Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Part-Lost, part-The Day After, television's first Code Orange serial drama very effectively taps into palpable post-9/11 dread. The residents of Jericho are literally in the dark when they are cut off from civilization in the wake of a nuclear blast. Has the United States been attacked? How many cities were destroyed? Was it terrorists, or something way more sinister? It is up to Johnston Green (an Emmy-worthy Gerald McRaney), the town's mayor (and series bedrock), to calm the community, keep its citizens from turning on each other, and protect them from predatory outsiders. Johnston's son, Jake (Skeet Ulrich), a "screw-up," returns home just prior to the blast following a mysterious five-year absence. Jake is at odds with his estranged father, who is running for reelection, and his brother, Eric (Kenneth Mitchell), his deputy. Nor is he welcomed back by his former girlfriend, Emily (Ashley Scott), now engaged to a man who is missing following the blast. With the fate of America in the balance, one would think that "small town problems" wouldn't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy new world, but it is Jericho's human dramas that resonate most deeply.
Part-Lost, part-The Day After, television's first Code Orange serial drama very effectively taps into palpable post-9/11 dread. The residents of Jericho are literally in the dark when they are cut off from civilization in the wake of a nuclear blast. Has the United States been attacked? How many cities were destroyed? Was it terrorists, or something way more sinister? It is up to Johnston Green (an Emmy-worthy Gerald McRaney), the town's mayor (and series bedrock), to calm the community, keep its citizens from turning on each other, and protect them from predatory outsiders. Johnston's son, Jake (Skeet Ulrich), a "screw-up," returns home just prior to the blast following a mysterious five-year absence. Jake is at odds with his estranged father, who is running for reelection, and his brother, Eric (Kenneth Mitchell), his deputy. Nor is he welcomed back by his former girlfriend, Emily (Ashley Scott), now engaged to a man who is missing following the blast. With the fate of America in the balance, one would think that "small town problems" wouldn't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy new world, but it is Jericho's human dramas that resonate most deeply.
On the most cherished TV shows, characters come to feel like family.
Jericho's characters come to feel like neighbors. Dale (Erik
Knudson), the orphaned teenage outcast, forms an unexpected friendship
with the town's spoiled mean girl, Skylar (Candace Bailey). Robert
Hawkins (Lennie James), just arrived in town, introduces himself as a
former cop from St. Louis, but his secret basement command center
suggests otherwise. Gray Anderson (Michael Gaston), a mayoral candidate,
politicizes the disaster to undermine Johnston. Stanley (Brad Beyer), a
farmer, falls in love with his condescending IRS auditor from
Washington, D.C. (Alicia Coppola). And Eric plans to leave his wife,
Alice (Darby Stanchfield) for bartender Mary (Clare Carey). But at the
heart of Jericho's first season is Jake's hard-earned redemption
in his family's (and Emily's) eyes (suddenly, he's a regular MacGyver,
able to perform a tracheotomy with a juice box straw!). Star Trek
has its Trekkies/-ers and Laurel and Hardy its fraternal organization,
the Sons of the Desert. Jericho has its "Nuts," who, in
heroic It Takes a Village spirit, mounted a monumental campaign
to rescue the series after it had been cancelled. Fans posted a barrage
of videos on You Tube and deluged the studio with peanuts (the
significance is explained in the season finale). "What is it about this
town that has you so addicted to it?" someone asks Emily at one point.
Just watch a couple of episodes, and you'll also be hooked. This
First Season set should rally Jericho's army and inspire new
recruits. --Donald Liebenson
Product Description
JERICHO is a drama about what happens when a nuclear mushroom cloud
suddenly appears on the horizon, plunging the residents of a small,
peaceful Kansas town into chaos, leaving them completely isolated and
wondering if they're the only Americans left alive. But in this time of
crisis, as sensible people become paranoid, personal agendas take over
and well-kept secrets threaten to be revealed, some people will find an
inner strength they never knew they had and the most unlikely heroes
will emerge.
