On October 12, 2006, CBS issued a statement that it had ordered a full season of Jericho.[1] On November 8, 2006, CBS announced that the show would split its season, going on hiatus after the episode of November 29, 2006. It returned February 21, 2007, after a special recapping the first 11 episodes on February 14, 2007.[2]
The storyline revolves about the residents of Jericho, a small, rural Kansas town, in the aftermath of a series of nuclear explosions across the contiguous United States. The series begins with a visible nuclear detonation of unknown origin over nearby Denver, Colorado, and a loss of power and modern communications, effectively isolating Jericho. Later, power is restored to Jericho by what is alluded to as the efforts of the U.S. government, but soon after, an EMP disables all electronics. Several themes addressed in the show regularly are the gathering of information, community identity, public order, limited resources, and external and internal threats. The show features several mysteries involving the backgrounds of major characters, the unknown perpetrators of the attack, and the extent of damage to the United States and its government.
The pivotal character is Jake Green, a 32-year-old prodigal son, who returns home to briefly visit his family before becoming stranded as a result of the catastrophe. After a tense reunion with his father, Mayor Johnston Green, Jake becomes a hero to Jericho by helping protect it and its residents.
Attacks and aftermath
According to events that took place in the episode "The Day Before", the attacks were to take place simultaneously, using twenty kiloton nuclear devices hidden in 55 gallon oil drums, at 8:05PM EDT, during the President's emergency address to Congress on Tuesday, September 19th. In the episode "Semper Fidelis", escapees from a refugee camp posing as United States Marines report that the bombs were supplied by North Korea, the attacks funded by Iran, and that retaliation had been carried out against both countries. However, the authenticity of these reports are questionable since the refugees later admitted to only knowing certain details and making up the rest. Considering some events occurring on the show, the rumors were likely false.
Food Shortage
Throughout early December, Jericho suffers from a severe shortage of all types of food, despite the fact that it is an agricultural town in a highly productive region. Corn, soy, and wheat grew in abundance. Local corn yields would have been between three and four tons per acre. The reason for the food shortage is not explained. Contributing to the food shortage is a lack of huntable game due to the mass migration of people from the Dakotas to escape the winter.
Reported attacks
Twenty-three cities are currently marked as having been attacked. Two others were targeted unsuccessfully — Columbus, Ohio and New York City, and possibly St. Louis. Disputed rumours of additional attacks include Kansas City, Missouri; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Cincinnati, Ohio.
Possibly having been attacked when Eric suggests that it may have been Cincinnati's skyline seen in a looped reel of news footage. This is not supported by any other source.
Given the proximity of the Lawrence, Kansas, it is possible that this explosion could have been mistaken for Kansas City by the pilot heard on the cockpit voice recorder.
Kansas City is not on the Black Jack Fairgrounds map, but Lawrence is.
In Heart of Winter Roger says one of the refugees had been on a layover in Kansas City when the bombs went off.
It has been noted previously that Tucson got hit — not Phoenix. However, the map indicates that a city to the northwest of Tucson, which is almost (50 miles) to the north of the border of Mexico.
Columbus, Ohio, was written on a card given to Hawkins in episode 12, presumably as the target city to where he was to deliver his bomb. Considering that Hawkins never did deliver the bomb, it is likely Columbus was spared. The fake Marines in "Semper Fidelis" said that the government was re-organizing in Columbus, but given their fraud, it is debatable if this information can be trusted.
Las Vegas, Nevada at least partially survived, based on information from Dr. Dhuwalia in episode 9.
Lexington, Kentucky In the CBS web feature, "Ask The Mystery Woman," she mentions "Lexington Camp," a refugee camp outside of Lexington, Kentucky. She says that if you made it to Lexington Camp, you were in pretty good shape.
Several survivors of a plane that made an emergency landing somewhere in Nebraska turned up alive in episode 11, one of them being Roger, Emily's fiancé.
