over Denver, and over Kansas City. There has not been evidence of a Kansas City attack elsewhere in the series, but there has been multiple reports of an attack at nearby Lawrence.
  • Episode 12 ("The Day Before") - In a flashback to the day before the attacks, Sarah is seen reading a list of intended target cities on Hawkins' laptop. As it can not be assumed that all bombs hit their targets, this can not be used as evidence of an attack. Of the eight cities displayed, there is additional evidence in other episodes of six (Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Denver, Dallas and Chicago) having been attacked, and New York having survived an attempted attack. No definite evidence either way has been presented regarding St. Louis.
  • Episode 19 ("Casus Belli") - The Chicago West refugee camp is described as having continuing riots by Darcy Hawkins when she was monitoring the radio broadcast, however this does not imply that Chicago survived.

Cities of unconfirmed status

Some cities were assumed to have been attacked in early episodes, but have been absent from later episodes. It is unknown if there are production and continuity issues, or simply a result of the poor communication facilities in the Jericho universe.

  • Cincinnati, Ohio: In "Walls of Jericho", Eric suggests that it may have been Cincinnati's skyline seen in a looped reel of news footage. An attack on the city is not supported by any other source.
  • Kansas City, Missouri: Although a pilot on the cockpit voice recorder tape describes seeing a mushroom cloud over Kansas City, an explosion in Kansas City is not supported by any other source. Given the proximity of Lawrence, Kansas, to Kansas City (40 miles), it is likely that the explosion in Lawrence could have been mistaken for Kansas City by the pilot.
  • New Orleans, Louisiana: In "9:02", a pin marking New Orleans appears in Robert Hawkins' map, but disappears from some shots. It is not in any maps in future episodes
  • St. Louis, Missouri: In "The Day Before", St. Louis appears in Robert Hawkins' computer list of intended terrorist targets. However there is no evidence of either an attack, or a foiled attempt, on the city. It is not marked on any maps. Airline pilots heard on a retrieved cockpit voice recorder believe that F-16s they see have originated out of a St. Louis Air National Guard base.

Cities reported as surviving

  • Columbus, Ohio, was written on the card given to Hawkins in episode 12, and was the target city to where he was to deliver his bomb. Since Hawkins never delivered the bomb, Columbus was spared. Columbus was also seen as a regional capital on the Blackjack Fairgrounds map. The fake Marines in "Semper Fidelis" said that the government was re-organizing in Columbus, but given their fraud, it is debatable if this information can be trusted.
  • Las Vegas, Nevada at least partially survived, based on information from Dr. Dhuwalia in episode 9.
  • Lexington, Kentucky — In the CBS web feature, "Ask The Mystery Woman", she mentions "Lexington Camp," a refugee camp outside of Lexington, Kentucky. She says that if you made it to Lexington Camp, you were in pretty good shape.
  • Lincoln, Nebraska
  • New York City was originally reported as attacked in the Chinese broadcast (marked: 紐約), but was later reported as spared by Gray Anderson. Gray reports the capture of three men in a rental truck who were in possession of a 20-kiloton nuclear device in a steel drum, moments before the device could be detonated. (The New York arrests are credited to heightened security following the September 11, 2001 attacks. It should also be noted that according to the episode "A.K.A.", Robert Hawkins warned his superiors of the attack and gave them plate numbers of the white vans used in the attacks. This is most likely what prevented the detonation of the New York bomb.) New York was also not marked on the Black Jack map. A radio report from Episode 18 confirms New York was spared, at least initially.
  • Richmond, Virginia was mentioned as a home to one of the members of Hawkins' team, and the family was found murdered there after the attacks.
  • Rogue River, Kansas was evacuated by Ravenwood Security to a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) tent-city about a month after the explosion in Denver. A FEMA flyer cited contaminated groundwater as a result of the nuclear fallout from Lawrence, Kansas, as the reason for the evacuation.
  • In "Black Jack", it was noted that Tallahassee, Florida survived, since, as the capital of Florida, it was supporting the president in Montgomery, Alabama.
  • Topeka, Kansas, is described as the source of the Homeland Security telephone calls in the fifth episode, indicating that Topeka has at least partly survived. Gray Anderson reported that FEMA had set up just outside of Topeka and was attacked as they were leaving the city in a FEMA truck.

