‘Jericho’ Fans Continue Their Nutty CBS Protest Campaign
Eye Network Executives Are in for a Cavalcade of Crunchy Snacks
Although I’ve already written twice about the fiercely disappointed reaction of fans to the news that CBS has canceled the one-season post-apocalyptic serial Jericho, I remain amazed and thrilled by how seriously and persistently the program’s supporters have continued their heartfelt campaign to get the show not just a proper send-off that will clarify the series-ending cliffhanger, but nothing less than a full renewal. If CBS thought viewers who found and stayed with Jericho were going to take the network’s dismissal of their favorite program lightly, oh boy, did those execs think wrong. What started out as a simple riff on terse dialogue in the series finale—Skeet Ulrich‘s character’s reply of “Nuts” to an opponent’s call for surrender—has ballooned into a full-on onslaught of nut purchases to be sent to the offices of CBS execs. As a longtime nut lover, I must provide a disclaimer here indicating how tasty that prospect sounds to me.
Will CBS employees feel the same? I doubt it, especially since the Internet food retailer that fans have resorted to for their uniquely chosen ammunition, NutsOnline, indicates as I write that a whopping 9,035 pounds of the edible seeds have been snatched up by furious fans. To put the data in better perspective, when I pulled up the site twenty minutes ago before I began writing this piece, the total amount was just 8,736 pounds. Wow. Nothing says “Nuts to you!” like four tons and counting of the tiny nutritious pellets.
Interested parties can join the mass protest by visiting the NUTS for Jericho Campaign page to contribute to the stockpile, portions of which are up for sale in $5 increments. The symbolic kernels will be delivered in unison and in several tidal waves for maximum effect, such as the first shipment weighing over 1,000 pounds, sent yesterday, May 22, to CBS’ New York headquarters. As a bonus, the site even features frequent message updates, photos, videos, and the ability to attach your own distinctive message. If spending actual hard-earned money is not your thing, however, you can still visit either Jericho Lives or Save Jericho Now! to keep current with the continuously developing story, as well as learn where to mail your own personally constructed missive(s).
In a much-reported and alternatively praised and derided turn of events, CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler recently posted a confirmed official message to Jericho followers on the series’ Internet bulletin board acknowledging the emails received, commending the passion and support demonstrated, and hinting that the Eye Network may provide the series with some type of definitive closure. Note, though, that “closure” could be anything from a sterile press release recounting in prose how the show would have ended if writers had been allowed to create a proper series finale, to one of these newfangled Webisodes that many computer-shy fans wouldn’t even realize had gone live until after it was taken down.
While there’s no guarantee—heck, no likelihood—that the present flurry of activity will persuade hard-nosed television executives to take back or even rethink their (very, very bad) decision, similar movements have had a beneficial effect in the past, most recently last year with just-canceled Veronica Mars, when such stunts as flying a helicopter with the banner “RENEW VERONICA MARS! CW 2006!” over their sacred network headquarters convinced CW Powers That Be to spare the roundly praised but barely watched series from what has now turned out to be its third and final season. So why can’t Jericho fans dream, too?
Read More: Fan Reaction to Nina Tassler’s Statement | Jericho Wiki at CBS | Jericho Wiki at Wikipedia
Related News: CBS’ 2007-2008 Primetime Schedule ‘Diverse and Daring’ … Not! | CBS Cancels ‘Jericho’ and Unceremoniously Alienates Legions of Fans | CBS Gives ‘Jericho’ Fans Hope for Future Cliffhanger Resolution | ‘Jericho’ Finale Promises Explosive Conflict and a Shocking Death
Jericho photo courtesy of CBS
Day-Two Two-Ton NUTS to CBS photo courtesy of NutsOnline
