Tracey. Amazing. Monday night I started an essay, "Why I like Jericho". After disparaging what I thought was a cliched, post-apocalyptic show set in my least favorite setting--a small town in Kansas--I found myself watching week after week. I kept trying to scoff at the homespun location, the family problems, but I couldn't. Even things like a man cheating on his wife took on a new importance in a world that may never be the same. An election of a mayor in that small town took on huge importance, as later revealed when the new mayor found out he wasn't as tough as he thought in dealing with things liek rogue army units and an invasion by t he neighboring town. The whole fact that the nukes were setoff by an American group bent on "rebuilding AMerica to what it *should* be" and that this group included *Blacks* caught my attention. the fact that a Balck man was fighting that conspiracy and given such an important role in teh series kept me coming back.
"Jericho" kept pulling me in week after week. About how it was touching but not overly sentimental, exciting but not over-the-top, realistic, but not mediocre and boring. It was as close to realistic as I guess a post-nuclear show set in Kansas could be. Despite myself, I liked the show's balance of drama, action, intrigue, and family matters. Yeah, I was going to write that essay about how "Jericho" moved me from critic to a real fan. I'll still write that essay, but I guess now it'll be a post-mortem. Damn. -------------- Original message -------------- From: "Tracey de Morsella (formerly Tracey L. Minor)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > CBS Ends `Jericho' in New Schedule > > By DAVID BAUDER > The Associated Press > Wednesday, May 16, 2007; 2:14 PM > > NEW YORK -- CBS canceled the nuclear apocalypse drama, "Jericho," on > Wednesday, another sign that TV networks are shying away from serial > dramas after overloading on them last season. > > The network unveiled a fall schedule with five new shows, three of them > dramas. > > "Jericho" started out strong last fall for CBS. However, like "Lost" on > ABC and "Heroes" on NBC, many viewers abandoned the show after it went > on a long midseason hiatus. > > "We lost a lot of steam," said Kelly Kahl, CBS' chief scheduling > executive. "I know we had loyal viewers ... but the show sort of lost > its engine and wasn't performing." > > CBS' only new show that is heavily serialized, "Swingtown," will start > in midseason and run uninterrupted until the end of the season. The > series is set in the shag-carpeted 1970s, with Chicago-area couples > navigating the sexual freedom of the era. > > To counter its stodgy image, CBS has scheduled a handful of edgy new > shows for the fall: a musical, a drama about a vampire and a drama about > a Cuban-American family running a sugar business in Florida. > > "For those of you who accuse CBS of being too conservative, you will > feel differently when you see the shows we have lined up," said Leslie > Moonves, chairman of CBS Corp. > > A new reality show, "Kid Nation," will take 40 children and set them up > in an abandoned New Mexico town. Cameras will follow them as they try to > set up their own society without adult supervision. > > Veteran actor Jimmy Smits is the patriarch in "Cane," about the family > sugar business. "Moonlight," about a vampire in modern society, is > another one of a handful of high-concept ideas networks are trying out > next year. > > Hugh Jackman produces "Viva Laughlin," an adaptation of the BBC show > "Viva Blackpool," about a shady businessman. Music plays a central part > in driving the series along. > > The Monday comedy "The Big Bang Theory" seems like a sitcom version of > "Beauty and the Geek," with two brainy guys flustered by a sexy new > neighbor. > > CBS canceled the comedy "The Class" and drama "Close to Home." The > comedy "The New Adventures of Old Christine" was left off the fall > schedule but will be used at midseason. > > (This version CORRECTS that Hugh Jackman produces, not stars, in `Viva > Laughlin,' and that `Close to Home' is a drama, not a comedy.) ) > http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/16/AR2007051600598_ > > pf.html > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