New York City, New York was originally reported as attacked in the Chinese broadcast (marked: 紐約), but was later reported as spared by Gray Anderson. Gray reports the capture of three men in a rental truck who were in possession of a 20-kiloton nuclear device in a steel drum, moments before the device could be detonated. (The New York arrests are credited to heightened security following the September 11, 2001World Trade Center attacks.) New York was also not marked on the Black Jack map. A radio report from Episode 18 confirms New York was spared, at least initially.
Rogue River, Kansas was evacuated by Ravenwood Security to a FEMA tent city about a month after the explosion in Denver. A FEMA flyer cited contaminated groundwater as a result of the nuclear fallout from Lawrence, Kansas, as the reason for the evacuation.
Topeka, Kansas, is described as the source of the Homeland Security telephone calls in the fifth episode, indicating that Topeka has at least partly survived. Gray Anderson reported that FEMA had set up just outside of Topeka and was attacked as they were leaving the city in a FEMA truck.
Outside the U.S.A. - One of the questions posed to Robert Hawkins in his segments on the CBS Web site is whether any targets outside of the U.S. were attacked. His response is that he hasn't heard of any, but that "it wouldn't surprise [him]." Since Hawkins clearly had detailed knowledge of the group which carried out the bombings, this would seem to at least leave the possibility open. However, no specific foreign targets have yet been named within the series or on the official site. The fake Marines in "Semper Fidelis" said that North Korea and Iran were attacked in retaliation by the U.S., but they themselves later admit that they don't really know if any of this is true. The synopsis of episode 17 One Man's Terrorist, suggests attacks have also taken place in Great Britain and Australia.
Regional capitals
These cities were visible in the updated map made available at Black Jack Fairgrounds.[3]
Columbus, Ohio - The fake Marines in "Semper Fidelis" say that Columbus has become the new U.S. capitol, but they later admit that what they said was based only on rumors.
At the time the first explosions were noted from Jericho, the President was in the midst of addressing a joint session of the U.S. Congress. Since Washington, D.C. was reported as having been totally destroyed in the attack, it is very likely that the President and most of the people in the upper echelons of the federal government were killed.
F-16s spotted over Kansas, as described by two pilots during the attacks, on a recovered cockpit voice recorder. One of the pilots believes that the F-16s are from the 131st Fighter Wing, Missouri Air National Guard, originating at Lambert International Airport in St. Louis. In real life, the 131st Fighter Wing flies the F-15, not the F-16.
Department of Defense
Kansas Army National Guard
Stanley reveals he saw five tanks on I-70 heading west. It's not known where they came from, but it is suspected that they're from a National Guard unit in Goodland, Kansas.
Reverse-911 phone call from the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, asking everyone not to leave, and assuring that help and further information is on the way.
FCC/FEMA/NWS
The Emergency Alert System is seen on the television feed and is later replaced with a podium bearing a US State Department agency seal, but the signal is lost before anyone comes into view to speak.
Department of Defense
Air Force Space Command
At the end of the fifth episode, there is a rumbling and people rush outside to see ballistic missiles rocketing upward, which are presumed to be American.
As Jake and Eric enter Rogue River they see FEMA evacuation symbols on the doors of houses indicating the date of evacuation and the number of alive/dead found. They also see leaflets scattered about the town from FEMA warning of the contamination of groundwater from the nuclear explosion in Lawrence, Kansas.
Ravenwood Security Inc.
When Jake and Eric meet a Ravenwood mercenary at the top of the County Hospital in Rogue River, he says that Ravenwood were hired by Homeland Security because there were not enough National Guard in Kansas.
Chinese supply air drops are conducted over Kansas air space by Russian-made planes from the 1970s (identified by Jake as two Antonov transports, and two MiG 19 fighter-escorts) using parachutes that utilize a modern U.S. Air ForceRFID tracking technology.
When a party from Jericho visits the Black Jack Fairgrounds trading post, they are told that the federal government has split into at least six competing factions, with six Presidents claiming authority, and each with his own political and military allies. They are also told that some of the supply air drops in other areas were carried out by Germany. See the synopsis of "Black Jack" for more detailed information about the political situation.
