The wife wound up signing back up for Netflix after a long hiatus. (We find Amazon pretty much had everything we wanted so we wound up with them for most of our video entertainment needs.) One thing Netflix had that ‘Zon didnt was ‘Jericho’ available for free.
It’s been almost ten years since the program came out. I rewatched the first few episodes last night and it holds up really quite well. Lennie James, most recently of “The Walking Dead” fame plays, wait for it, a post-apocalyptic hardcore survivor-type. Poor guy..he just can’t catch a break.
A lot of people took issue with the character driven nature of the show. Too much relationship stuff and not enough gun battles with looters. That’s unfirtunate because the real end-of-the-world is going to be all about relationships…people you trust, people you distrust, people you care or, people you fear, etc, etc. Next time you’re in line at the grocery store, imagine having to make it through the zombie apocalypse with the three people in line in front of you….suddenly relationships will be pretty important.
Anyway, the show holds up quite well although there are a few anachronistic touches. (When was the last time you saw an answering machine that used tape cassettes?) As we all know, the second season was abbreviated and very different than the first…not necessarily better or worse, just different.
Watching it still makes you wargame events in your head, play “what if…”, and still makes me wanna head to the basement and admire all my stuff. In that regard, it’s still a timely show.
I cannot help but think how different it would have been had it been done on cable, like The Walking Dead, rather than network television. Certainly more profanity, graphic violence, and those such would be present and probably add a greater dimension of realism.
As of late, the post-apocalyptic genre has drifted solidly into the zombie themes and I can sort of see why. With post 9/11 ‘sensitivities’, a zombie apocalypse lets you explore the post-apoc world but in a manner that clearly keeps it in the realm of ‘it cant happen here’. The majority of the violence is directed against fantasy creatures that don’t exist, in a world that can’t exist, suffering through a crisis that cant exist. By keeping it obviously a ‘fantasy/fictional’ scenario, no one gets their psyche bent out of shape.
Personally, I’d rather see a few more ‘realistic’ apocalyptic movies or shows. Supposedly the EMP-fest “One Second After” is being made into a movie. While the book borrowed heavily from “Lucifers Hammer”, I’d still go see it. Also, before I forget, “Lights Out” is apparently getting the same treatment. Here’s a ‘concept’ trailer featuring some of the folks who played extras in The Walking Dead. In the meantime, it’s fun to sit back and re-watch ‘Jericho’ and try to imagine that Lennie James’ character is basically the same unfortunate guy who later shows up in The Walking Dead.
For some post-apoc fun, looks like another Mad Max movie will be out in May. Hope it does not disappoint.
Lights out looks interesting.
Disappointed that the trailer was 6 mins for that one fight scene, but it *did* say it was a concept so I’ll cut it some slack 😉 I’ll watch that site for updates and see how the production goes.
I think I caught the first episode of it and didn’t’ give it a fair shake. I think I’ll watch it and see. It lasted four seasons so it couldn’t have been all that bad? I looked it up on IMDb and I have to say they have quite the cast of cute ladies… *grin*.
I initially thought Jericho was Jerimiah – and was about to post that MJW sucks, but glad I looked it up to realize that they were different series.
If you look at TWD, that’s all about relationships. Zombies are just a background distraction 🙂
Same with Vikings. That show is all about relationships and it’s crushing the ratings.
Hey – if you watch Vikings, and dig Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick), check out ‘The Art of the Steal’ (2014). She plays a bit-part, but my career-stalking of her turned up this very nice gem of a movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Kurty Russel, Matt Dillon, and others. Very fun movie.
She’s got another one finishing up that seems to have promise – ‘Geostorm’ Gerard Butler, Ed Harris.. other big names. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1981128/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm
As for One Second After, I’ll have to look that up. I’m in the process of reading the book at the behest of some friends. I think I’m at Chapter 7? So, a ways to go to finish.
A movie of this may be interesting depending on how they do it and who the main people are.
Good post – thanks for the topic!
Lennie James, most recently of “The Walking Dead” fame plays, wait for it, a post-apocalyptic hardcore survivor-type. Poor guy..he just can’t catch a break.
Brutha can’t catch a break.
He’s like the new Charlton Heston. “If its the future, and its bad,
Charlton HestonLennie James is there!”I re watched Jericho a few months back in a week long binge. It is good post apocalyptic entertainment and there are a couple cute gals. As to valid lessons I dunno. Live in a lightly populated area with a decent social network, have lots of everything and plenty of good skills? Not exactly new information.
Oh, I never thought it was terribly informative. but i did think it was fairly motivating.
I loves me some Jericho, although it’s been years since I last watched it. I heard a rumor once that Netflix had bought it, and planned to make additional seasons (as they did with Arrested Development). Not sure whatever happened with that.
Another show I’ve recently discovered is “The 100.” It’s still in production (season 3 airs Fall 2015), but the first season is on Netflix and I’m guessing that Season Two will be soon. It is a survival/strategic-relationship-building show with a futurist/sci-fi bent. You might confuse it for a teen drama if you only watch the first two or three episodes, but things get very dark very quickly. If you liked the general flavor of Jericho, I’d recommend it.
I like “The 100” also, and also “12 Monkeys”.
Love me some Jericho, was sad to see it go. Especially after the whole “Nuts” campaign to get it back for the second season.
I actually enjoyed Jeremiah, despite Theo Huxtable trying to be a badass. Another one to check out was the short lived “Harsh Realm”. Maybe I should give “The 100” another chance. as I only watched the first couple of episodes before giving up on it.
SunwolfNC, Check out “Stand Up Guys” with Pacino & Walken. KW has a bit part as a prostitute.
I’m pretty sure that the film adaptation of “Lights Out” never got past the teaser trailer stage. They were soliciting funding online and barely made a dent in what they were looking for. Too bad, that was an excellent read. Same for “One Second After”. Either of those would make for an excellent cinematic experience, if done properly.
I do hope One Second After is rendered in film because – though it was, indeed, a remake of Lucifer’s Hammer – I think the threat of EMP is far more likely than the world ending asteroids…and it really hit home on the less exciting preparations like *soap*.
Glad you like Jericho, since the recent rumors are about CBS doing a Jericho movie. The movie would be done by CBS Films and their partner Lionsgate. Hopefully we will find out at Comic Con.