Outside the U.S.A.

One of the questions posed to Robert Hawkins in his segments on the CBS website is whether any targets outside of the U.S. were attacked. His response is that he hasn't heard of any, but that "it wouldn't surprise [him]". Since Hawkins clearly had detailed knowledge of the group which carried out the bombings, this would seem to at least leave the possibility open. However, no specific foreign targets have yet been named within the series, or on the official site. The fake Marines in "Semper Fidelis" said that North Korea and Iran were attacked in retaliation by the U.S., but they themselves later admit that they don't really know if any of this is true. There is no mention of any foreign attacks in the later episode "A.K.A.".

Rebuilding

Regional capitals

In the episode "Black Jack", the following cities were marked on a map made available at Black Jack Fairgrounds.[15]


Federal government response

First referenced Agency Unit or division Description
Episode 1 ("Pilot") N/A N/A At the time the first explosions were noted from Jericho, the President was in the midst of addressing a joint session of the U.S. Congress. Since Washington, D.C. was reported as having been totally destroyed in the attack, it is very likely that the President and most of the people in the upper echelons of the federal government and supreme military leaders were killed.
Central Intelligence Agency Special Taskforce Robert Hawkins is dispatched to Jericho just prior to the explosion of several bombs Hawkins had intended to keep from going off
Episode 3 ("Four Horsemen") Department of Defense 131st Fighter Wing, Missouri Air National Guard F-16s spotted over Kansas, as described by two pilots during the attacks, on a recovered cockpit voice recorder. One of the pilots believes that the F-16s are from the 131st Fighter Wing, Missouri Air National Guard, originating at Lambert International Airport in St. Louis. In real life, the 131st Fighter Wing flies the F-15, not the F-16.
Department of Defense Kansas Army National Guard Stanley reveals he saw five tanks on I-70 heading west. It's not known where they came from, but it is suspected that they're from a National Guard unit in Goodland, Kansas.
Episode 5 ("Federal Response") Department of Homeland Security FEMA Reverse-911 phone call from the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, asking everyone not to leave, and assuring that help and further information is on the way.
FCC/FEMA/NWS The Emergency Alert System is seen on the television feed and is later replaced with a podium bearing a US State Department agency seal, but the signal is lost before anyone comes into view to speak.
Department of Defense Air Force Space Command At the end of the fifth episode, there is a rumbling and people rush outside to see ballistic missiles rocketing upward, which are presumed to be American.
Episode 7 ("Long Live the Mayor") Department of Homeland Security FEMA Gray Anderson reports that FEMA is operating refugee camps and that FEMA is running water to these camps, including one at Rogue River.
Episode 8 ("Rogue River") Department of Homeland Security FEMA As Jake and Eric enter Rogue River they see FEMA evacuation symbols on the doors of houses indicating the date of evacuation and the number of alive/dead found. They also see leaflets scattered about the town from FEMA warning of the contamination of groundwater from the nuclear explosion in Lawrence, Kansas.
Ravenwood Security Inc. When Jake and Eric meet a Ravenwood mercenary at the top of the County Hospital in Rogue River, he says that Ravenwood were hired by Homeland Security because there were not enough National Guard in Kansas.
Episode 10 ("Red Flag") Unknown United States Air Force (equipment) Chinese supply air drops are conducted over Kansas air space by Russian-made planes from the 1970s (identified by Jake as two Antonov transports, and two MiG 19 fighter-escorts) using parachutes that utilize a modern U.S. Air Force RFID tracking technology.
Episode 13 ("Black Jack") N/A N/A When a party from Jericho visits the Black Jack Fairgrounds trading post, they are told that the federal government has split into at least six competing factions, with six Presidents claiming authority, and each with his own political and military allies. They are also told that some of the supply air drops in other areas were carried out by Germany. See the synopsis of "Black Jack" for more detailed information about the political situation.
Episode 15 ("Semper Fidelis") Department of Defense 4th Marine Tank Battalion, 4th Marine Division The fraudulent Marines stated that actual Marines were dispatched to their refugee camp.

