Jericho Signs Off…Again

Jericho was one of the lucky shows to get a second wind due to the support of fans. But it looks like that wasn’t enough to make it last past this season. Last night CBS aired the final episode of the post-apocalyptic drama.

What I really enjoyed about Jericho was its ability to reinvent itself a few times during its short run. The show started with an almost Lost-like feel. A mushroom cloud goes up and all communications with the outside world ends. Thus begins the mystery of what happened to the country.

Unlike Lost, Jericho didn’t over spin the mystery plot. The writers provided some answers fairly quickly and let us move on to a new story about a small town trying to survive in a shattered country. The show dealt with issues like lawlessness, taking in outsiders, slavery, bartering with other towns, and eventually defending themselves in a war against the neighboring town that previously was known just as the “town with the nearest”.

And this season we got a whole new story line — a show dealing with fascism and a crooked government taking over the remnants of the United States.

Jericho also made some strong political statements. The fictitious private military organization, Ravenwood, that tormented the town was obviously based on the very real and scary Blackwater. And I’m certain that anyone watching the show drew a lot of parallels between the fictitious J & R and the again very real and scary Haliburton and Haliburton subsidiary KBR.

Adding to the political content, this season saw the new government laying false blame on foreign countries for an attack on the U.S., eliminating civil liberties in the name of national security, and sending in private military forces to do the work too corrupt for soldiers who serve their country.

Naomi Wolf recently published The End of America, a book outlining the key elements of fascism (a military that does not answer to the people, an invisible enemy, etc.). I can only assume that Naomi Wolf is a huge Jericho fan.

With all the underlining political themes, the show still managed to be very enjoyable. I especially liked the story line of Dale Turner, the shop boy who slowly turns into the main businessman of the town.

Like many others, I’m sad to see the show end. I would love to see CBS bring us at least one final 2 hour conclusion to the show. Or maybe it could somehow find life on another network.