Tuned In: 'Jericho' shows improvement, but it still feels contrived
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PASADENA, Calif. -- When CBS's "Jericho" (8 p.m. tomorrow, KDKA) premiered in the fall, there was something about it that simply rang false. Much as I was intrigued by the premise -- mushroom clouds rise over major American cities; the small town of Jericho, Kan., must learn to survive being cut off from the rest of the world -- the stock characters and situations felt like they were straight out of a cheesy TV show.
Cliff Lipson, CBS"Jericho," with Lennie James, left, and Skeet Ulrich, returns with new episodes tomorrow night.
Click photo for larger image.
There's the prodigal son, Jake Green (Skeet Ulrich), who returns home full of secrets as to where he's been for five years. His father, the town mayor (Gerald McRaney), was running for re-election in a tight race. Jake's one-time sweetheart, Emily (Ashley Scott), was involved with another man, but Jake's return gave her second thoughts, especially after the bombs dropped and her fiance did not return.
"Jericho" was a little too pedestrian and CBS-staid. It wasn't fantastical and different enough (like NBC's "Heroes") to make a more positive impression. The characters and their relationships were overly simplistic and familiar.
After a disastrous second episode that contained a hostage rescue plot not-so-fresh out of "The A-Team," the "Jericho" writers started to get their act together and dole out some worthwhile twists. Admittedly, I didn't watch every episode, so my estimation of the show may be raised by infrequent viewings, but from what I have seen, "Jericho" is improving.
Certainly the twists in the fall finale -- some were predictable, others were not -- held promise, and tomorrow night's return continues that positive trend.
Flashing back to before the bombing, tomorrow night's episode fills in some substantial details regarding the characters and their relationships. Viewers learn some of the secrets held by black sheep son Jake and the mystery of Robert Hawkins (Lennie James) -- is he friend or foe? -- begins to resolve, although I suspect there will be several more switchbacks before we get to the final truth of where that character's sympathies lie.
When the show deals in these macho mysteries, it intrigues; the women's stories are far more pedestrian. Tomorrow night, viewers see where the relationship between Emily and her fiance was going before he disappeared after the bombing and how his reappearance may throw a roadblock in her relationship with Jake.
Even as "Jericho" shows signs of improvement, it still, too often, feels like a dopey TV show. I'm not convinced the producers truly believe the story or are invested in it in the way some show runners are (e.g. Tim Kring on "Heroes"). At a January press conference here, executive producer Jon Turteltaub even copped to some criticism of the show.
"Not to give the cynical answer, but one answer is there isn't a part of this show you can ask about that someone doesn't have criticism of," he said, before quoting some of those concerns. "'Oh, the show is so dark. Where's the hope?' 'I live in a small town. People would band together.' 'Why do you have to show all this pain and misery?' Valid."
The best show runners have thought about their series so completely that they'd have responses to those concerns because they would have addressed them in their own minds. I sometimes feel as if the "Jericho" story is more contrived into being than it is created.
But producers do have a plan (which is different from a cohesive vision for the series). Executive producer Carol Barbee said certain mysteries will resolve and new mysteries will arise as is the typical format in this type of serialized drama that poses Big Questions (Who dropped the bombs? Why?).
"By the end of the season, you will know where Jake's been for the past five years," she said. "You will know what Hawkins' involvement is with the bombings, and you will also know who was behind the bombings."
But the "Why?" may not be answered quite so soon.
"That is a different reason, and [which] of our people are still involved and what the second wave of attacks is going to be -- all of that stuff is sort of the next level," Barbee said.
Hawkins and Jake, the show's two most enigmatic and therefore more compelling characters, will finally meet, and a neighboring town may become an enemy of Jericho.
"We set up a trade system with them for goods and resources," Barbee said. "We think they are our friends, and then we start to realize that they have darker intentions towards us."
While the "Jericho" producers, no doubt, intend to tell a ripping good yarn, the show has yet to rise to the level of "Heroes" or "Lost." Perhaps, given time, it will make additional strides in that direction.
Correction/Clarification: (Published Feb. 21, 2007) The television show "Jericho" will air Feb. 21, 2007 at 8 p.m. on KDKA. Some references in this Tuned In column incorrectly said it was on Feb. 20, 2007.
First Published February 20, 2007 12:00 am
