Back to Jericho

You know, I was definitely disappointed when Jericho was canceled last season, but really, of all the shows to be saved by a fan campaign? I wouldn't have picked this one. I still don't really get where all those fans came from...this show had no buzz, and no cult following as far I could tell. Don't get me wrong, I think the show has a really interesting premise that's very different from everything else on TV right now, and I was really starting to get into the story at the end of the season, but I wasn't at all ranking it at the top of my list due to a few problems. For one, the acting and dialogue is pretty mediocre, even laughably bad at times, and the stories are sometimes just stupid...

So I wasn't really sure what to expect from this surprise second season. I really only had two hopes: 1) More Heather, because she rocks. (Jake choosing her over Emily would be awesome but I realize that's probably not going to happen.) And 2) little, if any, Dale and Skylar, who I HATE. The first episode did deliver on those two...Sprague Grayden, who plays Heather, was only listed as a "special guest star", but she's been set up for a larger role (or a death??), and Dale and Skylar were nowhere to be seen (crossing my fingers that it stays that way).

As for the episode it self...I think I was a little underwhelmed. The New Bern storyline was what really started to hook me last season and I wasn't expecting it to be wrapped up so quickly. I know that the finale set up the military to come into Jericho to deal with the situation, but I didn't think we were only going to get to see the rest of the battle in a flashback. Then they skip ahead 4 weeks and the town is all peachy? I'm also really missing Johnston. Gerald McRaney brought such a nice sane, stability to the show. I guess Jake is supposed to be filling that void, but we'll have to see how that goes. I thought him wanting to actually go and assassinate Constantino was just stupid...I guess they wanted to work his grief into a storyline but it was obvious that he and Eric were going to come to their senses and realize that's not what their father would have wanted.

Other than that, I'm glad they're keeping Stanley and Mimi in the mix to lighten things up. I really hated Mimi at first but I started to kind of come around in that episode where she talks to the chicken (you had to be there) and they're kind of cute. I don't really have much to say about all the new government stuff that's developing...I think Esai Morales as Major Beck is a nice addition to the cast, but the new flag and president are a bit creepy. And of course the stuff with Hawkins and the actual perpetrators of the attacks is still ongoing. There are only 7 episodes this season and I wonder how much is going to get resolved...obviously the writers and producers are hoping to get renewed again but I don't want that to mean that if the show does get canceled again we're left with another cliffhanger...