Redstick SF

Skeet Ulrich and company returned last night in CBS’s premiere of the second season of “Jericho.” Like many who spend too much time on these internets (which, as the venerable Sen. Ted Stevens reminds us, are a series of tubes) I was a big fan of the show’s first season and was glad to hear that it was brought back from the dead.

Skeet Ulrich. Who wouldn’t want this guy in charge of a small Kansan town?

Let us, though, be honest with ourselves for a moment. “Jericho” is not a great show. It never would’ve been ascribed to that giant bin titled “brilliant but canceled.” It is, though, a very good show and, in a television season decimated by the strike, I am thrilled to see “Jericho” back on the air. To tell the truth, “Jericho” may be better than I give it credit for since it’s the general dowdiness of CBS shows, shows that look like they’ve been designed with your grandparents in mind, with which I take issue. Example? Take “The Unit,” a show about soldiers in the American special forces. It’s written by David Mamet and produced by Shawn Ryan (the creator of FX’s bit of the ole ultraviolence, “The Shield”) for God’s sake and it still looks like something that could’ve been adapted from Reader’s Digest.

Short Recap:
“Reconstruction” begins by quickly resolving the war between Jericho and Newbern (you know, the town with the nearby Costco). The Army, alerted to Jericho by the machinations of Hawkins in the last episode, arrives and restores order. Jericho fans will be amazed at how much was covered in this episode. I was so used to the show’s writers being mysterious in that first season that I found even the opening recap to be incredibly revealing (did we previously know exactly how many cities had been bombed?).

So, Skeet and co are ready to avenge themselves and Gerald McRaney (Johnston Green) on New Bern. The new army commander Col. Hoffman (Esai Morales) is having none of it, though, and he quickly restores the town’s energy, food and, apparently, television. Meanwhile, Hawkins meets up with another agent and they plan to expose the new government, based in Wyoming, for its role in the domestic nuclear attacks.

There isn’t much of a need to recap much more of it than that, since most of you saw the pirated episodes that made it across the net weeks ago.

So then, how about some quick-hit episode commentary as it jumps into my mind?

-So, they barely have law and order…the army just stopped Jericho and Newbern from fighting a war and they already have a new flag? Uhm, does FEMA have an emergency contingency for creating a new American flag in event of a national disaster? Is that really a priority? Here’s how my list of priorities would go:

1. Defend the nation.
2. Secure the nation.
3. Re-establish law and order
4. Reconstruct cities.
5. Tend to sick and dying.
….
….
….
545. Consider a new flag design more representative of nation’s wretched state.

-Morales looks to be a significant addition to the cast. He seems firm, principled, and also compassionate (which, I bet, they’re going to use to align him with the residents of Jericho when the Wyoming govt is exposed).

-Notably absent were: Gail Green (Pamela Reed), Bonnie Richmond (Shoshannah Stearn), Skylar Stevens (Candace Bailey), and Dale Turner (Erik Knudsen). There was some talk about Pamela Reed not having a contract…because of her age…when the show was un-canceled. At the very least, it’s interesting to see how the writers write around not having these familiar characters from season 1.

Finally, though, I found myself really looking forward to this episode, unlike pretty much the rest of television this year (with Lost being the notable exception), and I think this was a worthy effort. With other episodes like this, there’s a good chance it will only be 5 or 6 weeks until Jericho is canceled in favor of CSI: Dothan, Ala.

Because, seriously, it’s CBS and you know it’s coming.