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Fan-Saved 'Jericho' May Get Axed Again

By James Hibberd,

Reuters

Posted: 2008-03-17 09:26:40

Filed Under: TV News

LOS ANGELES (March 17) - The dramatic Season 1 finale of CBS' "Jericho" concluded with two high-stakes cliffhangers: Will a Kansas town of nuclear war survivors successfully fight off a lawless invading militia? And will a network that dares to renew "Jericho" despite its below-the-line ratings be rewarded for having faith in the show?

Writers' Strike: The Aftermath

'Lost'
Returns: Currently on
Number of Episodes: 10
In addition to the eight episodes already completed, ABC will shoot an additional five to begin airing April 24. No word yet on how many of those will feature Jack's "depression beard."
ABC
'Grey's Anatomy'
Returns: Late April
Number of Episodes: 4-5
You won't have to wait until fall to see whether Mer and Der get back together; a handful of new installments will air in April/May, before 'Grey's' begins another full 22-episode run this fall.
ABC
'24'
Returns: January 2009
Number of Episodes: 24 (obviously)
Although eight Season 7 episodes have been shot, Jack Bauer will have to postpone his plans to battle his very-much-alive former CTU pal Tony Almeida until all 24 episodes can air consecutively in 2009.
Fox
'Heroes'
Returns: Fall 2008
Number of Episodes: 22+
Although the show won't be returning this season, production is set to begin again in April. Season three will likely have more than the traditional 22 episodes and will focus on supervillains gone wild.
NBC
'Desperate Housewives'
Returns: Fall 2008
Number of Episodes: 4-5
The catty women of Wisteria Lane will return to ooze more desperation in a bunch of new episodes this April/May. ABC has also picked up 'Housewives' for a full 22-episode run to begin this fall.
ABC
'The Office'
Returns: April 10
Number of Episodes: 6
Michael Scott and co. are punching back in at Dunder Mifflin, which means we'll finally get to see the eagerly anticipated Michael-Jan/Jim-Pam dinner party at Michael's condo. The big question is: Will Hooters cater the affair?
NBC
'30 Rock'
Returns: April 10
Number of Episodes: 5
Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin (but most likely not Greenzo) are back with hilarious new plotlines that may include a pregnancy scare for Liz Lemon and more 'MILF Island' fun.
NBC
'My Name Is Earl'
Returns: April 3
Number of Episodes: 9
Having nipped karma in the bud, a newly immoral Earl returns with a one-hour episode on April 3. Look for Alyssa Milano to come onboard in a recurring role as a possible love interest for our karmically challenged antihero.
NBC
'Scrubs'
Returns: April 10
Number of Episodes: 5-9
It looks like J.D. and the gang will get a proper last hurrah. The medical comedy will close out its seven-year run with five pre-strike episodes and a likely four new post-strike installments.
NBC
'Chuck'
Returns: Fall 2008
Number of Episodes: 13+
NBC has renewed the frosh action-adventure-comedy-drama for a second season.
NBC

Nearly a year later, the citizens of "Jericho" are alive and well. But CBS' roll of the dice hasn't quite paid off.

The seven-episode second season of "Jericho" returned in February and is averaging just 6.9 million viewers to date.

By online standards, the show has done better. The premiere was streamed about 700,000 times on CBS.com, and "Jericho" is one of the most downloaded shows on iTunes.

But online success doesn't yet pay the rent on a broadcast scripted drama. Two "Jericho" episodes remain, and chances of a pickup are slim. Producers shot two endings -- one a cliffhanger, one more of a wrap-up -- and oddsmakers bet CBS isn't risking another cliffhanger.

Which isn't to say that the network's decision last year was a mistake. Season 1's narrative home stretch -- a tense and emotional ramp-up to civil war -- was a creative peak. Fans desperate for more episodes organized what has been called the largest protest ever mounted to try and halt the cancellation of a TV show. Playing off a line of dialogue in the finale, viewers famously sent about 45,000 pounds of peanuts to CBS.

With audiences increasingly distracted by other entertainment media, what network wouldn't be tempted to give a second chance to a show that sparked so much enthusiasm with a story that kept getting more interesting? After all, viewers never get this riled up about "Cold Case."

