‘Jericho’ Nod to Fans in Series Finale
Is This Really Goodbye?
It doesn’t happen often when I’m watching TV, but I actually got chills during the final moments of last night’s Jericho. The episode, “Patriots and Tyrants,” was effectively the show’s series finale, at least on CBS, following its cancellation by the network on March 21.
That bad news was actually the second time CBS had axed the series, of course. The first time, during Jericho‘s rookie season, followers managed to help bring the show back with the famous Nuts to CBS campaign.
The earlier victory, one of only a handful of successful fan campaigns to resurrect a TV show declared dead, is why it seems like central character Robert Hawkins (Lennie James) is speaking to longtime viewers as much as fellow freedom fighter Jake Green (Skeet Ulrich) when he asks him at the very end of “Patriots and Tyrants” how it feels making history. My eyes actually grew misty.
If my interpretation is correct, Jericho executive producer Carol Barbee did a better than fantastic job providing fans with closure for the CBS run of the series. We not only are left with a good feeling about the future of our favorite characters — they’re now in a solid position to effectively challenge those who would take away their freedom — but enough plotlines remain sufficiently open to take the series in new and interesting directions should it return at a later date on another network.
I really hope Jericho gets picked up by a bolder, braver network than CBS soon. Even if it doesn’t, however, I can say this is one series that has ended prematurely without leaving a bad taste behind, story-wise. In that respect, it feels great to have been a part of making television history. Thanks for the opportunity.
Jericho photo courtesy of CBS