Season 1: 2006–2007
| # | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate | Morse Code[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Pilot" | Jon Turteltaub | Stephen Chbosky | September 20, 2006 | JERICHO PILOT |
| Jake Green returns to his hometown of Jericho, Kansas after a five year absence, telling his family and friends different stories on where he had been. Jake leaves town after a disagreement with his father, but as he is driving, there is a nuclear explosion in nearby Denver. In the aftermath, Jake finds a group of young children on a field trip and saves their bus driver, who had been injured during a crash. A prison bus also crashes, and the convicts escape and kill the sheriff of Jericho. The town's citizens become even more worried when they learn of a second nuclear explosion. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Fallout" | Jon Turteltaub | Stephen Chbosky | September 27, 2006 | JERICHO FALLOUT |
| Radioactive fallout threatens Jericho when a storm from the Denver-area approaches; Jake and his brother Eric attempt to shelter citizens in basements, public fallout shelters, and the local salt mine. Emily Sullivan accidentally picks up two escaped prisoners; Jake kills them after they attack her. Robert Hawkins finds a ham radio broadcasting Morse code, and is disturbed by a message he receives. He takes a map of the United States and adds push pins to many major cities. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Four Horsemen" | Jon Turteltaub | Stephen Chbosky | October 4, 2006 | JERICHO THREE |
| The episode opens with a scene of Robert Hawkins in an NBC suit, moving a large metal canister and other items from a small moving truck into a storage locker, while the rest of the town remains in hiding from the rain. After the rain, those hiding in the salt mine reemerge, but one of them dies of a suspicious heart attack. Jake's friend Stanley Richmond reappears, and reports seeing a group of tanks heading towards Denver. Jake devises a plan to a group of volunteers, "Four Horsemen", to search for news, but his plan is interrupted by a faint news report of similar attacks on multiple major cities. Gray Anderson, who it is later revealed had left the heart attack victim to die, publicly challenges Mayor Green, who in return privately attacks him. The town agrees Jake's plan to search for information. Jake finds a plane that has carried out an emergency landing, and returns with its flight recorder. The town holds a cookout and the Hawkins family wishes to attend, but Robert Hawkins will not let them do so. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Walls of Jericho" | Martha Mitchell | Ellie Herman | October 11, 2006 | HE KNOWS ROB |
| As natural gas begins to run low, the remaining supply is reapportioned for the local medical center. A man dying of radiation poisoning and burns is caught as he attempts to break into the pharmacy. Jake realizes that the man, Victor Miller, had reached the town using the car of one of the "Four Horsemen". Miller tells Jake and Hawkins that he had led a group of refugees from Denver. When Jake leaves, Hawkins speaks to Miller, who tells Hawkins of an unidentified traitor in their organization before suddenly dying of a heart attack. The town searches for the refugees, and finds them dead. Hawkins sends an email to an unidentified recipient, telling them of the traitor and that the "rally point is no longer secure." | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Federal Response" | Duane Clark | Mike Ostrowski | October 18, 2006 | THERE IS A FIRE |
| As Eric and Mary Bailey discuss their extramarital affair, the electricity suddenly returns and telephones deliver a prerecorded government message. A power spike destroys many transformers, and fires start in the town library and at the trailer park. After the fire, April Green informs Eric that she no longer intends to file for divorce. Hawkins bypasses a federal internet block and accesses Jake's passport history, which shows visits to South American and Middle Eastern countries. ICBMs are seen passing overhead as the episode ends. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "9:02" | J. Miller Tobin | Nancy Won | October 25, 2006 | THE EMP HITS |
| An ICBM launched in the previous episode detonates; its electromagnetic pulse renders most electronics useless. Jericho's citizens slowly adapt to a life without electricity and outside goods. Jake's former friend, Mitchell Cafferty, steals food and horses from the town. He and other raiders take Jake hostage and it is revealed that Cafferty is the reason why Jake originally left Jericho. Cafferty is eventually captured and vows revenge on Jake. Stanley needs pesticides for his crops, and unwillingly surrenders part of his harvest to the town to receive them. Meanwhile, Robert Hawkins' daughter, Allison, discovers Robert's map, and Robert tells her that he works as a spy for the United States government. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Long Live the Mayor" | Sanford Bookstaver | Josh Schaer, Jonathan E. Steinberg | November 1, 2006 | PRAY FOR NYC |