FEMA Camps

Shortly after the bombs went off, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) successfully setup refugee camps near blast sites. There are presumably numerous camps (with varying conditions), but only a few are specifically mentioned -- Topeka ("Long Live the Mayor"), West Chicago Camp ("Casus Belli"), a camp near Baltimore ("Black Jack"), and a camp (unknown location) with 10,000 refugees ("Semper Fidelis") A camp in Lexington, KY was also mentioned by Sarah Mason in the online video segment Ask the Mystery Woman.

Rogue River

Rogue River, Kansas is a fictional city in the CBS drama Jericho. It is shown in the show as a mid-sized city with a county hospital. FEMA evacuated the city after nearby Lawrence, Kansas, was targeted during a nuclear attack. The city is deserted, and all the living people are evacuated to a tent city. Rogue River is the county seat of the fictional Fillmore County, and is roughly 90 miles east of Jericho.

New Bern

New Bern, Kansas is a fictional town featured in the CBS drama, Jericho. The town manager is Phil Constantino, who is also the sheriff of New Bern. New Bern's land is mostly clay, so its citizens have no way of growing crops. After the attacks, New Bern asks for ten percent of Jericho's spring crop, along with salt, in exchange for ten wind turbines. Ten Jericho men are taken to New Bern to help make the turbines, a gesture interpreted by Jericho's mayor, Gray Anderson, as a passive hostage-taking as collateral for Jericho's fulfilling its part of the deal.

When all but one (Eric Green), plus a citizen present in New Bern previously (Heather Lisinski), of the Jericho citizens suddenly return from New Bern with the generators, two Jericho citizens, Jake Green and Robert Hawkins, go to New Bern to look for the missing people. There they discover that one is imprisoned and the other possibly killed. They learn that New Bern's leaders believed that Jericho is hoarding supplies; New Bern's own stores were nearly destroyed by the Ravenwood paramilitary group, an attack they blame on Jericho's having successfully repelled the the Ravenwood group some time earlier. Green and Hawkins discover that New Bern is planning a military-style attack on Jericho, having converted their factory into a munitions plant. It is shown that the New Bern Town Hall was partly burned down by Ravenwood.

Hostilities between New Bern and Jericho increase after New Bern attacks Jericho with mortars in an attempt to annex several of Jericho's outlying farms.

Other details

The EMP

In "9:02", the citizens of Jericho witness a high altitude explosion. Simultaneously, the town's power grid fails, along with most of the electronics, and Hawkins confirms the event to be an electromagnetic pulse (EMP). Jericho is left in darkness, and much of the medical clinic's electronic gear is now useless. The effects of the EMP are widespread, as damage is also noted in the town of Rogue River.

Food shortage

Throughout early December, Jericho suffers from a severe shortage of all types of food, despite the fact that it is an agricultural town in a highly productive region. Corn, soy, and wheat grew in abundance. Local corn yields would have been between three and four tons per acre.

The stated reason for the food shortage is the lack of chemical fertilizers (indicated in an early episode) -- although the crops were ready for harvest by the time the city was cut off -- and fuel needed for harvesting. Also contributing to the food shortage is a lack of huntable game due to the mass migration of people from the Dakotas to escape the winter. Additionally, there is a critical food shortage in New Bern, a nearby town.

In the Chicago West FEMA camp, mentioned in "Semper Fidelis", there were food riots.

