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Jericho (2006 TV series): Difference between revisions
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[[File:Jericho.jpg|frame]]
A small town in Kansas struggles to survive [[After the End]] once several major US cities are destroyed in terrorist attacks with [[Nuke
▲A small town in Kansas struggles to survive [[After the End]] once several major US cities are destroyed in terrorist attacks with [[Nuke Em|nuclear bombs]]. Features a sprawling cast of townsfolk from the mayor on down, and centers on the Green family. This show is remarkable for being on the hard end of [[Mohs Scale of Sci Fi Hardness]], featuring such things as radiation poisoning, the effects on an EMP and the value of such common things as salt. Not quite as fatalistic as that other nuclear-war-surviving Kansas town, from ''[[The Day After]]'', which early episodes were compared with.
[[Anyone Can Die]] and they stay dead. Also notable is the [[Heroic Bystander]] approach to heroism, as a major theme is the common man having to choose to do the right thing or give in to baser urges or becoming [[Disaster Scavengers]]. Other major themes involve family and [[In the Blood|heredity,]] redemption, and the struggle to preserve American values like democracy. Similar to ''[[Battlestar Galactica]]'' drawing tension and avoiding the [[Inferred Holocaust]] by dealing with issues like shortages in food, electricity and the people who want to steal from those who have these.
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The show was canceled, but brought back by a fan campaign. A second season was shown in 2008, detailing the rise of an oppressive new government based in Cheyenne, Wyoming, but the show was again canceled due to low ratings. (Although the last episode tied up most of the immediately-dangling plot-threads.) There's been talk of a feature film, and plans for a 'Season 3' comic series.
{{tropelist}}
* [[The Alcoholic]]: Dr. Kenchy.
* [[Anyone Can Die]] - And we mean anyone.
* [[Absentee Actor]] - Several townsfolk would be absent in some episodes, even from their own businesses or homes.
* [[After the End]] - The end is actually the end of the United States. The rest of the world is pretty much intact, except maybe for North Korea and Iran.
* [[The Alleged Car]]: Heather's pickup.
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* [[Badass]] - Most notably Hawkins, but Jake too. Teenagers Allison, Dale and Bonnie each got one incident that was enough to earn them [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|badass status]] for a long time.
* [[Badass Grandpa]] - Johnston Green.
* [[Big Brother Instinct]]: [[Nice Guy|Stanley]], all the way. Also an interesting inversion with [[Aloof Big Brother|Eric]] (older brother, not a bad guy but mostly selfish and has no protective instinct) and [[Anti-Hero|Jake]] (younger brother, [[Knight Templar Big Brother|fiercely protective]] of all his friends). Roger toward his fellow refugees.
* [[Big Damn Heroes]] - This show lives and breathes this trope, most notably the {{spoiler|Texas Air National Guard saving Jake Green and Robert Hawkins from a pair of AS Air Force interceptors in the final episode}}.
* [[Bilingual Bonus]] - the Morse code at the start of each episode gives a hint/spoiler for the episode.
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* [[Calling the Old Man Out]] - Emily and her delinquent father.
* [[Chekhov's Gun]] - {{spoiler|The tank}}. Heavily lampshaded.
{{quote|
'''Johnston:''' We'll keep this from the town. No need to get them worked up. Other than that I guess...just keep on living.
'''Jake:''' No, I mean what are we going to do about {{spoiler|the ''tank''}}?
'''Johnston:''' Oh, ''that''. Stick it in our barn. You never know when {{spoiler|a tank}} will come in handy. }}
* [[Chekhov's Skill]] - Robert spends time teaching Allison how to shoot for self defense. Not only does the effort help shore up years of [[Parental Abandonment]], but it even saves his life.
* [[
* [[Could Say It, But...]]: Jake does a subtle one in season 2. "Dale, as sheriff it's my job to tell you that even though the vaccines are on a J&R transport out to be destroyed in Cheyenne, it'd be a big mistake to hijack that truck...the only way someone could do it would be to remove the contents of the boxes without being detected and leave the barcoded containers in the truck. You know what I'm saying?" The next time we see Dale, he's returning triumphantly with the vaccines.
* [[Defrosting Ice Queen]] - Mimi
* [[Depopulation Bomb]] - 20+ US cities are outright nuked off the map. New York is unexploded, not to say "intact".
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* [[Divided States of America]] - In season 1, there are six federal governments. By season 2, there are only two contenders: the Allied States of America, of which Jericho is geographically a part, and what's left of the original United States government.
** Texas is still an independent nation, but the government in San Antonio doesn't claim to be a successor government of the old United States like the other two do.
* [[Due to
* [[Dying Moment of Awesome]]: {{spoiler|Bonnie}} going down shooting.
* [[The End of the Beginning]]: In the last episode...
{{quote|
Jake: The next American {{spoiler|Civil War}}. }}
* [[Eternally Pearly
** Well, we do see Robert Hawkins' family [[Justified Trope|using homemade toothpaste]], much to his son's confusion. Despite his badass-awesome [[Crazy Prepared|survivalism]], it's unlikely that he was the only person in town who made this stuff.
* [[Evil Counterpart]]: New Bern to Jericho. Early on, [[Well
* [[Fallen Princess]] - Skylar
* [[Fallen States of America]]: The US is no longer the superpower it once was after the bombs fell.
* [[Fake American]] - Robert Hawkins [[Hey,
* [[Farm Boy]] - Stanley
* [[Fish Out of Water]]: Big city girl Mimi stuck in small town Jericho.
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* [[Hero Antagonist]]: Beck
* [[Heroic Bystander]] - A major focus of the series.
* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]: Subverted in the last episode when {{spoiler|Robert}} tries to pull one off, but {{spoiler|Jake}} refuses to let him, and by that point he's to weak from being shot to resist being pulled to safety.
* [[Hidden Elf Village]] - Jericho's inhabitants very much [[Invoked Trope|want to make]] their town a [[Hidden Elf Village]] out of fear of outside threats like Ravenwood.
* [[Infant Immortality]]: Averted, if {{spoiler|unborn children}} count.
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* [[Inspector Javert]] - Beck became this after the killing of {{spoiler|Goetz}}.
* [[Ironic Echo]]: "I think this will go a lot smoother if you just sat there and listened to what I have to say".
* [[
* [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique]] - [[Subverted Trope|Subverted]]
* [[Karma Houdini]] - The bandits in "Heart of Winter".
* [[La Résistance]] - Develops in New Bern and Jericho over the course of season 2.
* [[Law Enforcement, Inc.]] s- Ravenwood in season 2.
* [[A Lighter Shade of Gray]]: Jericho tends to be this in any conflict.
* [[Men Don't Cry]]: Averted. Hard. Sometimes [[Manly Tears]] and sometimes more realistic puffy-eyed [[Inelegant Blubbering|gut-wrenching sobbing]]. Played straight with [[Badass|Robert]], though, who probably had his tear ducts surgically removed along with [[The Stoic|most of his soul]].
* [[Misplaced Vegetation]] -- the number of trees in background is improbable for western Kansas, which is a semi-arid steppe.
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* [[Oh Crap]]: Twice in the pilot, the townspeople seeing a mushroom cloud and when Dale implied there might have been another explosion in Atlanta.
* [[One Nation Under Copyright]] - The Allied States of America is riddled with former employees of Jennings & Rall, from the new President on down. The company becomes integral and inseperable to the day-to-day operation of the government.
* [[Papa Wolf]]: Robert and Johnston.
* [[Product Placement]]: Sprint maintained service through 20 or more American cities being nuked and the resulting remnants dissolving into squabbling factions. (Sprint was a major sponsor of the show.)
** Surprising how ubiquitous Motorola communications devices are as well.
*** [[Truth in Television]] - Motorola, while vastly outsold by larger cell phone providers, actually leads the industry in non-cell phone communication devices such as walkie-talkies.
* [[Private Military Contractors]] - Ravenwood
* [[Put
* [[Reality Ensues]]- Happens in {{spoiler|"Termination for Cause" when Jake and Russell were arguing what to do with Goetz, then Stanley drove up and shot Goetz in the head for killing Bonnie}}
* [[Reasonable Authority Figure]] - Mayor Johnston Green, later Major Beck.
* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]] - Jake Green and Robert Hawkins.
* [[Returning War Vet]] - Jake, whose skills from the army make him an effective defender of the town, though it's stated he's not quite as capable as Robert Hawkins
** Jake {{spoiler|wasn't actually in the army, he was working for a "private contractor" (Jennings and Rall), but did experience the war through that.}} Since Hawkins was thoroughly trained for what he does, he is much more able to navigate the situations they face than Jake, [[Red Oni, Blue Oni|who reacts emotionally to what happens]] more often than not.
* [[Scary Black Man]]: [[Badass|Robert]]. [[The Stoic|Robert]]. [[Living a Double Life|Robert]]. He is actually the only black man in the show ([[Justified Trope|though it is set in rural Kansas]]), and even by the time we know he's a good guy, he's still a scary-ass man.
* [[Shout
* [[Slow Electricity]] - We get the city power sequential failure sequence at [[The End of the World
* [[Stealing From the Till]] - Goetz.
* [[Taking Over the Town]] - This is what the Ravenwood mercenaries do to a town they invade. They take all the supplies and shoot anyone who opposes them. Since the towns are isolated from the outside world, they do not have to worry anyone coming to help the townpeople. The people of Jericho try to preempt this by blowing the bridge into town themselves before Ravenwood crosses it.
* [[Those Two Guys]] -- Jimmy and Bill.
* [[Took a Level
* [[Torture Always Works]] - Subverted and lampshaded by Hawkins, who says that the fear of torture is more effective, and that real torture only works in the movies.
** Also averted at other points when it proves completely ineffective against Eric, Jake, and others.
* [[Two Lines, No Waiting]] - Robert Hawkins secret involvement in Project Red Bell seemed a completely separate story from the the whole survival of Jericho story arcs. The only link that brings the two stories together is Jake finding and keeping Hawkins' secret.
* [[
** Again, now that it's comic series has started being published.
* [[Vomit Discretion Shot]]: After {{spoiler|Stanley}} kills {{spoiler|Goetz}}.
* [[Western Terrorists]]
* [[Where the Hell Is Springfield?]]? - The citizens were able to ''see'' the mushroom cloud from the bomb that hit Denver. It was suggested that Oakley, Kansas, was Jericho's stand in. However, Oakley is about 70 miles east of the Colorado state line. It's doubtful you could see the Denver mushroom cloud even if you were standing on the state line at the moment it detonated. You still have to drive well into Colorado before you see the mountains.
** The mountains can't be the Rockies, otherwise the mushroom cloud would be in front of them rather than behind. They must be a closer, fictional mountain range near Jericho. In the third episode, Stanley says that he saw a line tanks driving "over the ridge".
** In the episode Four Horsemen, one of the pilots on the flight recorder estimates that the mushroom clouds are 16 kilometers in height, which would be visible on the horizon from parts of western Kansas. Probably not with the fictional mountain range obscuring them, though.
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{{reflist}}
{{TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever}}
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[[Category:American Series]]
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[[Category:Noughties Drama Series]]
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