Deseret News | Nuts! 'Jericho' fans won't accept reality

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Scott D. Pierce: Nuts! 'Jericho' fans won't accept reality

Jack T. | 2:21 a.m. Dec. 2, 2008

Well the CW did clean out its Sunday slate before putting Jericho there and networks have been pretty cowardly about their schedules with the recession and all, so why shouldn't fans go for it if they think Jericho has a shot?

CLL | 7:14 a.m. Dec. 2, 2008

CBS just released all episodes of Jericho on Youtube, and the number of views are staggering - surely someone out there in TV land will see this as an opportunity????

sarah | 7:16 a.m. Dec. 2, 2008

I just want Skeet Ulrich back on tv. Even if it is in one of those predictable crime-drama redundant shows......he's too good to not be on my screen every week. I mean, David Caruso is 'head-lining' a show and he can't even walk and talk at the same time. Smarten up CBS!!!!

Comments continue below

Nate | 7:22 a.m. Dec. 2, 2008

Well, I don't think we'll get another season but Firefly fans showed that enough renewed support can at least get you a movie. Some of us just want one last hurrah.

no one you need to know about | 7:25 a.m. Dec. 2, 2008

Jericho did 80% better in the fast nationals than what was previously aired on the CW so, I guess it has some potential even if it's extremely slight. I don't think anything you write will discourage the very devoted Jericho fans, and by the look of how few comments you have here, not too many are listening to you.

Yoo hoo! | 8:58 a.m. Dec. 2, 2008

Scott, you are 100% right. Set the pile of cash on fire. LOL! That was a good one.

Actually when Season 1 ended, the ratings werent "bad" but due to the high cost of producing a show with a huge cast and large special effects budget the fan base then couldnt justify it cost wise. Ratings did go under 6 million viewers which was BAD. It was then all sane Jericho fans accepted reality. The few remaining Jericho junkies are a lost cause. There are maybe a few dozen of them left and networks know it.

Jerichos last chance was huge DVD sales and that just didnt happen. And now they think because Jericho got a little over a million viewers for a rerun there is a chance of a Season 3? Footage of paint drying could get better numbers than CW's In Harms Way, which previously aired at 7pm Sundays.

Jericho was a show with alot of promise but the reality is its over. Fans dont realize that Season 2 = Firefly movie, which also flopped, ending that cult franchise.

Anonymous | 9:08 a.m. Dec. 2, 2008

Wasting money? You are right in saying it is my money to waste but I donï¿½t see it that way. Quality tv is worth every penny.

Good tv shows on the air? Havenï¿½t seen any of those - Any suggestions?

Give to Charities? We have. I donï¿½t have all the places we have donated to handy, but we gave to a large Kansas food bank, gave dvds to the troops and many of us give to local food banks, shelters, the American Red Cross and the like outside the limelight.

Deluded Fans? The fans are not. We understand the CW is only running reruns as filler. None of the Rangers is thinking that this will lead to a renewal by itself. But we have a dream.

And I for one would rather make a stand for a show that I love than to roll over and play dead for an outdated accounting system that uses less than 1% of the US population to determine what I am going to watch.

You stated that were not trying to be like the others using inflammatory words to draw Rangers to hit your site. Rightï¿½.

Thank you and have a nice day.

Heavens Gate | 9:37 a.m. Dec. 2, 2008

To Anonymous:

"Wasting money?..... Quality tv is worth every penny." You might say its quality most people thought Jericho wasnt worth watching. Even half of its pilot episode fan base quit watching by the end of Season 2. Jericho started out good but went downhill after Season 1, I quit watching after episode 1 of Season 2.

"Good tv shows on the air? Havent seen any of those - Any suggestions?" The only thing that matters to advertisers is ratings. Its
reality.

"Give to Charities? We have." He meant give ALL the money to charity, not waste it on futile ads.

"Deluded Fans? The fans are not .... But we have a dream." And thats all it will ever be. get used to it.

"And I for one would rather make a stand for a show that I love than to roll over and play dead for an outdated accounting system
that uses less than 1% of the US population to determine what I am going to watch." Referring to Nielsen? Outdated? Really, is there a better system? Where is it? Continue to drink your Kool-Aid. Its all youve got left.

Myvibesmom | 12:24 p.m. Dec. 2, 2008

Whatever happened to making a stand for quality network TV in a sea of garbage?

Jericho was the one show (the only show) that our entire family watched together. It inspired good conversations about preparedness and other issues. This show is not simply about entertainment, it is about redemption and people making good choices under the most difficult of circumstances. While it is entertaining and full of suspense, the underlying messages and truly heroic behavior (not of aliens or untouchable super-stars...but of real people in potentially true circumstances) was and still is inspirational at a level that most generic entertainment cannot touch.