The flag of the United States as portrayed in "Why We Fight"
The flag of the United States as portrayed in "Why We Fight"

United States flag

In the teaser for the season finale, "Why We Fight", an unknown location is shown to be flying what appears to be an alternate U.S. flag, with 13 vertical stripes, and 21 stars arranged in a closed octagon. The design of this ensign echoes the historical representation of the U.S. Civil Flag of Peace Time, which has been described as representing a civil government as opposed to a military government. A flag similar to this was at one time flown over U.S. Customs buildings, which may or may not have a connection to the one represented in Jericho. The significance of the flag within the context of the series is as yet unclear; however, the voice-over accompanying the image refers to "change the course of America's history."

Web-based tie-ins

In an online interview,[citation needed] Carol Barbee announced that there would be a "digital connection" to Jericho through an online companion (at Jericho's official site) called Beyond Jericho. The television program gave the web address for the online companion. Beyond Jericho was to feature the "other survivors" of the nuclear attacks. According to Barbee, the story was intended to be unique to the site, but as the season of Jericho progressed, the online story would dovetail into the episodes themselves. However, the site and "webisode" are now unavailable, having been removed from the CBS website before the second episode of the TV show was broadcast.

The Writers Guild of America is petitioning its members to refuse to work on "webisode" projects, due to a dispute between the WGA and many studios and networks regarding payments and royalties for such projects. In one specific case, NBC Universal has filed a counter-grievance against the WGA with the National Labor Relations Board, arguing that webisodes are already covered under current guild contract [17]Although a settlement was reached between NBC Universal and the WGA — part of which included blocking viewers outside the United States from viewing the webisodes — there are reports that other webisode projects are either on hold, or outright canceled, out of fears of further disputes and potential strikes by the WGA and other industry collective-bargaining representative organizations.[citation needed]

CBS has since decided to scrap the current webisode storyline, and instead release a new series of "prequel" webisodes named Countdown that take place before the first explosion. Each of these new webisodes appear concurrently with the broadcast of new episodes, and show Robert Hawkins gathering information before the attack. The webisodes corresponding to all Jericho episodes are available for view on the main Jericho website within the USA.

Beyond Jericho

Main article: Beyond Jericho

The first installment of Beyond Jericho began with an unknown man calling someone on a cell phone, requesting a ransom of $1.2 million for a woman he kidnapped. He then disappears underground through a metal trap door. While climbing down, he hears and feels a bang, but thinks nothing of it. After conversing with an associate about their next plans, he picks the woman up and climbs back up to the roof. When he opens the door, it's surrounded by rubble. The entire city around them has been destroyed. Shortly after, rubble falls through the trap door. With the cell phone (apparently actually the victim's cell phone) dead, and assuming that the man's associate is dead as well in the collapse, they start to climb through the rubble to find out what happened. Nearby, a hand with a surgical glove on emerges from the rubble, as the vignette ends.

Countdown

Starting on October 26, Beyond Jericho was replaced by Countdown, which documents Robert Hawkins' efforts to learn as much as possible about the effects of nuclear bombs before he moved to Jericho.[18] The webisodes do not feature any of the regular characters, consisting primarily of Hawkins, draped in shadows, watching mini-documentaries.

The mini-documentaries feature expert interviews about the effects of a nuclear attack. They are only minimally connected to each episode's plot. For instance, CBS's episode 8 plot summary reads: "A shadowy military unit bursts into the chamber Hawkins has just vacated. On his computer, they find a video." The video was a short documentary about FEMA's response to Hurricane Katrina and their use of paramilitaries. The "shadowy military unit" then patiently waits until the documentary ends to resume its search for Hawkins.

Countdown's sponsor, AT&T, is very heavily promoted in the series using product placement. Nearly all dialog takes place as SMS messages on an AT&T cellular phone, and a full-screen AT&T logo appears in every episode when Hawkins views the expert interviews. This web-based programming is not accessible from outside of the United States.

