Jericho is saved, help keep it alive

  One of my favorite new shows last year was 'Jericho' on CBS. It's about a  fictional Kansas town in a post-nuclear attack America. The cast was excellent, led by Gerald McRaney, Skeet Ulrich, and Pamela Reed. It had complex characters and intricate plot lines, leading up to an explosive cliffhanger ending of the season. Despite competing against 'American Idol', it seemed to have built a good following. Given the cliff hanger ending, and an enthusiastic fan base, we were certain it would be renewed for a second season. We were wrong.

    When CBS' fall schedule came out, 'Jericho' was not on it. Some of us thought it would start late, and run in succession like '24' (and now 'Lost' finally). No such luck. 'Jericho' had been canceled.
    All was not lost, however. The internet was buzzing with disappointed fans plotting strategies. A couple of creative fans found a Kansas nut shop on the internet, and sent a few pounds to CBS headquarters. "Nuts" was the battle cry, (think Battle of the Bulge), in the final episode, to give you a little background about the significance of sending nuts. Soon more fans began to send nuts. Pretty soon the owners of the site began to wonder why all these people were sending nuts from their site to CBS. They not only found out, they joined in, and started an off-shoot site 'Nuts for Jericho'.
   It gets better from here. They tied in sales of nuts, to raising money for Greensburg, Kansas. That was the city that was destroyed by the EF5 tornado last year. They raised over $20,000 from 'Jericho' fans. That's the good part. Here's the fun part. 'Jericho' fans sent over 40,000 pounds of nuts to CBS headquarters in New York and LA. Here is CBS' response:

To the Fans of Jericho:

Wow!

Over the past few weeks you have put forth an impressive and probably unprecedented display of passion in support of a prime time television series. You got our attention; your emails and collective voice have been heard.

As a result, CBS has ordered seven episodes of "Jericho" for mid-season next year. In success, there is the potential for more. But, for there to be more "Jericho," we will need more viewers.

A loyal and passionate community has clearly formed around the show. But that community needs to grow. It needs to grow on the CBS Television Network, as well as on the many digital platforms where we make the show available.

We will count on you to rally around the show, to recruit new viewers with the same grass-roots energy, intensity and volume you have displayed in recent weeks.

At this time, I cannot tell you the specific date or time period that "Jericho" will return to our schedule. However, in the interim, we are working on several initiatives to help introduce the show to new audiences. This includes re-broadcasting "Jericho" on CBS this summer, streaming episodes and clips from these episodes across the CBS Audience Network (online), releasing the first season DVD on September 25 and continuing the story of Jericho in the digital world until the new episodes return. We will let you know specifics when we have them so you can pass them on.

On behalf of everyone at CBS, thank you for expressing your support of "Jericho" in such an extraordinary manner. Your protest was creative, sustained and very thoughtful and respectful in tone. You made a difference.

Sincerely,

Nina Tassler
President, CBS Entertainment

P.S.    Please stop sending us nuts :-)

     We've won a reprieve, for now. It's going to take more fan support to keep the show alive. I know Kossacks love to see a people powered movement succeed. The DVD of the first season comes out October 2. Buy it or rent it. You'll be hooked. Quality shows like 'Jericho' are rare. We've been given a second chance. Let's not blow it.

P.S. They are still taking donations at the 'Nuts for Jericho' site, as well as selling some cool t-shirts (proceeds of which go to help rebuild Greensburg).

•  Nuts

  by jhecht on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 05:31:56 PM PDT

  •  wow....

    ...that was indeed a pleasant surprise!

    i saw 'jhecht' and the word 'jericho' and it has nothing to do with i/p...

    :)

    by james risser on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 05:58:36 PM PDT

    •  Haven't seen many of those lately

      Can't say I miss them.

      by jhecht on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 06:13:17 PM PDT

•  When does it start again?

  eom

  by Chango on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 05:37:07 PM PDT

  •  They're not sure

    It depends how quickly some of their new shows flame out.

    by jhecht on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 05:38:54 PM PDT

    •  please keep us posted on when the new shows will

      air. I watched the whole first season on line and got hooked

      by Tanya on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 05:49:26 PM PDT

      •  So did I

        can't believe I never heard anything about this show before I saw it online. Totally hooked and what an awesome show. Will do my part spreading the word. Had no idea it wasn't returning.

        Thanks for the update and please keep us informed.

        And thanks for such an ingenious protest.

        by snoopydawg on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 08:08:41 PM PDT

•  Yep

  The cast was pure class as well, personally going online to thank their fan base.

  by ElitistJohn on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 05:41:20 PM PDT

  •  It's a great story

    It deserves more exposure.

    by jhecht on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 05:46:54 PM PDT

•  I enjoyed Jericho

  and am happy it will be returning.  (Mostly I really, really hate it when I invest my time in something only to have it end without wrapping up.)

  Great effort!!

  Now, maybe we should find a symbolic item to send to congress in mass quantity, a dealer (in the New Orleans area with profits going to rebuilding efforts?) to join in, and start a "***** for Impeachment" campaign.

  Suggestions?

  by MsWings on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 05:43:36 PM PDT

  •  i thought we should send chicken stuff to reid

    and pelosi check out the masks and baseball caps they're hystercal.but i don't know where the dealer is.

    by Tanya on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 05:47:29 PM PDT

    •  Combine your idea with MsWings alias

      Send them chicken wings. There has to be a chicken wing place in NOLA.

      by jhecht on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 05:56:27 PM PDT

      •  Perfect. Then again

        the idea of chicken "stuff" has a certain appeal, too, such as

        (source)
        or  
        (source)

        by MsWings on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 06:52:36 PM PDT

•  I have to admit...