| Gray Anderson, another of the "Four Horsemen", returns to Jericho. He is suspicious of newcomers to Jericho after what he saw on his trip and wishes to interrogate them. Meanwhile, Emily Sullivan's estranged father, Jonah Prowse, comes to bail out Mitchell Cafferty; he agrees to return the stolen supplies and to stay away from Jericho in return for Cafferty's release. However, Gray and Eric do not uphold the deal, and Jonah breaks Cafferty out. Mayor Green falls ill and though Emily gets medicine from Jonah, he needs more specialized antibiotics to survive. Jake and Eric travel to a hospital in Rogue River. Heather Lisinski kisses Jake before he leaves. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Rogue River" | Guy Bee | Matthew Federman, Stephen Scaia | November 8, 2006 | ROB NOT FBI |
| Jake and Eric travel to Rogue River to obtain medicine for their father. Upon arrival, they see that FEMA has evacuated the entire town. Dr. Kenchy Dhuwhalia tells that that a private military company called Ravenwood was tasked with transporting the patients at the hospital, but instead killed them and looted the hospital. When the mercenaries return, Jake and Eric ambush them and return to Jericho with the doctor, but accidentally leave behind Eric's identification. Gray Anderson questions Robert Hawkins, who tells him that he is an FBI Special Agent; Gray agrees to keep this information confidential. April tells her in-laws that she is pregnant, while Eric decides to leave her for Mary Bailey. | ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Crossroads" | Paul McCrane | Robert Levine | November 15, 2006 | 1ST SURPRISE |
| Goetz, a Ravenwood unit leader, arrives at Stanley's farm and steals gasoline. Gray, Jake, and Robert Hawkins create an armed checkpoint to block the bridge leading into town. The three plan to destroy the bridge to prevent Goetz from getting across the river. The Richmonds refuse to evacuate, and Eric reports this to his father, who gives orders against destroying the bridge. Jake defies his father and moves to the center of the bridge with a detonator in his hand. When a Ravenwood sniper trains his weapon on Jake, Hawkins shoots the sniper. Eric arrives with Jonah Prowse and some of his men and Ravenwood retreats. Jonah attempts to drive a wedge between Jake and the townspeople before leaving. Mayor Green rebukes the town for their idea of destroying the bridge, but later allows Jake to create a security force: the Rangers. Meanwhile, Emily Sullivan dreams of her planned wedding day with her fiance Robert and thinks about her feelings for Jake. Eric tells his mother of his intent to leave April. | ||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Red Flag" | Martha Mitchell | Mike Ostrowski | November 22, 2006 | IT BEGINS WITH |
| Airplanes drop parcels of supplies around Jericho. Mayor Green worries about possible food contamination, but Gray undercuts him by eating some of the food. As retaliation for Gray's efforts to break a deal between Gracie Leigh and Jonah, Jonah attacks Stanley and steals a generator. Mayor Green, Jake and Hawkins organize a raid, but Emily breaks into Jonah's compound and steals it from a shocked Jonah. Stanley and Mimi Clark begin a relationship, and Eric finally learns of April's pregnancy. With the recovered generator, Hawkins reinstalls lights along Main Street for the Thanksgiving Day celebrations, during which Gracie is stabbed to death. | ||||||
| 11 | 11 | "Vox Populi" | James Whitmore Jr. | Carol Barbee | November 29, 2006 | AND ENDS WITH |
| Gray Anderson heads a lynch mob against Jonah Prowse, who he believes killed Gracie. Jonah arrives at his daughter Emily Sullivan's house and claims that Mitchell Cafferty killed Gracie. After his wounds are bandaged, Jonah flees but is quickly recaptured by Gray, who is subsequently elected mayor. Gray plans to kill Jonah in an ad hoc tribunal, but Johnston Green's disapproval forces Gray to exile him instead. Dale Turner inherits Gracie's store; Mitchell Cafferty demands a share of the profits and threatens to kill him when he refuses. Dale calmly shoots and kills Mitchell. At the end of the episode, a group of refugees led by Emily's fiancé, Roger Hammond, arrives in Jericho. Meanwhile, Hawkins tells his contacts that he is compromised and that they are to proceed without him, but they produce a satellite image of him with his family and say they will see him soon. | ||||||
| 11.5 | 11.5 | "Return to Jericho" | Rob Klug | — | February 14, 2007 | BACK NEXT WEEK. 36 HOURS BEFORE BOMBS |
| A recap episode detailing the events of the first eleven episodes. | ||||||
| 12 | 12 | "The Day Before" | Matt Earl Beasley | Mike Kelley | February 21, 2007 | BLOODSHED |
