Review: Jericho, the Phoenix

The return of Jericho is solely based on viewer outcry for more. After tons of email, and Styrofoam peanuts (literally), TV execs decided to let Jericho rise from the ashes once again, at least for 7 more episodes.

Ten minutes before show time, I must admit, I had anxious butterflies. I so want to see how things turn out for this small town whose characters have shown all aspects of modern small town America, both good and evil. In the opening scenes of the first season, nuclear bombs were dropped on 23 major American cities. Obviously wiping out a large number of the population, as well as communications for those who survived. Many small towns around Jericho, Kansas do survive, but turf wars set in when winter comes and food gets scarce.

The people of Jericho are not alone, they have a man on the inside and they don't even know it. Robert Hawkins is a rogue government agent in the ultimate spy game. Knowing that "bad things" were going to happen, Agent Hawkins went home and moved his family to a safe place, Jericho. He needed some leverage against the government, so he took one of the nuclear bombs that was supposed to be delivered that awful day in September.

Jericho is a tight knit community with sensible leadership, causing them to be the main target for surrounding towns in of supplies. The town of Jericho is willing to negotiate, but the arsenals of abandoned government weapons seems a simpler course for the neighboring town of New Bern. Thus season one ends in the ultimate battle in the middle of the farm fields of Kansas, a neighbor on neighbor shoot out.

Open season two -- Major Beck (Esau Morales), of the newly formed Western Allied States, is trying to settle what is now a blood war between the people of the two small towns. Jake (Skeet Ulrich) is the new apparent leader of Jericho after the death of his father in the season finale, so Major Beck appoints him sheriff. Still not sure what to believe from this "new government", Jake watches in awe with other townspeople as they raise the "new" flag of vertical stripes and a cluster of stars. There is a rift of the country, with the states east of the Mississippi trying to hold on to a fragment of the old government, while the west has formed this new alliance under a President Tomarchio.

To be sure, Jericho picked up right where it left off last season with action and suspense. Robert Hawkins is teaming up with another agent to decide the best course of action for the "package" he is holding. The new agent may be a short lived character, Hawkins has had to kill every other agent he has come into contact with.

Good decision to bring back this well written and well acted show during a time when we are mired in reality TV gunk. Bravo to an audience willing to fight for what they want aired during prime time.