The narrative will wind up in the same place at the end of seven episodes that it would have had their been 22. And that's a good thing, because the first three episodes move at a quicker pace and with higher stakes than a lot of the first-season episodes.

(So, no more hours about the town library catching fire.)

Barbee acknowledged that her team had to make do with less. The budget was cut, meaning (among other things) that episodes were shot in seven days instead of eight.

"We're trying to be very creative about that because we want to deliver the same punch of a show that we gave last year," she said. "But we have to be smart about it."

At least through three episodes, there's no appreciable difference on screen.

Barbee lost several of her writers, who took other jobs when the show was canceled. But the "main group" returned, and they've put together a season fans won't want to miss.

And even if you've never seen "Jericho," you can jump in on Tuesday night and quickly pick up on what's happening. And, according to Barbee, the end of this shortened season will be "very satisfying to the fans."

If enough new fans tune in, Barbee promises there's still plenty of gas in the tank for Season 3. The Season 2 finale "will open you up to the next level so that you can see what that future would be if there's a season three. And hopefully there will be."

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com