My suggestion to the author of this piece is to take time to actually watch Jericho in it's current re-runs on The CW on Sunday evening (he'll have to catch up via youtube episodes which CBS has recently supplied to the online viewers). The online views are up over 40,000 daily! To understand the fervor, take the plunge (which is what serial drama requires) and watch the entire series. Then come back and tell us all what you think and why. The author will be a changed person if they take that challenge. I promise.

kittyping | 2:18 p.m. Dec. 2, 2008

While most people think we are foolish to dream, it is a part of human nature to have something to look forward to. If you don't you become a sour prune and see nothing good in the world. Most of us realize the very slim chance of getting a third season or even a movie, but we have the luxury of dreaming "what if?" I would much rather dream futilely than go through life with no hope of anything good happening. So sit back, enjoy what we have of jericho and dream on.

Gwen | 3:10 p.m. Dec. 2, 2008

Stranger things have happened - remember Star Trek?

zander712 | 3:26 p.m. Dec. 2, 2008

Jericho fans have donated to charities as well as the troops. Last I heard it was around $32,000. I also have amassed quite a few pieces of autographed merchandise during our fund raisers. Please check your facts before writing a cut piece.

...and while we may not get a third season, we may get a movie.

NorsU | 4:59 p.m. Dec. 2, 2008

Wasting money?
You got the wrong fanbase here.

As previously mentioned We have to date 2008 donated over $30,000 to various charities in the name of Jericho. We have sent DVD's to the troops, Sent Peanut Butter to food banks.

I personally was involved a part in Jericho Nuts to Nielsen Initiatives to highlight Nielsen's antiquated ratings system, poor treatment of American workers and various Nutty Shelling that garnered National press this spring and Summer. And all those Nuts all ended up in fod bank and shelters.

You do Realize that UHD extendented Jericho for 4 months due to viewer demand and activity related to message board and Jericho fans persistence?

You do realize that a Jericho RERUN nearly two yeras later nearly doubled CW's viewers week over week?

You realize that Jericho is off chart popular in new age digital viewership?
#1 I tunes downloads

Top 5 Amazon downloads

Top 10 Active message board

6-7 Million digital views a week last spring per CBS Quincy Smith

Top 12 Tivo dvr'd

Top 15 - Nielsen DVR Addbacks

It may be a longshot, but not implausable we get more Jericho in movie or Season 3

kystorms | 5:25 p.m. Dec. 2, 2008

"Last summer during the Television Critics Association press tour, a lot of us critics were being bombarded with e-mails from fans of the canceled vampire drama "Moonlight." Demonstrating the same self-delusional behavior as "Jericho" fans, the "Moonlight" crowd kept insisting that another network was about to pick up the CBS castoff."

Is this how your paper gets readership? I ask only because up until that last portion of this " piece of journalism" I could at least say you were slightly respectful.
I would give my eye teeth to hold a position such as yours, and if I did I would certainly not sit on some imaginary throne as you seem to be doing, and throw about such stupid and down right ignorant comments about dedicated fans who just wanted to save a show worth saving.

Seems to me you might want to see someone about your delusional issues... just a thought.

But... hey, your sure getting your hits for the day, week... so congrats on that, I will come back in a few weeks to see the newest addition to your Woodward collection of writings to see how readership is doing for ya!

mpbnice | 6:57 p.m. Dec. 2, 2008

Jericho was getting good ratings for the first half of season one, and if CBS hadn't put Jericho on a 3-month hiatus, it would have continued to get good ratings but many viewers thought it had been cancelled. Then they waited almost a year to show the abbreviated season two, with very little promotion. No wonder the ratings were not there. And although CBS promoted viewership of Jericho on multiple platforms they refuse to count those viewers.

The fact is, that Jericho is quality programming in a vast sea of crap, which is why we care about it enough to hope.

Donate to charity? We have! We've donated cash to Greensburg Kansas after they were hit by a tornado, sent DVDs to the troop, sent food to food banks.

Don't tell we Rangers that our money and effort should be spent elsewhere.

Crystal, a Jericho Ranger | 7:14 p.m. Dec. 2, 2008

I am not a delusional or a rabid person. Jericho touched my heart and soul. It made me think "outside" the box, helped me to see things in a different light. It was a show where the characters stood up for what they believed was right despite the horrific circumstances. It is a show about courage, loyalty, family and country. It is a show that has been worth the Ranger's efforts. We know that Season 3 is a very long shot, but a movie? Odder things have happened. And anyone who thinks Jericho Rangers are anything other then compassionate, giving, caring, hopeful...does not know any true Jericho Rangers.

