looking at what I wrote i don't see one thing in my review that deems this a
"guy's show". The "family dynamic" deals with--families. Husbands and wives,
daughters and daughters-in-low, brothers and sisters. Women are very central
to this show. I'm not getting where you draw that conclusion. If you mean
because I talk about the conspiracy of the nuclear attacks, well, there are
women central to that plot as well. and i know lots of and lots of women who'd
find that theme interesting. And i really don't understand the survivalist
thing either: this is more than just a bunch of nuts out in the woods running
around, this is about the survival of real cities. As i stated, this is about
how *any* of us would react if--some might say when--this happened to us.
somehow you seem to have gleaned from all i wrote only that it's some
high-action paramilitary survivalist series that appeals to guys. If I conveyed
that impression from my words, then mea culpa. It's way more than that. It's ce
rtainly not a "big mess". And like I said, maybe the superficial description of
the plots seems obvious and cliched, but as I said, how it's put together is
anything but. You just may not like it, but i think that's personal
preference. It is definitely way more than a dumb guy's show focused on nothing
but survivalists and fighting.
-------------- Original message --------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
In a message dated 2/24/2008 1:19:11 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
I need to find my early reviews of Jericho. But quickly:
My first impression was negative, saying it seemed cliched, that i was sick
of the Middle America angle--salt-of-the-Earth farmers facing Armaggeddon, etc.
Thought all the domestic family stuff would get boring. But after three or
four more shows in, i was intrigued, then, hooked. It's hard to explain unless
you watch it for a while. simply put, the characters aren't cliched, but seem
real. There's the son of the mayor who's having an affair with the local bar
owner, and leaves his wife. Hell of a timing, that, which causes major
resentment. There's Skeet's prodigal son returning, at odds with his dad, but
brought
together by the crisis. not an original storyline, i'll grant, but the writing,
the characters, and the realism of it work. Nothing's easier and harder to do
than the multi-cast disaster show, replete with little battles, family
squabbles, etc. When done wrong, it's indeed cliched and not satisfying
("Independence Day" for example). But when done right, it actually does e
ngage you. You realize that even though the End of the World is nigh, that's
when acting like real people--actually paying attention to all those little
details of life, family and love--that will help you pull through. Gerald
McRainey's character gave a speech once when the townspeople, full of fear and
acting selfish, wanted to abandon the rescue of a bus of people down the road.
After chastising them for letting the crisis erode their humanity, he says
"People--don't you break my heart again". Sounds corny as hell, but put
yourself in a
situation like that and ask yourself, who do yo ukknow who'd risk his or her
life for you? What friends would protect you, what friends would stab you in
the back (perhaps literally) to save themsevles. How long could we remain
civilized?
The family dynamics are good, but if that were all, i wouldn't have gotten
hooked. Running parallel with that is the background story: who the hell bombed
this country, and what is to come? what's the outside world doing? At one
point, people thought China or Russia had bombed the US. They feared Chinese
troops taking over Kansas, Russians controlling Washingtons. Or, perhaps
Islamist
terrorists staging a jihad. Enter Virgil Hawkins, a mysterious Brother who
knows ay too much about nuclear warfare for a "cop from St. Louis". Quickly,
despite their suspicions, the townspeople come to depend on Hawkins, who's not
just
knowledgeable, but tough, good in a fight, and a good leader. Hawkins pulls
us into this deep conspiracy of what happened, of all the evil forces swirling
around not just this little podunk town, but the entire US. So now, in
addition to the family dramas, we have the Big Conspiracy angle, which is good.
And Hawkins too has a life, as his family is in town with him,
and we see this man who may hold the key to everything trying to win back his
ex-wife, and regain the trust of his kids. Again, in the context in which
it's down, it's compelling. And how cool, how refreshing to see a Black man
giving so much screentime, and made such a smart, capable, necessary character.
If all that weren't enough, back to the "how long can we remain civilized?"
thing. There's the criminal--the fahter of one of the Jericho women--who's been
a thief and smuggler and God knows what else for years, who organizes a basic
paramilitary gang of crooks, carving out his own niche in the new world.
there's the gangs of people who roam through at times, some good, some with
evil
intent. When do you welcome stragglers, when do you prepare for a fight? And
then there's the town of New Bern, run by a sheriff who decides that it's kill
or be killed, who pretty quickly institutes a police state in his town (opposed
to McRainey's continual appeal for cooperation among his people).And quickly,
New Bern becomes an outright threat, bent on the conquest of Jericho, which
makes for some exciting shows.
The best series don't always grab you from the first show. Some like "Lost"
get you from the first scene, others like "Babylon 5" take time. You have to
slowly take in what they're building, step back and let lots of different
aspects of the show play out and form a large, complicated picture. Often the
reward
is better for that. "Jericho" is a show that juggles many themes, many
plotlines, many characters, but which gets it right and makes for an
entertaining,
engrossing story. You won't get that unless you give it time. Just go in and
out with an ep here or there, and you will indeed come away saying "what's the
big deal?"
So it is a guys tv show that is a big mess that could not find an audience
except for survivalists.
They way you describe it made it so themed. I know that you like dit but it
just did not seem right for network tv.
**************Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL Living.
(http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-duffy/
2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598)
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