| The flashback episode starts at 36 hours before the attacks, and focuses on Jake and the Hawkins. Robert Hawkins is given a truck, a nuclear bomb, and his target – Columbus, Ohio. Instead of traveling there and detonating his bomb, he kidnaps his estranged wife and children and forcibly moves them to Jericho, subduing two police officers in the process. His wife points a gun at him, but before anything more can happen, the Denver bomb explodes. Jake's friend tries to co-opt him for an illegal cargo run operation in the Middle East. When Jake's friend is murdered by Ravenwood, Jake rescues his friend's girlfriend and decides to travel back to Jericho. Meanwhile, Emily's fiancé Roger tries to convince her to move to Chicago with him, but later decides to fly home after Emily states that she will not move away from Jericho, only to have his plane crash after the bombs. The episode then moves to present day, as a group of refugees, led by Roger and including Robert's contact, arrives in Jericho. | ||||||
| 13 | 13 | "Black Jack" | Helen Shaver | Jonathan E. Steinberg, Dan Stolz | February 28, 2007 | BLEEDING KS |
| To procure supplies and fuels, Heather, Jake, Johnston Green, and Dale travel to Black Jack Fairground, a trading post. At the trading post, the group learns more about the outside world and finds a seller for their windmill parts, but decide not to buy from him after discovering bloody shackles in his storeroom. Dale tries to steal a governor but is caught and about to be executed when a group from Jericho's neighboring town, New Bern, saves him. The two groups make a deal – Heather will go to New Bern and build windmills for both towns, while Jericho gives New Bern salt from their mine. Meanwhile, Gail confronts Mary about her affair with Eric and Roger tells Emily about what happened to him on his way back to Jericho. Sarah Mason and Robert Hawkins decide to kill "the old man," the leader of their conspiracy, though it seems that Sarah has betrayed Hawkins. | ||||||
| 14 | 14 | "Heart of Winter" | Steve Gomer | Nancy Won | March 7, 2007 | 4 DOWN 4 TO GO |
| When Jake, Stanley and Mimi go hunting, they are attacked by bandits who steal their supplies and winter clothing. Mimi starts to run back to town and meets Johnston and Gail Green, who eventually bring more help. Jake, delirious, admits to killing a young girl while in Iraq. Hawkins and Sarah go to visit the "old man"'s house, and Sarah convinces Hawkins to move his "Package", the nuclear bomb, before he can attack them. Hawkins tells his wife Darcy that the family must move again soon; she agrees but warns him not to trust Sarah. Sarah meets with the "old man" who had been watching them and kills him when he asks why she is taking so long. Emily notices Roger is spending a lot of time with the refugees that he arrived with. | ||||||
| 15 | 15 | "Semper Fidelis" | James Whitmore | Matthew Federman, Stephen Scaia | March 14, 2007 | THEY WILL NEED IT |
| The town continues to face a growing food and fuel shortage. A platoon of Marines arrive with a tank and promises of reconstruction. Before the Marines are able to render assistance, they are suddenly ordered back to Dodge City. Mayor Anderson, anxious to receive supplies quickly, throws a farewell dinner and fireworks display. Jake and his father independently deduce that the Marines are impostors, and confront them. They take the tank and cast the Marines out of town. Meanwhile, Sarah holds Hawkins and his family at gunpoint to force Robert to give her the nuclear bomb. During a confrontation, Allison shoots and kills Sarah, and Darcy Hawkins leaves with her children. Hawkins pretends to be Sarah and arranges a meeting with her contact. | ||||||
| 16 | 16 | "Winter's End" | Kevin Dowling | Frank Military | March 28, 2007 | A COSTLY DEAL |
| April goes into premature labor, and she and her child die during childbirth. New Bern arrives with one wind turbine. Johnston Green asks for several more, but the New Bern demands a heavy payment of salt and crops, in addition to ten men to help build the turbines. Eric and Stanley are among the ten men. Jake warns Russell, Heather's friend from New Bern, to keep the men safe. Russell mentions that Heather knew of the turbine's delivery but did not want to come. Darcy Hawkins moves in with Deputy Sheriff Jimmy Taylor's family temporarily, and backs up Robert when he claims that Sarah decided to travel south on her own. Meanwhile, Dale threatens a farmer at gunpoint to enforce a deal that the farmer had broke, refusing to pay his side. | ||||||
| 17 | 17 | "One Man's Terrorist" | Christine Moore | Stephen Chbosky, Mike Ostrowski | April 4, 2007 | ROB EXPOSED |
| After Gray is forced to admit that no relief is coming, he announces that the refugees must leave. While he and Roger argue, the refugees attack the police and barricade themselves in the church. Gray tries to force them out with tear gas, but accidentally kills one of them. Roger captures Gray and holds him at gunpoint; during a struggle, Gray is shot in the stomach. Gail Green devises a compromise: the refugees are allowed to stay with the residents of Jericho, but Roger is to be exiled, a decision he does not protest. Hawkins travels to Nebraska to meet people who think they are meeting Sarah and the nuclear bomb, and places a tracking device on their vehicle. Dale and Skylar continue to use strong-arm tactics to enforce deals made with the people for supplies. | ||||||