Jeremiah | 7:50 p.m. Dec. 2, 2008

Wow, loved Jericho and not aware it is back on the CW!

Count me in!

C. | 10:03 p.m. Dec. 2, 2008

Mr. Pierce, I suspect you're supposed to be a critic, not a cynic. Fine, we'll take the criticism -- any hope of a Season 3 for Jericho is a long shot at best -- but there's no need to dash what little hope there is, as you have now done in several articles. The silver lining in your dark cloud is that as long as you and others continue to write about the show and give it headlines, Jericho lives on.

See you Sunday nights on The CW.

Julie | 11:44 p.m. Dec. 2, 2008

Mr. Pierce, your condescension to those of us who are obviously vastly inferior in intelligence to you is amusing at best....but, seriously, you've gone on a "Jericho" rant before, so I think some introspection on your part might be in order. You fail miserably at the indifference necessary to make this the non-issue you profess it to be, and yet, here you go again, on another tear about fans' reality or lack thereof.

When has TV ever been about reality? Oh yeah....that plethora of great 'scripted' reality shows (would you consider that the good programming you mentioned?) littering the airwaves?

So, if there's nothing to this, why do you keep revisiting the Jericho issue? If you're correct in your assessment, if there's no merit in anything the fans do....if that truly is the reality, just let it go. Allow Jericho fans their fun and their dreams.

However, methinks you do protest too much, for whatever reason. How about enlightening us on why this non-story, this dead issue, as far as you're concerned, continues to garner your attention and your headlines? Seriously, we appreciate your lack of indifference -- you're the best friend any fan could ever hope to have!

Dawn | 9:23 a.m. Dec. 3, 2008

Hmmm....perhaps you never heard of a show called Star Trek, the biggest "I told you so" in Tv history. Star Trek fans 'knew' the show was something special and after a wait, the fans got a space shuttle named enterprise, 4 (ahem) yes four Tv shows, major motion pictures (gee how many are we up to now?), merchandise everywhere you look and countless other avenues.
I'm a Trekkie and a Ranger, I can wait to grin and say "I told you so". Here's to Jericho being as fruitful as Star Trek!

You see sir, the fans know better. Perhaps you should follow our lead.

Desperate for Clicks | 9:58 a.m. Dec. 3, 2008

My name says it all and you said it in your post, badgering fans brings them to your blog. Jericho fans come here and you in turn get "attention" and those beloved "clicks" to your site. Please stop making a point regarding an issue that you feel is a waste of time. Just stop wasting your time, or is it better to "badger" in order to "appear" to have a large number of readers?

Just to give you the 411, Jericho and Moonlight fans are a kind, generous bunch that have helped many charities. We are your average person, not "rabid fanatics" but rather every day working folks with families and real lives. We just happen to enjoy solid television programming verses junk shows (like Big Brother). Did I mention that we are tired of an antiquated ratings system that allows a small percent of viewers to dictate what the masses would like to see on television? We are doing this for Jericho, but also to show that all viewers deserve to be counted. Give me a real number on viewers, not some statistic, and then we can talk.

Hope this click got you an extra 50 cents!

GenPatton43 | 10:44 a.m. Dec. 3, 2008

First, I'm most curious to hear your reply for Julies answer above as its the most accurate indictment of anything else said here. If its not a big deal, why report it?

GenPatton43 | 10:46 a.m. Dec. 3, 2008

Secondly, as for the TV Ad. I've pretty much been there for the entire ride of this ad. From the very beginning to now. In that time frame I have had the pleasure and the honor, to work with hundreds of people who busted their tail to get this entire campaign going. For all the money they raised for this ad, they raised twice as much for other, charitable campaigns. Many know of Greensburg, Kansas or the donations to various Food Banks. Thousands of DVD's were shipped overseas for serviceman.
There is also a hospital in the infamous "Green Zone" of Baghdad that has received thousands of clothes, books, toiletries, Xboz games and a large variety of other items since last Christmas. All from dedicated Jericho fans. We even have one of our very own who works at that hospital.
So, having said that, I am of the belief that the fans have every right to pursue this endeavor, regardless if it works or not, they've earned that right. I just donï¿½t see the need for you to sit here and ridicule people for doing something they believe in.

Scoobud | 5:27 p.m. Dec. 3, 2008

Thanks for the advertising and the attention!!! We LOVE IT!!!