  I enjoyed the show too! When it was first promoted and aired I had anticipated that it would be a rally around the flag and a promotion for why we needed to continue killing brown people.

  What I found instead, was a show that gave a glimmer of what life might be like after a devastating attack on America that destroyed our central government. I found the plot lines very reasonable and at the same time quite frightening.

  The show where air drops were being made of Chinese products being dropped with Russian parachutes with concealed American RF chips left everyone wondering, who dunit? Americans should watch this show! It might give them some good ideas on how to survive if we continue our doctrine of pre-emptive war on other countries in the world. One day, the world might just get sick of it and strike back. Can't say I would blame them!

  by reflectionsv37 on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 05:46:45 PM PDT

•  I sent nuts to CBS to save Jericho...

  and I can't believe it actually worked! I am definitely going to buy the dvd.

  by teddymac on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 05:51:36 PM PDT

  •  Wish I could give you more than one rec

    Way to go.

    by jhecht on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 05:54:46 PM PDT

•  A sure sign that the Repubs have lost power?

  by PatsBard on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 05:53:43 PM PDT

•  I love Jericho!

  I bought nuts, wrote letters, sent e mails, and made my friends do the same. They rebroadcast the last episode Saturday, and it reminded me of why I spent so much time for three weeks in May basically harassing Nina Tassler along with the rest of the Jericho rangers.

  by nascardem on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 06:31:44 PM PDT

•  Never saw it

  but you have my attention.

  As I read this, I wondered if/how we might use something similar with our congressfolk.  Mind you, I wouldn't spend the $$ on real nuts.  They'd just put 'em in a bowl and serve them to lobbyists.  I wonder what they'd think if they started getting nuts, as in the hardware kind, by the bucket load?  Hardware nuts are cheap and wouldn't be too expensive to mail. The best part might be that they would be totally friggin' useless to the recipients (and useless just like the recipients)!  Can you see hundreds if Jiffy bags arriving at the sorting house, setting off the detectors?  I'm liking it, but I am truly warped.....

  by luckylizard on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 07:03:02 PM PDT

  •  Similar (warped?) thread above.

    I'm tempted to say "great minds think alike" but suspect "warped" is more accurate.

    P.S.  Do check out Jericho; it's really good.

    by MsWings on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 07:09:27 PM PDT

    •  I have it

      Send them pigs ears. It's symbolic of so many things.

      by jhecht on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 07:15:50 PM PDT

      •  Are there enough

        ears available?  D'oh!  I'm an Iowan and I'm asking where to get pig's ears!  

        by luckylizard on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 07:22:46 PM PDT

        •  I'd imagine so.

          Here and here and here, but they're not cheap.

          This should probably be taken to another diary (I hate to hijack a good diary) but I think we might be on to something. I'd like to come up with something that could be useful (like food for the hungry of DC or something) as well as symbolic and meaningful.

          by MsWings on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 09:00:25 PM PDT

•  Jericho was a compelling idea...

  I think the problem was that it was too slow. I started watching it at the beginning of the last season and then gave up. Earlier this summer I found it online somewhere and finished the season. At one point I think they retooled, because the pace of the show seemed to pick up about half way or 2/3 through the season.

  I'll be watching for it to come back on, but I hope they've found their groove or it won't last long.

  by Potus2020 on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 07:28:28 PM PDT

•  I think Skeetch Ulrich is cursed maybe?

  So Jericho is the second quality show in a row that Skeetch Ulrich (one of the lead characters on the show) has been in that had died due to stupid network programmers.  Luckily Jericho got a second life.  His previous series was the very short-lived "Miracles".  My wife and I loved this show.  It lasted something like 6 episodes before ABC pulled the plug on it.  Believe it or not, I blame Goerge Bush for it's cancellation.  Why?  Because it started as a mid-season replacement RIGHT before we invaded Iraq in '03.  Because of the wall to wall network war orgy at that time, the show kept getting preempted and it never could build any steam in terms of viewers.  Similarly to Jericho, the fans who DID watch it were fanatical about it and although they were unsuccessful in getting another network to pick it up (it would have been PERFECT for The Scifi Channel), the entire one and only season was eventually released on DVD.  If you ever stumple across it, I highly recommend it if you are into paranormally, X-files type TV shows.  It was not just a retread of X-files though because it really stuck more to the religious/mystical paranormal type stuff rather than aliens and monsters.

  http://miracleshq.com/

  by madmsf on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 08:00:27 PM PDT

•  of two minds

  Lots of little things, basic assumptions that skritched us, well, my husband.

  Like -- Seattle being nuked takes out the NW power grid??  Huh?  There's no power generation anywhere near Seattle.  And as far as we know, there's no distribution through Seattle, just feeding into the metro.

  Like -- How would taking out a selection of large cities cripple everything else?  The railroads would find ways around.  There's lots of life outside the cities.  Things might slow down, but grind to a complete halt?

  Writers seem to be making a lot of assumptions based on east coast conditions (power distribution vulnerability, for example)

  Lots of things that didn't make sense.  Overestimating EMP damage.  Does all food distribution really go through the big cities?  

  My son and I watched and enjoyed it, but my husband goes crazy.  He studied nuclear survival a long time ago, saw Russian targeting maps, so I tend to accept that he has more info than I do.

  by chimene on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 11:35:37 PM PDT