Pajiba

I haven't watched Men in Trees, but I have to agree with you on Jericho. I had high hopes for this show and after watching the premier just felt like, "huh...that's it?"

I hope it gets better, but I'm afraid it won't. I'm giving it 2 more episodes to make me care about it...

Didn't anyone notice me?! We're huge now! Of course his face looks goofy -- we're way too big to fit into his mouth.

Great review of Jericho -- my exact thoughts on it. I am too keeping my season pass to it but if it doesn't improve, not for long.

Good thing you moved back to Boston, Seth. Your reviews and critical sensibilities are clearly the better for it. I live in Boston, too, and one thing no other city (not New York, not LA) can take from us is that it's a great place to spend time watching a lot of TV.

I'm all about nuclear war as a backdrop for any story. Red Dawn, The Day After, even Fat Man and Little Boy. But Jericho really was disappointing, and my wife and I groaned when Mr. Skeet-skeet-skeet showed his slightly retarded, I'm-concentrating-way-too-hard face.
On the flip side, Studio 60 is off to a great start!

SHE TOOK THE MIDNIGHT TRAIN GOIN' EVVVVERRRYWHERE!!

OK, out of my system.

Thats,,,,,ANYYYYYWHEREEEEEE (Not everywhere)

"I hate it when people get the words wrong" (Bull Durham)

I also thought Jericho was Bad...never even bothered to look at "Men in Tree's" I liked Ann Heche better when she thought she was an alien!

Haven't seen 'trees', but Jericho had me considering a drinking game based on the number of cliches they were throwing out there. Bad boy comes home, children lost on a bus, gruff mayor, shrill opponent, mediator mom - by the time the empty prison bus showed up, I figured the writers had hit almost all of them. All we're missing is the complicated pregnancy...

Sheesh, I wanted to like this one.

I havn't seen Jericho and it does sound pretty awful but I can tell you that the whole cell phone and radio think isn't a cliche. Nukes really do that.

Thanks, I have enjoyed these reviews more than the shows.
Jericho - has had me wishing for "The Stand" on DVD. That, at least had the complicated pregnancy (I mean, at LEAST one, you know, Satanic or Salvatory). And Matt Frewer, who finally escaped his max Headroom persona with his wacked out apocalypse-lovin' character.
I'm going to look for my betamax copy of "Night of the Comet" - That was a cataclysm that put cliches to good use - I've tried to argue that it should be in the Zombie genre, but no-one's inducted it.
But back to TV...
Skeet will always look out of place, and that's a fact. Even paparazzi don't know what to do with him.

Anne, really good gig, playing a relationship selp-help author! No, no, don't come over, it's funny from here.

Give me angry Irish-American firefighters any day.

And - Come on, Battlestar Galactica!

I LOVE Mem in Trees, Give it a chance. It's funny and also reminds me of Northern Exposure from years ago.

I saw Men in Trees and thought it was pretty stupid. Well, maybe not stupid as much as predictable. It reminds me of "Northern Exposure" (remember that show?) except NE was actually good. After the first episode of Men in Trees, I could already predict what would happen in the next 5 episodes, and the characters are painfully obvious, from the token gruff minority to the nerdy-but-sweet girl...blah blah blah. A promo for MiT called the sexy veternarian (or whatever he is) "TV's new McDreamy". Gag. I'll pass.

Is Jericho supposed to be an hommage to Stephen King's "The Stand", or is it a blatant rip-off?

"Abraham Benrubi (who will always be Kubiak, the big oaf from "Parker Lewis Can't Lose," to me)"

And I thought I was the only one.

Cat smell, Mr. Freilich? Axi-Dent Pet Odor Neutralizer is what you are looking for. Believe me.

Just a city boy, born and raised in SOOOOOUUUTH DETROOOOIIIT... he took the midnight train going an-yyyyy-where...

Ah, the smell of wine and cheap perfuuuume...

Ok seriously, I might need professional medical attention.

Thanks, THOR, for putting that in my head. I'm sure it will be in there until, I dunno, November.

While I am not a fan of Heche (read: I think she's a still a cracked out moron with just enough talent to make her dangerous), I liked 'Trees'. I think we need an anti-SITC around. Besides, I think the supporting cast, especially Kubiak and his off again wife, make this show at least as interesting.