Redsox1986 | 10:14 p.m. Dec. 3, 2008

The logical question is why, with all shows in itï¿½s vault did CBS chose a twice cancelled show which has been off network television for almost 9 months and which comes with the perception of a rabid fan base and the publicity nightmare from the May 2007 cancellation to be placed on the CW on Sunday nights to run for 29 straight weeks of repeats?

The show continues to be watched on the Youtube where the episodes have had almost 300,00 views in the month of November and on the UHD channel. The UHD Community Board has continued to grow similar to the one that CBS developed and managed, the CBS interactive media division has the numbers for DVRï¿½s, internet views, Itunes and DVD sales for the first 2 seasons and 1.3 million people chose to watch the Jericho pilot on the CW even though there was limited promotion of the show, it started on the Sunday night after Thanksgiving opposite 2 football games, and was an 80% improvement over the show it replaced.

Ron "franfan01" | 7:00 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

Thank you for the time dedicated to reporting on JERICHO and our attempts to revive it. You are correct, it is our $ and we can do what we please with it. So if you know this to be factual, why add your opinion to it. Just because you lack the foresight to see a GREAT SHOW when its before your face doesnt mean that we all need to subscribe to your version of what should happen. Remember this, if JERICHO was such terrible programming and no network was interested in possibly reviving it, why is JERICHO still in the news as it is still airing if the interest in the viewership was in the toilet? It was nay sayers as yourself that were definitely convinced that we were not going to get it picked up for season 2 when we did. Never underestimate the power of the JERICHO following nonetheless TV audiences in general. Critics/reporters like yourself need to learn that just because something doesnt meet with your approval that it is rotten programming. LONG LIVE JERICHO AND ITS FANS!

Mikey | 9:20 p.m. Dec. 5, 2008

Jericho

I like it!

the true numbers never lie | 9:46 p.m. Dec. 5, 2008

FYI, the Youtube views for Jericho are averaging over 60,000 a day...and increasing daily (even with one of the episodes having been locked up as a 'register only'view).

Again, NBC Universal and The CW are currently running it, and CBS has put it up on Youtube with a current total of more than 480,000 views in just over a month...doesn't sound like your everyday show to me.

With these youtube views one can start to see validation of what caused the glitch in the first place. A large percentage of Jericho viewers watched online, TiVo'd or DVR'd it...and were not captured in the Nielsen ratings. This has proven to be a cutting edge problem/issue for the networks. The 'Jericho Effect' also raised the issue to the writers that they were being left out of a substantial percentage of the benefits of such online viewing....thus the writer's strike last winter.

The fans are not delusional. They know a good thing when they see it. They might watch it using various media forms...wow, that is like...cutting edge! It surely isn't dropping people into a bucket of snakes...or having them stabbed repeatedly but then, having those shows around is what is frighteningly delusional.

vveber | 8:48 p.m. Dec. 6, 2008

"..They can do whatever they want with it. But it would be just as effective to set the pile of cash on fire, because this is going nowhere."

whatever dude- you are missing the point!!
fans care about quality programming and are
making a stand. dig deeper into the story my friend-
canceled on a major cliffhanger, then brought back on the air (did you read that) and switched time slots and complained about ratings (though all of the 'true' ratings were not counted as in the 'time shifted' viewings (tivo or dvr)or on-line, etc. etc.

you mentioning that we (yes I contributed) spent thousands of dollars is true but you forgot to mention that we spent that $ very carefully and got a lot of bang for our buck! you made it sound like we haphazardly spend our money- which is totally false!

take care to dig a little deeper before you throw together some article- your article reeks of lameness and also of "I can throw something together about this, even though I don't know the true story".

Levi | 5:07 p.m. Dec. 10, 2008

Don't be such a Debbie Downer! I LOVE Jericho, as do all the other Jericho fan, and if I can believe that Jericho can be picked up by another station, they it's possible. At least to me it is

Delusional Jericho Fan | 11:19 p.m. Dec. 20, 2008

Maybe I'm delusional, hard to tell.

I'm not sure if Jericho will come back or not. I understand its a long shot.

Doesn't really change the fact I enjoyed the show and would like to see it return. With so little to watch on TV that's worthy, and having a show with a loyal following like Jericho, it seems reasonable, not delusional, that some channel would pick up Jericho!

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CBS

In the finale of "Jericho," Mary (Clare Carey, left), Eric (Kenneth Mitchell), Stanley (Bred Beyer), Mimi (Alicia Coppola), Jimmy (Bob Stephenson), Emily (Ashley Scott) and Bill (Richard Speight, Jr.) buried Bonnie and moved on. Some fans of the show are unable to learn from their example.