A completely different way of looking at the "Jericho" renewal, however, was that the network actually did not listen to its viewers. The first six episodes in 2006 averaged a 3.5 rating, while the last six averaged a 2.4. In the cold light of Nielsen math, departing viewers might not have been mailing peanuts, but they too were sending a message: The show wasn't holding their interest.

"No matter what happens with 'Jericho,' there will be no regrets here," one CBS insider says. "We listened to our audience, and the producers delivered seven terrific episodes at a time we needed original programming during the writers strike."

But fans have a different take on the saga. Despite CBS risking a pickup, many blame the current "Jericho" woes on the network's lack of support.

"CBS should have done the right thing and gave 'Jericho' a chance," a fan wrote on a "Jericho" message board. "They gave it a terrible time slot, a lower budget (and) tried to cram an entire season into seven episodes."

This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30

This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30
Nov. 6, 2006: Cameras catch what appears to be a look of outrage on the face of Faith Hill upon learning that she's lost out on the Female Vocalist of the Year award to Carrie Underwood at the Country Music Awards. Amid a firestorm of backlash in the days that follow, Hill will insist she was kidding. (Frank Micelotta/Getty Images for CMT)
This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30
Nov. 11, 1974: Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is born in Los Angeles, Calif. After his big break as a homeless kid on 'Growing Pains,' he will be nominated for an Oscar for his work in 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape?' He will become absurdly, irrevocably famouswith the release of 'Titanic' in 1997 and later becomes Martin Scorsese's favorite leading man. (Warner Bros. Pictures)
This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30
Nov. 8, 2006: While in Canada filming 'Blonde and Blonder' with co-star Pamela Anderson, Denise Richards throws two photographers' laptops off a hotel balcony, striking two elderly, wheelchair-bound women. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30
Nov. 11, 1984: Diminutive TV star Gary Coleman undergoes his second kidney transplant in an effort to combat his nephritis, the disease that stunts his growth.(WireImage)
This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30
Nov. 8, 1965: Viewers are introduced to the Horton family of Salem in the debut episode of 'Days of our Lives.' (NBC Photo)
This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30
Nov. 10, 1975: The freighter the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald goes down in Lake Superior, taking with it all 29 crew members. Later that month Gordon Lightfoot will commemorate the tragedy in the song 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,' which will go to No. 2 on the charts the following summer. (AP Photo/Lake Superior Maritime Collection, University of Wisconsin-Superior / George Pimentel/WireImage.com)
This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30
Nov. 6, 1972: Rebecca Romijn is born in Berkeley, Calif. After a successful career as a swimsuit and lingerie model, she will make the leap to acting. Along the way she will marry first John "Full House" Stamos and later Jerry "the fat kid from 'Stand ByMe'" O'Connell. (ABC/Bob D'Amico)
This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30
Nov. 9, 1967: Armed with a Rolodex stolen from a San Francisco radio station and a $7,500 loan, Jann Wenner and Ralph J. Gleason publish the first issue of Rolling Stone magazine. Beatle John Lennon graced the cover. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30
Nov. 10, 1969: The greatest kids' show of all time, 'Sesame Street,' makes its debut. It will go on to win more than 100 Emmy Awards, 11 Grammys and change children's television forever. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
This Week in Pop Culture History 9.30
Nov. 5, 1930: 'All Quiet on the Western Front' wins Best Picture and earns Lewis Milestone the prize for Best Director at the fourth annual Academy Awards.

It's true that "Jericho" budget cutbacks resulted in noticeable differences. Season 2 has been a ghost of the first -- missing characters, less action, fewer exterior shots and plenty of two-people-in-a-room scenes.

Showrunner Carol Barbee defended the network's cuts as "a blessing in disguise." "We'd have come back if they gave us $1.95 and three days to shoot," she says. "I like two people in a room talking. We've earned the right to not have to run-and-gun every few minutes. I think the quality has taken a huge leap up."

So what's the lesson to learn from "Jericho?" That networks should always base programming decisions strictly on the ratings?