International broadcasters

Country Alternate title/Translation TV Network(s) Series Premiere Weekly Schedule
United States United States CBS Television (Broadcast) September 20, 2006 Wednesdays, 8:00pm ET/PT
Canada Canada A-Channel/Citytv (Broadcast)
SPACE (Cable)		 September 20, 2006 Wednesdays, 8:00pm (A-Channel); Wednesdays, 9:00pm (Citytv Calgary, Citytv Edmonton)
Saturdays, 8:00pm (Space);
Sundays, 6:00pm ET
Australia Australia Network Ten September 21, 2006 Returns as from Friday 25 May, 2007 at 9:30pm
Bulgaria Bulgaria AXN December 10, 2006[19]
Czech Republic Czech Republic AXN December 10, 2006 Mondays, 8:05pm
Denmark Denmark TV2 February 3 2007 Saturdays, 8:00pm CET
Estonia Estonia TV 3 May 9, 2007 Wednesdays, 9:05pm
France France M6 2007[20]
Germany Germany Jericho - Der Anschlag Pro 7 June 4, 2007
Hungary Hungary AXN December 10, 2006
Iceland Iceland Skjár einn February 7 2007 Wednesdays, 10:00pm
Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland TV3 (Ireland) December 06, 2006 Wednesday, 9:00 PM GMT
Israel Israel Xtra HOT on Hot 2007
Italy Italy Rai Due May 2007
Latvia Latvia Džeriko TV 3 May 7, 2007 Mondays, 9:20pm
New Zealand New Zealand TV3 February 11, 2007 Sundays, 9:30pm
Norway Norway TV 2 Zebra April 11, 2007 Wednesday, 10:30pm
Philippines Philippines Crime Suspense March 12, 2007 Mondays, 9:00pm
Poland Poland AXN December 10, 2006 Mondays, 8:05pm
Portugal Portugal SIC 2007
Spain Telecinco /Calle13 (Digital + /cable) 2007
Romania Romania AXN December 10, 2006[21]
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia
and Arab World		 Showtime Arabia
SHOWSERIES 1(Subtitled)		 April 2,2007 Monday, 22:00
Sweden Sweden TV4 2007[22]
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka MTV February 15 2007 Wednesdays, 8:00pm
United Kingdom United Kingdom Hallmark Channel (Sky Digital/cable)
ITV2 (Digital television)		 January 12, 2007
TBA 2007		 Fridays, 20:00

See also

References

  1. ^ "CBS gives "Jericho" a full-season order".
  2. ^ "CBS Will Split "Jericho" Season".
  3. ^ http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_11271.asp Flop sweat: 'Jericho' dips to new low Apr 5, 2007
  4. ^ http://www.syfyportal.com/news423527.html
  5. ^ http://www.syfyportal.com/news423527.html&cid=0
  6. ^ http://jerichowiki.cbs.com/page/Ask+the+Producers
  7. ^ CBS web site - Jericho cast page
  8. ^ [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003550893 The Hollywood Reporter "Three going full time in primetime"
  9. ^ "Yahoo! TV Fall 2006 Preview". Retrieved 2006-10-11.
  10. ^ "CBS.com Innertube". Retrieved 2006-10-11.
  11. ^ a b "Jericho Map". Retrieved 2006-10-11.
  12. ^ "Output from ARIN WHOIS". Retrieved 2006-10-29.
  13. ^ http://www.cbs.com/primetime/jericho/map.shtml
  14. ^ http://www.ksdot.org/archive/burrail/rail/publications/dnstymp01.htm
  15. ^ "Jericho Wiki: Attack Timeline"
  16. ^ "Show liked Air Force facility in Rome". The Post-Standard. 2007-04-23. Retrieved 2007-04-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ "Websidodes become growing TV labor issue".
  18. ^ "Jericho on CBS - Countdown".
  19. ^ "AXN пуска "Джерико", дублиран на български" (in Bulgarian). 2006-11-30. Retrieved 2006-12-18.
  20. ^ "La rentrée séries en France... M6" (in French). 2006-09-01. Retrieved 2006-12-18.
  21. ^ Boboc, Razvan (2006-11-25). "Serialul „Jericho"- in curand la AXN" (in Romanian). Retrieved 2006-12-18.
  22. ^ "Nya succéserier till TV4 under 2007" (in Swedish). 2006-11-27. Retrieved 2006-12-18.
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