Is Jericho necessary? This question may be trite (Is any show truly necessary? I mean, besides "Flavor of Love"), but Jericho really does seem needless. The pilot was good, so I'm not saying I didn't like it. It's just that I wonder if viewers want something this depressing. Jericho is an end-of-the-world scenario type of show, taking place in a small Kansas town during a wide range nuclear attack on America. By the end of the pilot, we know that Denver and Atlanta have been hit, but it's safe to assume a number of other big cities have been also. A point in Jericho's favor is that it skirts any political issues; we have no idea who attacked and there is no uber-patriotic rah-rah America stuff. Jericho could have easily gone down that path (and maybe it eventually will).
Skeet Ulrich stars as Jake, who reappears the day of the attacks. He's the son of the current mayor of Jericho and has been missing for five years. Ulrich does an admirable job playing the strong, silent, haunted past character of Jake. Ashley Scott plays what I presume to be his old flame, and she does a very good job of being attractive. The rest of the cast is full of recognizable faces, whose names aren't of the household variety. Pilots are supposed to set a tone for the show. Jericho didn't do this. It's not their fault; they needed to set up the premise. I have no idea, however, where Jericho's story is going. There are so many different ways it could all play out. Will the attacking party hit the ground and attack the survivors? Will the townspeople begin revolting? Are some Lost-esque Sci-Fi story arcs on their way? The dialogue isn't great, especially the mediocre emotional speech from the mayor near the end of the episode (Where's Bill Pullman when you need him?). I don't blame the writers though, there was a lot of exposition to insert into 42 minutes. Also, it should be noted that Jericho's final scene is one of the more bizarre endings to a pilot I've ever seen (it involves driving over dead crows). I think I'm going to give Jericho a couple more episodes to see where it's going, but I'm not entirely optimistic about where it's headed. And, frankly, death and destruction on that level is not really something I need to think about. Two and a Half Stars. -Oscar Dahl