fans save ‘Jericho’ from cancellation apocalypse
It’s gonna go down in history as one of the great fan movements in pop culture history, I suspect: Jericho fans were so passionate in their outrage over CBS’s cancellation of the series that, rather unbelievably, CBS renewed the show for another seven episodes, to air no one knows quite when yet, except that it will be midseason.
(I wrote about Jericho’s cancellation earlier here and here.)
Nina Tassler, president of CBS Entertainment, wrote a letter to fans last week, which was posted on the boards at the show’s official site. It sounds like good news, until this:
[F]or there to be more “Jericho,” [beyond the additional seven episodes] 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.
Notice that there is no promise from Tassler that these seven episodes won’t air opposite the most popular show on TV, which is what happened this winter, when Jericho disappeared from the tube for three months and then came back up against American Idol. Jericho’s ratings were quite good in the fall, but that ridiculous hiatus and the impossible timeslot it landed in come February were brutal. No amount of fan passion could possibly overcome that, and of course where on the weekly schedule Jericho ends up next season is completely out of the control of fans. (Other stuff is out of fannish control, too, like the fact that Jericho showrunner Carol Barbee has moved on and won’t be contributing to the revived series in the same way she had been.)
I want to be hopeful for the new Jericho, but I’m not gonna hold my breath. But I do take some heart from CBS’s reversal -- the network is recognizing that in this new era of TV ratings so low “you'd have to go back to the days of black-and-white sets to find a smaller number,” a small but passionate viewership may well be as important, if not more important, than a large but halfhearted one.
(Technorati tags: Jericho, CBS)
comments
posted by Clayj (Sun Jun 10 07, 1:29AM)
It's good that CBS listened to the fans and is bringing Jericho back.
But I can't help but have the feeling that the 7 episodes will be used to wrap up the entire story... we'll get to see how the battle between Jericho and New Bern wraps up (and whether or not the Army soldiers dispatched to Jericho will make a difference), of course.
After that, then what? We still have Valenti (Daniel Benzali) out there plotting schemes, with only Hawkins' bomb as real evidence that the attack on the US came from within. So at some point there has to be a reckoning... maybe Hawkins will be able to persuade someone with real power (a President, perhaps?) that Valenti was behind it all and that he needs to be taken out. Jake, naturally, will be called upon to lead Jericho now that Johnston is dead.
It's too bad this show is only going to last one and a third seasons... it had (has) a real potential to show how a nuclear-attacked US would rebuild, both economically and politically, a la Whitley Strieber's and James Kunetka's Warday. (We've seen Chinese relief supplies; but what about Israeli army commandos, or French soldiers?)
posted by Ryan (Sun Jun 10 07, 10:22PM)
This show got decent about midway through, but I can't believe the storm it created when it was canceled. I wish the same had happened for Farscape. Then I wouldn't have to be watching the insufferably dull Stargate Atlantis.
posted by Grace (Thu Jul 05 07, 4:49PM)
No one has said that JERICHO is only going to last up to the 7 new episodes. Clearly if the ratings are good, CBS will continue with the show knowing what a strong fanbase it has.
Anyway, I'll be there on Fri. July 6th and any other time CBS airs JERICHO.
Hope you will too because it is a really good show. I promise!
And if you know any Nielsen families, PLEASE ask them to watch.
JERICHO ROCKS!!! LONG LIVE JERICHO!!!