R.I.P. Jericho

Jericho is now in the history books. The last episode of the second season -- doomed by CBS to be the last season -- has aired.

It is reported that they recorded two season finale episodes -- one if the show was renewed, and one if it was canceled. The second was intended to provide some sort of closure for Jericho fans. (I'd really love to see that other version, anyway.)

Well, their definition of "closure" must be "a beginning." As Jericho season two ended this evening, it ended with what was clearly the beginning of a new civil war in America. There are so many places they could go from here.

It was, in my opinion, the best episode of the second season. If I were being completely honest, I would admit that I was disappointed with the first few episodes of this second season. My wife got me hooked on the show online after it had been canceled at the end of the first season. I played catch up and watched almost every episode of the first season -- something like 24 of them -- online before it was announced that the show would be back for a second season.

That second season, signed for only seven episodes, was disappointing in many ways. First, only seven episodes? That's not a season, that's a mini-series. And the time slot they put it in? 10:00 PM on Tuesday night, a time slot that is historically bad for shows on CBS. Looking at what it was up against, I can't understand why it's a bad time slot. Jericho versus Primetime, Frontline, Baywatch, and three local programming options? Give me a break!

Anyway, the show has come to what is probably a final demise -- the beginning of a civil war. I must say, this last episode was done quite well. The story flowed quickly, yet smoothly, and wrapped up several story lines. In the end we learn that Robert Hawkins is indeed a good guy, as well as Major Beck. We learn that Texas isn't such a bad place, after all (I'm still not convinced on that one, I lived there long enough to know better).

If you missed the show, I'm sure you can catch it online soon, or on iTunes. After all, based on the ratings this second season, that's how most people watched it anyway. And, as we all know, as great as this Internet content is, it doesn't pay the bills for the networks.

Next time, I urge you, support your show by tuning in to it on television. All the letter writing campaigns and all the NUTS in the world don't pay the bills. For now, Jericho has joined the great Quantum Leap in that dreaded TV graveyard.

Goodbye, Jericho, Kansas. May you rest in peace.

Joe