I’ve been meaning to write more about Jericho, and now I have the impetus to do so: one of Jericho’s creators, Jon Turtelaub, says in a SCI FI Wire interview, that the goal of Jericho is to explore how different characters react in a crisis.

Jericho’s been doing pretty well. It’s gotten a full season pickup. CNN describes it as a breakout hit. I’m watching it every week, and yet I’m hesitant to say that I’m enjoying it.

The characters and situations are trite. Even the unpredictable elements are predictable. The one black guy in town has a mysterious background. There’s clearly more going on with him that meets the eye. Hoo hum. The main character (played by Skeet Ulrich) also has a mysterious background. And apparently is a wizard with machines.

While the world burns, the townspeople gather daily to drink at the local bar, which never runs out of alcohol, waiting for garbled broadcasts to tease hints of what’s happened to the US, which cities have been nuked, who dunnit.

It plays out as a straightforward story; I keep wanting to think “maybe there’s something else going on, maybe there’s something more”, and then I can’t really bring myself to care enough. But what does it say that nuclear apocalypse isn’t enough for me?

Then there’s the music. The God-awful guitar-riff cliched TV show music… watch Skeet Ulrich put out a fire with a firehose! Thrill to the amazing soundtrack!

It’s always telling for me when I can remember the names of characters on a TV show I’m watching. I can’t name a single character on Jericho, just the roles they play.

Jericho is available on iTunes.

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