In regard to 'Jericho', I'll say this. In some circles, the word 'skeet' is an active verb meaning an expulsion of unmentionables in a persons' face. 'Nuff said.

"Abraham Benrubi (who will always be Kubiak, the big oaf from "Parker Lewis Can't Lose," to me)" I can't see Abraham without saying 'Eat now?' at the screen - god, I loved that show and the cast, but who knew that out of the kids on that show, Benrubi would be the one with the career?

I don't mind men in trees that much but it sure dumbs down alaskans. I think northern exposure wasn't as insulting

Boy do I hate it when TV shows have either of these two things:

1)Promos that compare it to other shows I don't care to watch (ala "McDreamy").

2)Using bad popular music to let you know what emotions you should be feeling (OMG I hate Snow Patrol).

Both were mentioned here. Not a good sign.

I'm pretty much in agreement with you about Jericho. It is sci fi derivative at its best, and cliched post-apocalypse at its worst. By the way, not that it matters (because the show isn't filmed anywhere near where it is purported to take place), Jericho is supposed to be, is depicted as, and wants everyone to believe it is, a small town in Kansas. I say this because I had the pleasure of driving through the heart of Kansas some years ago and my first impression of Jericho's topography was, "Hey, look at that. Those hills look like the same 'Korean' hills they used to show in the opening credits of MASH." Or, "Hey, isn't that near Eddie Albert and Zsa Zsa Gabor's little spread in 'Green Acres'?" Kansas is flat. I mean really flat. Maybe in some areas it gets a little hilly, but nowhere near the scope of what's portrayed in the show. So, besides its obvious non-attention to detail with regards to set location, cardboard cut-out characters (except for the young blonde who plays the ex-girlfriend(!) of Skeet; she is quite hot) Jericho may be one of the early casualties of the new fall(out) television season.

Jericho disappointed me as well. One thing in particular bothered me, perhaps someone can help explain it. The nukes went off in the afternoon of day 1, they get all nervous at the gas station (it's now dark), and presumably they go to sleep to start a new day. And the next day they worry about the radiation storm coming. A character mentions that storms take 2 hours to get from Denver to Jericho. So wouldn't the radiation have flown through that first night, and not the next day? I can understand that they were worried about the rain, but the radiation isn't just carried by rain. Wouldn't they be exposed to the fallout continously?

Thank you, Timmah!, for pointing out the fact that Jericho is supposed to be in Kansas (not in Colorado-Seth, you surprise me) and, more importantly, that there are no mountains in Kansas! For christ's sake there are certainly no mountains between Kansas and Denver. As a Colorado resident (and someone who was initially really psyched to see Jericho), that put me off it right off the bat. Come on! Are Hollywood screenwriters so insulated that they have a picturesque idea of what the midwest looks like but have never actually been there?



Then there are the absolutely glaring science errors. I don't need the show to be NOAA accountable (or even Discovery Channel accurate), but I do need some semblance of credibilty. Sure, a mushroom cloud off in the distance is a powerful visual, but I have to break it to the writers (and I ain't no scientist): because of the curve of the earth, no one 60 miles from Denver would see the cloud, let alone 180 miles away (and that's if you're standing on the Kansas state line). Then there is the inescapable fact that those people would be innundated with radiation and the sky would be raining fallout. What a shame.



On the other hand, I don't mind Skeet's portrayal of his poorly written character. I still think he's interesting to look at!

Skeet is very attractive! His character is quite dour and pensive -- that's the writing, not him. If you've actually seen the majority of his work, he is a brilliant actor. He doesn't get credit because he was labelled a pretty-boy early on and that put him in the no-talent box before he could prove himself. Even the critics, who are hesitant to give him his due, had to give him kudos for his work on Into the West. And, he was tremendous in The Magic of Ordinary Days. He did an HBO special with Keifer years ago, called a Soldier's Sweethear where he just blew everyone away. The critics don't like him because he doesn't suck up to them the way everyone else does, and so they write snide remarks about him. His colleagues and directors *LOVE* him because professionally, he is a class act! And he gives good hugs too.