With media distribution systems reaching young viewers in new ways, such a strict stance seems foolish. At its peak, "Jericho" infused its drama with likable characters caught in impossible moral dilemmas. Maybe the show's lesson is that, sometimes, there's just no right answer.

Copyright 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

2008-03-17 07:05:41

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168 comments

sassynana49 11:23:11 PM Mar 28 2008

Report This!

DON'T EXPECT KRAFT'S, PLANTER'S PEANUTS TO HELP OUT. AFTER WE SENT THOUSANDS OF PEANUTS TO CBS, THIS IS THE RESPONSE I GOT FROM, KRAFT FOODS;

Hi Pauline,
Thanks for thinking highly enough of our company to ask us to participate in your efforts to keep your favorite television show on air. While we appreciate you including Planters in your efforts, we must decline your request.
Unfortunately, we receive such a large volume of requests just like yours that we can't possibly honor them all.
We hope you understand our decision. We appreciate you thinking of us and wish you the very best in your efforts.
Kim McMiller
Associate Director, Consumer Relations

sassynana49 11:22:36 PM Mar 28 2008

Report This!

DON'T EXPECT KRAFT'S, PLANTER'S PEANUTS TO HELP OUT. AFTER WE SENT THOUSANDS OF PEANUTS TO CBS, THIS IS THE RESPONSE I GOT FROM, KRAFT FOODS;

Hi Pauline,

Thanks for thinking highly enough of our company to ask us to participate in your efforts to keep your favorite television show on air. While we appreciate you including Planters in your efforts, we must decline your request.

Unfortunately, we receive such a large volume of requests just like yours that we can't possibly honor them all.

We hope you understand our decision. We appreciate you thinking of us and wish you the very best in your efforts.

Kim McMiller
Associate Director, Consumer Relations

~~TLXEA_17114237~~N

JBJG24M 07:29:52 AM Mar 27 2008

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WILL BE GLAD WHEN FOX NETWORK BRINGS BACK "24"!!

JBJG24M 07:27:54 AM Mar 27 2008

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BORING PROGRAM!!!

JBJG24M 07:25:11 AM Mar 27 2008

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NEVER REALLY COULD GET INTO THE PLOT!!

burnsw227 07:15:36 AM Mar 27 2008

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I've loved Jericho every since it began and find the plot and characters to be a breath of fresh air in the wasteland of reality shows. While I'm happy CBS listened to the fans and gave the program a second season, I don't know for sure who is responsible for the second cancellation.

It may be CBS itself, or perhaps it's the morons who watch TV and DON'T APPRECIATE A REALLY GOOD PROGRAM because they are so addicted to the stupid garbage instead. What amazes me is why decent, interesting programs get cancelled because networks feel not enough people are watching. Thier way of thinking is: "Few viewers translates to few people viewing the commercials".

DUMB DUMB DUMB. Just how many of you are going to rush out and buy something because you saw it on a TV commercial? I have NEVER, repeat NEVER, been influenced to buy ANYTHING from a TV commercial. NEVER, and after being a consumer for 45 years, I cannot understand the reasoning behind commercials when any intelligent viewer sees

jecfpeters 02:26:14 AM Mar 27 2008

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This has been my favorite program on TV since day one of Jericho. This has been the only program I looked forward to each week, I am sick to death of the so called reality shows, we need something with intelligence and entertaining at the same time. I would rather send garbage than peanuts because most of what the networks send to my home is garbage. PLEASE listen to it's fan, there are far more than what the Nielsen ratings show

ippy 02:03:09 AM Mar 27 2008

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Here we are again faced with lost of another night to watch a hour of TV. We at one time watched TV from 5:00 PM to bedtime, now we are over joyed to watch two hour programs in one night. Weekends are boring, weekdays are slim pickings. When you get little gems like Jericho, they lift your spirits and give you something to look forward too. Of course, this means we will never see Jericho again. I realize there are more people in all walks of life that have no taste ( reality shows ) than there are those that that taste ( Jericho ), so that is it in a nutshell. The powers that be also have no taste and can not enjoy a thinking mans program. Or birds of a feather flock together.