‘Jericho’ Finale Promises Explosive Conflict and a Shocking Death
Episode Filmed as Both a Season- and Series-Finale Given Show’s Uncertain Future
Despite an unanticipated strong start, CBS’ rookie end-of-the-world drama Jericho has endured a decline in viewership since its return from a ten-week hiatus in mid-February. The current trend of audiences losing interest in a series that stops airing original episodes for weeks at a time is something that has affected several shows on every traditional broadcast network, including such breakout hits as Lost on ABC and, most recently, NBC’s Heroes. Yet, while both Lost and Heroes have performed well enough in the past and garnered sufficient support among network executives to earn early renewals for their next seasons, Jericho did not receive a similar nod of confidence from the Eye Network while it was still riding high. As a result, the show’s season finale, tonight’s “Why We Fight,” will air at a time when the ratings it achieves will have a sizable impact on Jericho‘s future.
Not surprisingly—in addition to ensuring that the episode will work as either a season finale or a series finale to provide appropriate closure for viewers no matter what CBS’ ultimate decision—one gimmick (or what TV people prefer to call “plot devices”) in store is the death of a regular character portrayed by an individual who, according to executive producer Carol Barbee in the May 7–13 issue of TV Guide, “had a deal to be here for the next five years.” Now, that’s harsh. And the show’s producers have taken extreme measures to ensure that no one finds out beforehand just who bites the bullet, going as far as filming “a fake ending so no extras would leak the victim’s name.” Thus, fans are definitely in for a shocker.
The main story line tonight in the Kansas town of Jericho, decimated along with the rest of America following a nuclear disaster, involves an emerging conflict between its familiar inhabitants and residents of the New Bern area over access to food. In a nutshell, Jericho has it and New Bern doesn’t. But New Bern possesses something that Jericho lacks, too, namely a munitions factory capable of supplying the tools needed to sustain a direct attack. The ensuing events will then lead to a fresh theme that “[gets] past who dropped the bombs and focus on the rebuilding of the country,” while also “[activating] certain characters in a way that could never have happened otherwise.”
Sounds to me like fans will really miss out on a bunch of intriguing plot developments if CBS chooses not to hang on to this engaging doomsday serial. I’ve got my fingers crossed that enough people will tune in to make that scenario impossible. So, just to be clear, the time to view is 8pm EST tonight, and the network is CBS, of course.
Related News: CBS Doomsday Hit ‘Jericho’ Returns
Jericho currently airs Wednesdays on CBS at 8pm EST
Jericho photo courtesy of CBS