Clips from the pilot episode became free to watch on Yahoo! TV several weeks before the episode actually aired on television.[4] CBS is also showing the episodes on their website[5] after they air, although they cannot be accessed from outside the U.S. This is expected to continue throughout the season. CBS repeated the first three episodes on the Saturday nights following their original airings, as did Australia's Network Ten.
Each episode's opening title sequence is accompanied by an audio message in Morse code. The messages vary from generic references to cryptic clues, and are always related to the current episode in some way. In addition to these messages, in the second episode, Robert Hawkins received several additional Morse code messages through a radio that he was fixing.
Jericho has been established in the series as being on Interstate 70 and northeast of Goodland, Kansas. This would place it near Colby, Kansas, (the only location on I-70 northeast of Goodland), but this has not yet been definitively established. Despite the similarities in numbered routes, the map shown by CBS does not exactly conform to any known actual road configuration.[7] See also Mapping observations below.
The Air Traffic Control system collapsed during the attacks, and thousands of planes were forced to land with no assistance, on highways and in fields. With "10,000 planes in the air, and no place to land" (according to the Robert Hawkins character), some would have crashed, while others may have made emergency landings. The fate of most flights is still unknown. However, the airplane carrying Emily's fiancé landed safely in a Nebraska field, and he arrives in Jericho with other refugees at the end of Episode 11.
In the beginning of this episode, Hawkins is seen moving a barrel that appears identical to the nukes deployed by the terrorists from a storage unit into a truck. He is later seen securing it in his basement. Given the information provided in episode 12, that he was a driver intended to deliver a device but failed to do so, it is likely that this barrel is in fact the device he was supposed to deliver but never did. This is supported by "Sarah" using a Geiger counter on the device in episode 14.
Hawkins learns from a co-conspirator that there is a traitor among their group—people who seem to have known about the nuclear attacks in advance and prepared for them. He then warns other members of his group through a secure computer in his basement that "We have a traitor. The rally point is no longer secure."
It is highly probable, based on the trajectory, that the ballistic missiles were launched from somewhere nearby, although it is not known if this is a retaliation for the initial attacks, for the EMP, or for some other purpose. (In reality, the closest ICBM sites are Minuteman silos in western Nebraska and eastern Colorado, less than 150 miles northwest of the supposed location of Jericho and controlled by F. E. Warren Air Force Base.) Judging from the video and using the Jericho map provided by CBS,[7] the missiles are headed eastward, since the people viewing the missiles are looking northward down Main Street and the missiles are headed to the right.
Hawkins accesses an information repository with the seal of the U.S. Department of State and a reference to the NSA. He looks at an "America Express" credit card before typing in his access code, "87oij9r". Hawkins learns Jake's passport has been flagged and that he made several trips between 2003 and 2004 to Central America, South America, and the Middle East; destinations visible on screen include Honduras, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Qatar, Colombia (again), Peru, and Guatemala.
The first three octets of the IP address that Hawkins types are "29.203.39". The 29 network is assigned to the United States Department of Defense.[8]
An electromagnetic pulse at the start of the episode damages most electronic devices in the town (as well as in neighboring Rogue River). Hawkins' laptop computer survives; he later tells his daughter that it is "ruggedized" for protection from such pulses, a design issued by the government. (Hawkins never specifically says he works for the U.S., or any other government.)
Hawkins is told by a co-conspirator using the secure connection that the conspirator has been "compromised."
1970s-era Russian-built Antonov aircraft flew over Jericho, dropping food, supplies, medicine, and a generator from China. The parachutes used for the drop were later discovered to be modern US Air Force-issue, prompting questions as to who would be using such a combination of equipment. The aid packages contained leaflets with slogans like "Do not fight," and "China is your friend," as well as a picture of a smiling Chinese family.
