Ancient Cities

CBS has sent out an official press release for the Season 1 DVD of Jericho. For the official press release find parts of it below:

Experience the addictively dramatic series that’s so compelling, fans wouldn’t let it go when JERICHO The First Season arrives on DVD October 2, 2007 from CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment.

The enthralling story of the residents of a small Kansas town who survive a nuclear attack so entranced fans that they rallied around the show, sending more than 40,000 pounds of peanuts - a reference to the final line spoken by JERICHO’s hero in the season finale - to network executives in a bid to ensure that the series would return for a second season. The overwhelming show of enthusiasm was a success, and the series will be back on air on CBS midseason. In the meantime, fans can relive all the suspense and excitement of the first season in the six-DVD set, which also includes brand new behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, episode commentary and more.

JERICHO stars Skeet Ulrich (Scream), Gerald McRaney (”Ike: Countdown to D-Day“), Pamela Reed (Proof of Life), Lennie James (Sahara), Michael Gaston (”Prison Break“), Kenneth Mitchell (The Recruit), Sprague Grayden (”Six Feet Under“), Erik Knudsen (Saw II) and Ashley Scott (”Dark Angel“). The JERICHO The First Season DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $54.99.

Synopsis
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.

JERICHO The First Season is a six-disc collection presented in widescreen with English 5.1 Surround. The DVD is unrated in the United States and rated PG in Canada. The total running time is 16 hours, 4 minutes. The DVD disc breakdown is as follows:

• Disc 1:
  • Pilot
    • Commentary by executive producers Jon Turteltaub & Carol Barbee
    • Deleted scenes with commentary by co-executive producers Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik
  • Fallout
    • Commentary by Jon Turteltaub & Carol Barbee
  • Four Horsemen
    • Deleted scenes with commentary by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik
  • Walls of Jericho
    • Deleted scenes with commentary by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik
• Disc 2:
  • Federal Response
  • 9:02
    • Deleted scenes with commentary by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik
  • Long Live The Mayor
    • Deleted scenes with commentary by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik
  • Rogue River
    • Commentary by Jon Turteltaub & Skeet Ulrich
• Disc 3:
  • Crossroads
    • Deleted scenes with commentary by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik
  • Red Flag
    • Commentary by Carol Barbee and Lennie James
  • Vox Populi
    • Commentary by Carol Barbee, Skeet Ulrich and Lennie James
    • Deleted scenes with commentary by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik
  • The Day Before
• Disc 4:
  • Black Jack
    • Deleted scenes with commentary by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik
  • Heart of Winter
  • Semper Fidelis
  • Winter’s End
• Disc 5:
  • One Man’s Terrorist
    • Deleted scenes with commentary by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik
  • A.K.A.
    • Deleted scenes with commentary by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik
  • Casus Belli
    • Deleted scenes with commentary by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik
  • One If By Land
• Disc 6:
  • Coalition Of The Willing
    • Deleted scenes with commentary by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik
  • Why We Fight
  • Bonus Features:
    • Building Jericho
    • What If?

As we all know, without the internet, Jericho would not be returning to CBS this winter for its Second Season. It was the internet the really rallied the troops, and brought all the fans of Jericho together to create a unified force to stand up to CBS and to save Jericho. Now the effort was not without its own flaws, but it is showing the force that online feedback is becoming, because now more then ever Networks are actually hearing the online voice. For so many years Neilsen had dictated everything and even in todays world it still does do a good percentage of the talking, but now online feedback is growing and it is becoming a force to be reckon with. In a paper I have never heard of before this article, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette they have an article on the impact of online planning for TV series and how influential it really is:

Two series’ success stories in the online world last season may dictate what shows networks decide to put on their schedules in the future.

NBC’s Heroes, bolstered by elaborate online content such as an Internet comic book charting the adventures of the show’s characters, became one of the season’s most popular hits.

And CBS’ post-apocalyptic saga Jericho, initially canceled due to low ratings late in the season, was resurrected thanks not only to an online campaign to bring the show back, but by network executives’ astonishment at the depth of the passion of fans in online message boards.

For the rest of the article, please click here to read and support the writer.

It was only a few days ago that Kid Nation, CBS’s new reality show premiered on CBS in the timeslot that was held last season by Jericho. I am sure many fans are resenting the fact that the show is first on TV, but more so that it took our beloved Jericho’s timeslot. With that being said Jericho’s replacement wasn’t a sure fire winner for CBS, in fact much of this summer has been surrounded by controversy with talks of child abuse, child labor, and outright cheating by the producers. With that being said fans of Jericho may want to cross there fingers as the opening week for Kid Nation was nothing to get excited about in terms of viewing numbers. For a look at the numbers of Kid Nation here they are:

CBS’ much-ballyhooed and bashed reality show, Kid Nation, won its time period with a 3 rating/9 share in the 18-49 demo, according to Nielsen Media Research overnight numbers, while The CW pushed past ABC into fourth place on the back of America’s Next Top Model.

But Kid Nation’s first half-hour was beaten by the debut of Fox’s high-profile Kelsey Grammer/Patricia Heaton sitcom, Back to You, which averaged a 3.1/10 from 8 p.m.-8:30 p.m. to Kid Nation’s.7/9

This isn’t as wonderful as a start as CBS would have liked, and you can imagine that this can only mean good things for Jericho if next week when the TV seasons really get into full swing, that Kid Nation may not even win its timeslot, as it didn’t in its first half hour.

