It is a different drama series, as a nuclear disaster caused by many terrorist attacks destroyed most of America. As everyone tries to cope with this situation, as all the residents of a small town in Kansas try to come to terms with a new and completely different reality in their lives after that real disaster.
A drama in the more traditional sense, and while there are sci-fi elements in the show this certainly is not the focus, and usually the furthest thing from the viewer's mind. And you know what... it's all the better for it.
This is ultimately a mayhem-and-survival hour about disaster readiness, a potentially more hard-hitting and immediate show for our times than more rock-'em-sock-'em hunting-terrorist shows the networks have tried on us.
Jericho turns nuclear catastrophe into an excuse for a series of suspenseful 24-like set pieces, and the result is a ham-fisted concoction overcrowded with incident and rigged thrills.
The sprawling cast is all-Americana; the sprawling themes come as a direct slap in the face to the terrifying road America off the tube is heading down.
If the Awful Truth of the Global Meltdown is the big carrot Jericho dangles before you, it is no more compelling than the question of which of the available good-looking girls Ulrich is going to get close to.
This is fertile ground, though thus far the producers approach their characters with a sympathetic eye while throwing in a pinch of Prison Break to create a sense of jeopardy -- which feels like a bit of a cheat.
What makes a show like Jericho work is that it nimbly works in action, mystery and melodrama with an interesting study of the basic elements of human society. That's a lot to offer, plus Skeet punches a lot of people.
TV doesn't get much more high-concept than Jericho... TV doesn't get much easier to criticize than Jericho, either. It's not only about a bomb. It is one.