Mapping observations
According to an "official" map of Jericho shown on the CBS website, Interstate 70, State Route 83, and State Route 40 converge in Jericho; but in the real world, Interstate 70, U.S. Route 83, and U.S. Route 40 converge in Oakley, Kansas, which is 70 miles from the Colorado border. Although the people of Jericho witness a nuclear explosion "from the west", which is believed to have occurred at Denver and is clearly visible over a nearby mountain range, in the real world, the Rocky Mountains are not visible from Kansas—or even from most of eastern Colorado.
The roads on the CBS map that are depicted as interstate highways do not appear to be limited access highways. This situation is not allowed on the Interstate Highway System.
In the episode "The Day Before", the main character is seen passing a highway sign listing mileages to Jericho, Wichita, and Kansas City. This would be inconsistent with Jericho lying near I-70. Any mileage sign in this area would list Salina and not Wichita which is bisected by I-35.
In addition, Alicia Coppola (as Mimi Clark) moved from a recurring role to a regular character in February 2007.[10]
Web-based tie-ins
In an online interview,[citation needed]Carol Barbee announced that there would be a "digital connection" to Jericho through an online companion (at Jericho's official site) called Beyond Jericho. The television program gave the web address for the online companion. Beyond Jericho was to feature the "other survivors" of the nuclear attacks. According to Barbee, the story was intended to be unique to the site, but as the season of Jericho progressed, the online story would dovetail into the episodes themselves. However, the site and "webisode" are now unavailable, having been removed from the CBS website before the second episode of the TV show was broadcast.
According to a report on the Hollywood North Report,[citation needed] the Writers Guild of America is petitioning its members to refuse to work on "webisode" projects due to a dispute between the WGA and many studios and networks regarding payments and royalties for such projects. In one specific case, NBC Universal has filed a counter-grievance against the WGA with the National Labor Relations Board, arguing that webisodes are already covered under current guild contract. Although a settlement was reached between NBC Universal and the WGA—part of which included blocking viewers outside the United States from viewing the webisodes—there are reports that other webisode projects are either on hold or outright cancelled out of fears of further disputes and potential strikes by the WGA and other industry collective bargaining representative organizations.[citation needed]
CBS has since decided to scrap the current webisode storyline and instead release a new series of "prequel" webisodes named "Countdown" that take place before the first explosion. Each of these new webisodes appear concurrently with the broadcast of new episodes, and show Robert Hawkins gathering information before the attack. Although the webisode corresponding to the fifth episode has not yet been made available, episodes one through four and six through eleven have corresponding episodes.
The first installment of Beyond Jericho began with an unknown man calling someone on a cell phone, requesting a ransom of $1.2 million for a woman he kidnapped. He then disappears underground through a metal trap door. While climbing down, he hears and feels a bang, but thinks nothing of it. After conversing with an associate about their next plans, he picks the woman up and climbs back up to the roof. When he opens the door, it's surrounded by rubble. The entire city around them has been destroyed. Shortly after, rubble falls through the trap door. With the cell phone (apparently actually the victim's cell phone) dead, and assuming that the man's associate is dead as well in the collapse, they start to climb through the rubble to find out what happened. Nearby, a hand with a surgical glove on emerges from the rubble, as the vignette ends.
Countdown
Starting on October 26, Beyond Jericho was replaced by Countdown, which documents Robert Hawkins' efforts to learn as much as possible about the effects of nuclear bombs before he moved to Jericho.[11] The webisodes do not feature any of the regular characters, consisting primarily of Hawkins, draped in shadows, watching mini-documentaries.
The mini-documentaries feature expert interviews about the effects of a nuclear attack. They are only minimally connected to each episode's plot. For instance, CBS's episode 8 plot summary reads: "A shadowy military unit bursts into the chamber Hawkins has just vacated. On his computer, they find a video." The video was a short documentary about FEMA's response to Hurricane Katrina and their use of paramilitaries. The "shadowy military unit" then patiently waits until documentary ends to resume its search for Hawkins.
Countdown's sponsor, AT&T, is very heavily promoted in the series using product placement. Nearly all dialog takes place as SMS messages on an AT&T cellular phone, and a full-screen AT&T logo appears in every episode when Hawkins views the expert interviews. This web-based programming is not accessible from outside of the United States.
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