I love looking at other areas of the internet where Jericho news is still a live and well and over at IGN they got to take a look at the new revitalized set of Jericho which has begun taping for Season 2. They give a little more insight to Season 2 of Jericho and even give away just a little more information on what we can expect from some of the cast in the first few episodes. Wrapping that all up IGN also has a short Q&A with producers John Steinberg and Dan Shotz on the upcoming season! There is some great info to be had from this article and is well worth the visit. Go check out IGN TV for the full article, but here is a snippet:

With the show now back in production for a reduced schedule of seven episodes for Season 2, we were given a tour of the sets, which included both the familiar sights from our visit a year ago, plus a couple of new locations, including the interior of a barn and a hospital set (in the process of being dismantled to make way for other sets while we were there) that went beyond the scope of the hospital sequences from last season, for episodes that called for something much larger.

The most notable change on the exterior sets for the main street of Jericho was a new building with the name Jennings and Rall on it. Showing us around the set was Jericho producer Karim Zreik, who said “Jennings and Rall will play a prominent role in the next seven episodes. Some of our new characters in Season 2 belong to Jennings and Rall. Jennings and Rall helps rebuild Jericho.”

Walking through the Jericho police station, Zreik explained that in Season 2 “The military that has come in, the Cheyenne military, share this office space with our sheriffs.” Esai Morales joins the cast of Jericho this season, and we were shown the office his character has inside the sheriff’s station. Said Zreik, “He’s the major who’s been put in charge, and since this town does not have a sheriff yet, he takes over.”

We all know the famous words echoed by Jake on the final moments of Season 1 of Jericho. There is no doubt that many of us have watched that episode since then, and a good chance many of you even sent some nuts into to CBS when they canceled the show. However now that we have Jericho coming back for Season 2 it seems as though CBS is going to be pushing the Nuts once more, this time to promote there Season 1 DVD. Does anyone else wonder what CBS did with all the nuts that were sent into there offices? I know I sure wonder that? But moving on here is what TheStar.com had to say about CBS’s new marketing campaign.

Let’s just say CBS Entertainment is a bit nuts. To promote next month’s DVD release of the first season of Jericho, CBS is despatching thousands of bags of peanuts to video retailers and even critics. Jericho fans, of course, became famous for sending CBS headquarters in Manhattan with packages of nuts. And a print ad says “Save It Again … On DVD.” But CBS sources assure us these nuts are new and not recycled.

This is a rather new concept, hold shows in reserve for new shows that don’t fair as well. This is something CBS among all other major networks are doing, holding off some of there power house shows to see how the new shows play off. Jericho is among some elite names in TV like American Idol, 24, and Lost which are being held until 2008 to fill gaps where needed. Jericho may not have as proven of a following (in terms of audience share), but we all know that this past summer the fans of Jericho came out in full force to save the show. It seems as though CBS is going to keep an eye on some of its new shows and at any signs of weakness will throw Jericho in to hopefully gain back some market share. For fans of the show this is obviously not optimal, we would love to see Jericho starting up here in a week or two, but just to know that Jericho is among such powerful names in the TV business shows that CBS might actually revive Jericho in a way not only to keep Jericho back for Season 2 but possibly a full season for Season 3. Whatever the case is, many internet venues are predicting a late January comeback for Season 2 of Jericho.

Could CBS have been trying to sell DVD’s all along? Could the fact that CBS caved into the viewers demand just to sell some more Season 1 DVD’s? Whatever the case is VideoBusiness.com has an article that looks at this question, and tries to understand what putting Jericho back on the air could do for the DVD sales this October when Season 1 of Jericho ships to retail stores. Here is a small snippet:

The fan campaign, bolstered by a deluge of peanuts sent to CBS in homage to a line from the show, garnered a lot of publicity early in the summer. With seven new episodes planned for mid-season, this set will give devoted fans something to tide them over and a chance to recall what they love about the show. And the residual press might draw in curious sci-fi/cult fans.

So we all know Jericho was canceled and then revived by CBS. And in an effort to bring in new viewers, CBS is airing re-runs of the show at 9pm each Friday evening. The only problem is they are not marketing it again, and apparently from this past week’s ratings, no one is watching. Here is what Media Life Magazine had to say about the ratings:

“At 9 p.m. Fox and Univision tied for the lead at 1.9, Fox for the second half of its movie and Univision for “Destilando Amor.” CW was third with a 1.5 for its second half of “Smackdown,” while NBC and ABC tied for fourth at 1.2, NBC for “Dateline” and ABC for “George Lopez” repeats. CBS placed sixth with a 0.9 for a repeat of “Jericho.””

Everything about Jericho has had a bunch of press since the short cancellation that then got overturned by CBS which now renewed it for a Second Season. IGN has an early review however of the Season 1 DVD and were going to give you a short look at what they thought of the box set.

As the season went on, more and more pieces started to fill themselves in, until we finally got a patchwork understanding of what really happened that day and who was behind it. Given that the show was canceled after only the first season, not every question was answered, but enough were to help you get an idea where the show could’ve been going. Don’t go thinking that just because it was canceled you shouldn’t invest some time into this show, because though it ends how it ends, it feels right and works. Though it leaves us wanting more, events depicted in the last episodes bring the show around full circle, so there is definitely a beginning, middle, and end progression to the whole show through this one season. The finale was particularly epic, and stands as one of the best finales of that fall season.

Despite some story shortcomings occasionally from the show, Jericho still was one of the best new series of the 2006 fall season, and managed to make us care about some characters more in a few episodes than some shows have done through multiple seasons. And after seeing it all for yourself, you’ll probably have the same reaction as many fans upon hearing the cancellation - “Nuts.”