| 18 | 18 | "A.K.A." | Sanford Bookstaver | Robbie Thompson | April 11, 2007 | WHO RAN RED BELL |
| Jake and Jimmy break into Robert Hawkins' house and discover many fake IDs. Jake demands that Hawkins tell him the truth, and Hawkins agrees, but warns Jake that he will regret it. Hawkins had been part of a CIA team organized as part of Project Red Bell to recover 25 stolen Russian nuclear bombs from extremist groups. Hawkins had infiltrated his assigned terrorist group enough to obtain several of the bombs, but his handler, Sarah Mason, insisted on going after all of them. When the extremists learned of Project Red Bell, they moved up their attack. Robert took his bomb (destined for Columbus, Ohio), alerted New York police about their bomb threat, and moved to Jericho with his family, as it was the designated "safe" fallback town. Jake tells Jimmy that Hawkins is an FBI agent and is to be trusted. Hawkins realizes that the government supervisor of Project Red Bell, Thomas Valente, was the same man who he saw in the previous episode. | ||||||
| 19 | 19 | "Casus Belli" | Steven DePaul | Karen Hall | April 18, 2007 | ONE GOT AWAY |
| The men who had gone to New Bern return with the windmills but without Eric and Heather. When Jake and Hawkins go to New Bern to find Eric, they discover that Mayor Constantino, covetous to Jericho's food and salt, is arming New Bern to go to war with Jericho. Jake and Hawkins try to stop the military offensive, but Jake is caught. Constantino riles up the town by making it believe that Jericho intends to attack it, and points to Jake and Eric as "proof". Eric tells Jake that Heather is dead. | ||||||
| 20 | 20 | "One If By Land" | Seith Mann | Joy Gregory | April 25, 2007 | WE PLEDGE |
| Several New Bern residents arrive in Jericho to complete a secret salt trade with Dale and Skylar; Gray stops the trade, but someone fires a gun and several people are wounded. Jake and Eric are tortured for information on Jericho's defenses by New Bern police. Jake tells Maggie Mullen, a fake Marine from Semper Fidelis, to give up Hawkins' location at Heather's friend Ted's cabin. Hawkins kills the police officers sent after him, steals an ammunition truck, and detonates it in the middle of New Bern. Johnston Green, who had gone to New Bern to look for his sons, commandeers a truck, and escapes along with Jake, Eric, Maggie, Hawkins, and Ted. Meanwhile in Jericho, Gail and Mary reconcile, and Dale seizes more power after arbitrarily raising prices and refusing to accept currency. | ||||||
| 21 | 21 | "Coalition of the Willing" | Guy Bee | Frank Military, Josh Schaer | May 2, 2007 | ALLEGIANCE |
| Constantino demands that Jericho surrender several farms and a large portion of the salt mine or face an invasion. When Gray Anderson refuses, New Bern begins shelling Jericho. Gray sends a small force to attack the artillery squad, and all but four of the force are killed. Gray seems willing to possibly surrender, but Johnston Green does not allow this. Emily meets and convinces her father, Jonah Prowse, to help Jericho. Dale raises a militia, and although he wishes to use it for his own financial gain, he agrees to help the town. The two groups join with the main Jericho force, and kill the entire New Bern artillery squad. Jonah, who had originally agreed to help for half the resources gained, instead executes the wounded New Bern soldiers, takes all of their resources, and leaves. New Bern Sheriff Constantino meanwhile says that he will be coming with a much larger force. Hawkins reveals a secret arsenal of weapons and arms every able-bodied person. Johnston takes military command, and they prepare to face the invading force. | ||||||
| 22 | 22 | "Why We Fight" | Sanford Bookstaver | Carol Barbee, Jonathan E. Steinberg | May 9, 2007 | TO THE FLAG |
|
This episode is interspersed with flashbacks to Eric's
wedding day, when Jake was
inebriated, and people expected his wedding toast to criticize his
brother, though it did not. New Bern begins its attack on Jericho. Though at first outgunned, with Hawkins' satellite access and the tank, Jericho manages to drive them away. Johnston Green is mortally wounded and dies soon after. While Hawkins tracks New Bern reinforcements, Thomas Valente, now a member of the federal government, locates Hawkins. Darcy Hawkins, now reunited with her husband, speculates that Valente wants to destroy the bomb before it could be used as evidence against him. Heather Lisinski, who is being treated at a Marine base, urges Colonel Hoffman to intervene in the Jericho–New Bern battle. Though Hoffman claims he cannot, Thomas Valente tells him to stop the battle and search for a nearby "terrorist". The episode ends on a cliffhanger; Jake replies to Constantino's call to surrender with "Nuts!", and the battle begins. Meanwhile, Hawkins sees an incoming squadron of military helicopters. |
||||||
