Jericho (2006 TV series)
| Jericho | |
|---|---|
 Jericho television series | |
| Starring | Skeet Ulrich Ashley Scott Sprague Grayden Kenneth Mitchell Lennie James Michael Gaston Erik Knudsen Gerald McRaney Pamela Reed |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 13 (to date) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | September 20, 2006 – in production |
Jericho is a CBS drama produced by CBS Paramount Network Television, with executive producers Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure), Stephen Chbosky and Carol Barbee. The show premiered on Wednesday, September 20, 2006 on CBS. The pilot was rebroadcast on the following Saturday.
In the United States, the show is scheduled on Wednesday nights at 8 PM (ET/PT), airing before the CBS dramas Criminal Minds (at 9 PM ET/PT) and CSI: NY (at 10 PM ET/PT). It competes with two NBC sitcoms (Twenty Good Years and 30 Rock), ABC's Dancing with the Stars results show, Fox's drama Bones, and CW's competitive reality series America's Next Top Model.
In Canada, the series airs on CHUM Limited's OTA (over the air) Citytv and A-Channel stations, along with co-owned cable outlet Space: The Imagination Station. In Australia, the series airs on Network Ten and the premiere coincided with its U.S. debut, a first for an Australian network (it premiered September 21 at 8:30PM). In the UK the show will air on the UK Hallmark Channel.
Synopsis
Template:Spoiler The storyline revolves around the small, rural town of Jericho, Kansas, and what happens to its residents in the aftermath of a nuclear explosion in nearby Denver, Colorado which causes a loss of power and communications that leaves Jericho isolated. The reasons for the nuclear detonation are not immediately known. Cut off from the outside world after learning of a second explosion at Atlanta, Georgia, facing rumors and fears of further attacks against other U.S. cities, and a breakdown of public order and the chain of command, the community must find some way to survive in the midst of panic and chaos.
The pivotal character is Jake Green, a 32-year-old prodigal son, who returns home to Jericho for what he believes will be a brief visit only to become stranded when the nuclear strike hits. After a testy reunion with his father, the mayor of Jericho, Jake turns into an unlikely hero, helping to rescue others and protecting the town from dangers both inside and outside its borders.
Cities believed to have been attacked
These cities were marked on a map with a red pushpin by Robert Hawkins at the end of the second episode after hearing a Morse code message on a Yaesu FT-101F Amateur Radio transceiver.
The cities listed are presumed to have been either destroyed or severely damaged by nuclear explosions.
There are at least three other unspecified cities for which Hawkins also inserted a pin.
It should also be noted, although the scenes where the cities were tacked contained no dialogue, the positioning and movement of the camera across the map suggest that neither Los Angeles or Washington DC were attacked.
Episodes
Clips from the pilot episode became free to watch on Yahoo! TV several weeks before the episode actually aired on television.[1]
CBS is also showing the episodes on their Innertube site [2] after they air; episodes currently available are the pilot episode and "Fallout." This is expected to continue throughout the season. CBS has also repeated the first two episodes on the Saturday nights following their original airings, as has Australia's Network Ten.
Characters
- Skeet Ulrich as Jake Green
- Ashley Scott as Emily Sullivan
- Sprague Grayden as Heather Lisinski
- Kenneth Mitchell as Eric Green
- Lennie James as Robert Hawkins
- Michael Gaston as Gray Anderson
- Erik Knudsen as Dale Turner
- Gerald McRaney as Mayor Johnston Green
- Pamela Reed as Gail Green
- Kyle Brett as Michael Green
Online companion
Carol Barbee, in an online interview, announced that there will 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 will have small features on the "other survivors" of the nuclear attacks. According to Barbee, the story will be unique to the site, but as the season of Jericho continues, it will dovetail into the episodes themselves.
Trivia
- At the beginning of the show, when the logo for the series is shown, the letters J E R I C H O can be heard in Morse code.
- The pilot episode was filmed on location in Fillmore, California, while the standing sets for the town of Jericho were built at Calvert Studios in Van Nuys, California.
- During the pilot episode, as Jake Green is driving to Jericho on a two-lane highway, a road sign reads "Jericho 47, Wichita 196, Kansas City 362." Although the precise location of Jericho is not specified except for being in Kansas, the people of the town witness a nuclear explosion "from the west" which is believed to have occurred at Denver, Colorado and is clearly visible over a nearby mountain range.
- According to an "official" map of Jericho shown on the CBS website, 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 border with Colorado. The location of Oakley closely conforms to the distance from Kansas City seen on the road sign in the pilot episode, but the comparison is inaccurate when made with Wichita. Despite the similarities in numbered routes, however, the map shown by CBS does not precisely conform to any actual known road configuration. Google Map, Jericho Map
- The inscription above City Hall reads MCMXXII, suggesting that the town of Jericho (or at least City Hall) was founded in 1922. It is mentioned in the second episode that as of 1957, Jericho's population was 1,000, while dialogue in the same episode places the current population at around 5,000.
- There is presently no town named Jericho in Kansas, but a real Jericho once existed in Gove County, Kansas at the turn of the 20th century. Its post office closed in 1923.
- The notable apocalyptic TV movie "The Day After" dealt with the effects of a nuclear war in relation to the city of Lawrence, Kansas. Some of the exterior shots for Jericho were filmed in Lawrence, and the mayor issued a declaration renaming Lawrence "Jericho" for the day. [3]
- Noticable similarities exist between the show plot and the book "Alas, Babylon" by Pat Frank. This book was set in a small town north-central Florida after a major nuclear exchange by the US and Soviets in the 1950s. The town views mushroom clouds from surrounding areas in Jacksonville, Orlando, and Tampa. The isolated pocket of survivors are forced to struggle on and improvise supplies and medical needs.
- The handheld radios are of the following models:
- Uniden Pro-70 Radio Scanners - Receive Only
- Motorola PR 400 Business Band Radio (UHF 400) - Used by Jake at the mine
- Motorola SABER Series Public Safety Radios (UHF 800) - Used by Fire Department and Mayor
- The mobile radio (car radio) in the Sheriff cruiser is a CB radio of unknown brand.
- The radio fixed by Robert Hawkens is a Yaesu FT-101F 160-10 meter amateur radio transceiver.